WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : ‘Cocktail’ Is Potent Audience Draw

No one can underestimate Tom Cruise’s star power after the second straight strong showing by Touchstone’s “Cocktail,” which continues to pack the theaters despite lukewarm reviews. The surprise of the week is the critical darling, MGM’s “A Fish Called Wanda,” which made a $4.8-million impression on the national level. Apparently Monty Python fans aren’t the only ones turning out to see this Anglo-American sex/crime farce.

* Indicative of how tough it was for the weekend’s newcomers was the lackluster showing for Touchstone/Disney’s latest entry, “The Rescue,” a kids-save-their-imprisoned-dads vehicle that received less-than-glowing critical notices.

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average in Release 1. “Cocktail” $8.2 1,437 2 (Touchstone/Disney) $27.4 $5,709 2. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” $5.9 1,435 7 (Touchstone/Disney) $105.4 $4,108 3. “Die Hard” $5.7 1,338 4 (20th Century Fox) $29.4 $4,289 4. “Coming to America” $5.1 1,786 6 (Paramount) $100.5 $2,836 5. “A Fish Called Wanda” $4.8 616 4 (MGM/UA) $8.5 $7,794 * “The Rescue” $2.2 1,275 1 (Touchstone/Disney) $2.2 $1,721

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.