A doomed
ship, space rocks, combat and
comedy combined to propel
Hollywood to a record year at the
box office, pulling in nearly $7 billion
in North America alone.
The industry reaped the benefits of
"Titanic," which was actually released
in late 1997 but racked up $488
million in 1998. That pushed the
movie's total to a record $600 million
in North America.
So popular was the sinking ship epic
that it was still collecting hundreds of
thousands of dollars a week at the
box office even as the video version
was being released.
Studios also benefited from a wide
range of successful -- though not
record-shattering -- movies, including
11 that grossed more than $100
million and a 12th, "A Bug's Life," that
was likely to hit that milestone this
weekend.
And movie executives cited changes
in exhibition, particularly the increasing
number of megaplexes that offer
dozens of screens, cleaner lobbies
and more comfortable seats.
"Finally, the excellent motion picture
has the opportunity to play in the
excellent theater," said Disney
distribution head Phil Barlow. "I
believe the movies are considerably
better, but the theaters are
tremendously better."
That $7 billion North American total
was an increase of more than 9
percent over last year.
Attendance also jumped more than 5
percent, to 1.46 billion tickets sold,
according to Exhibitor Relations Co.
Inc.
Since 1988, domestic receipts have
surged 56 percent, while the average
ticket price has gone up just 16
percent. Attendance has increased 35
percent, while the population has risen
about 11 percent.
COSTS RISING ALONG WITH
PROFITS
The boom in movie grosses, however,
is being offset by increasing costs. The
average movie cost $53.4 million to
make plus $22.2 million to sell in
1997, and the numbers likely were
higher in 1998.
"We have to continually buck the tide
of increasing costs," said Rob
Friedman, vice chairman of the
Paramount Motion Picture Group.
Still, studio officials are encouraged
by the year-end numbers.
In 1998, Paramount and Disney had
more than $1 billion each in domestic grosses, while 20th Century Fox
topped $730 million and Sony and Warner Bros. each neared $700 million.
Universal, however, had a string of flops that led to a management shakeup.
The Seagrams-owned studio took in only $330 million -- about a 5 percent
market share.
Only one movie passed $200 million -- "Armageddon" with $202 million --
though "Saving Private Ryan" came close with more than $190 million.
Instead, the spoils were spread around to a greater extent than in the past.
Other movies joining the $100 million-plus club were "There's Something
About Mary" ($173.7 million), "Doctor Dolittle" ($144.1 million), "The
Waterboy" ($140.9 million through December 20), "Deep Impact" ($140.5
million), "Godzilla" ($136 million), "Rush Hour" ($133 million), "Lethal
Weapon 4" ($129.7 million), "The Truman Show" ($125.6 million) and
"Mulan" ($120.6 million).
"A Bug's Life" had $96.3 million going into the weekend, with plenty of juice
left in its release.
A wide range of genres scored at the box office. While "Armageddon" and
"Godzilla" did well by offering traditional summer escapism, "Ryan" attracted
a large audience with an unflinching look at war.
And three of the Top 5 movies made people laugh: "Mary," "Dolittle" and
"The Waterboy."
"The big story coming out of this year was that comedies did really well,"
said "Dolittle" producer John Davis. "You had a lot of big-grossing family
kind of pictures that appealed to a little older family audience."