‘Seven’ Deadly To The Competition

(From For the record, Saturday, October 21): Gary Oldman is the lead male actor in the movie “The Scarlet Letter.” A photo caption in Friday’s Weekend entertainment section indicated otherwise.

Even a slow seven days can’t stop “Seven” the movie.

A mystery-thriller that features Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in pursuit of an inventive serial killer, “Seven” led the nation’s box office for the fourth straight week.

According to figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co., “Seven” earned $8.6 million to boost its total to $57.8 million. It held off the Sylvester Stallone-Antonio Banderas thriller, “Assassins,” which in its second week finished in the runner-up spot with a $5.9 million take.

The week’s debuts fared poorly. At No. 5, the William Friedkin-Joe Eszterhas effort “Jade” earned just $4.3 million.

The failure of “Jade” pounded another figurative nail into the movie career of former “NYPD Blue” star David Caruso, whose previous movie effort - “Kiss of Death” - also sank with barely a financial splash.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the opening failure of “The Scarlet Letter,” which stars Demi Moore as the victim of Puritan prejudice. Despite heavy advertising, it finished at No. 6 with a $4.1 million take.

Interestingly enough, Gus Van Sant’s dark satire “To Die For” (No. 7) earned almost as much as “The Scarlet Letter” ($4 million) despite playing at one-third fewer locations (954 to 1,510).

Finally, the NC-17-rated “Showgirls” continues its slide, earning just $703,000 to finish at No. 14.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo