..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
What's Buzzin'? … Slicin' and Dicin' the Crowds
New Line's remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre proved to have the kindest cut of the marketplace as it arrived with an estimated $29.8 million in its debut. It was a slightly better than anticipated bow and propelled weekend business to a record level for the month.
And while Fox's Runaway Jury was commercially disappointing, the national expansion of Mystic River was formidable and the anticipated slice in Kill Bill Vol. 1 was not as severe as had been anticipated.
Overall business approached $118 million for a 6% improvement on last weekend and a significant 32% expansion from 2002. A year ago The Ring entered the marketplace at $15 million and My Big Fat Greek Wedding did $7.1 million in its 27th week.
TCM was a clear frontrunner entering the weekend with pundits predicting it would perform comparably to last weekend's $22 million debut of Kill Bill and that the latter film would be trimmed by as much as 60%. However, Chainsaw proved more resilient than expected and, unlike recent R-rated genre fare, actually saw business improve slightly on Saturday from opening day. It virtually decimated second weekend business on House of the Dead.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 took a 43% downturn to rank second with $12.6 million and appeared to stave off a more radical plunge by attracting a slightly older, hipper crowd than the incoming power tool wielding maniac. As a result its commercial prospects have been adjusted upward. That unexpected strength ate into Runaway Jury's opening which ranked third with $12.3 million.
Jury was tracking strongest with an older crowd but wound up competing with the critically acclaimed Mystic River. The Clint Eastwood directed social thriller still has to tough it out as its subject matter remains an obstacle. Four star reviews have been an asset and awards from critic's groups may make a significant difference to its on-going vitality.
Mixed to negative reviews pretty much put the kibosh to Buena Vista's Veronica Guerin with a dull $640,000 opening at 462 theaters. The company obviously was not expecting great response but hoped to generate a screen average better than $2,000.
The frame's limited releases had fair returns but fell short of the type of business that presages real commercial momentum. Focus's bio Sylvia grossed a little better than $50,000 from three venues and, like Mystic, has the hurdle of overcoming grim content. MGM's Pieces of April with a $47,200 weekend looks like a film that might easily get lost in the shuffle of product flow despite positive reviews simply because it lacks the sort of easy marketing hooks that make a difference. IDP's The Returner is simply the latest Japanese anima title not to breakout with box office of $31,500 from 13 screens.
Among holdovers, The School of Rock is ample proof of the potency of a crowd pleasing comedy and more than suggests audiences aren't giving the thumbs up to Intolerable Cruelty which dropped by close to 50% in its second weekend. It also appears that Lost in Translation has hit the wall and will have a tough time just holding on until award's season. Meanwhile, Miramax's first expansion of its Sundance-prized The Station Agent was promising and Vitagraph's slow roll out of the very offbeat Bubba Ho-Tep is holding its own against mainstream and niche competition.
Liberte, Fraternite, Screeners!First disclosure: I am a card-carrying, dues paying member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Not surprisingly, the subject of the screener ban was on the agenda of Saturday's meeting of the L.A. film critics. Discussion began with a modest proposal of drafting a statement and soliciting support from fellow critics nationwide. Then a member astutely noted that such a path was conventional and if we truly wanted to make a difference, the appropriate action was to assail the process. The loudest noise we could make was to cancel the organization's annual exercise of award giving.
There is of course danger in responding by taking extreme measures. Many within the industry will view the action as little more than a means to grab headlines by a group composed of pampered, petulant and vindictive people. That thought immediately crossed my mind and forced me to examine my motives and whether to support such an action.
There's no debating that such a course is intended to stir up the pot just as the action by the Motion Picture Association of America was a loud, bold move to send a clear message to Capitol Hill that the country's major movie producers were ready to stop up leaks in its fight against piracy. LAFCA members are affected by the MPAA decision and bristle because it was done without consultation and by implication implies we are part of the problem.
Now, a friend at one of the studios invoked the old saw about one bad apple …and I'm not insensitive to that observation. Still, I fail to see the wisdom of the MPAA's extreme measure being made in a partial vacuum. Those seeking to ban screeners had to be aware that the move would be disruptive to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other organizations that give awards of merit. There appears to be little doubt that its members felt they had to make an immediate preemptive strike rather than seek out allies - particularly those that would feel the effects of the fallout.
The question is why right now?
Theoretically, one might justify alacrity in the face of a clear and present danger. However, to date no one has presented a case that includes a new wrinkle on piracy as a rapidly growing and venal virus. What has been stated is that the film industry cannot afford to see revenues decline in the manner that has occurred in the record industry.
Piracy is obviously not a new concern and I would have to say that the MPAA has been quite diligent about curbing its growth for decades. Impact studies indicate that as a percentage of overall business, losses from illegal activity have remained constant for more than 20 years. At current levels, estimates of $2 billion to $3 billion annually in piracy amount to no more than 7% of the total picture, very significantly less than the double-digit erosion that's hit the record companies.
At the same time, MPAA members continue to experience annual revenue growth for their theatrical releases, particularly in ancillaries and especially in DVD sales.
For a certain type of entertainment, critical acclaim and awards play a major part in the marketing and promotion of those films. It has evolved strategically that serious awards contenders are advantaged by a commercial release in November or December and that's created a fiercely Darwinian environment for the closing weeks of the year, any year. So, about 15 years ago, the majors and independents began to send out video copies of award consideration films as a hedge against exclusion.
In the subsequent decade and a half two significant things have altered the awards landscape. The number of films released annually in the U.S. has increased by more than 30% and those prestige films that used to open in September and October have occurred less often as more and more have migrated into the last eight weeks of the calendar.
I doubt very seriously whether a studio bean counter accurately weighed the potential money diverted from pirates to legitimate dealers as a result of the MPAA action. And, by implication, no accounting was made of the revenues lost by films that were likely to benefit from award recognition but, in the absence of exposure and accessibility, will get lost in the shuffle.
Personally, I cannot truthfully claim that the absence of screeners will mean that come the middle of December, I will be unprepared to vote for the best film achievements of the year as a LAFCA member. However, listening to the situation of other members, I believe them when they assert that without screeners they cannot meet that deadline.
Certainly in the past decade I've fallen into a routine that begins right about now in which I examine all the films that have been released commercially. Invariably, there may be as many as a dozen movies that I missed in theaters but based on reviews and recommendations feel compelled to see for possible voting consideration. The next step had been to phone distributors and request screening copies and, in the past, it's happened with dispatch. But, as of this writing, I will have to change my routine.
From my perspective, the MPAA has had a great triumph. It has brought the issue of intellectual piracy into the consciousness of the industry and public. It's also managed to simultaneously bend the noses of many potential allies out of joint. The final test of its mettle is whether it will be able to arrive at a Solomon-like decision that continues to address the concerns of casual or even unintentional theft and satisfy the real and emotional needs of people to see the important films of the year in a timely fashion.
The dialogue continues, so stay tuned.
Weekend Finals - October 17 - 19, 2003
Title The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 28,094,014 - 3016 28,094,014 Kill Bill Vol. 1 12,424,841 -44% 3102 43,235,778 Runaway Jury 11,836,705 - 2815 11,836,705 The School of Rock 11,006,233 -29% 2951 54,898,025 Mystic River 10,445,547 1530% 1467 13,532,943 Good Boy 8,932,472 -32% 3225 25,713,653 Intolerable Cruelty 6,515,010 -48% 2570 22,720,755 Out of Time 4,002,023 -53% 2344 35,230,719 Under the Tuscan Sun 3,379,245 -31% 1663 33,657,195 The Rundown 2,780,695 -47% 2099 44,518,785 Lost in Translation 1,903,194 -32% 771 20,964,443 Secondhand Lions 1,884,995 -43% 1610 38,406,515 House of the Dead 1,763,212 -69% 1540 8,811,768 The Fighting Temptations 1,034,764 -46% 867 28,773,229 Underworld 900,869 -61% 904 50,503,172 Pirates of the Caribbean 653,715 -36% 493 300,557,571 Veronica Guerin 611,276 - 472 611,276 Finding Nemo 511,514 -18% 455 338,163,432 Luther 378,213 -33% 219 3,731,329 Cold Creek Manor 280,113 -74% 480 20,825,290 Once Upon a Time in Mexico 275,780 -74% 288 55,677,591 The Station Agent 237,399 313% 54 436,785 Seabiscuit 220,215 -30% 277 119,091,925 Matchstick Men 203,178 -77% 314 36,260,522 Freddy vs. Jason 190,248 98% 190 82,163,317 S.W.A.T. 168,472 -27% 197 116,357,927 Freaky Friday 153,121 -48% 259 108,485,036 Cabin Fever 149,684 -59% 172 20,820,830 Sur le seuil 146,638 -39% 61 1,164,524 Wonderland 145,647 174% 79 353,159 Mambo Italiano 139,736 -43% 84 4,967,094 Duplex 127,541 -80% 201 9,517,362 Baghban 126,327 -51% 45 826,298 The Gospel of John 117,495 28% 31 511,730 Bubba Ho-Tep 109,865 19% 22 515,123 Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life 102,416 -17% 177 65,460,388 Space Station 93,240 108% 20 44,255,071 American Wedding 87,835 -15% 144 104,354,205 Jeepers Creepers 2 87,114 -58% 137 35,296,200 Bad Boys II 84,647 -23% 128 138,396,624 Open Range 82,179 -44% 160 57,893,764 The Matrix Reloaded 65,126 -17% 32 281,414,042 Bruce Almighty 62,335 -24% 91 242,589,580 Whale Rider 60,904 -42% 130 20,596,685 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star 60,448 -61% 280 22,523,270 Sylvia 58,940 - 3 58,940 Thirteen 57,819 -60% 78 4,428,906 Dirty Pretty Things 57,199 -43% 56 7,803,048 Step Into Liquid 56,940 -33% 60 3,520,689 My Boss's Daughter 55,974 662% 133 15,494,983 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 55,860 -72% 122 110,945,022 American Splendor 54,973 -49% 86 5,688,932 The Book of Mormon Movie 54,823 9% 29 739,172 Uptown Girls 54,714 -26% 112 37,002,125 My Life Without Me 52,675 43% 39 200,852 Pieces of April 48,422 - 6 48,422 Ghosts of the Abyss 46,839 -24% 20 14,908,385 Bon Voyage 38,682 - 16 38,682 The Italian Job 38,408 -40% 69 106,073,964 Haunted Castle 36,221 18% 4 7,362,992 The Magdalene Sisters 36,179 -47% 62 4,745,995 Casa de los Babys 35,423 -52% 52 378,281 Daddy Day Care 32,714 -35% 74 104,148,781 Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure 30,139 86% 7 15,356,728 Winged Migration 29,869 -47% 39 9,458,265 Returner 29,214 - 13 29,214 La Grande Seduction 29,207 -3% 17 6,568,229 The Medallion 26,330 -39% 63 22,108,977 T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous 24,292 26% 6 46,226,517 Girls Will Be Girls 22,038 53% 11