WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : Freddy Shreds the Movie Competition

The folks at New Line Releasing--formerly a small East Coast distributor that nearly has “mini-major” status these days--can thank Freddy Krueger for their rise in fortunes. The homicidal maniac’s latest outing, his fourth, enjoyed a huge opening weekend that overshadowed the decent if unspectacular debut of director Jonathan Demme’s “Married to the Mob.” Among the studios, 20th Century Fox is having a very “Big” summer for itself. Fox’s three summer pictures--”Big,” “Die Hard” and “Young Guns”--have taken in more than $150 million between them.

* “The Big Blue,” by French director Luc Besson and starring Rosanna Arquette, marked the national distribution debut of Jerry Weintraub’s production-distribution company, Weintraub Entertainment Group. The film did not have a good opening weekend, which may or may not be an omen.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average in Release 1. “Nightmare on Elm Street 4” $12.8 1,765 1 (New Line) $12.8 $7,271 2. “Young Guns” $5.0 1,416 2 (20th Century Fox) $16.4 $3,558 3. “Die Hard” $4.5 1,629 6 (20th Century Fox) $46.0 $2,777 4. “A Fish Called Wanda” $4.4 1,215 6 (MGM/UA) $24.4 $3,627 5. “Cocktail” $4.0 1,462 4 (Touchstone/Disney) $46.2 $2,739 * “The Big Blue” $1.6 967 1 (Weintraub Entertainment) $1.6 $1,672

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.