‘Star Wars’ Overshadows ‘Dante’s Peak’

“Star Wars” blasted away the competition again, earning more than the volcano disaster film “Dante’s Peak,” to place first at the weekend box office with $22.7 million in ticket sales.

Both films, the new, and the old, achieved remarkable earnings.

“Dante’s Peak,” starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton and filmed in Wallace grossed $18.6 million, according to industry estimates.

“Dante’s Peak” had the best February opening ever, beating “Wayne’s World,” which took in $18.1 million over the four-day Presidents Day holiday in 1992.

The film features Brosnan as a scientist and Hamilton as the mayor of a small town threatened by a volcano. It got to the screen ahead of the upcoming “Volcano,” starring Tommy Lee Jones and set in Los Angeles.

The movie, which reportedly cost $100 million-plus, is the latest in a string of simple-minded thrill rides that some critics blame the success of “Star Wars” for making fashionable.

But big-budget action films have been a mixed bag lately. Last year’s “Twister” and “Independence Day” were blockbusters while Sylvester Stallone’s “Daylight” had disappointing grosses.

“The Beautician and The Beast,” a new comedy starring “The Nanny” TV star Fran Drescher, opened in third place with $4 million, according to projections by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

The only other debut was for “The Pest,” a comedy starring John Leguizamo that finished out of the top 10.

“Star Wars,” a 20-year-old space epic burnished by upgraded effects and a few new scenes, continued to captivate audiences. Its projected gross was down 37 percent in its second week, but such dips are typical for even the most adroitly hyped new film.

With a total gross of nearly $392 million, “Star Wars” is within striking distance of becoming the all-time domestic best seller. The current title holder is 1982’s “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” with $399.8 million.

The second part of the George Lucas trilogy, “The Empire Strikes Back,” comes out Feb. 21.