`STARSHIP' TROOPS OFF WITH NO. 1 BOX OFFICE HONOR.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

The alien adventure ``Starship Troopers'' and the quirky British comedy ``Bean'' dominated the weekend box office as the holiday movie season got under way, industry analysts said Sunday.

``Starship Troopers,'' a Sony release backed by a high-powered advertising campaign, grossed an estimated $22 million in its first weekend with a cast mostly of TV stars.

It was the biggest weekend opening since Sony's ``Air Force One'' debuted with $37.1 million on July 25-27.

``Starship Troopers,'' featuring giant insectlike extraterrestrials, fell far short of the $34.2 million taken in a year ago when Disney's ``Ransom'' opened on the same weekend.

Analysts said the turnout for ``Starship Troopers'' was less than it might have been, due, in part, to its R rating for violence and nudity.

The success of ``Starship Troopers'' and ``Bean'' came at the expense of Warner Bros.' opening of ``Mad City,'' despite the marquee power of its stars, Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta.

According to industry estimates ``Mad City'' grossed $4.7 million.

The box office projections mean that ``Bean'' has joined an exclusive club of foreign-made movies succeeding on a large scale in the United States.

The film debuted impressively with around $13 million at 1,948 theaters, finishing second to ``Starship Troopers.''

Its final U.S. grosses should be over $50 million to go along with the nearly $150 million in overseas markets that it has already taken in.

``We're ecstatic,'' said Russell Schwartz, president of distributor Gramercy. ``The movie played very well to all age groups and regions.''

PolyGram, parent of Gramercy, spent a relatively modest $17 million to make ``Bean,'' and then began showing trailers this summer in the United States to heighten awareness of Rowan Atkinson's hapless character.

The success of ``Bean'' and ``The Full Monty,'' another British comedy released this summer, may have cracked open the American market for other foreign-made films in the coming years. Only a few such entries have been able to click with American audiences, such as ``Crocodile Dundee,'' ``The Gods Must Be Crazy,'' ``Il Postino'' and ``Like Water for Chocolate.''

``I Know What You Did Last Summer'' dipped from first to third place with $6.6 million, followed by ``Devil's Advocate'' with $5.02 million and ``Red Corner'' with $5 million.

``Boogie Nights'' was No. 7 with $4.1 million.

Another new film, ``Eve's Bayou,'' opened on only 659 screens. Its $3.3 million take placed the Samuel Jackson production at No. 8 and gave it the third-highest per-screen average at $5,008.

The rest of the top 10 included ``Kiss the Girls'' with $2.5 million and ``Seven Years in Tibet'' with $2.1 million.

Another limited release, ``The Wings of the Dove,'' made $175,000 on only seven screens.

Final weekend box office figures were to be released Monday.

TOP MOVIES

Here are estimates for Friday through Sunday for movies released in North America:

1. ``Starship Troopers,'' $22 million.

2. ``Bean,'' $13 million.

3. ``I Know What You Did Last Summer,'' $6.6 million.

4. ``Devil's Advocate,'' $5.02 million.

5. ``Red Corner,'' $5 million.

6. ``Mad City,'' $4.7 million.

7. ``Boogie Nights,'' $4.1 million.

8. ``Eve's Bayou,'' $3.3 million.

9. ``Kiss the Girls,'' $2.5 million.

10. ``Seven Years in Tibet,'' $2.1 million.

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BOX: TOP MOVIES (see text)