Weekend Box Office : ‘Nightmare’ Outpaces New Releases

The ghoulish fairy tale “The Nightmare Before Christmas” continued to perform well at the box office, turning in its second consecutive weekend in first place. But business was only so-so, at best, for the three new movies that opened in wide national release on Friday. “Flesh and Bone,” with James Caan, Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, opened second, with a soft $4.4 million. The sequels “RoboCop 3” and “Look Who’s Talking Now” were even softer.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Nightmare Before Christmas” $7.7 1,671 4 (Touchstone) $26.7 $4,599 2. “Flesh and Bone” $4.4 1,200 1 (Paramount) $4.4 $3,764 3. “RoboCop 3” $4.3 1,796 1 (Orion) $4.3 $2,397 4. “Cool Runnings” $4.2 1,741 6 (Walt Disney) $43.6 $2,434 5. “Beverly Hillbillies” $4.1 1,830 4 (20th Century Fox) $30.8 $2,256 6. “Look Who’s Talking Now” $4 1,858 1 (TriStar) $4 $2,165 7. “Rudy” $3 1,465 4 (TriStar) $15.4 $2,083 8. “Demolition Man” $2.9 1,601 5 (Warner Bros.) $50 $1,870 9. “Malice” $2.7 1,458 6 (Columbia) $40.4 $1,882 10. “Fatal Instinct” $2.2 1,886 2 (MGM) $6.9 $1,166 * “Remains of the Day” $1.5 94 1 (Columbia) $1.5 $16,266

* Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson were the draws for the darkly romantic “Remains of the Day,” which opened to very strong numbers in key cities.

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.