by David Poland

June 4 , 1999

Sure wish there was something at the box office worth writing about today.

Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace did $51.4 million over the 3-day weekend last week, a 21 percent drop. Without a holiday weekend to bolster Sunday, I see more like a 28 percent drop this weekend, passing the $250 million mark in just 19 days, another record I'm sure. (Well, if the previous record for $200 million was 20 days, $250 million in 19 would have to be a record, right? DUH!)

Notting Hill should drop about 25 percent throughout much of the summer. First week holdover The Thirteenth Floor won't be so lucky, but it should still manage to stay in the Top Ten. The rest of the way, the song remains pretty much the same.

The only wide release newcomer is Instinct and I don't expect people's instincts to draw them to this film in big numbers. But that won't keep the film from a slot on the top heavy Top Ten. Limbo is the first release of Sony's Screen Gems arm, but it's only due on 15 screens. There's a new IMAX film called Extreme hitting 6 IMAX screens. Free Enterprise hits L.A. only on 9 screens. And The Buena Vista Social Club, which I am really looking forward to, starts on just 15 screens in N.Y. and L.A.

And that's all he wrote.

WEEKEND GUESTIMATES
1. Star Wars: EO-TPM - 3,023 venues - off 28 percent - $37 million
2. Notting Hill - 2,750 venues - off 25 percent - $16.4 million
3. Instinct - 2,059 venues - new - $7.5 million
4. The Mummy - 3,390 venues - off 38 percent - $6.2 million
5. Entrapment - 2,584 venues - off 22 percent - $4.4 million
6. The Matrix - 2,045 venues - off 30 percent - $2 million
7. The Thirteenth Floor - 1,815 venues - off 47 percent - $1.8 million
8. Never Been Kissed - 2,085 venues - off 27 percent - $1.2 million
9. A Midsummer Night's Dream - 1,005 venues - off 45 percent - $875,000
10. Election - 827 venues - off 32 percent - $732,000