‘Conspiracy’ Starts at the Top

Box office was up about 20% this weekend compared to the same period last year, pushing this summer ahead of 1996’s record-breaking one.

Last week’s sensation--the comic-book fantasy “Spawn”--tumbled 58%, but “Air Force One” continued to hold its own and “Conspiracy Theory,” with Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson, had a relatively good debut. Among the other new entries, the hip-hop comedy “Def Jam’s How to Be a Player” and Mike Leigh’s “Career Girls” hit their target audiences, while “Free Willy 3: The Rescue” took a dive with only $992,651 on 1,258 screens.

“Star power was obviously a factor in the case of ‘Conspiracy Theory,’ ” said John Krier, head of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. “ ‘Free Willy’ had a tougher time. Though some critics called this installment better than the last, the studio failed to convince the public that there was anything new.”

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Conspiracy Theory” $19.3 2,806 1 (Warner Bros.) $19.3 $6,883 2. “Air Force One” $17.8 2,981 3 (Columbia) $110.6 $5,980 3. “Spawn” $8.9 2,604 2 (New Line) $37.7 $3,437 4. “George of the Jungle” $6.3 2,616 4 (Walt Disney) $75.9 $2,414 5. “Men in Black” $5.7 2,653 6 (Columbia) $218.0 $2,131 6. “Picture Perfect” $5.0 1,727 2 (Fox) $17.5 $2,898 7. “Contact” $4.5 2,016 5 (Warner Bros.) $83.4 $2,222 8. “Def Jam’s How to Be a Player” $4.2 751 1 (Gramercy/Island) $5.7 $5,601 9. “Air Bud”* $3.5 1,729 2 (Walt Disney) $11.4 $2,000 10. “Nothing to Lose” $2.8 1,470 4 (Disney/Touchstne) $37.3 $1,936

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* Continental U.S. only.

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.