Dracula, Aladdin may point the way to strong winter box office.

After "Bram Stoker's Dracula" siphoned $30.5 million out of the box office during its opening weekend, the film industry is now salivating over what could become the biggest holiday box office season ever.

Dismayed by a dismal summer, studio executives saw the box office perk up in October with films like "Under Siege," an action-adventure movie starring Steven Seagal, lifting hopes for the holidays. The November-December period is the second most important season for box office revenues after the summer months.

"Dracula's" killer success coupled with "Aladdin's" record-smashing performance at its two exclusive-debut theaters was unexpected, leading to predictions of boffo business over the next 40 days. Some industry executives hope the holiday season could salvage a difficult year.

Richard Cook, president of Walt Disney Pictures' Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, the distributor of "Aladdin," said the last several weeks "have been significantly up over last year and 'Dracula's' huge numbers bodes well for the holiday season. There is a diverse lineup of films with literally something for everyone that could lead to a record-breaking holiday season."

Cook said when the holiday receipts are tallied in early January, the industry could be up in the 5 percent to 10 percent range for the holidays. John Krier, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., the industry's top tabulation service, said the industry has now pulled even with 1991 and forecast a 5 percent gain during the holidays.

In 1991 total box office receipts were $4.803 billion, down from 1990's $5.021 billion. The industry's best year was 1989 -- famed for the "Batman" phenomenon -- when receipts hit $5.033 billion, according to "The Movie Business Book" whose statistics are compiled by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The holiday box office receipts traditionally account for 20 percent of the total year's business.

"Dracula's" $30.5 million performance its first weekend Nov. 13-15 ranks it behind "Batman Returns" and "Lethal Weapon 3" as the best openings of 1992, Krier said.

"Aladdin" set a three-day record at the historic El Capitan theater in Los Angeles and New York's Cinema I, racking up a combined $196,664 gross its opening weekend Nov. 13-15. Every seat in both theaters was booked for each showing, leading some to speculate that "Aladdin" could become Disney's all-time animation champ, beating "Beauty and the Beast" which feasted with a $145.6 million total domestic gross.

With soft attendance earlier in the year and the cost of marketing movies escalating, studios decided to release fewer films this holiday season -- 11 nationwide releases compared to 13 a year ago.

The marketing costs, which include prints and advertising, for these films will fall in the $12 million to $15 million range. The most extensive campaigns have been waged by Columbia Pictures for "Dracula" and Warner Bros. for the well-publicized and already controversial "Malcolm X."

Warner and director/producer Spike Lee have put the X logo on everything from bus stops to baseball caps over the last 12 months, making it the most ambitious and successful pre-opening merchandising campaign since the original "Batman."

Lee's epic cost around $35 million to make -- $7 million over budget -- and will be a key factor in determining who wins the shoot-out between Warner and Disney for box office supremacy this year, according to industry watchers.

"The Disney-Warner slug-out for the box office lead will go down to the final weekend in December and I'll go with Disney," said Allen Gould, entertainment analyst for Dean Witter Reynolds. "'Aladdin' is going to be very big."

Gould predicted "Malcolm X's" grosses will be hurt by its length -- 3 hours 21 minutes -- in that not enough showings can be crammed into already tight theater schedules. He was also unsure of how white audiences would respond to a long film about a black martyr.

Warner's other major holiday film, "The Bodyguard," has the potential to become a $100 million film based on the Whitney Houston-Kevin Costner starring team, Gould said.

There is just one sequel for the holidays but many believe "Home Alone 2," which debuted this past weekend, will be a blockbuster for 20th Century Fox. Tom Sherak, Fox's executive vice president of marketing, said there is a family values trend that should help his sequel.

"We have no crystal ball, but our fingers are crossed. 'Home Alone 2' has become an event picture after our first film turned out to be The Little Train That Could," said Sherak. "We saw with 'Last of the Mohicans' that the picture played well in the middle of America where family values are important."

Theater owners are delighted with the mix of films, saying it's the best holiday lineup in four years. Almost every major genre from horror to family fare is represented.

According to Tim Warner, president of National Theater Owners of California, a group representing 2,700 screens, "Everybody thought 'Dracula' would do around $20 million (its first weekend), but the figures have made everybody ecstatic. Since the election, people have been more hopeful and this always translates into improved business. Last summer I thought we would finish the year with a 5 to 10 percent gain and I'm holding to that."

If Warner's forecast is correct, 1992's final tally could push the industry over the

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