HOLLYWOOD, May 12 -- The opening of tornado drama 'Twister' blew away the competition with a record-setting $37.5 million at 2,414 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday. It was by far the biggest debut ever for a film released in May, topping the $33.2 million by 'Lethal Weapon 3' four years ago. The special-effects laden film, starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as romantically involved scientists seeking to unlock the secrets of the savage wind tunnels, represents yet another in a long string of successes for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. 'Twister' is co-financed by Universal and Warner Bros.', with an estimated cost of $75 million, meaning that both studios will split the revenues from the film. By virtue of a coin-flip, Warner is handling the domestic distribution, while Universal has the foreign duties. While the opening of 'Twister' fell short of the all-time record of $52.8 million set last June by Warner's 'Batman Forever,' the film should wind up with well over $100 million domestically and could hit $150 million due to excellent word-of-mouth and surprisingly strong reviews. The strong opening also is a major boost to the career of director Jan De Bont, who scored a major hit two years ago with 'Speed,' and for screenwriter Michael Crichton, best known for writing the script for 'Jurassic Park.' The performance by 'Twister' was particularly impressive given competiton from Mother's Day and the second round of NBA playoffs. It should continue to dominate next weekend when it will face new competition from Universal's 'Flipper,' and Savoy's crime drama 'Heaven's Prisoners,' starring Alec Baldwin.
The first serious competition for 'Twister' will come May 22 when Paramount opens 'Mission: Impossible,' starring Tom Cruise, another potential blockbuster. The success of 'Twister' meant fairly feeble busines for the rest of the slate, with 20th Century Fox's third weekend of 'The Truth About Cats and Dogs' in a distant second place with $3.8 million at 1,652 theaters to give it $19 million after 17 days. Finishing a close third was Columbia's second weekend of 'The Craft' with $3.7 million at 1,762 theaters as it lost about 40 percent from its opening weekend when it led the box office with $6.7 million. Paramount's seventh weekend of 'Primal Fear' finished fourth with $2.8 million at 1,887 theaters, followed by Universal's third weekend of 'The Quest,' with $2 million at 2,093 theaters, MGM's 10th weekend of 'The Birdcage' with $1.4 million at 1,281 screens, and Fox's second weekend of 'The Great White Hype' with $1.3 million at 1,499 theaters. 'Primal Fear' has topped $48 million and 'The Birdcage' has $115 million. Rounding out the Top 10 was Disney's fifth weekend of 'James and the Giant Peach' with $1.2 million at 1,590 theaters, Orion's opening of 'Original Gangstas,' with $1 million at 475 theaters, and Disney's second weekend of 'Last Dance' with $1 million at 1,563 screens. Disney's opening of 'Boys,' a romantic comedy starring Winona Ryder in a modern-day version of 'Snow White,' was dead-on-arrival with a meager $300,000 at 328 theaters. Gramercy's limited release of English comedy 'Cold Comfort Farm' performed impressively with $54,000 at six theaters in Los Angeles and New York.
