SHORT TAKES : ‘Fourth’ Still Tops Box Office

Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July” again topped the weekend movie box office chart, taking in $8 million at 1,315 theaters across the U.S. But the film’s business dipped 25% from its previous weekend grosses, the largest drop by any of the top five films in wide national release.

Danny DeVito’s marriage-on-the-rocks comedy, “The War of the Roses,” kept its affair with moviegoers going, grossing $5.8 million--a 17% decline--to finish second while the Kurt Russell-Sylvester Stallone buddy-cops drama, “Tango and Cash,” held on to the No. 3 spot with a $5.4 million weekend.

Mike Figgis’ “Internal Affairs,” a violent drama about the investigation of a corrupt Los Angeles cop, led all newcomers in the market, grossing a solid $5 million at 975 theaters. Three other new releases--”Leatherface,” a sequel to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Downtown,” and “Ski Patrol”--all did poor opening weekend business while Ed Zwick’s critically-praised Civil War drama, “Glory,” expanded from 8 to 392 screens where it averaged a very strong $7,653.

The weekend’s top five: “Born on the Fourth of July” ($8 million for weekend, $23.8 million total gross); “The War of the Roses” ($5.7 million, $61 million); “Tango and Cash” ($5.4 million, $38.6 million); “Internal Affairs” ($5 million); and “Always” ($4.2 million, $26.1 million).