‘BLUE’ IN THE BLACK

A $30,000 gross in Columbus, Ohio, may not excite some studio honchos, but DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group was happy with the seven-week figure--on a single screen--for David Lynch’s strange “Blue Velvet.”

It’s thanks to college audiences, said VP/general sales manager Gary Persell, that the offbeat film has been a “fair” success in some heartland communities, “though it obviously did much better in major markets”--where its about to be reissued later this month.

DEG will increase “Blue’s” number of nationwide screens from a low of 39 (last week) to a high of 185, with a new campaign citing critics’ Top 10 lists. Total gross at press time: $7.1 million, while averaging only 75 screens per week since opening Sept. 19 (with 96 prints). With ancillary sales and an anticipated long theatrical run, “Blue” should make it nicely into profits, said a company source.

Among the better showings in other one-screen markets, all limited runs: St. Louis, $23,000; Minneapolis, $42,000; Cincinnati, $37,000; Cleveland, $53,000; Salt Lake, $22,000.

More timid folks will get a private peek in April, when Karl/Lorimar releases the videocassette.