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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: First Film Released In 1,000 Theatres
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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 08-05-2003 05:13 AM
quote:
I ran the summer '82 SW:ANH at the drive-in. I ran ESB in its summer '81 re-release.
So what you're saying is: if you didn't run it, then it never happened?! ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Just so this doesn't become a point of contention in the future...
Pre-Special Edition, Original Trilogy re-releases:
Star Wars:
July 21, 1978*
August 15, 1979
April 10, 1981
August 13, 1982
The Empire Strikes Back:
July 31, 1981
November 19, 1982
Return Of The Jedi:
March 29, 1985
(preceded on 3/28 with nine-city triple feature)
*final seven weeks of original release....an "extended first-run" or "saturation mop-up run" with then-record 1,700+ prints, which I exempted from my original question due to feeling this was a special case: the movie ended with over 1,000 prints but didn't open with that many. I was curious about which movie opened with a nationwide, saturation-type release with over 1,000 engagements.
There were also some selected-market double and triple features at various times, mostly between '82 - '84.
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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays
Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 08-05-2003 08:41 PM
Steve said: quote:
The original Billy Jack was four-walled with saturation advertising
Yes, Steve, only it wasn't to save on prints -- in those days, most movies only ever had a handful of prints struck to begin with (comparitively speaking). Laughlin's biography describes how, after WB failed to promote the movie as well as he thought they should have, he bought the movie back from them so he could four-wall it. And the rest is history.
"The Trial of Billy Jack" was Laughlin's baby all the way, and he released it himself through his Taylor-Laughlin Corp. He was the first one to do a national advertising campaign on a single movie, opening in mulitple theatres across the country simultaneously. He related how he stood in a warehouse, amongst the many hundreds of new prints of "Trial", and wondered if he'd made a huge mistake.
I recall it was close to 1,000 prints (of a 9 reel movie!)... a record print order at the time.
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Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-12-2003 02:17 PM
Thr Trial of Billy Jack opened on November 13, 1974, in what Variety claimed "may be the largest national saturation launch of any pic in memory." It opened on 1300 screens and grossed $11 million. The total U.S. gross was $35 million or so in the United States. While Tom Laughlin 4-walled the film, WB handled the distribution chores.
One has to remember when comparing box-office gross to rentals, the distributor share has grown tremendously in recent years, now hovering, as Michael Coate stated, around 60 percent. However, back in the mid-70's, the aggregate rental (when all engagements of all kinds of films, (A, B, C, drive-ins, 1st, second, third, sub-runs, and second feature status) added up, the figure was around 37 percent. Of course, blockbuster films commanded more.
By opening Jaws wide, however, Universal did not get a lot of prime theatres, who refused to play films on a non-exclusive basis. In Hollywood, for example, it played the Pix Theatre, off the beaten path (by a few blocks). In San Francisco, it played the Coliseum, another theatre not in the major-tier of locations.
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Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-13-2003 10:34 PM
quote:
Jaws was the first film to top the $100,000,000 mark thus becoming the first summer blockbuster.
According to IMDB, the U.S. rental on SOM was 79.9 million, just where Michael Coate said it was. This translated to a box office gross of $163,214,286. Assuming this figure is correct, the vast majority of it would have been earned prior to the release of Jaws (SOM's last really big national re-issue was in 73-74).
Doctor Zhivago earned $60,954,000 in rentals from a domestic box-office of $111,722,000. Again, no really large re-issue happened after the era of Jaws.
IMDB also shows Gone With the Wind earning $79,375,000 from a total U.S. gross of $191,749,436. Surely at least $100 million of this came in before 1975.
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Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-13-2003 11:19 PM
quote:
Jaws was the first film to top the $100,000,000 mark thus becoming the first summer blockbuster.
According to IMDB, the U.S. rental on SOM was 79.9 million, just where Michael Coate said it was. This translated to a box office gross of $163,214,286. Assuming this figure is correct, the vast majority of it would have been earned prior to the release of Jaws (SOM's last really big national re-issue was in 73-74).
Doctor Zhivago earned $60,954,000 in rentals from a domestic box-office of $111,722,000. Again, no really large re-issue happened after the era of Jaws.
IMDB also shows Gone With the Wind earning $79,375,000 from a total U.S. gross of $191,749,436. Surely at least $100 million of this came in before 1975.
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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 08-14-2003 03:12 PM
Paul wrote:
quote:
According to IMDB, the U.S. rental on SOM was 79.9 million, just where Michael Coate said it was.
Except that I didn't get the figure from the IMDb. I prefer not referencing that site whenever possible. Or when I must, I try to find a second source.
quote:
This translated to a box office gross of $163,214,286.
That would mean the film's rental wasn't even 50 percent of the gross.
quote:
Assuming this figure is correct, the vast majority of it would have been earned prior to the release of Jaws
True, although the question here is whether it hit $100 million in its initial release, which I would define as both the roadshow/reserved seat engagement run and the general release that followed.
quote:
(SOM's last really big national re-issue was in 73-74).
The Sound Of Music also had a summer 1978 re-release, and although that was after the release of Jaws, I suspect that release's boxoffice tally is included in the figures we've been throwing around.
Darryl wrote:
quote:
The issue is this. The numbers that they used to report Jaw's breaking the hundred million mark. Did they use theater rental numbers or like they do today did they use the full total gross.
It would have been the full gross. The trades generally reported the full boxoffice take in their weekly articles and news items. Variety also had an annual (and semi-regular) listing of the all-time boxoffice champs, and that listing was typically ranked according to the rental rather than gross.
quote:
Well, I know Mike is looking into this as we write.
Watch this space for an update in a few days.
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