January 3, 1999
Web posted at: 10:54 p.m. EST (0354 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- "Patch Adams" was the No. 1 movie for a second weekend, and "Stepmom" held its own as family films claimed the top box office spots over the New Year's holiday, according to weekly industry estimates released Sunday.

Though roundly panned as sappy, the Robin Williams movie about a doctor who uses comedy to heal was an audience hit with $20.1 million in ticket sales.

"People are really responding to his Golden Globe nomination for best actor, and they're very taken by the true-life story of Patch Adams," said Alan Sutton, senior vice president of distribution and marketing for Universal Pictures.

"Stepmom," which also took critical lumps, was second with $15 million, followed by the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan comedy "You've Got Mail" with $14.1 million.

Also doing well were animated and children's films, which are typically trucked out during the holidays when children are out of school.

"The Prince of Egypt," DreamWorks' animated adult fable of Moses that reportedly cost more than $100 million to make, was in fourth place with $11.5 million, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Disney's "A Bug's Life," was in fifth place.

Disney had two other films in the Top 10. The big ape movie "Mighty Joe Young" was sixth with $8.7 million, and "Enemy of the State" was at No. 8 with $5 million. The horror film "The Faculty," which took in $8 million, was in seventh place.

"Star Trek: Insurrection" and "Jack Frost" rounded out the list, with $4.8 million and $3.2 million, respectively.

The severe winter storm across large parts of North America hurt business, as moviegoing ranked lower on people's priorities than trying to stay warm, Hollywood insiders said Sunday.

Rosy midweek predictions that ticket sales for the Friday-to-Sunday New Year period would exceed those for the busy Christmas weekend were dashed.

The take for the top 12 weekend films was down from the same weekend last year -- $106.4 million compared to $107.1 million.

"It's like a ghost town in Chicago," Chris Columbus, the director of the weekend's second-ranked film "Stepmom," told Reuters from the blizzard-stricken city.

"Theaters were dark everywhere I went. It literally was completely like the end of the world," he said.

Despite this weekend's cold-inspired slump, movies are thriving generally, thanks in part to the soaring number of screens, said Phil Barlow, president of Disney's Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

"All sorts of records are being shattered. People are going to movies more than they've ever gone," he said.

Final figures were to be released Monday.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.