`STAR WARS' TICKET SALES CLIMB.

Byline: Associated Press 

``Star Wars'' held its ground against the volcano disaster film ``Dante's Peak'' to place first at the weekend box office with $22.7 million in ticket sales, according to industry estimates Sunday.

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.

``Dante's Peak'' grossed $18.6 million. ``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.

The second part of George Lucas's trilogy, ``The Empire Strikes Back,'' comes out Feb. 21.

Packing the audiences are parents who loved ``Star Wars'' when it first opened in 1977 and now are taking their children to see it, said Tom Sherak, chairman of 20th Century Fox Domestic Film Group.

``There's something about the movie that touches you,'' he said. ``They want their kids to see it because they've gotten something from it.

``The message doesn't change. It's a message about good and evil, a message about getting a new life, and saving the empire,'' Sherak said.

``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.

``People are fascinated by the raw power of nature,'' said Alan Sutton, vice president of publicity for Universal Pictures.

The film features Pierce Brosnan as a scientist and Linda 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 barrages have been a mixed bag lately. Last year's ``Twister'' and ``Independence Day'' were blockbusters while Sylvester Stallone's ``Daylight'' had disappointing grosses.

The release of ``Star Wars'' and ``Dante's Peak'' are further proof that the old Hollywood system of seasonal releases - ``event'' films in summer and smaller, more thoughtful films in the winter doldrums - is over.

``Movie-going is a 52-week-a-year proposition and audiences aren't just sitting back and waiting for the summer and the holiday season for the pictures that really capture their imagination,'' Sutton said.

Nothing does that like ``Star Wars,'' which need not fear competition from ``Dante's Peak'' or other blockbusters, Sherak said.

` ``Star Wars' transcends that,'' he said. `` `Star Wars' is about culture. `Star Wars' is part of our lives. `Star Wars' is like the mother of these movies.''

Final weekend box office figures were to be released today.

The top 10 films at the box office from Friday through Sunday:

1. ``Star Wars,'' $22.7 million.

2. ``Dante's Peak,'' $18.6 million.

3. ``The Beautician and The Beast,'' $4 million.

4. ``Jerry Maguire,'' $3.6 million.

5. ``Scream,'' $3.5 million.

6. ``Evita,'' $3 million.

7. ``Metro,'' $2.4 million.

8. ``The English Patient,'' $2.2 million.

9. ``Beverly Hills Ninja,'' $2.1 million.

10. ``In Love and War,'' $1.9 million.