'Mars' Blasts Off

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/15/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Despite earth-bound reviews, "Mission to Mars" zoomed past all other comers this weekend to take the No. 1 box office spot. The Brian De Palma space odyssey, which owes a lot to several other space odysseys that went before it, even managed to dislodge "The Whole Nine Yards" from its perch ("Nine" was No. 1 for the past three weeks). The weekend Top 10, according to industry estimates:

1. "Mission to Mars," $23.1 million.
2. "The Ninth Gate," $6.7 million.
3. "My Dog Skip," $6 million.
4. "The Whole Nine Yards," $5.4 million.
5. "American Beauty," $3.7 million.
6. "The Cider House Rules," $3.6 million.
7. "Drowning Mona," $3.5 million.
8. "The Next Best Thing," $3.4 million.
9. (tie) "Pitch Black," $3.1 million.
9. (tie) "Snow Day," $3.1 million.