So far, James Cameron's Titanic is proving a lot more seaworthy than the ship it depicts: Ten days into its release, the $200 million movie has captured $88.4 million, easily dominating the holiday season. And it's already begun attracting repeat viewers, the key to blockbuster success. Among the new offerings, the adult comedy As Good as It Gets sparkled with a $16.2 million opening tally, and Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown's three-day weekend gross virtually duplicated Pulp Fiction's 1994 debut numbers, though it's not expected to have that movie's longevity. Kevin Costner's The Postman barely rang once: A down-on-its-luck Warner Bros. claimed $6.8 million, a paltry take for this kind of mega-budgeted spectacle.
NO. OF WEEKEND WEEKS GROSS WEEKEND SCREENS PER-SCREEN IN TO TOP 20 GROSS* [**] AVERAGE RELEASE DATE*
1 TITANIC Paramount $35.5 2,711 $13,078 2 $88.4
2 TOMORROW NEVER DIES MGM/UA $20.5 2,807 $7,296 2 $62.2
3 AS GOOD AS IT GETS TriStar $12.6 1,572 $8,020 1 $16.2
4 MOUSE HUNT DreamWorks $9.7 2,191 $4,428 1 $21.5
5 JACKIE BROWN Miramax $9.3 1,370 $6,783 3 $12.9
6 SCREAM 2 Dimension $9.1 2,670 $3,403 2 $71.1
7 AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF $7.6 1,728 $4,399 1 $11.0 IN PARIS Hollywood
8 FLUBBER Walt Disney $5.4 2,008 $2,693 1 $73.1
9 THE POSTMAN Warner Bros.$5.3 2,207 $2,383 1 $6.8
10 MR. MAGOO Walt Disney $5.2 1,857 $2,818 3 $6.5
11 AMISTAD DreamWorks $5.2 712 $7,270 5 $17.8
12 FOR RICHER OR POORER Universal $4.2 1,950 $2,155 3 $17.6
13 HOME ALONE 3 20th Century Fox $3.9 2,214 $1,743 3 $16.0
14 ANASTASIA 20th Century Fox $2.2 1,673 $1,291 7 $48.4
15 GOOD WILL HUNTING Miramax $1.7 157 $10,959 4 $3.2
16 DECONSTRUCTING HARRY $0.9 79 $11,151 3 $2.0 Fine Line
17 JOHN GRISHAM'S THE $0.9 1,025 $842 6 $43.2 RAINMAKER Paramount
18 ALIEN RESURRECTION $0.5 616 $882 5 $45.2 20th Century Fox
19 MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN $0.5 556 $972 6 $22.8 OF GOOD AND EVIL Warner Bros.
20 L.A. CONFIDENTIAL Warner Bros. $0.5 302 $1,577 15 $37.3
SOURCE: EXHIBITOR RELATIONS CO. INC. WEEKEND OF DEC. 26-28 *WEEKEND GROSS AND GROSS-TO-DATE FIGURES IN MILLIONS [**]INCLUDES SOME MULTISCREEN THEATERS AND PRINTS SHIPPED AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL SCREENS
