Holidays light up 2000 B.O.
Year grosses $7.45 bil as Mouse leads way
Receipts totaled a boffo $181.8 million over the New Year's frame, according to estimates from B.O. tracker ACNielsen EDI.
If those numbers hold up, 2000 grosses would total $7.45 billion, EDI projected, up 2% from $7.31 billion in 1999.
Disney plowed its way to victory in annual market share, its third straight win and seventh in the past 11 years. (The studio was runner-up in the four years it didn't win.)
The Mouse House margin of victory over tenacious Universal looked to be a slim $9 million -- and U released seven fewer pics. Disney managed to cling to the lead despite a mixed holiday season and a top-grosser ("Dinosaur") whose commercial exploits hardly inspired awe.
"We do everything with consistency," said Chuck Viane, Disney's distrib chief. "We didn't seem to have the big blockbusters this year, just a whole bunch of $50 million and $60 million pictures."
DreamWorks dazzles
Like late-charging Universal, DreamWorks also had the best year in its history, thriving on summer smashes "Gladiator," "Chicken Run" and "What Lies Beneath."
Record-setting receipts are always welcome, especially the eighth straight year of them. But the industry's difficult summer -- which dipped 5% from '99 in the first year-to-year drop since 1992 -- plus ongoing struggles in the specialized marketplace kept the year-end mood subdued. The year-to-year gain in 2000, though encouraging, was the smallest since 1995. And though estimates differ, the consensus is that tickets sales were slightly down for the year.
"Say what you want, but the total measure of dollars is the best ever," noted Dan Marks, VP of B.O. tracker ACNielsen EDI. "The product was a little thin in the middle of the year, but the public for the most part responded to the movies."
Exhibs darken horizon
One cloud darkening distribs' outlook was the ongoing strife in the exhibition realm. Top circuits United Artists, Carmike, General Cinemas and Edwards filed for bankruptcy in 2000, with giants Regal and Loews teetering on the brink.
After enduring a cool summer and a bleak September, studios had to make up a lot of ground in the fourth quarter. The B.O. entered November roughly even with 1999, but the closing weeks offered a raft of potent entries. "Meet the Parents" opened the door in October, while "Charlie's Angels," "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "What Women Want" and "Cast Away" dominated the last two months of the calendar.
U's "The Grinch" wound up the year's top title, followed by Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2." Those were the only two pics to surpass $200 million, though 19 films are apt to crest $100 million, one less than the record of 21 set in 1999.
The volatility in 2000 contrasted with 1999, when several clear winners -- "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace, " "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," "Toy Story 2," "The Sixth Sense" -- put the industry on a positive track starting in May and in cruise control by autumn. In 2000, grosses in May stood 10% ahead of 1999 levels. But by September, they lagged by 1%.
Soft in the middle
The middle months also were noteworthy for a 15% decline in specialized B.O., which was only partially erased by the end of the year.
With film fests lauding commercially risky pics and arthouse divisions' risk-reward ratios redlining, there were no "Full Montys," "Shines" or "Blair Witch Projects" to be found. The kings of the limited-release arena were U's "Billy Elliot" from Universal Focus and "Best in Show," a mockumentary from Warner Bros.
In the end, 2000 brought a succession of highs and lows for the film biz. Here are some seasonal snapshots:
WINTER
Carryover business defined much of the early going, with "American Beauty" and "Cider House Rules" riding Oscar noms to extra dollars.
Hit new releases included New Line's "Next Friday," Par's "Snow Day," Warner Bros.' "The Whole Nine Yards" and Miramax's "Scream 3." Billed as the final "Scream," latter bowed to $34.7 million, then a record for an R-rated pic. It wound up with $89.1 million, tops of any winter release.
Sony's "What Planet Are You From?" proved one of the biggest flops of all time. The Mike Nichols-helmed comedy cost nearly $60 million to produce but opened to $3 million, about half of its dismal final cume.
Overall winter receipts totaled $1.1 billion, up 9% from 1999.
SPRING
Universal's "Erin Brockovich" kick-started the season with a $28.1 million bow in the third frame of March. The Julia Roberts starrer went on to tally $125.6 million and staked out a spot as the year's first bona fide Oscar contender.
Disney's "Mission to Mars" launched well ahead of Warners' similarly themed "Red Planet," but neither made much headway given the hype about their race to the screen. "Mission" took in $60.8 million, while "Red" melted down on the launch pad, mustering only $17.1 million after a November bow.
Strong showings from U's "U-571" and Par's "Rules of Engagement" helped the season finish with $1.3 billion, up 8% from the '99 spring.
SUMMER
After opening to a robust $34.8 million, "Gladiator" sported the best legs of any pic all year. Opening frame ended up comprising 19% of its $186.6 million final cume, far below the industry average of 34%.
Star power from Tom Cruise -- back in a familiar action role after an arty spell in "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Magnolia" -- propelled "Mission: Impossible 2." Its eye-popping Memorial Day screen count of 3,653 set a record, as did its staggering $70.8 million launch.
Fox's "X-Men" and Miramax's "Scary Movie" each scored without big stars. "X" inaugurated a franchise with $156 million, as did the $20 million-budgeted "Scary" with $155.8 million.
A record spree of 2000 animated pics had its iffiest results during the summer. The highest-grossing toon was "Dinosaur," but Disney spent so heavily on its production that a $137 million domestic result was hardly cause for jubilation. Fox's far worse toon fiasco, "Titan A.E.," hastened studio topper Bill Mechanic's ankling.
U's "Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" joined "Titan" as the other big summer goof, becoming the odd pic out during a memorable July Fourth melee. That five-day holiday frame boasted the industry's first head-to-head July Fourth battle between two megabudget, heavily marketed tentpoles.
Most of the betting money -- not to mention the tracking -- was on the proven draw of Mel Gibson in Sony's "The Patriot." But Warners' George Clooney starrer "The Perfect Storm" scored an upset, doubling its rival's opening and redeeming a WB summer that began with a colossal dud, "Battlefield Earth."
At $2.7 billion, summer 2000 was the second best on record, but still fell 5% from the heights of 1999.
FALL
After DreamWorks' "Almost Famous" fizzled, U's "Meet the Parents" and Sony's "Charlie's Angels" filled the fall void. "Parents," a co-venture with DreamWorks, enjoyed four straight frames at No. 1.
Disney's "Remember the Titans" became just the second career $100 million grosser for star Denzel Washington and pulled off the difficult feat of selling megaplex auds a tale about racism and football.
Fall flops came in expensive packages, helping overall grosses slip 8% from 1999 to about $1 billion.
New Line's "Little Nicky" underperformed so badly that parent Time Warner blamed it for poor fourth-quarter results. The Adam Sandler vehicle cost $85 million due to superfluous special effects, yet grossed a paltry $39 million. DreamWorks' "The Legend of Bagger Vance" cost upward of $70 million to produce, but saw its Oscar hopes wither along with its grosses ($31 million). Another pricey Oscar also-ran was Warner Bros.' "Pay It Forward," which ran out of steam at $32 million.
HOLIDAY
With the exception of Sony's "The Sixth Day," Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove," Warner's "Proof of Life," holiday pics seemed to be sprinkled with B.O. fairy dust. The 2000 season set a record with an estimated $1.3 billion, up a startling 18% from the year-earlier holiday span.
"The Grinch's" heart grew three sizes during the season. Despite everything stacked against it -- a $130 million-plus cost, 34% of the gross out, risks of marketing overload -- the Jim Carrey pic truly delivered. It was headed toward $255 million by the end of 2000, far more than most pundits expected.
Lukewarm reviews were overcome by a marketing assault that included a tie-in with the U.S. Postal Service. Holiday mail, in addition to soda cans, billboards and the like, displayed the "Grinch" brand.
The season's other surprise, on a much smaller scale, was Sony Classics' "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The Ang Lee-helmed martial arts saga had a kudos aura over it as 2000 ended. Despite playing only in select cities, it has collected $14 million.
Mel Gibson starrer "What Women Want" did its part to boost the 2000 total. Par's romantic comedy set a December record with its $33.6 million launch.
B.O. behemoth Tom Hanks did Gibson one better with "Cast Away," a co-venture between Fox and DreamWorks. Desert-island drama's $39.8 million four-day bow set a Christmas weekend mark and quickly became Hanks' sixth straight $100 million grosser.
