HOLLYWOOD, May 20 -- The second weekend of 'Twister' flattened rivals with $37.1 million at 2,785 theaters in a record-setting Friday- Sunday weekend at the nation's box office to top $95 million in its first 10 days. The tornado thriller has become a must-see hit, selling better than three of every five tickets during the weekend, and should cross the $100 million mark on Tuesday on its way to hitting $200 million. It would become the third-fastest film to hit $100 million, topped only by 'Jurassic Park,' with nine days in 1993, and 'Batman,' which took 10 days in 1989. 'Twister' lost less than 10 percent of its opening weekend audience, and Warner Bros. added 371 theaters. It was by far the strongest second weekend ever for a movie released in May and one of the best sophomore performances ever. By comparison, 'Jurassic Park' fell 24 percent from $50.2 million to $38.2 million, 'Batman Forever' lost 45 percent last summer from $52.8 million to $29.2 million, and 'Batman' slipped 30 percent from $42.7 million to $30.1 million. 'Twister' will face serious competition Wednesday when Paramount opens 'Mission: Impossible,' starring Tom Cruise in an updated version of the hit TV series, at 2,932 theaters. The spy thriller also will have preview showings Tuesday night at more than 1,300 screens, a sign the studio and exhibitors believe it will be a blockbuster. Disney will open Leslie Nielsen spoof 'Spy Hard' on Friday in what could be effective counter-programming to 'Mission: Impossible.'
The success of 'Twister' made for rough going for other films, notably Universal's opening of family drama 'Flipper,' which finished second with a meager $4.2 million at 2,385 theaters. The studio, which co-financed 'Twister' with Warner and is handling its foreign distribution, decided several weeks ago to move 'Flipper,' based on 1960s movies and TV series, ahead a week to avoid the 'Twister' debut but the change had no impact, partly because of the family-friendly PG-13 rating on 'Twister.' The overall box office hit about $59 million, equaling the same weekend last year, and the 1996 year-to-date is near $1.9 billion, or $300 million ahead of the same period in 1995. Leading the rest of the pack was 20th Century Fox's fourth weekend of 'The Truth About Cats and Dogs,' with $2.9 million at 1,654 theaters, followed by Columbia's third weekend of 'The Craft,' with an estimated $2.8 million at 1,762 theaters. Final figures for 'The Craft' were unavailable due to a power outage at the studio. New Line's crime drama 'Heaven's Prisoners,' which has had downbeat reviews, posted a disappointing debut in fifth place with an unimpressive $2.3 million at 907 theaters. With competition for screen space heating up, the Alec Baldwin project is bound to vanish shortly. Paramount's seventh weekend of 'Primal Fear' came in sixth with $2 million at 1,728 theaters to give it $51 million after 47 days. Until 'Twister' opened it was the only movie to rack up respectable grosses since MGM's 'The Birdcage.' Rounding out the top 10 was Universal's fourth weekend of 'The Quest' with $1.6 million at 1,967 theaters, the 11th weekend of 'The Birdcage' with $1.3 million at 1,181 theaters, Warner's 10th weekend of 'Executive Decision' with $1 million at 827 theaters and Fox's third weekend of 'The Great White Hype' with $836,157 at 1,183 theaters. Gramercy's second weekend of English comedy 'Cold Comfort Farm' performed impressively with $73,448 at six theaters and will be expanded Friday to 36 screens. Orion's expanded release of 'I Shot Andy Warhol' was strong with $236,600 at 39 theaters. Miramax's debut of romance drama 'The Horseman on the Roof' started well with $36,518 at two screens and its second weekend of oddball Western 'Dead Man' caught on with $95,239 at 24 theaters. Weekend gross, number of theaters, total gross, weeks in release:
1. 'Twister,' $37.1 million, 2,785, $95.1 million, 2 weeks. 2. 'Flipper,' $4.2 million, 2,385, 1 week. 3. 'The Truth About Cats and Dogs,' $2.9 million, 1,654, $24.3 million, 4 weeks. 4. 'The Craft,' $2.8 million, 1,762, $16.4 million, 3 weeks. 5. 'Heaven's Prisoners,' $2.3 million, 907, 1 week. 6. 'Primal Fear,' $2 million, 1,728, $51.1 million, 7 weeks. 7. 'The Quest,' $1.6 million, 1,967, $18.6 million, 4 weeks. 8. 'The Birdcage,' $1.3 million, 1,181, $117.1 million, 11 weeks. 9. 'Executive Decision,' $1 million, 827, $54.1 million, 10 weeks. 10. 'The Great White Hype,' $836,157, 1,183, $6.9 million, 3 weeks. Top per-theater averages:
1. 'The Horseman on the Roof,' $18,259. 2. 'Twister,' $13,319. 3. 'Cold Comfort Farm,' $12,242. 4. 'I Shot Andy Warhol,' $6,067. 5. 'Dead Man,' $3,968.
