WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : ‘Bird on Wire’ Soars to No. 1

The summer movie-going season got a rousing kickoff with the startling weekend performance of Universal Pictures’ “Bird on a Wire,” which overcame largely negative reviews to earn ticket sales of $15.3 million. It was Universal’s biggest three-day opening ever (the studio’s previous record-holder, “Jaws 3-D,” gobbled up $12.8 million in 1983). According to the trade paper Daily Variety, it also marks the year’s third top-grossing weekend, following New Line Cinema’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” ($25.4 million) and Paramount Pictures’ “The Hunt for Red October” ($18.8 million). Despite negative reviews, Orion Pictures’ “Cadillac Man” also came in a winner, with receipts of $6.7 million.

* Samuel Goldwyn Co.’s “Longtime Companion,” a drama that deals frankly with AIDS, had ticket sales of $142,025 on seven screens, for a per-screen average of $20,289.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1.”Bird on a Wire” $15.3 1,944 1 (Universal Pictures) $15.3 $7,890 2.”Cadillac Man” $6.7 1,826 1 (Orion Pictures) $6.7 $3,676 3.”Pretty Woman” $6.2 1,811 9 (Touchstone Pictures) $109 $3,453 4.”Teenage Mutant $3.2 2,026 8 Ninja Turtles” (New Line Cinema) $114 $1,621 5.”Tales From the Darkside” $1.9 1,535 3 (Paramount Pictures) $12.2 $1,257 *.”Longtime Companion” $142,025 7 2 (Samuel Goldwyn Co.) $227,979 $20,289

SOURCES: Exhibitor Relations Co.