'City of Angels' Tops Box Office - Titanic ends 4th (7.3 million)
By MICHELLE DEARMOND, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES--The supernatural love story "City of Angels" continued its affair with the box office, holding onto the No. 1 spot for the second weekend.

"It kind of has replaced 'Titanic' as the romantic picture for a female audience. The chemistry obviously is good," said Art Rockwell, an analyst with Rockwell Capital Management. "I was surprised ... but obviously romantic stories are in."

Love stories dominated overall, with three of this weekend's four top-grossing movies about romance, according to industry estimates Sunday.

"City of Angels," which grossed an estimated $13.2 million, stars Nicolas Cage as an angel who must choose between immortality or human life after falling in love with a heart surgeon, played by Meg Ryan.

"The Object of My Affection," a poorly reviewed movie starring Jennifer Aniston as a pregnant woman in love with a gay man, was second, with an estimated $10 million in its first week of release, according to Exhibitor Relations Co., Inc.

"Lost in Space," based on the 1960s television series, dropped to No. 3 with $7.7 million followed by the epic love story "Titanic," which grossed $7.3 million in its 18th week.

"Paulie," a children's story about a talking parrot, opened in fifth place with $5.5 million, followed by "Species II" with $3.9 million and "Neil Simon's The Odd Couple II" with $3.7 million.

The Bruce Willis thriller "Mercury Rising" fell to No. 8, tying with "The Players Club" at $3.6 million each.

"The Players Club," directed by rapper-actor Ice Cube, pulled in the highest per-screen average of any top 10 film at $6,071. It played on 593 screens.

The only other new film in the top 10 was "Major League III: Back to the Minors." It earned $2.1 million.

Several other new films were in limited release. "Nightwatch," a thriller with Nick Nolte and Patricia Arquette, made $56,000 on 300 screens.

"Suicide Kings," a crime story with Christopher Walken and Denis Leary, brought in $525,000 on 135 screens while "Sour Grapes," a comedy by "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David, pulled in $125,000 on 28 screens.

"Chinese Box," a drama set in Hong Kong, grossed $100,546 on 12 screens.

Final figures were to be released today.
Here are estimated grosses for the top movies at North American theaters for Friday through Sunday:
1. "City of Angels," $13.2 million.
2. "The Object of My Affection," $10 million.
3. "Lost in Space," $7.7 million.
4. "Titanic," $7.3 million.
5. "Paulie," $5.5 million.
6. "Species II," $3.9 million.
7. "Neil Simon's The Odd Couple II," $3.7 million.
8. (tie) "Mercury Rising," $3.6 million.
8. (tie) "The Players Club," $3.6 million.
10. "Major League III: Back to the Minors," $2.1 million.

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-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), April 20, 1998

Answers

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-- Thomas M. Terashima (titanicShack@yahoo.com), May 14, 1998.