`VAMPIRES' STAKES ITS CLAIM TO NO. 1 AT FILM BOX OFFICE.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

``John Carpenter's Vampires'' soared past rivals to lead the nation's Halloween weekend box office with an estimated $9.2 million at 1,793 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

The results set a record for a Halloween weekend opening, easily topping the 1981 mark of $7.4 million set by ``Halloween II.''

The Sony release starring James Woods as a slayer of the undead, was the only nationwide debut as other studios chose to avoid competing with trick-or-treating and a plethora of parties.

``The opening was well over our internal estimates, so we are thrilled because this is generally a soft weekend,'' Sony spokesman Ed Russell said. The success of ``Vampires,'' also the largest opening for a film directed by Carpenter, follows a long line of solid performance recently in the horror genre such as the two ``Scream'' films, ``I Know What You Did Last Summer'' and ``Blade.'' Sony will roll out ``I Still Know What You Did Last Summer'' on the upcoming Friday the 13th.

`` `Vampires' shows again that you don't need a major star or a big budget to draw the core audience, which are the 16- to 25-year-olds who hang out at malls with multiplexes,'' said Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source forecasting service. The analyst said ``Vampires'' will likely finish its run with $28.5 million.

With the distraction of Halloween and only one new film, the overall weekend results amounted to about $51 million, off 14 percent from the same weekend last year. That marked the first time since the Fourth of July weekend that the box office has declined on a year-to-year basis.

Last weekend's winner, ``Pleasantville,'' came in second with a respectable $6.6 million at 1,761 theaters as the New Line fantasy-comedy, already supported by critics as an Academy Award contender, dropped only 25 percent from its debut weekend.

Warner Bros.' third weekend of ``Practical Magic'' finished third with $5.1 million at 2,642 sites to top $33 million after 17 days.

``Antz'' saw a sharp drop due to Halloween with $4.1 million at 2,929 sites in its fifth weekend as it took in barely half its previous Friday-Sunday take. The DreamWorks SKG release has drawn $67.4 million in 31 days to go past ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America's'' $63.1 million record as the top non-Disney animated film domestically.

The Disney record is $312.8 million for ``The Lion King,'' but Bucksbaum said attaining the non-Disney record represents a major milestone for 4-year-old DreamWorks, which is making animated movies a major part of its release schedule.

Bucksbaum projects DreamWorks' next animated entry, ``Prince of Egypt,'' will easily out-perform ``Antz'' when it comes out next month.

Top movies

Here are estimated grosses at North American theaters for Friday through Sunday.

1. ``John Carpenter's Vampires,'' $9.2 million.

2. ``Pleasantville,'' $6.6 million.

3. ``Practical Magic,'' $5.1 million.

4. ``Antz,'' $4.1 million.

5. ``Bride of Chucky,'' $4 million.

6. ``Rush Hour,'' $3.4 million.

7. ``Soldier,'' $2.63 million.

8. ``Beloved,'' $2.58 million.

9. ``What Dreams May Come,'' $2.3 million.

10. ``Apt Pupil,'' $1.7 million.

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