The Indie Top 10 and the Other Top 5: 3.27.98 - 3.29.98

by Mark Rabinowitz

"Mrs. Dalloway" continued its strong showing last weekend, losing only 3
percent while picking up 1 additional screen and holding on to most of
its per screen average. Only one premiere made the top 10, this week:
"James Ellroy: Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction" opened on
Wednesday at Film Forum in New York and expanding to three sheets on
Friday. The doc took in $14 thou-plus in the five days for an average of
slightly over $4 grand per screen. One of last week's openers, "Taste of
Cherry," performed very well in its sophomore week, picking up 45% while
doubling the number of screens. "Fireworks" didn't hold on as well,
adding three theaters, but dropping 25% of its opening week numbers.
Bob Gosse's "Niagara, Niagara" was solid, gaining 10% in its second week
for a total $40,224 so far.

In the Other Top 5, Miramax's "Good Will Hunting" got an expected
post-Oscar bounce after picking up awards for Best Supporting Actor
(Robin Williams) and Best Original Screenplay (Ben Affleck & Matt
Damon), gaining 2% over last weekend even while dropping 163 screens.

++ THE INDIE TOP 10 ++

MRS. DALLOWAY (First Look): $255,019 (-3%) -- Total: $1,581,850

Week #6 -- 91 Screens (+1) -- $2,802 average per screen

LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND (LGF): $211,186 (-13%) -- Total:
$1,148,432

Week #4 -- 81 Screens (-1) -- $2,607 average per screen

CAUGHT UP (Live): $158,921 (-57%) -- Total: $6,279,177

Week #5 -- 238 Screens (-109) -- $668 average per screen

FIREWORKS (Milestone): $44,514 (-25%) -- Total: $136,818

Week #2 -- 12 Screens (+3) -- $3,710 average per screen

TASTE OF CHERRY (Zeitgeist): $26,909 (+43%) -- Total: $55,140

Week #2 -- 4 Screens (+2) -- $6,727 average per screen

POST COITUM (New Yorker): $19,218 (-32%) -- Total: $103,820

Week #3 -- 6 Screens (-2) -- $3,202 average per screen

NIAGARA NIAGARA (Live): $18,454 (+10%) -- Total: $40,224

Week #2 -- 3 Screens (no change) -- $6,151 average per screen

FULL SPEED (Strand): $15,488 -- Total: $56,231

Week #11 -- 1 Screen -- $15,488 average per screen

JAMES ELLROY: DEMON DOG... (1st Run): $12,389 -- Total: $14,003

*Premiere -- 3 Screens (+2) -- $4,130 average per screen

A RAT'S TALE (Legacy): $9,620 (-72%) -- Total: $50,864

Week #2 -- 37 Screens (-19) -- $260 average per screen

++ THE OTHER TOP 5 ++

GOOD WILL HUNTING (Miramax): $4,117,121 (+2%) -- Total: $121,566,085

Week #17 -- 1,642 Screens (-163) -- $2,507 average per screen

MR. NICE GUY (New Line): $2,585,530 (-51%) -- Total: $9,112,202

Week #2 -- 1,463 Screens (no change) -- $1,767 average per screen

THE WEDDING SINGER (New Line): $1,821,287 (--44%) -- Total: $71,164,169

Week #7 -- 1,686 Screens (-379) -- $1,080 average per screen

THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Gramercy): $833,871 (-54%) -- Total: $15,213,448

Week #4 -- 643 Screens (-480) -- $1,297 average per screen

THE APOSTLE (October): $822,509 (-27%) -- Total: $17,853,785

Week #15 -- 611 Screens (-101) -- $1,346 average per screen

[All box office figures are provided by Entertainment Data, Inc.
www.entdata.com]

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The Indie Top 10 lists the top grossing EDI tracked
films distributed by companies not owned or affiliated with major
studios or entertainment companies. The Other Top 5 lists the top
grossing EDI tracked films distributed by companies other than the
primary major studios.]