HOLLYWOOD, June 23 -- Warner Bros.' 'Batman & Robin' debuted in the top spot at the U.S. weekend box office, taking in nearly $43 million. The fourth installment in the Batman series, starring George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell and Arnold Schwarzenegger, easily nabbed the top spot with $42.8 million at 2,934 theaters.
It was followed by a strong debut performance of Tri Star's romantic comedy 'My Best Friend's Wedding,' starring Julia Roberts, which took in $21.6 million at 2,134 screens. The third weekend of Disney's action thriller 'Con Air,' starring Nicolas Cage, came in third with $10.4 million at 2,941 screens for a total gross of $67.8 million. Universal's 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' took fourth place with $8 million at 3,086 theaters for an astounding five-week total of $204.9 million. 20th Century Fox's 'Speed 2: Cruise Control,' which captured the top spot a week ago, dropped to fifth place with $7.4 million on 2,625 screens. It has grossed $30.8 million in two weeks. The eighth weekend of New Line's 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery' took in $1.2 million at 1,329 screens for a total gross of $48.5 million, while the fourth weekend of the Disney comedy 'Gone Fishin'' finished seventh with $1.1 million at 1,525 screens for a total gross of $16 million. Warner Bros.' offbeat romance 'Addicted to Love' dropped to eighth with $901,000 at 1,401 screens for $32.5 million after five weeks. It was followed by Columbia's futuristic thriller 'The Fifth Element,' which took in nearly $865,000 at 1,066 theaters for a seven-week total of $59.7 million. Columbia's gorilla comedy 'Buddy' was 10th in its third weekend with $853,000 at 1,623 screens for a disappointing gross of $8.9 million. ---
Copyright 1997 by United Press International. All rights reserved. ---
