SONY STEALS SUMMER SPOTLIGHT STUDIO GRABS LION'S SHARE AT BOX OFFICE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

With box-office receipts from Hollywood's record summer now counted, it is clear that the performances of Hollywood's major studios ranged from sensational to disastrous.

It was the summer for Sony Pictures Entertainment, which released a string of blockbusters to snare a 26.6 percent share of the overall $3.79 billion box-office take from films released between May 3 and Labor Day, according to figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co.

Sony began the summer with the history-making success of ``Spider-Man'' ($403.7 million gross) and closed the season with ``XXX,'' now at the $123.8 million mark and still going. In between came the monster hit ``Men In Black II,'' which is nearing $200 million, and the Adam Sandler comedy ``Mr. Deeds,'' which took in $124.6 million during its run.

``It's all about Sony,'' said Exhibitor Relations Co. President Paul Dergarabedian. ``They alone had four summer films over $100 million. There's really not enough adjectives to describe the enormity of that achievement.''

Sony, which distributes films under the Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios and Screen Gems banners, made motion picture industry history last month when it exceeded more than $1.27 billion in box-office sales in one year, setting a new single year record by August.

But Sony had some disappointments, most notably the tepid performance of the expensive ``Stuart Little 2,'' which has brought in $61.9 million.

For second-place Twentieth Century Fox, it had the reliable box-office power of the ``Star Wars'' franchise and Tom Cruise to finish strong. ``Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones'' grossed $300.6 million, making it the second-highest-grossing film in 2002. Still, its numbers were far below those of ``Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,'' which grossed $431.1 million when it was released three years ago.

Fox's ``Minority Report,'' which teamed Cruise with Steven Spielberg for the first time, has grossed $130.6 million to date, making it a solid hit.

``We are delighted with the performance with our core summer movies,'' said Bruce Snyder, Fox's head of distribution. ```Star Wars' is an amazing success story. To come in at 70 percent of the previous movie is pretty good when it comes to a sequel.''

Thanks to the stellar late-summer performance of the suspense-thriller ``Signs,'' Disney finished a strong third for the summer. The film, which has grossed $195.5 million to date, was the only movie all summer that managed to spend three weeks in first place. Also adding handsomely to Disney's coffers was the surprisingly successful animated film ``Lilo & Stitch,'' the summer's seventh-highest grossing picture at $142.1 million.

``On balance, the summer has been terrific,'' said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista Distribution. ``Obviously we've had two real strong performances in 'Signs' and 'Lilo & Stitch.' We're very proud of that.''

Disney's strong summer showing is all the more remarkable considering the fact that the studio endured such box-office misfires as the Chris Rock-Anthony Hopkins comedy ``Bad Company'' and the family film ``The Country Bears.''

Warner Bros. has ``Scooby-Doo'' to thank for its fourth-place finish this summer. The live-action version of the animated classic caught the industry off guard with its $54.1 million opening and overall gross of $152 million. Warners also had an unexpectedly solid hit with ``Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'' ($69 million).

New Line Cinema rounded out the top five with the fewest releases of any of the major studios: two. But when one of those releases is ``Austin Powers in Goldmember,'' it's enough to lift the studio past competitors with far bigger release slates.

``Goldmember'' had a three-day opening of $73 million in late July and hasn't looked back on its way to a $203.4 million gross to date.

In contrast, MGM had the worst summer record. The studio did not have a single film that grossed more than $41 million. Most notable was audience indifference to ``Windtalkers,'' which cost more than $100 million to make and millions more to promote. The movie has grossed $40.5 million.

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SONY SOARS, MGM LOSES ROAR

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.