‘Tommy Boy’ Makes $8 Million

The new P.T. Barnums of Hollywood are proving their theory. Even when they put out a virtual clone of another recently released movie, the public just begs for more.

So welcome “Tommy Boy” to the top of this week’s box office heap. The comedy, which stars Chris Farley as an IQ-challenged goofball who wants to take over his dad’s company, earned $8 million and relegated “Outbreak” to runner-up status.

Farley, you may have noticed, has a bit part in “Billy Madison” - which stars fellow “Saturday Night Live” star Adam Sandler as a, you guessed it, an IQ-challenged goofball who wants to take over his dad’s company.

Other Spokane premieres did less well. “Muriel’s Wedding,” which is in its fourth week of national release, ended up at No. 6 with a $2.6 million take. That was just ahead of “Circle of Friends,” which in its third week earned $2.5 million.

“Tank Girl” opened here as it did elsewhere - to a resounding thud. Based on an English punk comic book, the film debuted at No. 10 with $2 million in earnings.

Other debuts in order were: “Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill” (No. 11, $1.8 million) and “Born to Be Wild” (No. 12, $1.7 million).

“Forrest Gump” (No. 5, $2.7 million) was set to pass “Star Wars” as the third-best grossing film of all time ($321.1 million to $322.7 million).