Warner hit 'Fugitive' propels its distribution arm into top of field.

Warner Bros. tops this week's first-ever List of the 15 largest motion picture distribution companies by raking in $909.3 million in domestic ticket sales for 1993 and by capturing an 18.2 percent of the domestic market share for that year. Distribution companies are the entities which sell motion pictures to theaters.

Warner's No. 1 ranking came as a surprise to nobody. The Burbank-based distribution arm of Warner Bros. Pictures has captured the lion's share of the market for the past three years running.

Last year Warner won the battle for the box office with just one mega-hit, "The Fugitive," and a strong line-up of films that made a respectable showing at the box office. Some of Warner's "best supporting" films for 1993 were "Free Willy," which brought in $77 million at the box office, and "Dave," which added $63 million to Warner's coffers.

Close on the heels of Warner is Buena Vista Pictures Distribution Inc., distributor for Walt Disney Co., which trailed last year with $808.1 million in ticket sales, equal to 16.2 percent of the market.

Last year, Warner and Buena Vista battled it out for the top spot at the box office and 1994 will probably not be much different. Disney held the lead for the first couple of months of 1994 but has since been replaced by Warner.

As of the end of May, before Memorial Day weekend which officially kicks off the summer film season, Warner held a 19.1 percent market share for the first five months of 1994, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The trade publication pointed to the hit film "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" as Warner's top performer so far this year. That film, at $71.2 million, remains the biggest 1994 release to date.

Earlier in the year, the Business Journal reported that Buena Vista President Richard Cook predicted a record year for the Disney distributor in 1994. Cook stated in an interview in February that Disney has a chance to reach $1 billion in box office receipts in 1994.

In the next few weeks, the war will heat up as the summer box office battle really gets going. Warner's "Maverick" has fared well in its opening weeks. The western opened on May 20 and had made a total of $74.64 million as of June 20.

Disney's big hope for the summer, "The Lion King," began its run a few weeks ago. The animated feature opened in two theaters on June 15, Radio City Music Hall in New York and the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, and between the two took in over $2 million by June 19.

The appearance of several independent studios in the top 10 warrants a mention. The largest of the independents is New York City-based New Line Cinema. Though New Line executives were quick to point out that the company has been around for nearly three decades, it only recently had its first string of big box office hits.

New Line gained fame in recent years for producing the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series of horror films. New Line's more recent hits include "Loaded Weapon One" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

Such films made the company a player in Hollywood and captured the attention of media mogul Ted Turner. On Jan. 28, New Line merged with Turner Broadcasting Systems. The new relationship promises to make New Line bigger and better than ever.

Lynne explained that the merger provided both companies with new capabilities because New Line is skilled in production and distribution, while Turner is an end user of film products. Turner also owns the MGM library, and New Line plans to use the licensed material contained there.

New Line's new strategic plan, which was put into effect immediately after the agreement, is to deliver films that will appeal to broader audiences. The first will be a remake of an MGM film called "The Women," which will star Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan.

"I certainly have every intention to see New Line move up in the (theatrical movie) market share ranks as we are able to deliver more and more successful productions to the market," said Bob Shaye, New Line's chief executive officer.

Most independent distributors on The List have relationships with "corporate angels" similar to New Line's link with Turner. Most are owned by major motion picture studios with deep pockets, which has solved the main problem facing independent film companies -- financing.

But as Cece Horwitch, spokeswoman for Miramax Pictures stated, "independents" owned by studios are still referred to as "independents" because they operate without input from the parent company. The only exceptions in the independents' ranks are Samuel Goldwyn Co. and Savoy Pictures, which are both publicly traded.