WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : Scary Times in Nation’s Theaters

Horror films continue to outshine the competition in an otherwise weak fall movie market. The weekend’s box office star was Chucky, the sinister doll in United Artist’s “Child’s Play,” directed by Tom Holland (“Fright Night”). Backed by strong TV advertising, the film grossed $6.6 million over the weekend at 1,377 theaters, an average of $4,781 per screen. But the weekend’s results also showed that it doesn’t take much terror to saturate the market: Receipts for John Carpenter’s “They Live,” in only its second week of release, dropped off 43%, and totals for “Halloween 4” plummeted nearly 70%.

* Critics loved Meryl Streep’s performance, and journalists couldn’t seem to write enough about the story. Given all that, the opening weekend for Warner’s “A Cry in the Dark” was disappointing, with receipts totaling $1.6 million at 334 theaters, an average of $4,676 per screen.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average in Release 1. “Child’s Play” $6.6 1,377 1 (MGM/UA) $8.0 $4,781 2. “Ernest Saves Christmas” $5.7 1,634 1 (Disney) $5.7 $3,495 3. “Iron Eagle II” $3.5 874 1 (Tri-Star) $3.5 $4,038 4. “They Live” $2.8 1,459 2 (Universal) $9.0 $1,900 5. “Everybody’s All-American” $2.6 1,123 2 (Warner Bros.) $7.0 $2,327 * “Cry in the Dark” $1.6 334 1 (Warner Bros.) $1.6 $4,676

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.