‘ID4’ Retains Its Lead at he Box Office

New movies opened, but 20th Century Fox’s “Independence Day” remained as the top box-office attraction over the weekend, racking up an estimated $36 million to reach a staggering $161 million in only 12 days of release.

“The big question now is when will ‘ID4’ hit $200 million,” said Tom Sherak, head of Fox distribution. “Jurassic Park” took in $200 million in 23 days in 1993, a record that now is being challenged.

Another moviegoing phenomenon over the weekend was the continuing success of Disney/Touchstone’s “Phenomenon,” starring John Travolta, which was in second place with $13.1 million, sliding only 19% from opening week despite mixed reviews. Overall, it has accumulated about $46 million. “Phenomenon” and “ID4” were two holdover films that added more screens last week, while others in the marketplace lost screens, partly to make room for two newcomers--Fox’s “Courage Under Fire” and Paramount’s “Harriet the Spy.”

“Courage,” director Edward Zwick’s tale about a search for truth in a Persian Gulf War battle, starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan, opened in third with about $12.75 million.

Zwick, best known for directing 1994’s “Legends of the Fall” and the TV series “thirtysomething,” expressed satisfaction with his film’s box-office performance in the face of some blockbuster competition, saying: “Maybe these results will prove to others that drama is a great special effect!”

In fourth place was Universal’s “The Nutty Professor,” Eddie Murphy’s comeback movie. It brought an estimated $11.8 million and and has grossed about $79.8 million in its three-week run.

Paramount, meanwhile, said “Harriet the Spy” was garnering about $7.3 million for the weekend, with a cumulative $10.3 million in its five days of release. That would put it comfortably in fifth.

But competitors, especially Disney, questioned those results, claiming “Harriet’s” weekend figure appeared closer to $6.1 million. The matter is particularly sticky for Disney, since “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” was close to dropping from the Top Five--a reporting benchmark for some of the national media--to sixth place at $6.5 million. In its four weeks of release, “Hunchback” has grossed about $77 million. By comparison, Disney’s last animated feature, “Pocahontas,” grossed $91.3 million in the same amount of time.

Whatever the final results show today, Paramount and Nickelodeon, the TV children’s network that joined in producing the $12-million “Harriet,” can still take comfort in considering the overwhelming competition and the fact that films typically targeted at young girls do not do well. Last summer’s much-praised “A Little Princess” took two weeks to reach $2.1 million in ticket sales.

“It’s a sad statement to make, but younger kids will not go to see what they call a ‘sissy’ picture,” said John Krier, head of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. “That stigma about girls’ pictures dates back to [1960’s] ‘Pollyanna,’ which was a very good picture but it didn’t do well, either. So if you take that into account, ‘Harriet’ had a very good opening whether it’s $6.1 million or $7.3 million.”

Regardless of the numbers, Barry London, head of Paramount’s distribution, expressed delight. “This was a very low-cost movie, well produced and a first partnership between Paramount and Nickelodeon,” he said. Both companies are owned by Viacom.

In other weekend reports, here is how the box-office competition was shaping up:

No. 7: “Eraser,” $6 million for a cumulative $80 million in four weeks.

No. 8: “The Rock,” $4.4 million; $117.5 million in six weeks.

No. 9: “Striptease,” $3.2 million; $28 million in three weeks.

No. 10: “Twister,” $1.9 million; $228 million in 10 weeks.

Meanwhile, Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” and Jim Carrey’s “The Cable Guy” fell out of the Top 10. “Mission” was making about $1.6 million, for a cumulative $171.2 million in eight weeks. “Cable Guy” was bringing in about $1 million for about $56.3 million box office in five weeks.