Titanic holds First place!!!!!!!!!! {1998-03-16}

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Titanic held the number one place again this weekend!!! Go Titanic!!! It appears as though Titanic will be number one again next weekend, unless "Primary Colors," a satire about President Clinton, makes a very strong opening!

By JOHN HORN

LOS ANGELES (AP) - For a record-tying 13th weekend, ``Titanic'' was the nation's most popular film - even defeating a new Leonardo DiCaprio movie, ``The Man in the Iron Mask.''

DiCaprio also stars in ``Titanic.''

On Saturday night, ``Titanic'' passed ``Star Wars'' as the top-grossing movie in non inflation-adjusted dollars, and has collected $471.4 million to date. Counting its several re-releases, 1977's ``Star Wars'' grossed $461 million.

``Titanic'' finished in first place by the smallest margin yet in its meteoric run on the weekly charts, according to figures released Monday. The film grossed $17.6 million, just $300,000 ahead of ``The Man in the Iron Mask,'' which took in $17.3 million.

With 13 consecutive weeks in first, ``Titanic'' matched the mark for most straight weekends at No. 1, tying the record set by 1982's ``Tootsie'' and 1984's ``Beverly Hills Cop.''

The opening for ``The Man in the Iron Mask,'' the only new film in wide release, was disappointing. MGM, the film's producer, was hoping the period drama featuring DiCaprio in dual roles would gross more than $20 million.

``Titanic'' faces another stern test this coming weekend with Friday's debut of ``Wild Things,'' a highly promoted teen thriller, and ``Primary Colors,'' the particularly timely adaptation of the best-selling novel about a philandering presidential candidate.

In limited release, the Imax film ``Everest'' was very well-attended. The new comedy ``Chairman of the Board,'' playing in just 196 locations, bombed.

The top 20 movies at North American theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by studio, gross, number of theater locations, receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. and Entertainment Data:

1. ``Titanic,'' Paramount, $17.6 million, 3,116 locations, $5,641 average, $471.4 million, 13 weeks.

2. ``The Man in the Iron Mask,'' MGM, $17.3 million, 3,101 locations, $5,570 average, $17.3 million, one week.

3. ``U.S. Marshals,'' Warner Bros., $11.3 million, 2,817 locations, $4,031 average, $32.9 million, two weeks.

4. ``Good Will Hunting,'' Miramax, $4.8 million, 1,899 locations, $2,551 average, $109.8 million, 15 weeks.

5. ``The Wedding Singer,'' New Line, $4.7 million, 2,550 locations, $1,830 average, $63.5 million, five weeks.

6. ``The Big Lebowski,'' Gramercy, $3.5 million, 1,235 locations, $2,832 average, $10.7 million, two weeks.

7. ``Twilight,'' Paramount, $3.24 million, 1,353 locations, $2,399 average, $10.6 million, two weeks.

8. ``Hush,'' Sony, $3.23 million, 1,966 locations, $1,642 average, $10.4 million, two weeks.

9. ``As Good As It Gets,'' Sony, $3.1 million, 1,710 locations, $1,784 average, $121.4 million, 12 weeks.

10. ``Dark City,'' New Line, $1.44 million, 1,520 locations, $949 average, $12.6 million, three weeks.

-- Chris Kilroy (Chrisk757@aol.com), March 16, 1998


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