‘The Birdcage’ Remains Top Draw at Box Office

“The Birdcage� clipped the wings of Warner Bros.’ “Executive Decision� for a smooth flight into first place at the box office for the second consecutive weekend, according to early estimates Sunday. The Robin Williams comedy appeared headed for a weekend gross of $16 million, about $2 million below its debut weekend.

The film’s nest was feathered by an addition of 286 theaters, and distributors industrywide said they expected the MGM/UA film version of the French hit “La Cage aux Folles� to be the first film of ’96 to score $100 million at the box office.

“The amazing thing about this picture is the crossover. We are finding that a lot of families are seeing it because kids love it,� noted Larry Gleason, head of MGM/UA’s distribution. “Although there is a gay theme to it, it is playing as a broad physical Robin Williams comedy.�

Still, the tally for “Executive Decision,� starring Kurt Russell--and briefly--Steven Seagal, was nothing to sneeze at. That film, in its opening weekend, was coming in second over the three-day period with an estimated gross of $12.1 million.

It is the second action thriller to open well this year. The first was “Broken Arrow� starring John Travolta, a bigger box-office draw than Russell, which opened at $15 million. “Broken Arrow,� in theaters for six weeks, remained in seventh place over the weekend capturing about $2.1 million.

“Executive Decision,� a strong debut for director Stuart Baird, is about terrorists who want to wipe out the East Coast of the United States with nerve gas. Opposing them is a Department of Defense specialty group led by a bookish think tank consultant, Russell.

The films that opened over the weekend which were proving to be big disappointments were Universal’s “Ed,� the chimp buddy baseball movie starring Matt LeBlanc of the hit TV series “Friends,� and Buena Vista’s “Two Much,� starring Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and Daryl Hannah.

“Ed� was managing at least to stay in the top 10, scoring $2 million in a tie for eighth and ninth place against another Universal comedy, “Happy Gilmore,� showcasing another TV comedic star, Adam Sandler. The latter film has been in theaters for five weeks.

But “Two Much,� which opened fairly wide in 348 theaters, was doing a miserable $625,000 in ticket sales.

Still, Disney affiliates didn’t have a totally embarrassing weekend, since three of their other pictures remained in the top 10. “Homeward Bound II,� in its second week, was in third place with $5.8 million; “Up Close & Personal,� starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford, was closing in on fourth place with $5.4 million in its third week, and “Mr. Holland’s Opus,� refusing to give up, fell into sixth place with $2.3 million. That popular film starring Richard Dreyfus has grossed about $70 million over its nine-week run.

Others to make the list were Fox’s “Down Periscope�--starring yet another actor from a hit TV comedy series, Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier�--which dropped to fifth place in its third week at $2.8 million, and New Line Cinema’s Jackie Chan action comedy “Rumble In The Bronx,� which dropped to 10th place in its fourth week of release with $1.9 million.