Weekend Box Office : ‘Basic Instinct’ in Charmed Circle

Spring’s big hit, “Basic Instinct,” surpassed the magical $100-million mark during the weekend. The bloody sexual thriller has been playing in theaters for 11 weekends. By contrast, current box-office champ, “Lethal Weapon 3,” has raced to more than $90 million after three weekends, and is expected to pass $100 million by this weekend. The different pace is attributable in part to “Weapon” being a sequel with a built-in audience and the time of year, when the appetite for movies typically begins to expand. “Wayne’s World” is the only other 1992 film to surpass $100 million.

This weekend, “Sister Act” replaced “Alien 3” in second place, as the sequel’s gross fell nearly 60% from its Memorial Day weekend debut. Even accounting for the holiday, that’s a severe drop.

* “The Waterdance,” an unusual comedy about three men in wheelchairs, is finding a niche audience as word of mouth grows.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Lethal Weapon 3” $15.4 2,510 3 (Warner Bros.) $90.6 $6,144 2. “Sister Act” $11.9 1,430 1 (Touchstone) $11.9 $8,318 3. “Alien3” $8.4 2,227 2 (Fox) $35.2 $3,767 4. “Far and Away” $7.5 1,597 2 (Universal) $23.1 $4,705 5. “Encino Man” $6.4 2,071 2 (Hollywood) $18.1 $3,097 6. “Basic Instinct” $2.3 1,524 11 (TriStar) $101.4 $1,539 7. “Beethoven” $1.4 1,420 9 (Universal) $45.5 $955 8. “Beauty and the Beast” $1.3 1,003 29 (Disney) $137.3 $1,268 9. “The Player” $1.2 452 8 (Fine Line) $13.8 $2,638 10. “White Men Can’t Jump” $945,898 1,132 10 (Fox) $68.3 $836 * “The Waterdance” $187,893 58 3 (Goldwyn) $732,797 $3,239

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co. and industry estimates