Back in May record-breaking marketing budgets threatened to drown out anything not hyped to the moon. With 35 movies opening nationwide, at least 10 of which cost around $100 million each, the summer looked ominous. But when confronted with an oppressive number of movies to see, Americans did a strange thing: they went. Hollywood’s profit margins may be shrinking because of the big budgets. But a record number of movie tickets were sold this summer, and now a record number of movies–10–should make $100 million in the United States. Of course, it helped that studios postponed a handful of ““event’’ pictures, turning this fall into a sort of suburb of summer. Says Universal Studios chairman Casey Silver, ““If “Titanic’ had been there, it would have been a lot more crowded. There was a lot less blood on the floor than expected.''
The big change in moviegoing habits is happening at the multiplex, according to Entertainment Data Inc. Now films open on six screens in a single complex, so you can almost always get a seat. ““More people can see these films the weekend they open,’’ says Daniel Wheatcroft, president of the National Association of Theater Owners of California. Yes, movies ““burn out’’ faster, but there’s a stream of would-be blockbusters itching to take their place.
This summer, for all the surprises, a familiar face ended up on top: Steven Spielberg. ““The Lost World’’ will clear $230 million, and ““Men in Black,’’ which was produced by Spielberg’s company, Amblin Entertainment, should take in $250 million in the United States alone. Sony Pictures, which distributed ““Men in Black,’’ has been a perennial loser, but it had an extraordinary summer with ““MiB,’’ ““Best Friend’s Wedding’’ and ““Air Force One.''
Twentieth Century Fox, meanwhile, bottomed out. After delaying ““Titanic,’’ Fox had only ““Speed 2.’’ It cost $140 million and made less than $50 million. At Warner Brothers, ““Batman and Robin,’’ ““Contact’’ and ““Conspiracy Theory’’ all fell short of expectations. The summer’s ultimate lesson may be about hubris and humility. Two hyped sequels bombed, while the underdog ““George of the Jungle’’ became Disney’s most profitable hit. There’s one last surprise: everybody got what he deserved.
