Weekend Box Office

For a holiday weekend, action at the box office was unremarkable. Continuing films like “Basic Instinct” and “White Men Can’t Jump” ruled the roost, while “Wayne’s World” topped the $100-million mark. Among animated films, “FernGully” pulled OK numbers, while “Rock-a-Doodle” did a poor $1 million.

* “Brenda Starr,” the comic strip-inspired movie with the all-but-forgotten Brooke Shields as a news reporter, may be the story of the fallen star. The film missed its deadline by years--having started in 1986 on a $16-million budget. When it opened last week, it was buried on the back pages by the major newspapers. They’ll be writing the obit on this one any minute.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Basic Instinct” $6.65 1,823 5 (TriStar) $70 $3,650 2. “White Men Can’t Jump” $6.13 1,882 4 (Fox) $48.1 $3,262 3. “Beethoven” $5.9 1,929 3 (Universal) $23.7 $3,080 4. “Sleepwalkers” $5.2 1,914 2 (Columbia) $18.1 $2,709 5. “The Babe” $5 1,566 1 (Universal) $5 $3,200 6. “Deep Cover” $3.5 901 1 (New Line) $4.3 $3,831 7. “City of Joy” $3.4 842 1 (TriStar) $3.4 $4,045 8. “FernGully” $3.3 1,663 2 (Fox) $8.4 $1,979 9. “Wayne’s World” $3.14 1,565 9 (Paramount) $102.8 $2,008 10. “Thunderheart” $2.3 1,097 3 (TriStar) $12.7 $2,100 * “Brenda Starr” $30,000 48 1 (Triumph) $30,000 $625

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.