Spider-Man & Star Wars To Save The Summer?

[James Harvey]

An interesting article from www.yahoo.com :

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - The Force is with them -- movie theater owners, that is, as well as Jedi Knights.

A major meeting of theater owners joined the current enthusiasm for an economic recovery in 2002 on Thursday with predictions of bullish business prospects and a blockbuster summer led by the new "Star Wars" and "Spider-Man" movies.

"We're very bullish about the future of theatrical exhibition," Peter Chernin, Chief Executive Officer of the Fox Entertainment Group with its 20th Century Fox movie studio, told conventioneers earlier in the week.

Many of the theater owners attending the annual ShoWest convention this week are survivors of cut throat competition and increased spending to build new movie houses in the late 1990s. Those years led most large U.S. chains into bankruptcy and many smaller, family-run businesses to their demise.

But the business battled back in 2001 with a record $8.4 billion box office and a 5 percent rise in admissions to 1.5 billion people, thus helping some large chains recover from their bankruptcy wounds.

Theater owners and equipment suppliers, in general, shared Chernin's enthusiasm, although some of the local and regional chain owners remain concerned about the high number of screens and competition for box office sales from the large chains.

Mark Kamiyama, senior vice president of sales & marketing for Pacer Cats, a maker of point-of-sale computer displays, said in the last two years conventioneers had walked with heads down to avoid eye-contact with various companies selling products from $30,000 projectors to 50 cent popcorn.

But that has changed. Kamiyama said his company has written three or four large deals here at the convention, a dramatic improvement over last year. "There is a different energy, you can feel it," he said.

SUMMER REINFORCEMENTS

Fortified by 2001, theater owners are looking ahead to the summer start on May 3 with Columbia Pictures' "Spider-Man," with Tobey Maguire playing the high-rising comic book hero, and Fox's "Stars Wars: Episode 2 -- Attack of the Clones," on May 16.

They aren't the only films, though, being hyped by movie studios. New Line Cinema has a new "Austin Powers" spy spoof ready for July, and DreamWorks will put up its animated "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" for the Memorial Day holiday.

Paramount has submarine adventure "K19: The Widowmaker," and MGM showed off World War II Epic "Windtalkers." For older audiences in May, Universal Studios screened comedy "About a Boy," with Hugh Grant playing a 38-year-old single man whose life is changed through a friendship with a 12-year-old boy.

Summer is the most lucrative period for the movie industry because the youthful core audience is out of school, and in general, people have more time for leisure activities. There's little doubt that 20th "Star Wars: Episode 2 -- Attack of the Clones," will be one of this year's smash hits.

In 1999, "Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace," in 1999, hauled in some $922 million worldwide, blasting the industry toward a record box office.

Producer Rick McCallum showed early footage for "Clones" with the familiar faces from "Phantom Menace," although young Anakin Skywaker (Hayden Christensen) has grown older and become a Jedi Knight alongside Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Director George Lucas again has raised the bar for digital special effects with futuristic cities teaming with aliens, and McCallum urged audiences to see the film in a theater equipped with a digital projection system.

DIGITAL CINEMA SLOW TO ROLL OUT

That could be difficult, however. In recent years Digital Cinema, with its crisp pictures and bright colors promised by digital projection systems, has been slow to roll out due to its cost and technology issues, as well as the industry slump.

Despite the optimism on the ShoWest convention floor and the apparent loosening of owners' pocketbooks, Digital Cinema is still two or more years away from widespread adoption across the United States, industry sources and conventioneers said.

"Yes, the industry seems strong again, but that doesn't mean Digital Cinema starts tomorrow ... it's going to happen when it's right and not before," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners.

Still, companies like Texas Instruments Inc., Boeing Co. and Technicolor Digital Systems, a venture of Technicolor and Qualcomm Inc., are tuning up their business plans. And photography giant Eastman Kodak Co. entered the arena this year.

Elsewhere, owners of small chains like Chicago-based Nova Cinetech worry the number of screens operated by large chains will hurt their own revenues. Also, as with last summer, many big movies will likely open on a wide number of screens then quickly close. That cuts into theater owner profits.

Still, the family-owned and regional chains say they have a secret weapon, the corporates can't match. "People are walking away from megaplexes because it's impersonal," said George Smiley, co-owner of Nova Cinetech.

So, after several years blanketed by darkness, a light called profits is shining on theater owner fortunes. If the "Star Wars" Force can do what it has in the past, then all will be good in movie Empire -- at least for the early summer.

Comments?

[Jedigreedo]

Episode 2 should be much better than Episode 1, so I'm sure it'll be cranking in much more money.

Star Wars to the rescue! Spidey helps too.

[TheHuntressDiana]

I'm looking forward to seeing your friendly neighborhood wall crawler in a few months.

I just don't know if I'll have time to see the movie opening weekend (I'll be in Indy for the Star Wars Celebration2)...so I may have to wait 'til the next weekend.

But the last trailer for it was quite good...as well as the one where you

Spoiler:

can see the little hairs on his fingertips up close.

As for Episode 2...I'm very excited. It's Star Wars, how could I not be? But this one promises to be darker and not cutsey like Episode 1.

I'm just going to be all giddy and estatic to see all the Jedi and the Jedi battles! Man...it's gonna rock!!

[James]

As much as the summer presents SW and Spidey, it's the winter season line up I'm looking foward to.

Lord Of The Rings, JB 20, Star Trek X (in the UK I believe is scheduled for a winter release), Harry Potter... I think there is a rather nifty line up which doesn't rely on the multi million cash cow that the parents named 'George'.

SW has now been infected with the emotion named 'disappointment'. Before SW:TPM I'd never doubted the strength of SW and while I'm sure AOFC will be better, the franchise is now tinged...

Spidey will be interesting but I doubt there will be much there beyond eye candy.

Roll on winter!

[Web Head]

SW has now been infected with the emotion named 'disappointment'. Before SW:TPM I'd never doubted the strength of SW and while I'm sure AOFC will be better, the franchise is now tinged...

I will personally guarantee all doubters that if you go into Attack of the Clones with an open mind (i.e. not a blinding Jar Jar induced rage) you will have your faith restored anew.

Everything I hear about this movie is positive, even from the most bitter cynics. Star Wars will recapture it's magic this summer.