Weekend Box Office : In Many Ways It’s ‘Dead Again’

The week after Labor Day is considered “death week” in the film business, and this year was no exception. With the summer months gone and the traditional school year under way, ticket sales were dead again--in more ways than one: The weekend box office was even slower than the August dog days that saw grosses plunge 28% from last year, according to figures published Monday in Daily Variety. Paramount’s thriller “Dead Again” was the bright spot, with box-office down only 16% from the previous week, and its per-screen average strong. Fox’s “The Commitments” continued to impress in the specialized market, pulling $910,000 on only 106 screens; The week’s only new comer, “Company Business” from MGM/Pathe, didn’t generate much business for the company.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Dead Again” $4.4 789 2 (Paramount) $17.3 $5,534 2. “Terminator 2” $3.1 1,800 10 (TriStar) $187.3 $1,726 3. “Child’s Play 3” $3 2,130 2 (Universal) $9.7 $1,410 4. “Hot Shots” $2.7 1,891 6 (Fox) $58.7 $1,437 5. “Doc Hollywood” $2.68 1,664 6 (Warner Bros.) $43.2 $1,613