'Gladiator' Trounces All Comers

By Stephen M. Silverman

09/18/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

"Gladiator" clobbered the competition -- including John Travolta's critically blasted "Battlefield Earth" -- in the weekend box office race. A new, pop version of "Hamlet," starring Ethan Hawke, did well in limited release. By next Friday, "Gladiator" will have to battle Disney's "Dinosaur." It could get bloody. This weekend's estimates:

1. "Gladiator," $24.3 million.
2. "Battlefield Earth," $12.3 million.
3. "U-571," $5.8 million.
4 (tie) "Center Stage," $4.8 million.
4 (tie) "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas," $4.8 million.
4 (tie) "Frequency," $4.8 million.
7. "Where the Heart Is," $3.6 million.
8. "Screwed," $3.4 million.
9. "Love and Basketball," $2 million.
10 (tie) "Held Up," $1.9 million.
10 (tie) "Keeping the Faith," $1.9 million.