THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 5, 1994 TAG: 9409020723
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAL VINCENT
Entertainment Writer
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Today is the official end of the summer movie season and the figures are in.
It's enough to make theater managers pop their corn and run out to dance all the way to the bank. Local folks spent more to go to the movies in the summer of '94 than any summer in history. Hers's a look at just hjow much money the top flicks made, who's celebrating and who's singing the blues:< Biggest Hits
1. ``The Lion King'' $257 million
2. ``Forrest Gump'' $222 million
3. ``The Flintstones $128 million
4. ``True Lies'' $127 million
5. ``Speed'' $113 million
6. ``Maverick'' $96 million
7. ``The Mask'' $92 million
8. ``Clear and Present
Danger'' $86 million
9. ``The Client'' $78 million
10.``Wolf'' $64 million
(According to Exhibitor Relations, as of Aug. 29)
The Winners
Keanu Reeves, who made the jump to mainstream star via a bus ride and a buzz cut
Harrison Ford, who proved that his name is an instant draw even to highly intelligent and complex political drama
Tom Hanks, who proved that there might be a second Oscar in that box of chocolates
The Disney animators, who proved that the drawing pen is mightier than mere actors and that, even after Walt, there're the mane event
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who used the biggest explosions budget to prove that it has hardly a true lie when they called him the last action hero
Jim Carrey, whose rubber face needed no mask to prove that ``Ace Ventura'' was no fluke
The Losers
Danny DeVito, who was no renaissance man when he tried to bring iambic pentameter to basic training
Kevin Costner, whose gunfight wasn't OK when it had to repeat ``Tombstone'' and scored just an earp.
Billy Crystal, who wasn't as slick the second time around, proving that viewers wanted a new ``City Slickers,'' not just a ``II''
Eddie Murphy, who should stay funny and not fire off so many bombs, espcially when we've already had ``Beverly Hills Cop'' twice before
Julia Roberts, who didn't spark with Nick Nolte and a silly script
Macaulay Culkin, who might just want to get even with his own Dad.
Jeff Bridges, who got blown away by ``Speed'' when he tried to crossover from good actor to action hero
Lassie, who experienced dog days on his/her 50th anniversary because it's a jungle out there
Black Beauty, Andre and the baby in ``Baby's Day Out'' proved that there are only so many kids out there
Airheads, who learned that the teens had all run off to more adult flicks
Bruce Willis, who took off his clothes for nothing and may have turned blue over ``The Color of Night'' and ``North''
Meryl Streep, ``It's Pat,'' and ``The Next Karate Kid'' - all of whom got bumped out of the running altogether with their movies not even being released
MEMO: INSIDE: The summer had several surprise box-office hits /E3
ILLUSTRATION: Keanu Reeves
Kevin Costner
by CNB