STAYING POWER OF ‘DUNDEE,’ ‘MONEY’

Jeff Katzenberg, chairman of Walt Disney Studios and a native New Yorker, was openly rooting for a Red Sox sweep in the hopes of freeing up weekend moviegoers to see “The Color of Money.”

He may not have gotten his wish, but “Money” didn’t suffer much. The movie took in $5.2 million last weekend at 817 screens, only a 17% slip from its first weekend, which is considered a sign of staying power. To date, “Money” has taken in $14.6 million in its first 12 days of release. (The movie took in twice as much Tuesday as Monday, the day of the final game.)

The box-office leader remains the unstoppable “Crocodile Dundee,” which recently surpassed the $50-million mark in ticket sales ($53 million in its first 33 days). Last weekend marked the fifth consecutive weekend the Australian comedy, playing at 1,495 theaters, held a lock on the No. 1 spot at the box office.

New World’s controversial “Soul Man” opened to a surprisingly strong $4.4 million in its first weekend at 1,282 screens. Producer Steve Tisch also argued that the World Series may have hurt additional ticket sales. “This coming wekeend will be the true test and we are anticipating very good business,” Tisch said. “Soul Man,” which tells the story of a white youth who dyes his skin black to get into law school on an affirmative-action scholarship, cost just $4.3 million to make.