Bugs, Jordan Beat Rest of the Lineup

They didn’t dethrone Disney as king of animation, but Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan dominated the box office this weekend as “Space Jam” opened to $27.5 million--the fourth-biggest debut ever by an animated feature film. The all-time animated champion remains Disney’s “The Lion King,” which had $40.9 million when it went wide in June of 1994. In second place is “Pocahontas” at $29.5 million, followed by “Toy Story” at $29.1 million. (Warner Bros.’ Sunday estimate was high by $1.75 million.)

Warner Bros. said “Space Jam” was not just for kids--or basketball-loving males. Demographics show that while 34% of the weekend audience was between 12 and 24 years old, 42% were over 25. Males accounted for 53% of the audience.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Space Jam” $27.5 2,650 1 (Warner Bros.) $27.5 $10,388 2. “Ransom” $22.4 2,757 2 (Disney/Touchstone) $67.1 $8,115 3. “The Mirror Has Two Faces” $12.2 2,489 1 (Sony/TriStar) $12.2 $4,906 4. “Set It Off” $5.9 1,016 2 (New Line) $20.8 $5,761 5. “Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet” $5.4 1,963 3 (Fox) $31.4 $2,762 6. “Sleepers” $2.3 1,818 5 (Warner Bros.) $47.1 $1,271 7. “First Wives Club” $1.51 1,489 9 (Paramount) $99.4 $1,015 8. “High School High” $1.5 1,726 4 (Sony/TriStar) $19.1 $870 9. “The Ghost and the Darkness” $1.03 1,328 6 (Paramount) $36.2 $778 10. “Michael Collins” $801,107 673 6 (Warner Bros.) $9.5 $1,190

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.