HOLLYWOOD, July 28 -- The opening weekend of 'A Time to Kill' edged out the fourth weekend of 'Independence Day' with an estimated $13.5 million at 2,123 theaters to lead a moderate national box office during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday. 'Independence Day' still managed an impressive $13.2 million at 2, 975 theaters to bring its 27-day total to $222.5 million, making it the 14th highest domestic grosser of all time. However, the rest of the box office suffered from competition from the Summer Olympics and no other film managed to top $7 million, with a quartet of other new releases registering only lukewarm business. Overall, the box office took in $81.3 million, down 2 percent from the previous weekend and 6 percent from the same weekend in 1995. Warner Bros.' 'A Time to Kill,' starring Matthew McConaughe and Sandra Bullock, opened Wednesday and took in $2.6 million in its debut, followed by $2.2 million on Thursday. Its strong performance in the face of serious competition from 'Independence Day' and the Olympics shows that the legal thriller should play well for the rest of the summer. 'A Time to Kill' is the latest successful screen version of a John Grisham novel. Other Grisham successes have included 'The Firm,' 'The Pelican Brief' and 'The Client.' 'Independence Day' lost about 38 percent of its previous weekend audience and topped four movies -- 'Ghostbusters,' 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'Aladdin' and 'Ghost' over the weekend on the all-time list to become the 14th highest.
It will go past 'The Empire Strikes Back' at $223 million, and 'Twister' at $232 million, by the end of next week. Finishing a distant third was Disney's fourth weekend of 'Phenomenon,' with $6.5 million at 1,973 theaters to reach $74 million, followed by Fox's third weekend of 'Courage Under Fire' with $5.7million at 1,884 theaters. Universal's fifth weekend of 'The Nutty Professor' came in fifth with $5 million at 2,178 theaters to bring its 31-day gross to $102.3 million. It is the sixth 1996 release to cross the $100 million mark, joining 'Twister,' 'Independence Day,' 'Mission: Impossible,' 'The Rock' and 'The Birdcage.' Opening in sixth place was Miramax's 'Super Cop,' a re-released version of a 1992 Jackie Chan action film, with $4.7 million at 1,465 theaters, followed by MGM's opening of bowling comedy 'Kingpin,' with $4.5 million at 1,900 theaters. New Line's debut of its live-action version of 'The Adventures of Pinocchio' was a disappointing eighth with $3.8 million at 1,779 theaters. The family-oriented film, which carries a G-rating, failed to draw a significant number of moviegoers, becoming the latest casualty in the genre along with 'Flipper,' 'Harriet the Spy,' and 'Kazaam.' The only family-oriented films to perform well this year were 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and 'Dragonheart.' Rounding out the Top 10 were the second weekend of Columbia's 'Multiplicity' with $3.5 million at 2,134 theaters, and the second weekend of 'The Frighteners' with $2.7 million at 1,670 theaters. Also contendeng for the No. 10 spot were Disney's second weekend of 'Kazaam, ' MGM's second weekend of 'Fled' and Warner's opening of cockroach comedy 'Joe's Apartment.' The dismal performance by eight of the nine movies released during the Olympics will certainly cause studios to rethink their releasing strategies during the next Summer Olympics during the year 2000 in Sydney, Australia. 'A Time to Kill' and 'Independence Day' will face serious competition next weekend not only from the closing days of the Olympics but also Fox's opening of high-tech thriller 'Chain Reaction,' starring Morgan Freeman and Keanu Reeves. Also opening will be TriStar's children's comedy-drama 'Matilda,' Miramax's 'Emma,' based on the Jane Austen, and Orion's 'Phat Beach,' a hip-hop comedy, featuring Coolio and Jermaine 'Huggie' Hopkins.
