‘Apollo 13’ Enters Orbit at Top Spot : Box office: Historic space journey with Tom Hanks takes in an estimated $26 million and kick-starts what could be a record-breaking weekend.

With a debut that coincided neatly with last week’s U.S.-Russia space station docking, “Apollo 13,” starring Tom Hanks, far outdistanced the field and will contribute to what might be record three- and five-day weekend box-office grosses.

“Pocahontas” and “Batman Forever” held off futuristic newcomers “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” and “Judge Dredd” for second and third place.

Amid what is for many a long holiday weekend, the nationwide three-day box-office take may reach a record $110 million for the top 50 films, according to John Krier of Exhibitor Relations. “It’s still too close to call,” he said Sunday.

Krier also projects that business through midnight Tuesday might top the five-day record of $140 million set over Thanksgiving, 1992.

The inspiring, patriotic Ron Howard film “Apollo” opened to an estimated $26 million in 2,198 locations (some of which have multiple screens), ahead of second-place “Pocahontas” by almost $10 million. “Apollo 13’s” producer, Brian Grazer, was almost giddy at the film’s nearly $12,000-per-location average. “All Ron and I wanted was to be No. 1, because it’s become so important in our culture,” he said.

Given the variety of material in the market and the fact that “Apollo” seems to attract older audiences, its opening weekend is a testament to Hanks’ drawing power. It’s the star’s best debut ever, even stronger than last year’s Oscar-winning “Forrest Gump.”

Only “Terminator 2” has opened better over Independence Day--and that had the built-in fan interest that comes with being a sequel. “Apollo” left “Power Rangers” and “Dredd” to eat its space dust. “Power Rangers” got off to a fourth-place $14.4-million start in 2,407 locations, with a troubling dip from Friday to Saturday (business usually goes up on Saturday, especially with kids).

Worries that the “Power Rangers” popularity had peaked were partially justified, though the film garnered some surprisingly upbeat reviews. “There’s no question the film is fan based,” said Tom Sherak, executive vice president of 20th Century Fox.

Even with the brutal competition and tracking surveys that indicated the film would do very little business--such surveys don’t incorporate very young patrons--the opening, he said, is still the 12th highest in the studio’s history.

“Judge Dredd,” starring Sylvester Stallone, was hampered by what many in the industry regard as one of the least inviting ad campaigns in recent memory (with the unintentional pun: “Dredd June 30”).

It mustered only a fair $12.5 million in 2,204 houses for a fifth-place finish. The numbers indicate that Stallone’s core U.S. audience is flat and not growing. But he is still a major draw overseas, which is why he receives $17 million to $20 million per movie.

“Pocahontas” took in an estimated $16.7 million in 2,577 locations in its second wide weekend, though it was down 40% or so from its opening. But in an era when $30-million debuts are actually characterized as “disappointing,” this Native American maiden’s total of $68 million is hardly an entry in the hall of shame.

Batted by the newer high-tech arrivals, “Batman Forever” fell by almost half for the second straight weekend, to $15.7 million in 2,893 sites, but with a year-leading $136 million in just three weeks, this one will easily surpass the $160 million done by “Batman Returns.”

Because of the five-day holiday spread, business on Saturday was a little softer than usual, industry executives said. Good weather, vacations and seasonal distractions are causing moviegoers to spread their movie dollars over what for many is a long weekend. The studios and exhibitors are praying for rain today or Tuesday--a guaranteed attendance booster.

According to Nikki Rocco, senior vice president for distribution at Universal, today’s business should be down about 15% from Friday, and Tuesday, with fireworks and picnics galore, will reach only about 75% of today’s total. That would elevate “Apollo” into the high $30-million range for its first five days and take “Power Rangers” beyond $20 million.

The sixth- through 10th-place performers, with the exception of “The Bridges of Madison County,” all took heavy hits, losing theaters and luster to the newer kids on the block. “Congo” lost several hundred screens and dropped to $4.65 million from about $8 million. But with more than $66 million to date, this one will take in more than $80 million.

The same ultimate gross fate could hold for “Bridges,” which is proving a long-haul attraction, taking in an estimated $4.3 million the past three days. The Clint Eastwood/Meryl Streep romance has grossed about $54 million to date.

“Casper” is slowly expiring, but brought in another $2.5 million from Friday to Sunday and has now taken in $81 million. “Braveheart” is right behind “Casper” with $2.45 million and almost $52 million so far.

In 10th place is “Die Hard With a Vengeance,” which still took in $2 million and has $89 million to date.