HOT INDIES COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer Theater space for independent films has historically been limited to the art-house circuit. But with the quick fade this summer of some big-budget films, such as ``King Arthur'' and ``Catwoman,'' more room is being made in the big movie houses for small-budget indies Indies: see East Indies; West Indies. like ``Napoleon Dynamite'' and ``Garden State.'' ``When you have these high-profile casualties, it frees up some of the shelf space and there's no question that creates an opportunity for some of these smaller films,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., a box office tracking firm. ``If every one of the big summer movies from the major distributors did well and held in the marketplace for a protracted pro·tract tr.v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts 1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. 2. period of time, they would be taking up a lion's share of the screens.'' Studio blockbusters typically bow in 2,000 to 3,000 theaters on opening weekend. In contrast, ``Napoleon'' opened in six locations back in June while ``Garden'' bowed two weeks ago in nine. Box office analyst Robert Bucksbaum, president of Reel Source Inc., said the big multiplexes are showing far more interest in independent product these days. ``You are seeing a trend where the big multiplexes are not just playing the mainstream movies, they are reserving a few screens here and there for independents that do well,'' he said. ``In the past, you wouldn't even see an independent movie in the summertime. Now, if they can make room in their schedule and come off a film early to play an independent, they'll do it.'' ``Napoleon,'' for example, benefited greatly by being booked early on at the AMC (Advanced Mezzanine Card) See AdvancedTCA. 30-screen multiplex See multiplexing. at the Block of Orange where it was out- grossing such mainstream comedies as ``Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' and ``Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.'' ``AMC and other circuits saw that so it gave us an entree to go into the other large commercial theaters,' said Steve Gilula, president of distribution at Fox Searchlight searchlight, device, usually swiveled, using a lens and reflecting surface to direct a powerful beam of light of nearly parallel rays. In 1892 such apparatus was used along the English Channel in coastal defense and later, in the South African War, as an aid to , which released the film. Searchlight had released ``Napoleon'' in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of with little fanfare. But word of mouth on the quirky quirk n. 1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy: "Every man had his own quirks and twists" Harriet Beecher Stowe. 2. comedy was excellent from the start and it has steadily gained screens since then. It is currently playing in 546 theaters, 123 of which were added just last week and Searchlight plans further expansion throughout the month. ``We knew it was an independent film opening and expanding against all these mega studio movies so we wanted to assess how much momentum we'd get,'' Gilula said. ``It does have the potential to go to possibly 1,500 locations or more.'' ``Napoleon'' is slowly making its way toward the box office top 10, finishing in 13th place last weekend with $1.7 million in ticket sales. It has grossed $12.5 million to date. ``It's quite an extraordinary phenomenon,'' Gilula said. Also released by Searchlight, ``Garden State'' expanded to 35 screens last weekend and has grossed nearly $1 million so far. It had a stellar per-screen average of $14,616, nearly double the average for the weekend's No. 1 film, ``Collateral.'' ``Garden'' will expand to more than 150 theaters this weekend, then to at least 500 locations later in the month. Lions Gate Entertainment
``Open Water'' had a strong $1 million opening last weekend despite being in only 47 theaters. The drama about a couple of scuba divers Several; any number more than two; different. Divers is a collective term used to group a number of unspecified people, objects, or acts. It is used frequently to describe property, as in divers parcels of land. stranded in shark-infested waters will go into wide release Aug. 20. ``It's a great opening and we feel it sets up the wide release really well,'' said Steve Rothenberg, Lions Gate's executive vice president of distribution. Still, Bucksbaum said it's usually not easy for theater owners to change courses midstream mid·stream n. 1. The middle part of a stream. 2. The part of a course that is neither at the beginning nor at the end: the midstream of life. Noun 1. if a major studio release is tanking and a smaller independent is surging although multiplexes can move a bomb to a smaller theater. ``You usually got fixed terms for how long you can hold a film,'' he said. ``You can get out of them but the general practice is once you book a film, you aren't going to get rid of it in one week. It's a difficult scenario; you are always treading treading a part of a restlessness syndrome or a neurosis in ruminants or horses; the patient repeatedly changes weight from one limb to the opposite of the pair, lifting the hoof slightly at each change; the action looks as though the patient is treading grapes to make wine. water on what to do in these situations.'' Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Word of mouth on ``Napoleon Dynamite'' was excellent from the start and it has steadily gained screens since then. |
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