‘Armageddon’ Blows by Competition

“Armageddon” didn’t take off at the box office as “Men in Black” did last Fourth of July weekend, but the Disney film starring Bruce Willis still handily beat the holiday weekend competition.

“Armageddon” took in $54.2 million in its first five days of release. That compares to $79.3 million for “Men in Black” a year earlier and $58.5 million for “Godzilla” in its first five days of release during this past Memorial Day weekend (not including a Tuesday preview).

The summer of 1998 has yet to see a runaway blockbuster, but box office overall is up 9% compared to last year, with big openings by “Dr. Dolittle” ($29 million), “The X-Files” ($30.1 million), “The Truman Show” ($31.5 million) and “Godzilla.” “Mulan” is also proving to be a solid hit for Disney, taking in $77 million so far. However, due to the Fourth of July landing on a Saturday and other factors, last weekend’s box office for the top dozen films was down about 13%, compared to 1997.

Meanwhile, “Gone With the Wind” earned $898,275 in limited re-release.

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Armageddon” $36.1 3,127 1 (Disney/Touchstone) $54.2 $11,541 2. “Dr. Dolittle” $19.7 2,871 2 (Fox) $64.8 $6,853 3. “Mulan” $11.5 2,953 3 (Disney) $77.0 $3,886 4. “Out of Sight” $6.6 2,112 2 (Universal) $23.2 $3,115 5. “The X-Files” $6.3 2,602 3 (Fox) $67.1 $2,403 6. “The Truman Show” $6.0 2,756 5 (Paramount) $109.8 $2,180 7. “Six Days, Seven Nights” $5.0 2,334 4 (Disney/Touchstone) $56.9 $2,487 8. “A Perfect Murder” $3.3 2,076 5 (Warner Bros.) $61.1 $1,607 9. “Hope Floats” $1.6 1,248 6 (Fox) $51.9 $1,285 10. “The Horse Whisperer” $1.3 1,048 8 (Disney/Touchstone) $68.9 $1,280 * “Gone With/Wind” (re-release) $898,275 214 2 (New Line) $194.8 $4,198

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.