Weekend Box Office : Sales Surge but Lag Behind Last Year

“Basic Instinct,� “Wayne’s World� and “My Cousin Vinny� powered the box office to its highest level in weeks, but overall it still lags behind last year. “Basic Instinct� pushed “Wayne’s World� out of the first-place position after five weeks there. “Vinny,� starring Joe Pesci, showed staying power, while “Lawnmower Man� business dropped about 30%.

* Woody Allen’s “Shadows and Fog� and a multistar comedy, “Noises Off,� opened to so-so business.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Basic Instinct� $15.1 1,567 1 (TriStar) $15.1 $9,655 2. “Wayne’s World� $7.7 1,878 6 (Paramount) $79 $4,083 3. “My Cousin Vinny� $7.2 1,500 2 (Fox) $17.4 $4,807 4. “Lawnmower Man� $3.68 1,308 3 (New Line) $21.1 $2,818 5. “Fried Green Tomatoes� $2.89 1,329 13 (Universal) $61.4 $2,180 6. “American Me� $2.26 826 2 (Universal) $6.9 $2,740 7. “Beauty and the Beast� $1.72 1,157 19 (Disney) $122.9 $1,470 8. “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot� $1.65 1,432 5 (Universal) $22.5 $1,135 9. “Article 99� $1.56 1,263 2 (Orion) $4.8 $1,243 10. “Hand That Rocks the Cradle� $1.45 1,292 11 (Hollywood) $78.1 $1,127 * “Shadows and Fog� $1.1 288 1 (Orion) $1.1 $3,859

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.