‘The Relic’ Comes Alive at No. 1

“The Relic,” Paramount’s reptilian-mutant-running-amok-in- a-museum thriller, scared up $9.1 million in its opening weekend for the No. 1 position. But don’t cry for “Evita,” which came in second with $8.4 million in its first weekend in wide release. The Madonna musical scored a strong per-screen average of $11,905.

Milos Forman’s critically acclaimed “The People vs. Larry Flynt” also went into wide release, but only managed to place seventh with $5.3 million on 1,233 screens. “Jackie Chan’s First Strike” garnered $5.8 million in its opening weekend and the critically lambasted airplane thriller, “Turbulence,” came in No. 8 in its first outing with $4.5 million.

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Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Relic” $9.1 2,095 1 (Paramount) $9.1 $4,327 2. “Evita” $8.4 704 3 (Hollywood) $11.2 $11,905 3. “Michael” $8.3 2,276 3 (New Line) $63.7 $3,640 4. “Scream” $7.4 1,833 4 (Miramax) $50.0 $4,058 5. “Jerry Maguire” $7.0 2,450 5 (Sony) $93.3 $2,862 6. “Jackie Chan’s First Strike” $5.8 1,344 1 (New Line) $5.8 $4,300 7. “The People vs. Larry Flynt” $5.3 1,233 3 (Sony) $7.4 $4,311 8. “Turbulence” $4.5 2,094 1 (MGM/UA) $4.5 $2,132 9. “One Fine Day” $3.4 1,858 4 (Fox) $37.3 $1,856 10. “101 Dalmatians” $3.1 2,024 7 (Walt Disney) $126.0 $1,545

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.