OFF-SEASON FILMS TURNING PROFIT AT BOX OFFICE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

When 20th Century Fox released ``Ice Age'' last March, few expected it to become the ninth-highest-grossing movie of 2002. After all, who buys tickets for a family movie released in early spring, far outside of the red-hot summer and holiday moviegoing seasons?

As it turned out, a lot of people bought a whopping $176.4 million worth of tickets for the unexpected animated smash. This year, Fox is taking the road less traveled once again when it releases its superhero action movie ``Daredevil,'' a film starring Ben Affleck that traditionally would be found on a summer slate.

Last year, many other movies like ``The Ring'' and ``Sweet Home Alabama'' also benefited greatly from being released outside the glut of high-profile would-be blockbusters that traditionally crowd the movie calendar from early May through early August, then again in November and December.

``By opening your movie at a time which is often considered a down time or a slow time at the box office, sometimes that helps you because you are greeted with less competition,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. ``With all this money at stake, it takes a studio with vision to go against convention and try and release a film in a time period not known for spawning blockbusters.''

But Robert Bucksbaum, president of the box office analysis firm Reel Source Inc., said Thursday that a look at the 2003 release slates of the major studios still find the summer and holiday seasons overly jammed with such big titles as two sequels to ``The Matrix,'' ``Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines,'' ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' ``X-Men 2'' and ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' among many others.

``You would think that a film like 'Ice Age' would have woken up the studios that we don't have to release something like that during the holidays,'' Bucksbaum said. ``But they are still releasing a majority of their most commercial movies during a 12-week period.''

``Everyone thinks 'Daredevil' is a summer movie, but if it went up against 'The Matrix,' or 'X-Men 2,' it would just get obliterated by all the competition,'' he added. ``Fox was smart again like they were with 'Ice Age.' Who would have thought to release a family movie during school session? But school buzz is important.''

Last year, IFC Films' sleeper smash ``My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' was able to get a box office foothold by opening April 19, two weeks before the year's first expected blockbuster, ``Spider-Man,'' took the megaplexes by storm. Universal Pictures also opened ``The Scorpion King'' April 19, and it topped the box office for a few weeks before the summer crop arrived.

Universal also scored by releasing Eminem's film debut ``8 Mile'' in October, and it surprised the industry with a cumulative gross of more than $100 million.

``We wanted to get a jump on the market before the holiday season,'' explained Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution.

Universal will release two promising titles during the first two months of the year: ``The Guru,'' (Jan. 31) starring Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei, and ``The Life of David Gale,'' starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet and Laura Linney (Feb. 21).

``We believe in making films for 52 weeks a year,'' Rocco said. ``We are very excited for 2003.''

Disney also learned the lesson well last year when its January release of ``Snow Dogs,'' a comedy starring Cuba Gooding Jr., proved so popular that it went on to gross more than $80 million.

This year, Disney is rolling out four movies it believes have strong box office potential in early 2003. They are: the suspense drama ``The Recruit'' starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell (Jan. 31); the comedy ``Shanghai Knights,'' a sequel to the hit ``Shanghai Noon'' with Jackie Chan and Luke Wilson reprising their original roles (Feb. 7); the animated ``Jungle Book 2'' (Feb. 14) and the Steve Martin-Queen Latifa comedy ``Bringing Down The House'' (March 7).

``We can start out the year so much better than we are used to,'' said Chuck Viane, Disney's president of distribution. ``We are going to have four real players in the marketplace.''

Bucksbaum points to several examples of blockbuster movies in past years that scored huge grosses during the off-season that would have been clobbered had they been released during the crowded summer or holiday seasons. They include ``Hannibal,'' the 2000 sequel to ``The Silence of the Lambs,'' which holds the record for the biggest February opening ever ($58 million).

Other examples are the highly successful rerelease of the original ``Star Wars'' trilogy during the months of January, February and March 1997.

``If you make the movie, they will come and it doesn't matter when,'' he said. ``Studios are so worried about what's happened in the past. Summer used to be death at the box office, then ``Jaws'' came out in the mid-1970s and that changed the whole game.''

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

MOVIES FOR ALL SEASONS

Daily News