Weekend Box Office : ‘Mr. Holland’ Tunes In to Audience

Despite competition from the Super Bowl and continued wintry weather in portions of the country, the nation’s movie box office climbed about 20% this past weekend. The three-day total amounted to $63.3 million, compared with $52.5 million for the same weekend last year.

“Mr. Holland’s Opus,� a family-oriented film released under Disney’s Hollywood Pictures’ banner, topped the weekly chart with $8.3 million in ticket sales. The movie, which stars Richard Dreyfuss as a musician who gives up his dream of writing a symphony to become a career high school music teacher, has taken in a healthy $20.3 million after two weeks in release.

The highest film to debut was New Line Cinema’s “Bed of Roses,� a romantic comedy starring Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson. It took in $6.1 million.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Mr. Holland’s Opus� $8.3 1,619 2 (Disney/Hollywood) $20.3 $5,125 2. “Bed of Roses� $6.1 1,545 1 (New Line) $6.1 $3,960 3. “From Dusk Till Dawn� $4.9 2,007 2 (Miramax) $18 $2,417 4. “12 Monkeys� $3.9 1,629 5 (Universal) $45 $2,420 5. “Eye for an Eye� $3.5 1,680 3 (Paramount) $19.6 $2,088 6. “Jumanji� $3.1 1,771 7 (Sony/TriStar) $86 $1,762 7. “Grumpier Old Men� $3 1,802 6 (Warner Bros.) $62.5 $1,654 8. “Sense and Sensibility� $2.91 608 7 (Sony/Columbia) $17.9 $4,782 9. “Screamers� $2.9 1,560 1 (Sony/Triumph) $2.9 $1,862 10. “Toy Story� $2.4 1,401 10 (Disney) $177.4 $1,698 * “Restoration� $194,541 31 5 (Miramax) $558,596 $6,276

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* “Restoration,� released on only 31 screens, took in $194,541. The richly mounted film stars Robert Downey Jr. as a playboy-physician in the England of King Charles II (Sam Neill).

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.