The Boys Cruise Into First Place

“Beavis and Butt-head Do America” took the industry by surprise, edging out a still-strong “Jerry Maguire” for the largest December opening ever.

Other debuts proved less auspicious. Though the horror film “Scream” fared well as counter-programming to the spate of romantic comedies and family pictures, “One Fine Day,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney, and “My Fellow Americans”--which skews to an older audience opened soft.

“Clooney will arrive as a motion picture star but it hasn’t happened yet,” said Exhibitor Relations’ John Krier. “As TV actors have discovered before him, it’s hard to get fans in the theaters when they can get you for free. And though ‘My Fellow Americans’ was a disappointment, I wouldn’t write it off. ‘Grumpy Old Men’ [1993] opened to less than $4 million and ended up doing nearly $70 [million].”

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Five-day Gross/ Screens/ Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average 1. “Beavis and Butt-head Do America” $20.1 2,190 (Paramount) $20.1 $9,185 2. “Jerry Maguire” $13.1 2,531 (TriStar) $36.3 $5,186 3. “101 Dalmatians” $7.0 2,901 (Walt Disney) $84.8 $2,409 4. “Scream”’ $6.4 1,413 (Miramax) $6.4 $4,497 5. “One Fine Day” $6.2 1,946 (Fox) $6.2 $3,200 6. “The Preacher’s Wife” $5.2 1, 989 (Disney/Touchstone) $15.3 $2,605 7. “Mars Attacks!” $4.7 1,955 (Warner Bros.) $16.7 $2,391 8. “Jingle All the Way” $3.1 2,112 (Fox) $47.4 $1,475 9. “My Fellow Americans” $2.9 1,915 (Warner Bros.) $2.9 $1,494 10. “Daylight” $2.4 1,990 (Universal) $20.4 $1,225

Weeks in Movie (Studio) Release 1. “Beavis and Butt-head Do America” 1 (Paramount) 2. “Jerry Maguire” 2 (TriStar) 3. “101 Dalmatians” 4 (Walt Disney) 4. “Scream”’ 1 (Miramax) 5. “One Fine Day” 1 (Fox) 6. “The Preacher’s Wife” 2 (Disney/Touchstone) 7. “Mars Attacks!” 2 (Warner Bros.) 8. “Jingle All the Way” 5 (Fox) 9. “My Fellow Americans” 1 (Warner Bros.) 10. “Daylight” 3 (Universal)

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.