`ANALYZE' RETAINS POST AS KINGPIN; DE NIRO COMEDY'S GOT `LEGS'.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

Gangster-comedy ``Analyze This'' continued to rub out rivals with an estimated $15.7 million at 2,537 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

The Warner Bros. release, starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, has topped Hollywood's expectations with an impressive $40 million in 10 days. It dropped only 17 percent from its opening weekend and took in more than double the nearest competitor, Sony's second weekend of ``Cruel Intentions,'' with $7 million at 2,300 theaters.

``The word of mouth among moviegoers for `Analyze This' has been very strong,'' said movie analyst Arthur Rockwell. ``The studio has to be happy with it, because the demographic appeal beyond adults was not that clear before it opened.''

Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source tracking service, said ``Analyze This'' has benefited from the absence of other adult-oriented comedies and the success of HBO's mobster-comedy series ``The Sopranos.'' He predicted ``Analyze This'' will gross $80 million overall, $25 million above his earlier forecast.

The weekend also saw five openings with each generating moderate rather than blockbuster results. Bucksbaum said the returns were not a surprise, given how crowded the marketplace has become.

``There are way too many films being released, particularly since this is not a huge time for going to the movies,'' he said. ``Still, the box office is performing pretty well, considering how few of the new films are major titles.''

The newcomers finished in a tight pack, taking the five slots between third and seventh. MGM's horror sequel ``The Rage: Carrie 2'' posted the best debut with $6.8 million at 2,286 theaters, followed by New Line's police drama ``The Corruptor'' with $5.8 million at 1,804 screens.

Sony's long-shelved family comedy ``Baby Geniuses'' took fifth with $5.7 million at 1,689 theaters, overcoming mostly negative reviews, followed by the studio's family drama ``The Deep End of the Ocean'' with $5.6 million at 1,907 sites. 20th Century Fox's science-fiction adventure ``Wing Commander'' finished seventh with $5.2 million at 2,016 screens.

Bucksbaum said ``The Deep End of the Ocean'' has the strongest long-term prospects of the quintet, but projected its final gross will be a less-than-stellar $20 million.

Disney's third weekend of ``The Other Sister'' came in eighth with $3.9 million at 1,863 theaters, followed by Sony's third weekend of ``8mm'' with $3.6 million at 2,241 locations and Universal's fourth weekend of ``October Sky'' with $3 million at 1,565 screens. Bucksbaum noted that ``October Sky'' is the longest-running film in the top 10 with 24 days in release, underscoring the difficulty of competing against the barrage of new entries.

Miramax's ``Shakespeare in Love'' finished 11th with $2.8 million at 1,405 theaters to push its 94-day total to nearly $69 million. ``Shakespeare'' has benefited far more from Academy Award ``buzz'' than any other contender, as it has almost doubled its gross since its 13 Oscar nominations were announced Feb. 9.

Paramount's sixth weekend of ``Payback'' came in 12th with $2.6 million at 1,982 theaters, extending its lead as the top 1999 grosser with $76 million overall. Miramax's 21st weekend of ``Life Is Beautiful,'' which has seven Oscar nominations, continued to draw well with $1.8 million at 646 locations and has nearly $33 million overall.

DreamWorks pulled ``Saving Private Ryan,'' with 11 Oscar nods, from 329 theaters after nearly nine months in release and the epic drew $862,000 at 616 screens to push its total to $208.7 million. ``Ryan'' needs less than $2 million to top ``Back to the Future'' for the 22nd spot on the all-time domestic chart.

Gramercy continued to rack up solid returns from ``Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' with $296,000 at 33 theaters in its second weekend. Miramax generated lukewarm response from German-language drama ``The Harmonists'' with $28,000 at six sites.

Overall grosses hit about $81 million, down about 1 percent from the same weekend a year ago when the 13th weekend of ``Titanic'' led the box office and Leonardo DiCaprio's ``Man in the Iron Mask'' opened with an impressive $17.3 million. Year-to-date grosses have gone past $1 billion, trailing the 1998 period by about 8 percent.

``The comparisons with 1998 are pretty tough but this is pretty solid business for this time of year,'' Rockwell said.

Four new movies will open Friday, including DreamWorks' romance-comedy ``Forces of Nature'' with Sandra Bullock, Fox's frontier thriller ``Ravenous'' and a pair from Warner Bros. - animated musical ``The King and I'' and Clint Eastwood's murder mystery ``True Crime.'' Bucksbaum said ``Forces of Nature'' will likely lead the box office, given the strong appetite for comedies and Bullock's drawing power.

Final results for the Friday-Sunday period will be released today.

TOP MOVIES

Here are estimated grosses at North American theaters.

1. ``Analyze This,'' $15.7 million.

2. ``Cruel Intentions,'' $7 million.

3. ``The Rage: Carrie 2,'' $6.8 million.

4. ``The Corruptor,'' $5.8 million.

5. ``Baby Geniuses,'' $5.7 million.

6. ``The Deep End of the Ocean,'' $5.6 million.

7. ``Wing Commander,'' $5.2 million.

8. ``The Other Sister,'' $3.9 million.

9. ``8mm,'' $3.6 million.

10. ``October Sky,'' $3 million.

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BOX: TOP MOVIES (See text)