Weekend Box Office : Stallone and Stone Draw In the Fans

Despite downbeat reviews and trailers that elicited laughter in theaters, the action film “The Specialist” rode on the draw of its two stars--Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone--to an opening weekend of $14.3 million--the biggest October opening ever. The total beats the $14.2-million record established only last year by “Demolition Man,” in which Stallone starred with Wesley Snipes.

“The Specialist” notwithstanding, the weekend total of $53.6 million was still down 14% from the comparable period a year ago.

The only other major opening was the romantic comedy “Only You,” starring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr., which grossed an unimpressive $5.7 million.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Specialist” $14.3 2,522 1 (Warner Bros.) $14.3 $5,677 2. “The River Wild” $7.1 2,116 2 (Universal) $20.3 $3,360 3. “Only You” $5.7 1,600 1 (TriStar) $5.7 $3,570 4. “Forrest Gump” $3.9 2,324 14 (Paramount) $275 $1,700 5. “Jason’s Lyric” $3.5 790 2 (Gramercy) $11.3 $4,490 6. “Quiz Show” $3.3 822 4 (Disney/Hollywood) $12.6 $3,845 7. “Time Cop” $3.2 2,227 4 (Universal) $36.2 $1,450 8. “The Shawshank Redemption” $2 328 3 (Columbia) $3.9 $6,002 9. “Ed Wood” $1.9 623 2 (Disney/Touchstone) $2.3 $3,056 10. “Terminal Velocity” $1.6 1,681 3 (Disney/Hollywood) $13.1 $937

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.