SONY'S FILM SLATE FACING TROUBLED TIMES.

Byline: Michael Stroud Bloomberg Business News

Sony Corp.'s Hollywood producers probably won't need an Oscar acceptance speech anytime soon.

The company's Columbia and TriStar studios released a tentative 18-month schedule that's rife with potential flops, analysts and investors say. They point to: ``Buddy,'' about a socialite who raises a gorilla as her son; ``Anaconda,'' whose main character is a murderous reptile; and ``Beverly Hills Ninja,'' about, well, the title says it all.

In an effort to cut its losses - the company wrote off $2.7 billion in 1995 - Sony is poised to eliminate projects.

Many of the roughly 300 movie ventures that ousted studio Chairman Mark Canton put into development for 1998 and later ``will be abandoned'' said Dave Davis, a senior associate with the investment banking firm of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin in Los Angeles.

The company also could sell a stake in its film unit to a rival looking to expand in Hollywood, analysts said. Theoretically, those companies include NBC, PolyGram and New Regency Enterprise.

Sony also could buy a better-managed studio to merge with its own, analysts said.

``It's embarrassing,'' said media stock investor Larry Haverty of State Street Research, which hasn't held Sony shares since 1991. ``They've invested billions and they still don't have a proper return in their film business.''

The Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment company, purchased Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures Co. from Coca-Cola Co. for $3.4 billion in 1989.

Sony President Nobuyuki Idei, in an attempt to turn around the studios, forced Canton to resign last month, the latest of several top executives to go. More resignations are expected, analysts said.

Idei and Canton didn't return telephone calls for comment. A Sony spokesman declined to comment.

Sony, which bought Columbia TriStar from Coca-Cola Co. for $3.4 billion in 1989, ranks last among the six major studios in market share, grossing $277 million on 21 films through the Labor Day weekend. Market leader Walt Disney Co. grossed $671 million on 29 films.

Some Sony films in development for this year and next have potential, though none of them looks like a blockbuster, analysts and investors said.

``Starship Trooper'' - a $90 million venture with Disney - will face tough competition from Universal Pictures' sequel to its hit ``Jurassic Park'' and Warner Bros. next ``Batman'' movie. All three movies are expected to be released in the United States next summer. Sony also is betting on an $80 million thriller called ``Men in Black,'' starring Tommy Lee Jones and slated for June release.

Other possible winners include ``The Mirror Has Two Faces,'' starring Barbra Streisand, and ``Jerry Maguire,'' starring Tom Cruise. Each is expected to gross between $50 million and $100 million, far less than this summer's big hit, ``Independence Day,'' from Fox.

Several more Sony entries are expected by analysts to flop, including ``Absolute Power,'' about a murderous U.S. president and ``Bad Boys 2,'' about two American cops in London.

``The Cable Guy,'' this year's Sony bomb, grossed no more in box office receipts than the $60 million the company spent.

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PHOTO (Color) Barbra Streisand's ``The Mirror Has Two Faces '' is one of few bright spots in Sony's upcoming projects.