Weekend Box Office: ‘Sleepwalkers’ on Top

Moviegoers cast their votes for escapist fare as they flocked to theaters during the weekend for the start of the usually busy Easter spring-break season. Stephen King’s latest fright show, “Sleepwalkers,” grabbed first place in its first weekend. Meanwhile, the still-popular flesh and gore show “Basic Instinct” held on to second place, and the comedy “White Men Can’t Jump” slipped from first to third.

In their first weekends, two movies that aspired to out-of-the-ordinary entertainment failed to catch fire: The animated ecological-themed “FernGully . . . The Last Rainforest” had a soft opening, and business for the musical “Newsies,” set in 1899, was dismal.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Sleepwalkers” $10 1,864 1 (Columbia) $10 $5,374 2. “Basic Instinct” $7.8 1,825 4 (TriStar) $60 $4,300 3. “White Men Can’t Jump” $7.4 1,929 3 (Fox) $39.2 $3,817 4. “Beethoven” $6.1 1,702 2 (Universal) $15.5 $3,085 5. “FernGully ...” $3.549 1,400 1 (Fox) $3.54 $2,525 6. “Straight Talk” $3.542 1,477 2 (Hollywood) $9.5 $2,399 7. “Wayne’s World” $3.4 1,715 9 (Paramount) $98 $2,002 8. “Thunderheart” $3.3 1,090 2 (TriStar) $9.1 $3,050 9. “The Cutting Edge” $3.13 1,113 3 (MGM/Pathe) $13.1 $2,814 10. “My Cousin Vinny” $3 1,329 5 (Fox) $34.9 $2,266 * “The Player” $302,216 23 1 (Fine Line) $302,216 $13,140

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.

* “The Player,” Robert Altman’s slashing look at Hollywood, enjoyed bountiful business at Los Angeles, Denver and New York locations.