`SCREAM 2' OPENING NOT AS LOUD AS FIRST BELIEVED.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

The opening weekend of ``Scream 2'' turned out to be $6 million less potent than originally believed.

Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax division admitted Friday that a bookkeeping error had led to the miscalculation of grosses for the sequel during the Dec. 12-14 period. The figure, originally given as $39.2 million at 3,112 theaters, wound up being $33 million at 2,663 theaters - still a record for a December opening and for a horror film.

``We spotted a bookkeeping error and wanted to correct it immediately,'' spokeswoman Janet Hill said. She said the mistake resulted from over-counting the number of locations playing the film by 449 sites.

Miramax said theaters played a total of 4,107 prints of the film, which revolves around Neve Campbell being menaced on a Midwestern college campus. For its first seven days, ``Scream 2'' took in $41.2 million.

Robert Bucksbaum, head of the Reel Source tracking service, said he could not recall any studio making as large a mistake in reporting grosses.

``Scream 2,'' made for a relatively paltry $24 million, drew exceptionally well from the teen-agers and young adults who propelled the original to $103 million in domestic grosses.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (color) David Arquette and Courteney Cox co-star in the film ``Scream 2.''