Weekend Box Office : ‘Sliver’ Takes Big Slice Out of Market

“Sliver,” a movie billing Sharon Stone and hyped for its voyeuristic sexuality, landed in first place for the weekend, confirming earlier estimates. The comedy sequel “Hot Shots! Part Deux” came in deuxieme . But the grosses for the two debuting films were not sufficient to avert skepticism that they can hold up against the heavily promoted films opening this Memorial Day weekend.

The political comedy “Dave,” which was first a weekend earlier, fell to No. 3 but showed signs of staying power. “Groundhog Day,” the hit comedy from February that has been playing for 15 weeks, moved to the low-price theaters and wound up in the Top 10 again.

* “Much Ado About Nothing” continues to cause a big to-do in the art house circuit: a hefty $22,893 on the average at 21 screens.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Sliver” $12.1 2,093 1 (Paramount) $12.1 $5,799 2. “Hot Shots! Part Deux” $10.3 2,122 1 (Fox) $10.3 $4,831 3. “Dave” $7.9 1,916 3 (Warner Bros.) $29.2 $4,111 4. “Dragon” $3.7 1,985 3 (Universal) $24.8 $1,870 5. “Posse” $3.3 949 2 (Gramercy) $10.3 $3,478 6. “Indecent Proposal” $3.1 1,922 7 (Paramount) $88.7 $1,624 7. “Lost in Yonkers” $1.9 1,190 2 (Columbia) $5.75 $1,603 8. “Sidekicks” $1.4 1,270 7 (Triumph) $12.7 $1,117 9. “Benny & Joon” $1.04 1,300 6 (MGM) $19 $804 10. “Groundhog Day” $1.01 921 15 (Fox) $67.3 $1,100 * “Much Ado About Nothing” $503,637 21 3 (Samuel Goldwyn) $1.2 $22,893

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.