MPAA'S CHIEF: 2004 'HEALTHY'.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS - New Motion Picture Association of America President and CEO Dan Glickman gave an upbeat take on the state of the industry at the 2005 ShoWest convention Tuesday, despite having to report flat domestic grosses and a slight dip in movie admissions last year.

There were 1.54 billion tickets sold, a 2.4 percent drop from 2003, but Glickman noted that the 2004 domestic box office figure of $9.54 billion marked the third straight year the figure had surpassed the $9 billion milestone. The overall grosses were boosted by a 3 percent hike in the average ticket price of $6.21.

``The bottom line is that the industry is healthy, the trends are positive,'' said Glickman, who took over for longtime MPAA head Jack Valenti in September. ``Our fan base is loyal, and frequent movie-goers are seeing a lot more films.''

Frequent movie-goers, identified as people who see movies at least once a month, increased by 12 percent from 2003, while the number of people who never hit the megaplex dropped by 3 percentage points. While domestic box office merely stayed the course, foreign box office jumped to $15.7 billion last year, a dramatic 40 percent increase from 2003.

In a state-of-the-industry address, Glickman also reported that MPAA member studios, which include Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Universal, Paramount, Fox and MGM, are spending an average of $98 million to make and market a movie, down almost 5 percent from 2003. This is based on the 483 films released by the MPAA studios in 2004. While the average budget for a major studio film remained at $63.6 million - the same as the previous year - the studios' marketing costs decreased by a surprising 12 percent to $34.4 million.

The studios spent less on television spots and newspaper advertising, while there was increased spending on movie trailers and on Internet marketing. The drop in marketing costs caught many industry observers by surprise.

``I've been (at ShoWest) since 1988, and marketing costs have gone up without fail,'' said Robert J. Dowling, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter, a trade publication. ``For me, it seems positive that the studios have gotten control of an expense that seemed to be out of control.''

Glickman was given a warm welcome by attendees at ShoWest, where studios and theater owners gather each year for conferences, movie previews and a trade show.

``(Valenti) headed this organization for an amazing 38 1/2 years,'' Glickman said at the start of his remarks. ``He's just an amazing guy. He still kind of quietly gives me advice. Sometimes, not so quietly.''

John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, introduced Glickman to the convention Tuesday. In a separate address, he reported that the number of movie screens in the United States rose by 657 last year, to 36,652 screens. He cautioned theater owners on the dangers of overbuilding, which led to oversaturation in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

``It concerns me that U.S. screen count climbed in 2004,'' Fithian said. ``To maintain profitability levels, theater companies must close older properties as fast as they open new ones.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com