Fourth of July Weekend Box Office : Holiday Is a Bonanza for Hollywood

Any way you slice it, the Fourth of July weekend was a bonanza for Hollywood. The final box-office total for the four-day holiday weekend produced $125 million in ticket sales (for films grossing more than $500,000 each), which was the best four-day July Fourth weekend since 1983, when mega-hit “Return of the Jedi” was in release.

The long weekend’s pace was set by Paramount Pictures’ “The Firm,” starring Tom Cruise, which did a torrid $32.5 million. Next was Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic Park,” which collected $25.3 million, followed by TriStar Pictures’ “Sleepless in Seattle,” which grossed a wide-awake $16.1 million.

Walt Disney’s 1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” made its first theatrical return since 1987 and whistled to a $9-million tune.

* “Much Ado About Nothing,” the Kenneth Branagh adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy, continued strongly in the art house circuit, selling $1.3 million worth of tickets in four days.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average 1. “The Firm” $32.5 2,393 (Paramount) $45.5 $13,571 2. “Jurassic Park” $25.3 2,496 (Universal) $212 $10,135 3. “Sleepless in Seattle” $16.1 1,601 (TriStar) $43.2 $7,594 4. “Dennis the Menace” $10.1 2,085 (Warner Bros.) $26.1 $4,836 5. “Snow White” $9 1,814 (Walt Disney) $9 $4,971 6. “Son-in-Law” $7 1,389 (Hollywood) $7 $5,064 7. “Last Action Hero” $6.4 2,306 (Columbia) $40 $2,778 8. “What’s Love Got to Do With It” $5.7 1,100 (Touchstone) $21.7 $5,225 9. “Cliffhanger” $3.8 1,786 (TriStar) $71.3 $1,635 10. “Menace II Society” $1.6 553 (New Line) $21 $2,982 * “Much Ado About Nothing” $1.3 201 (Samuel Goldwyn) $9.7 $6,533

Weeks in Movie (Studio) Release 1. “The Firm” 1 (Paramount) 2. “Jurassic Park” 4 (Universal) 3. “Sleepless in Seattle” 2 (TriStar) 4. “Dennis the Menace” 2 (Warner Bros.) 5. “Snow White” 1 (Walt Disney) 6. “Son-in-Law” 1 (Hollywood) 7. “Last Action Hero” 3 (Columbia) 8. “What’s Love Got to Do With It” 4 (Touchstone) 9. “Cliffhanger” 6 (TriStar) 10. “Menace II Society” 6 (New Line) * “Much Ado About Nothing” 8 (Samuel Goldwyn)

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.