‘Desperado’ Opens For $7.9 Million

“Mortal Kombat” maintained its grip on the No. 1 spot at the box office, but there wasn’t much else concerning the week to brag about.

According to figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co., “Mortal Kombat” took in $10.3 million, less than half of its gross from a week ago. But that was still enough to hold off the week’s top debut, the Antonio Banderas vehicle “Desperado,” which earned $7.9 million to end up in the runner-up spot.

Others openings fared nowhere near as well. “Clive Barker’s Lord of Illusions” ended up in the No. 5 spot with a $4.8 million take, while “The Amazing Panda Adventure” earned half that, $2.4 million, to finish at No. 11.

John Boorman’s political thriller “Beyond Rangoon,” despite opening in half as many theaters as “The Amazing Panda Adventure” (1,692 to 802), earned a cool $2 million.

In its third week (first in Spokane), the independently produced “Brothers McMullen” earned $1.3 million despite playing in just 272 locations. That amounts to a week high per-location average of $4,950.

Two other national openings, “The Show” (No. 14, $1.5 million) and “Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde” (No. 20, $901,000), aren’t playing in Spokane.

Finally, the “Waterworld” watch: In its fifth week, the Kevin Reynolds-Kevin Costner film earned $3.5 million to end up at No. 7 and push its total to $76.2 million.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo