LOS ANGELES -''The Birdcage'' was the nation's top movie choice for the fourth straight weekend, bringing in $10.1 million to hold off three newcomers in wide release.

Only four 1995 movies topped the charts for four straight weekends: ''Legends of the Fall,'' ''Apollo 13,'' ''Seven'' and ''Toy Story.'' The contemporary chart-leading record is held by 1990's ''Home Alone,'' which finished first for seven consecutive weekends.

''Sgt. Bilko,'' starring Steve Martin, finished best of the new films, taking second place with $8.1 million. The re-issue of ''Oliver & Company'' claimed fourth with $4.5 million, while another animated movie, ''All Dogs Go to Heaven 2,'' fared poorly, taking in $2.3 million to finish ninth.

In limited release in 1,134 locations, James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall's ''A Family Thing'' was sixth with $3 million. ''Girl 6'' faltered in its second weekend, slipping 60 percent to 14th with $1 million. ''Flirting With Disaster'' was 18th, earning $706,000 in just 70 locations.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by studio, gross, number of theater locations, receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled by Entertainment Data Inc. and Exhibitor Relations Co. yesterday:

1. ''The Birdcage,'' MGM, $10.1 million, 2,236 locations, $4,520 per location, $74.6 million, four weeks.

2. ''Sgt. Bilko,'' Universal, $8.1 million, 2,304 locations, $3,520 per location, $8.1 million, one week.

3. ''Executive Decision,'' Warner Bros., $6.9 million, 2,289 locations, $3,021 per location, $35.8 million, three weeks.

4. ''Oliver & Company,'' Disney, $4.5 million, 2,180 locations, $2,060 per location, $4.5 million, one week.

5. ''Diabolique,'' Warner Bros., $3.5 million, 1,824 locations, $1,892 per location, $10.7 million, two weeks.

6. ''A Family Thing,'' MGM, $3 million, 1,134 locations, $2,664 per location, $3 million, one week.

7. ''Up Close and Personal,'' Disney, $2.8 million, 1,509 locations, $1,848 per location, $40 million, five weeks.

8. ''Fargo,'' Gramercy, $2.7 million, 596 locations, $4,538 per location, $8.7 million, four weeks.

9. ''All Dogs Go to Heaven 2,'' MGM, $2.3 million, 2,037 locations, $1,108 per location, $2.3 million, one week.

10. ''Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco,'' Disney, $2 million, 1,786 locations, $1,113 per location, $25.5 million, four weeks.

11. ''Dead Man Walking,'' Gramercy, $1.5 million, 771 locations, $1,970 per location, $32.5 million, 14 weeks.

12. ''Jumanji,'' TriStar, $1.31 million, 762 locations, $1,729 per location, $96.6 million, 16 weeks.

13. ''Mr. Holland's Opus,'' Disney, $1.28 million, 1,186 locations, $1,083 per location, $74.9 million, 11 weeks.

14. ''Girl 6,'' 20th Century Fox, $1 million, 1,136 locations, $916 per location, $4.1 million, two weeks.

15. ''Broken Arrow,'' 20th Century Fox, $828,000, 980 locations, $845 per location, $65.9 million, eight weeks.

16. ''Down Periscope,'' 20th Century Fox, $810,000, 967 locations, $838 per location, $22.5 million, five weeks.

17. ''Leaving Las Vegas,'' MGM, $713,000, 527 locations, $1,354 per location, $29.1 million, 23 weeks.

18. ''Flirting With Disaster,'' Miramax, $706,000, 70 locations, $10,084 per location, $937,000, two weeks.

19. ''Sense and Sensibility,'' Columbia, $646,000, 692 locations, $934 per location, $40.1 million, 16 weeks.

20. ''Happy Gilmore,'' Universal, $630,000, 737 locations, $855 per location, $34.8 million, seven weeks.