MOVIES - March 11, 1996

‘The Birdcage’ Chirps: MGM/UA’s “The Birdcage,” the remake of the French classic “La Cage aux Folles” starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, grabbed the No. 1 spot at the box office during the weekend, its first in release, with a whopping $18 million. The romantic movie “Up Close and Personal,” from Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, was in second place with $8.4 million, according to early industry estimates. Another Disney film, “Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco,” the comedy about talking dogs and cats, came in third with $8.1 million in its opening weekend. 20th Century Fox’s “Down Periscope” was No. 4 with $4.9 million and Miramax’s newcomer “Hellraiser: Bloodline” took fifth place with $4.5 million. A box office note: Last week, Miramax’s Oscar-nominated film “The Postman (Il Postino)” had its biggest week since opening in June. The movie took in about $1 million on 311 screens.