AS MORE FILMS PASS $100,000,000 THE ONCE-MAGIC NUMBER LOSES MORE OF ITS LUSTER.Byline: Greg GREG Great Egg Harbor National Scenic and Recreational River (US National Park Service) Hernandez Staff Writer The $100 million club isn't is·n't Contraction of is not. isn't is not isn't be nearly as exclusive as it used to be. When the family comedy ``Cheaper By The Dozen'' crossed that box office milestone last weekend, it marked the 26th film released in 2003 to accomplish that feat. In the coming weeks, ``The Cat in the Hat'' could do the same and will likely be followed by ``The Last Samurai'' and ``Something's Gotta got·ta Informal Contraction of got to: I gotta go home. Give,'' bringing the total to an all-time all-time adj. Exceeding all others up to the present time: an all-time speed skating record. all-time Adjective Informal high of 29 $100 million grossers. The previous record in a single year was set in 2002, when 24 movies reached the movie industry benchmark that has always been considered a confirmation of blockbuster block·bust·er n. 1. Something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales. 2. A high-explosive bomb used for demolition purposes. 3. status. But this rapidly growing number of nine-digit earners begs the question: Is $100 million in domestic grosses still the symbol of financial success that it used to be? ``In a sense, $150 million to $200 million is like the new $100 million,'' observed box office tracker Brandon Brandon, city, Canada Brandon, city (1991 pop. 38,567), SW Man., Canada, on the Assiniboine River. The business center of the wheat-raising area of SW Manitoba, Brandon has an extensive trade in farm products and machinery. Gray, editor of Boxofficemojo.com. ``That's in part because of inflated ticket prices and because there are so many more theaters today.'' Box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., attributes the $100 million boom not only to higher ticket prices but also to release patterns that can have a movie opening in more than 3,000 theaters and 7,000-plus screens. This enabled 2002's ``Spider-Man'' to pass $100 million in its first three days while ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' did it in four days last year. ``It's a testament to the strength of marketing and distribution,'' Dergarabedian said. ``They can hit $100 million even before any negative word of mouth.'' Sony Pictures Entertainment Vice Chairman Jeff Blake Jeff Bertrand Coleman Blake (born December 4, 1970 in Daytona Beach, Florida) is a retired American football quarterback who played in the NFL. Although he finished his career with the Chicago Bears, he was formerly a quarterback for the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, New , whose studio released five $100 million-plus grossers last year, points out that it's important to assess the ultimate success of each film individually, factoring in its production and marketing budget as well as its performance internationally. ``One hundred million still can work even for the more expensive pictures under certain circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or ,'' Blake said. ``I can't argue with the fact that maybe $100 million domestically sometimes wouldn't be enough to make a film profitable, but there is a much bigger picture out there now.'' International grosses of such films as ``The Lord of the Rings'' and ``The Matrix'' franchises are as tremendous as their domestic takes. International business was even more important to the bottom line of, for example, Sony's ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Full Throttle can refer to:
Similarly, Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .' ``The Last Samurai'' has lost momentum and will just barely make it to $100 million in the U.S. But the film is expected to perform dramatically better overseas because star Tom Cruise is a huge international draw. In contrast, Universal Pictures' ``Cat in the Hat'' had earned $99,896,160 as of Monday and will also just be crawling across the $100 million mark domestically. Not much is expected of ``Cat'' internationally, although it could score well on DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. where revenue is increasingly matching or surpassing domestic grosses. ``Nothing's easy in this business, particularly when you have a film that appeals to kids and you have that reduced ticket price,'' said Universal's distribution chief, Nikki Rocco. ``You have to sell double the tickets.'' Rocco and others still consider $100 million an important industry milestone to reach. ``It's still a nice, round number, and it's going to be hard to pry people off of that as a significant indicator or benchmark of success,'' Blake said. Gray calls $100 million a ``psychological benchmark.'' ``It's a very strong engine in the whole revenue train,'' he said. ``You can brag about $100 million when you go out on DVD and to other markets. It still has a very strong psychological impact.'' Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes, chart Photo: (color) Steve Martin Noun 1. Steve Martin - United States actor and comedian (born in 1945) Martin stars in ``Cheaper by the Dozen'' Box: (1) $100 million-grossing films released in 2003 (2) 2003 films still likely to cross $100 million Chart: FILMS EARNING MORE THAN $100 MILLION IN REVENUE SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co. Daily News |
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