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7 articles from 2000

3 October 2000 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Disney's debut of Remember the Titans (2000) appeared to lift the box office out of a month-long slump, scoring well with audiences in all demographic groups and earning $20.1 million in ticket sales, according to final figures released by Exhibitor Relations Monday. Warner Bros.' reissue of Exorcist, The (1973) also fared well in its second week, taking in $7.2 million, while the critically praised Almost Famous remained in third place with $5.6 million. Although ticket sales for the top 12 films over the weekend were significantly higher than those for any weekend since Labor Day, the total of $53.7 million was 32 percent below the comparable weekend a year ago.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Remember the Titans (2000), Disney, $20, 905, 831, (New); 2. Exorcist, The (1973), Warner Bros., $7, 205, 523, ($17, 671, 975); 3. Almost Famous, DreamWorks, $5, 570, 441, ($17, 833, 970); 4. Urban Legends: Final Cut, Sony, $4, 406, 105, ($14, 678, 251); 5. Bring It On, Universal, $3, 008, 525, ($59, 696, 570); 6. The Watcher, Universal, $2, 280, 260, ($26, 009, 895); 7. Nurse Betty, USA, $2, 072, 981, ($21, 003, 845); 8. Bait, Warner Bros., $1, 731, 888, ($13, 244, 329); 9. What Lies Beneath (2000), DreamWorks, $1, 644, 746, ($150, 596, 856); 10. Beautiful, Destination, $1, 409, 433, (New). Opening in limited release, Christopher Guest's Best in Show (2000) took in $413, 435 in only 13 theaters, a howling $31, 803 per-theater average. The film festival favorite Girlfight earned $197, 904 on just 28 screens, for an average of $7, 068 per screen.

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2 October 2000 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Suggesting that studio execs may have badly overestimated the stay-at-home force of the televised Olympic Games, Denzel Washington's Remember the Titans (2000) opened with a far-better-than-expected $21.2 million -- making it the best opening in Washington's career. The Disney football drama, directed primarily at males, earned a resounding $11, 400 per screen. On the other hand, Sally Field's Beautiful, aimed at women, tanked in its opening with $1.4 million, earning a not-so-beautiful $646 per screen to tie it with the long-running Space Cowboys (2000) for tenth place. Meanwhile, the restored and reedited Exorcist, The (1973), expanding onto 1, 150 screens, remained in second place with $7.4 million, representing $6, 400 per screen, off just nine percent from last week. However, like most teen horror flicks, Urban Legends: Final Cut, last week's leader, plummeted in its second week to fourth place with $4.7 million, a 45-percent drop. DreamWorks' Almost Famous remained in third place with $5.6 million as it expanded into 1, 635 sites.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Remember the Titans (2000), $21.2 million; 2. Exorcist, The (1973), $7.4 million; 3. Almost Famous, $5.6 million; 4. Urban Legends: Final Cut, $4.7 million; 5. Bring It On, $2.9 million; 6. The Watcher, $2.3 million; 7. Nurse Betty, $2.1 million; 8. (tie). Bait, $1.7 million; 8. (tie). What Lies Beneath (2000), $1.7 million; 10. (tie). Beautiful, $1.4 million; 10. (tie). Space Cowboys (2000), $1.4 million.

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26 September 2000 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Had the reissue of Warner Bros.' Exorcist, The (1973) been given a wider release over the weekend, it would have trounced its competition, final box-office figures suggested Monday. Released on only 664 screens, the 1973 horror classic took in $8.2 million, just $300, 000 less than the top grosser, Sony's Urban Legends: Final Cut, which arrived on 2, 539 screens. That works out to $12, 286 per site for Exorcist and $3, 350 per site for Legends. Warner's said it plans to roll out Exorcist, The (1973) in 400 more theaters next Friday and another 400 on the Friday after that (the 13th). DreamWorks, which is also doing a tiered rollout of Almost Famous reaped success with that strategy, as the movie grossed $6.9 million on only 1, 193 screens, an average of $5, 806 per screen. DreamWorks says it plans to add another 500 screens for Famous next weekend.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Urban Legends: Final Cut, Sony, $8, 505, 513, (New); 2. Exorcist, The (1973), Warner Bros., $8, 157, 666, ($8, 431, 437--with limited release on Wednesday); 3. Almost Famous, DreamWorks, $6, 926, 467, ($10, 147, 759); 4. Bring It On, Universal, $4, 275, 380, ($56, 000, 070); 5. The Watcher, Universal, $3, 665, 640, ($22, 758, 200); 6. Bait, Warner Bros., $3, 365, 674, ($10, 576, 895); 7. Nurse Betty, USA, $3, 270, 176, ($18, 025, 661); 8. What Lies Beneath (2000), DreamWorks, $2, 192, 119, ($148, 433, 841); 9. Space Cowboys (2000), Warner Bros., $2, 156, 506, ($85, 072, 147); 10. Woman on Top (1999), Fox Searchlight, $2, 008, 191, (New).

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25 September 2000 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Although the box office rose from its dismal showing last week, the top 12 films together generated just $72 million, more than 30 percent below the same weekend a year ago, when it tallied $107 million. "The Olympics are still drawing away a lot of the audience, '' entertainment analyst Art Rockwell told Bloomberg News. "The studios tend to shy away from releasing any major products." The Hollywood Reporter's box office analyst Brian Fuson commented: "While there was plenty of blood on the screen in the weekend's top films, the real bloodletting is befalling exhibitors and distributors."

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Urban Legends: Final Cut, $8.8 million; 2. Exorcist, The (1973), $8.5 million; 3. Almost Famous, $7 million; 4. Bring It On, $4.2 million; 5. The Watcher, $3.6 million; 6. Bait, $3.4 million; 7. Nurse Betty, $3.3 million; 8. Space Cowboys (2000), $2.2 million; 8. (tie) What Lies Beneath (2000), $2.2 million; 10. Woman on Top (1999), $1.9 million.

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19 September 2000 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The Watcher may have captured the top spot at the domestic box office over the weekend for the second straight time but its $5.7 million in ticket sales indicated that not too many watchers turned out to see it. Indeed, the top 12 films grossed only $38.1 million, down 44 percent from the same weekend last year. While some analysts blamed competition from the Olympics for the poor showing, others pointed out that the studios may have created a self-fulfilling prophecy by assuming that many moviegoers would stay home to watch the TV coverage and dumping the least promising product on the market. Warner Bros.' Bait opened in second place with just $5.5 million, while Disney's Duets, playing on only 581 screens, took in just $2 million. Swimming strongly against the tide was DreamWorks' Almost Famous, which earned $2.31 million on just 131 screens, a sensational $17, 669 average per screen. (By contrast, The Watcher's per-screen average was just $2, 115.)

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Watcher Universal, $5, 805, 680, ($17, 376, 895); 2. Bait, Warner Bros., $5, 485, 591, (New); 3. Bring It On, Universal, $5, 084, 580, ($50, 935, 610); 4. Nurse Betty, USA, $4, 658, 762, ($13, 552, 543); 5. Space Cowboys (2000), Warner Bros., $2, 515, 232, ($82, 202, 221); 6. Cell, The (2000), New Line, $2, 448, 021, ($54, 985, 122); 7. What Lies Beneath (2000), DreamWorks, $2, 406, 524, ($145, 578, 552); 8. Almost Famous, DreamWorks, $2, 314, 646, ($2, 376, 387); 9. Scary Movie, Dimension, $2, 039, 085, ($151, 771, 492); 10. Duets, Disney, $2, 002, 588, (New).

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18 September 2000 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Analysts blamed the Olympics for a 45-percent drop in theater ticket sales over the weekend from a year ago, with the top movie, Universal's The Watcher earning only an estimated $5.7 million and the top 12 films together pulling in only $38.1 million. In second place was the opening of the action-comedy Bait, which garnered just $5.5 million. Veteran entertainment analyst Art Rockwell told Bloomberg News Sunday that September is likely to be a "red-ink month" for theater owners and "the worst third quarter in recent memory." No film has opened with as little as $5.7 million since the weekend of the January 1997 Super Bowl, when ticket prices were notably below what they are today. Other analysts blamed a dearth in quality product for the slowdown. "This is now the eighth down weekend in a row versus the same weekend last year, " Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian told the Associated Press. "This is a time (of year) when people are doing other things. Without a momentum keeping people's interest in moviegoing, you're going to have this slowdown." The well-reviewed Almost Famous defied the downward trend. Opening on just 131 screens, the movie earned $2.3 million -- a sensational per-screen average of $17, 557. Suggesting that word of mouth about the film could produce big figures for it when it opens wider, the film saw a 46-percent increase in business on Saturday from Friday. The studio intends to add about 600 theaters next Friday and another 800-1000 more on Sept. 29.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. The Watcher, $5.7 million; 2. Bait, $5.5 million; 3. Bring It On, $5.1 million; 4. Nurse Betty, $4.7 million; 5. What Lies Beneath (2000), $2.6 million; 6. Space Cowboys (2000), $2.5 million; 7. Cell, The (2000), $2.45 million; 8. Almost Famous, $2.3 million; 9. Duets, $2 million; 9. Scary Movie, $2 million.

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15 September 2000 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Critics are forecasting that audiences are likely to take the bait offered by Bait but aren't likely to be hooked. Most give high marks to the stars of the film, Jamie Foxx and David Morse, but Rita Kempley in the Washington Post bestows no such praise on the script, which she calls, "a haphazard, ham-handed, wholly illogical comic thriller that really ought to be called Hook, Line and Stinker." Jay Carr in the Boston Globe writes similarly, "What's most criminal is the script's waste of actors who deserve better. ... Although slickly directed by music video veteran Antoine Fuqua, Bait ends up seeming pretty wormy." Mike Clark in USA Today takes the metaphor a step further: "If the movies that make 'best lists' are filet mignon, " he writes, "the culinary comparison here probably is bait." And Stephen Holden in the New York Times takes the metaphor a step further yet. He calls the movie "an odoriferous helping of cinematic seafood whose pungency suggests that it has been sitting on the kitchen counter for weeks." On the other hand, Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, finds the movie something of a delicious feast. He calls it "a deadpan action comedy with a little Hitchcock, a little Bond and a lot of attitude. It's funny and clever, and it grows on you."

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7 articles from 2000