`ZORRO' A CUT ABOVE FOES AT BOX OFFICE; SWASHBUCKLER EDGES `LETHAL'.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

``The Mask of Zorro'' carved out the top spot at the nation's box office with an estimated $22.3 million at 2,515 theaters during its Friday-Sunday opening, studio sources said Sunday.

Sony's swashbuckling period project, starring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins, edged an impressive second weekend for ``Lethal Weapon 4'' by about $1 million.

Studio spokesman Ed Russell said ``Zorro,'' which carried a relatively modest $70 million budget, benefited from strong reviews and widespread support from all demographics and regions. ``It's playing very well all over the country,'' he said.

``Zorro'' originally was slated for a March release but Sony decided the adventure-romance could compete effectively against the big-budget summer films.

Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source forecasting service, said the movie should draw well for the rest of the summer and is likely to top $100 million at the box office.

`` `Zorro' had a very solid opening, particularly since it's not your typical youth-oriented action-adventure. It was very well-marketed,'' said analyst Arthur Rockwell of Drake Capital Securities.

``Lethal Weapon 4,'' last weekend's easy winner, came in with $21.4 million at 3,117 theaters as patronage dropped by 37 percent. The sequel has now grossed $71.4 million after 10 days in a clear indication that Warner Bros.' 11-year-old franchise retains enough life to justify considering a ``Lethal Weapon 5.''

Disney's third weekend of ``Armageddon'' delivered solid returns with $16.2 million at 3,184 theaters to continue its respectable performance after its opening fell short of expectations.

The asteroid spectacular has topped $128 million in 19 days and will surpass this week the $138 million from Paramount's earlier comet-vs.-Earth disaster, ``Deep Impact,'' to become the top domestic grosser so far among movies released this year.

20th Century Fox's opening of ``There's Something About Mary,'' starring Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller and Matt Dillon, came in fourth with $13.1 million at 2,187 sites following $4 million from showings Wednesday and Thursday. Bucksbaum said the debut's numbers were decent, given the comedy's R rating, lack of major stars and publicity about the crude humor.

``We think the film will play well for the rest of the summer because 95 percent of the people who have seen it are rating it as `excellent,' '' he said, adding that ``Mary'' will likely finish with around $85 million. That kind of performance would make the small-budget film highly profitable.

Fox also continued to post strong numbers from the fourth weekend of ``Dr. Dolittle'' with $9.2 million at 2,808 theaters, beating DreamWorks SKG's second weekend of ``Small Soldiers'' with $8.3 million at 2,613 sites.

Rockwell noted the latter project, now with $30 million, has fallen short of forecasts that had projected a breakout performance but added that overall returns have been solid in a crowded market.

``This is a very strong overall weekend that's tracking well ahead of last year,'' Rockwell said, noting that the same period of 1997 was led by the third weekend of ``Men In Black'' with $19 million.

The analyst predicted that the summer will continue to stay ahead of last summer's record pace, when the Memorial Day weekend-Labor Day total hit $2.2 billion.

Rounding out the top 10 were Disney's fifth weekend of ``Mulan'' with $4.6 million at 2,283 theaters, Sony's second weekend of ``Madeline'' with $4.4 million at 1,863 locations, Paramount's seventh weekend of ``The Truman Show'' with $2.2 million at 1,540 sites, and Fox's fifth weekend of ``The X-Files'' with $2 million at 1,452 screens. Universal's fourth weekend of critical favorite ``Out of Sight'' finished out of the top 10 with $1.9 million at 1,425 theaters.

Eddie Murphy's two films, ``Dr. Dolittle'' and ``Mulan,'' became the fifth and sixth 1998 films to top the 2$100 million mark with $105 million and $101 million, respectively, joining ``Deep Impact,'' ``Godzilla,'' ``Armageddon'' and ``The Truman Show.''

A total of 170 movies have crossed that barrier, led by Paramount's ``Titanic'' with $590.3 million after posting a still-impressive $1.1 million at 867 theaters in its 31st weekend.

Fox Searchlight's limited opening of romantic comedy ``Polish Wedding'' posted decent returns with $88,000 at 11 screens. New Line's fourth weekend of the revamped ``Gone With the Wind'' took in $400,000 at 200 theaters to bring its all-time domestic gross to $196.3 million, 25th on the list.

``Zorro'' and ``Lethal Weapon 4'' will face major competition this weekend from DreamWorks' opening of ``Saving Private Ryan,'' directed by Steven Spielberg.

Final figures for this weekend will be released today.

Top movies

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

1. ``The Mask of Zorro,'' $22.3 million.

2. ``Lethal Weapon 4,'' $21.4 million.

3. ``Armageddon,'' $16.2 million.

4. ``There's Something About Mary,'' $13.1 million.

5. ``Dr. Dolittle,'' $9.2 million.

6. ``Small Soldiers,'' $8.3 million.

7. ``Mulan,'' $4.6 million.

8. ``Madeline,'' $4.4 million.

9. ``The Truman Show,'' $2.2 million.

10. ``The X-Files,'' $2 million.

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