Nic Cage Outraces Tom Cruise

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday September 07, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

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Critics may have wished the new Nicolas Cage car-heist flick to be "Gone in 60 Seconds," but moviegoers this weekend responded differently. "Gone" shoved aside Tom Cruise in "M: I-2" for the top spot in the box office race. But watch what happens to both of them next weekend, when the new "Shaft" makes it bow. Meanwhile, Woody Allen's "Small Time Crooks" is still in the Top 10, something of a miracle for one of his movies. The weekend estimates:

1. "Gone in 60 Seconds," $25.5 million.
2. "Mission: Impossible 2," $17.1 million.
3. "Big Momma's House," $16.8 million.
4. "Dinosaur," $8.8 million.
5. "Gladiator," $7.1 million.
6. "Shanghai Noon," $5.8 million.
7. "Road Trip," $4.7 million.
8. "Frequency," $1.5 million.
9. "Small Time Crooks," $1.3 million.
10. "U-571," $1.1 million.