‘Private Ryan’ Stays at the Front

Twentieth Century Fox had three movies in the Top 10, but DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures had the top-grossing film for the fourth weekend in a row as “Saving Private Ryan” took in $13.2 million at the box office.

Fox’s “How Stella Got Her Grove Back” debuted in second place, while Warner Bros. dodged a big bullet with “The Avengers,” which opened third. Indeed, Warner Bros. may have been smart not to screen the film in advance for critics.

“I don’t think it hurt it with people in middle America, who just saw the trailer and wanted to see it,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co.

Weekend Box Office

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average 1. “Saving Private Ryan” $13.2 2,654 (DreamWorks/Paramount) $126.0 $4,958 2. “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” $11.3 1,395 (Fox) $11.3 $8,114 3. “The Avengers” $10.3 2,466 (Warner Bros.) $10.3 $4,179 4. “There’s Something About Mary” $8.8 2,203 (Fox) $91.3 $4,006 5. “Snake Eyes” $8.6 2,718 (Paramount) $31.6 $3,178 6. “Halloween: H20” $8.5 2,669 (Miramax/Dimension) $40.1 $3,177 7. “Ever After” $6.0 2,058 (Fox) $34.0 $2,914 8. “The Parent Trap” $5.7 2,407 (Disney) $43.6 $2,354 9. “The Negotiator” $4.2 2,032 (Warner Bros.) $32.5 $2,069 10. “Armageddon” $4.1 1,786 (Disney/Touchstone) $180.0 $2,317

Weeks in Movie (Studio) Release 1. “Saving Private Ryan” 4 (DreamWorks/Paramount) 2. “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” 1 (Fox) 3. “The Avengers” 1 (Warner Bros.) 4. “There’s Something About Mary” 5 (Fox) 5. “Snake Eyes” 2 (Paramount) 6. “Halloween: H20” 2 (Miramax/Dimension) 7. “Ever After” 3 (Fox) 8. “The Parent Trap” 3 (Disney) 9. “The Negotiator” 3 (Warner Bros.) 10. “Armageddon” 7 (Disney/Touchstone)

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.