LOS ANGELES -- The debut of plastic-surgery spoof 'Death Becomes Her' showed plenty of life as it dominated the Friday-through- Sunday box office with $12.1 million at 1,410 screens.
'Death Becomes Her,' replete with the trademark special effects from director Robert Zemeckis (all three 'Back to the Future' films, 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'), performed well above expectations and shrugged off competition from the second weekend of the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The Olympics telecast is estimated to have taken away about 15 percent of the movie-going audience, with the finals of the gymnastics and 100-meter dashes cutting heavily into Saturday viewing.
Universal's 'Death Becomes Her' stars Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn as two women battling with youth serum to win the heart of a mortician, played by Bruce Willis. 'We're ecstatic to do so well in this business climate,' said studio spokesman Alan Sutton.
The opening of 'Death Becomes Her' outperformed the debuts of two other Zemeckis hits -- the original 'Back to the Future' in 1985 and 'Roger Rabbit' in 1988.
In contrast, the opening of 20th Century Fox's teen comedy, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' was a disappointment in fifth place with $4.5 million at 1,973 screens. The film, starring Kristi Swanson, Paul Reubens, Luke Perry and Donald Sutherland, appears likely to fade away quickly.
The weekend's other opening, Paramount's animated comedy 'Bebe's Kids,' based on a comedy routine by the late Robin Harris, was somewhat more impressive at $3 million at just 646 screens, good enough for seventh place.
'Death Becomes Her' will face competition this weekend from the opening of Warner Bros.' Clint Eastwood Western 'The Unforgiven,' due to debut on more than 2,000 screens. Also opening will be Disney's 'Three Ninjas' and two thrillers -- Universal's 'Whispers in the Dark' and Paramount's 'Raising Cain,' directed by Brian De Palma.
'Death Becomes Her' grossed nearly double the total of the No. 2 film, Disney's third weekend of 'Honey, I Blew Up the Kid,' which took in $6.5 million at 2,429 screens to push its 17-day gross to $38 million. The sequel received a boost because it was tied to Saturday night sneak previews of 'Three Ninjas.'
Last weekend's No. 1 film, Columbia's swindler comedy 'Mo' Money,' took in $6.1 million at 1,705 screens, losing over half its audience and bringing its 10-day gross to about $23 million.
Columbia's baseball comedy, 'A League of their Own,' continued to score well in fourth place at $5.4 million on 2,084 screens, pushing its 33-day total past $75 million.
Disney's 'Sister Act' finished sixth with $4 million at 1,188 screens -- a remarkable gross for a mid-budget comedy in its 10th week. It now has sold $111 million of tickets in 66 days.
Paramount's fifth weekend of 'Boomerang' dropped from fifth to eighth place with $2.8 million at 1,501 screens to push the comedy's 33- day total to $59 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were the sixth weekend of Fox's thriller 'Unlawful Entry' with $2.6 million at 1,415 screens, and TriStar's fourth weekend of action-flick 'Universal Soldier' with $2.2 million at 1,689 screens.
'Unlawful Entry' has now topped $46 million and 'Universal Soldier' has passed $30 million, making it Jean Claude Van Damme's most successful movie. His last film, Columbia's 'Double Impact,' took in about $27 million last year.
Warner's 'Batman Returns' flew out of the top 10 after six weeks as it took in $1.7 million at 1,404 screens, continuing its sharp fall-off from its initially strong performance. Its 46-day gross has gone past $153.7 million, but it took in nearly two-thirds of that in its first 11 days.
Disney's third weekend of 'A Stranger Among Us' was 12th at $1.3 million at 672 screens.
Weekend gross, screens, total gross, weeks in release:
1. 'Death Becomes Her,' $12.1 million, 1,409, 1 week.
2. 'Honey, I Blew Up the Kid,' $6.5 million, 2,429, $38 million, 3 weeks.
3. 'Mo' Money,' $6.1 million, 1,705, $23.5 million, 2 weeks.
4. 'A League of Their Own,' $5.4 million, 2,084, $75.8 million, 5 weeks.
5. 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' $4.5 million, 1,959, 1 week.
6. 'Sister Act,' $4 million, 1,888, $111.6 million, 10 weeks.
7. 'Bebe's Kids,' $3 million, 646, 1 week.
8. 'Boomerang,' $2.8 million, 1,501, $59.3 million, 5 weeks.
9. 'Unlawful Entry,' $2.6 million, 1,420, $46.8 million, 6 weeks.
10. 'Universal Soldier,' $2.2 million, 1,689, $30 million, 4 weeks.
