Weekend Box Office : ‘Ace Ventura’ Detects a Winning Take

With comical television ads and a PG-13 rating making it accessible to teens, Morgan Creek Production’s “Ace Ventura Pet Detective” tracked down a solid $12 million in its opening weekend. It grossed nearly double that of its closest rival--”Mrs. Doubtfire,” which was pushed to second place but claimed the rank of the second-highest grossing movie released in 1993. With $181.5 million, it now tops “The Fugitive,” which has grossed $179 million since opening last summer and trails only the $343 million of “Jurassic Park.”

An expensive marketing campaign didn’t help James L. Brooks’ one-time musical “I’ll Do Anything,” which grossed an unspectacular $4.7 million in its first weekend. Touchstone’s less-anticipated American remake of Francis Veber’s French film “My Father, the Hero,” starring Gerard Depardieu, outgrossed it.

*”Romeo Is Bleeding,” with Gary Oldman as a philandering cop, took in a so-so $1.2 million in limited release.

Weekend Box Office

Weekend Gross / Screens / Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Ace Ventura” $12.1 1,750 1 (Warner Bros.) $12.1 $6.923 2. “Mrs. Doubtfire” $7 2,138 11 (20th Century Fox) $181.5 $3,235 3. “Philadelphia” $5.8 1,594 7 (TriStar) $44.8 $3,651 4. “My Father, the Hero” $5.6 1,193 1 (Touchstone) $5.6 $4,732 5. “I’ll Do Anything” $4.7 1,205 1 (Columbia) $4.7 $3,903 6. “Schindler’s List” $4.6 764 8 (Universal) $29.3 $6,070 7. “Grumpy Old Men’ $4.5 1,722 7 (Warner Bros.) $54.2 $2,626 8. “Blink” $3.9 1,540 2 (New Line) $10.5 $2,564 9. “Intersection” $2.5 1,300 3 (Paramount) $17.7 $1,964 10. “Iron Will” $2.3 1,527 4 (Walt Disney) $17.6 $1,509 * “Romeo Is Bleeding” $1.2 247 1 (Gramercy) $1.20 $4,963

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.