Weekend Box Office : A Very Happy New Year’s Holiday for ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Jumanji’

The four-day weekend was the highest-grossing New Year’s ever and scored the third-highest weekend total ever, even surpassing some five-day holiday periods, said John Krier, president of Exhibitor Relations.

Family films dominated, with Disney’s “Toy Story” jumping back up to the top of the box office list and bringing its total to more than $150 million over the six weeks since its release. “Jumanji” followed in second place with a four-day gross of $17.8 million.

* It was also a good weekend for films with limited openings, notably “12 Monkeys,” which, though it opened only in three theaters, had a per-screen average of more than $61,000. “Dead Man Walking,” also in three theaters, had a per-screen average of just under $30,000. And “Sense and Sensibility,” out in 70 movie houses, had an average of about $20,000.

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Five-Day Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Toy Story” $19.4 2,574 6 (Walt Disney) $150.5 $7,535 2. “Jumanji” $17.8 2,530 3 (Sony/TriStar) $57.5 $7,019 3. “Grumpier Old Men” $14.9 2,010 2 (Warner Bros.) $30.7 $7,418 4. “Waiting to Exhale” $13.3 1,331 2 (Fox) $36.0 $9,990 5. “Father of the Bride Part II” $12.4 2,048 4 (Walt Disney) $52.3 $6,044 6. “Heat” $10.3 1,341 3 (Warner Bros.) $36.5 $7,676 7. “Sabrina” $10.0 1,976 3 (Paramount) $30.8 $5,073 8. “Tom and Huck” $6.8 1,614 2 (Walt Disney) $14.6 $4,207 9. “Sudden Death” $5.4 1,687 2 (Universal) $13.5 $3,190 10. “The American President” $4.1 1,310 7 (Sony/Columbia) $51.0 $3,133 * “12 Monkeys” $184,776 3 2 (Universal) $264,941 $61,592

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.