Weekend Box Office : Holiday Take a Nice Gift for the Studios

With Christmas falling on Friday, leaving only Saturday and Sunday as full moviegoing days, box-office grosses for the weekend dipped 9%, if one compares totals to last year’s post-Christmas weekend, which had three full days. Even so, according to final figures released Monday, this season’s top-grossing films generated $85 million for the weekend--big business by any measure.

* Louis Malle’s R-rated “Damage” drew a hefty $25,424 per screen in its limited opening. Al Pacino in “Scent of a Woman” drew $357,000 on 20 screens.

Weekend Box Office

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “A Few Good Men” $13.6 2,112 3 (Columbia) $51.4 $6,443 2. “Aladdin” $13.4 2,255 7 (Walt Disney) $80.4 $5,934 3. “Home Alone 2” $9.1 2,450 6 (Fox) $124.9 $3,721 4. “The Bodyguard” $8.7 1,806 5 (Warner Bros.) $72.2 $4,859 5. “Forever Young” $7.6 1,710 2 (Warner Bros.) $18.2 $4,491 6. “Hoffa” $6.4 1,066 1 (Fox) $6.4 $6,009 7. “Trespass” $5 1,022 1 (Universal) $5 $4,905 8. “Distinguished Gentleman” $4.3 1,859 4 (Hollywood ) $30.4 $2,293 9. “Leap of Faith” $4.05 1,597 2 (Paramount) $9.1 $2,537 10. “Toys” $4 1,294 2 (Fox) $11.6 $3,074 * “Damage” $101,707 4 1 (New Line) $140,772 $25,425

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co. and industry estimates