Becker follows 'Rabbit' into niche success
Aboriginal pic lowers Aussie 'Fence'
Director Phillip Noyce's true-life saga of three girls' trek in the 1930s across the Outback to be reunited with their parents, while being pursued by authorities, launches Feb. 21 on more than 90 screens -- a fairly wide release, but a tough date, pitted against the debuts of "Black Hawk Down" and "Ali."
However, exhibs and Becker, which is co-distributing with Ocean Pictures, were encouraged by the response to limited sneaks on 18 screens over the Feb. 9-10 weekend, and are predicting the pic will wind up grossing at least $A5 million ($2.6 million).
"The promotion and publicity have been fantastic," says Greater Union topper Richard Parton. "With an ounce of luck, it could do $A6 million or $A7 million ($3.1 million-$3.6 million), which would be great for the Australian industry."
Becker, which set the release date well before the two Hollywood films were positioned opposite it, believes the pic has a shot at going as high as $5.2 million if it resonates well in outer-suburban and rural areas.
The campaign, which has seen Noyce and the three leads tirelessly tubthump the $6 million-budgeted drama around the country, deals with the "Stolen Generation" of Aboriginal children who were taken from their homes in the mistaken belief they would be better educated and cared for by whites. Miramax acquired domestic rights last year.
Becker Group CEO Richard Becker says the marketing emphasizes the girls' remarkable 1,500 mile journey and avoids preaching or dwelling on what has become a divisive social and political issue in Australia.
After a quiet year in 2001, Becker's two distrib labels, Becker Entertainment and arty sibling Dendy, have rebounded, led by Dendy's "Amelie," which has brought in more than $2.6 million in eight weeks and is still going strong.
"We have at least 12 titles from Becker Entertainment and eight from Dendy over the next 12 months," Becker says.
The mainstream division's slate includes the Mira Sorvino/Mariah Carey vehicle "Wisegirls," which unspooled at Sundance, ribald British comedy "Thunderpants," Aussie laffer "Blurred" and Andie MacDowell starrer "Crush."
Dendy's lineup includes "8 Femmes" (which had a healthy opening last week in its native France), Italy's "The Son's Room" and U.S. indie "Made."
'Subterano' surfaces
After spending much of the past year immersed in post-production and re-shoots on Becker's Australian sci-fi pic "Subterano" (helmer Esben Storm ankled due to creative differences), Becker says the film is finally in shape; and he's planning to release it during school holidays later this year. He expects to close a U.S. deal for "Subterano" imminently and to appoint a foreign sales agent to field the rights for the rest of the world.
Meanwhile, Dendy has just firmed plans to build its first cinema outside the capital cities -- a triplex in the New South Wales' upmarket coastal resort of Byron Bay.
