Now Playing: Sequels and Remakes
By MERISSA MARR
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 22, 2004; Page R7
Long considered a gambler's pursuit, the movie industry has a modern-day lucky charm: the digital video disc.
DVDs are showering Hollywood with profits, easing the pain of some films that would otherwise be flops and allowing studios to rationalize ever-higher movie budgets. But even as the industry basks in its DVD success, Hollywood already is setting the stage for the battle to determine what will replace it.
1. DVD: THE SEQUEL
These days, only six in 10 movies make a profit at the box office. DVDs go a long way to mopping up the mess left behind by the other four. For hits like this year's "Spider-Man 2" or "Shrek 2," a studio can easily make as much, if not more, from DVD sales as from the box office.
Last year, DVD sales grew 43%, according to Adams Media Research, Carmel, Calif. Such phenomenal growth won't continue indefinitely, of course. So the industry is already rolling up its sleeves for the inevitable fight over what will replace the silver disc.
The immediate focus will be on the next generation of DVDs: high-definition discs that promise sharper pictures and better sound. Already, the battle lines are being drawn, and the format battle may get as messy as the 1980s VCR struggle between VHS and Betamax. A group led by Sony Corp. is pushing one format, known as Blu-ray, while a consortium led by Toshiba Corp. is developing another.
Aside from Sony Pictures, which is following the lead of its corporate parent, the studios so far have been hedging their bets. In the coming months, however, they're likely to start making some decisions about which format to use.
2. BATTLING THE PIRATES
Another war is brewing in Hollywood -- this time against piracy. The next year will see studios turning up the volume, especially with a new leader in place at the Motion Picture Association of America after the decades-long reign of Jack Valenti.
Critics say the studios have been too slow off the mark and are falling into the same complacent trap as the music industry, which has been dogged by piracy. Downloading of movies historically has not been as easy as music, given the sheer size of the files. But a study released by the Motion Picture Association of America in July showed that one in every four Internet users had tried downloading a movie. As high-speed Web service expands, that will only get worse -- and physical copying of DVDs is already rampant.
For their part, movie studios are lobbying for more aggressive legislation and campaigns to educate the public. Last week, the studios filed a first batch of lawsuits against individuals who illegally share movies online. Technology companies, meanwhile, say that such strong-arm tactics will have little impact, and that the only way forward is to develop low-cost alternatives.
Among some of the more elaborate piracy-busting techniques: Secret cameras and camcorder-jamming technology are being developed for cinemas to crack down on the most damaging source of piracy, illegal recording of movies with camcorders.
3. THE BIG BANG
The release of big event movies has started to follow a common pattern: a big bang the first weekend, followed by a massive drop in sales as new movies quickly hit the theaters. Part of the problem is that scores of movies are being crammed into just a few months of the year when kids are on vacation. So to stand out from the crowd, studios are having to retool their marketing.
"The industry has been selling movies the same way for a long time; we need to find more inventive ways to reach the audience," says Hutch Parker, president of production at News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, which earlier this year forged a partnership with a shopping-mall owner to promote its movies exclusively.
One tactic the industry is likely to see more of is the extended sample. General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures led the way this year with a 10-minute clip of "Dawn of the Dead" (trailers are normally 30 seconds long). The studio struck a deal with USA Networks to show the first 10 minutes during a commercial break for its showing of the horror movie "Final Destination."
For "Spider-Man 2," Sony formed an alliance with NBC to embed a two-minute trailer more densely into programming so that it became an event in its own right. For example, on the penultimate episode of "The Apprentice" last season, the trailer was promoted with banners including: "up next, the Spider-Man trailer." Then just before Donald Trump fired someone, the trailer was aired during the commercial break.
4. SHOW ME THE FRANCHISE
If there was ever an example of why studios need franchises, it's "Spider-Man." After the monster splash of the first movie, "Spider-Man 2" topped $780 million at the box office this summer. Add to that the DVDs, Spidey dolls and other Web-related paraphernalia, and Sony has a multibillion-dollar property on its hands.
Spurred by such riches, studios are chasing the franchise dragon harder than ever, and the coming year has a multitude of contenders. There's the revival of an old franchise: "Batman Begins." There are adaptations of the comic book "Fantastic Four" and C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." There's also the movie version of the children's cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants," among other potential sequel machines. Meanwhile, Time Warner Inc.'s New Line Cinema, the studio behind the "Lord of the Rings" series, hopes to sow the seeds of a successor franchise with the fantasy adventure "His Dark Materials."
"It's clear that audiences like comfort entertainment, with characters they're familiar with and continued storylines," says Bob Shaye, co-chairman and co-CEO of New Line Cinema. "It's like the feeling you got with comic strips as a kid."
5. YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS
Hollywood's desire for safe bets also is fueling a revival in remakes. As budgets soar, studios have been digging deeper into their catalog of old movies for titles to recycle. The theory goes: If it worked once, it'll work again.
"Studios make up to 30 new products a year with little advance test marketing," says Stacey Snider, chairman of Universal Pictures. "In the mix to control risk, it's certainly better if some of those have some kind of built-in brand awareness."
The coming months will bring, to name a few, "Flight of the Phoenix," with Dennis Quaid in the James Stewart role; "The Longest Yard," with Adam Sandler in place of Burt Reynolds; and "The Pink Panther," with Steve Martin in the Peter Sellers role.
But as a number of this year's offerings showed, it's not easy to squeeze a blockbuster out of a remake. Recent remakes of "The Manchurian Candidate," "The Stepford Wives" and "The Ladykillers" were all box-office disappointments.
6. FEAR FACTOR
Horror is making another comeback. The success of movies like this year's "Dawn of the Dead" and "The Grudge" took executives by surprise. And now producers can barely pitch a movie without being asked whether they have a horror picture in the works. Coming up in the next few months: "The Ring 2," a remake of the "The Amityville Horror," and "Blood and Chocolate," a Romeo & Juliet-style movie with Juliet as a werewolf.
The revival may reflect the mood of the country. "Horror is a genre that flourishes when audiences are looking for escape from real horror, and unfortunately there's plenty of that these days," says Marc Abraham, who produced "Dawn of the Dead."
It's also a profitable genre. Horror movies rarely feature big stars and have relatively modest budgets. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., for instance, is believed to have made a $60 million profit from its two "Jeepers Creepers" movies, which had a combined budget of $27 million.
7. EVERYONE IS GETTING ANIMATED
The computer-animation industry is getting more crowded. The genre is dominated by two players -- Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation SKG, which went public last month. But Sony, Twentieth Century Fox, George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. are all angling for a piece of the action with movies in the works.
Moviegoers have given a big thumbs-up to computer animation. DreamWorks has made a monster splash with the "Shrek" franchise, while Pixar topped off a flawless record of five straight hits with "The Incredibles." Conversely, Disney's "Home on the Range," made in the traditional hand-drawn style, didn't register nearly as well with audiences this year.
Still, it's not an easy genre to crack. Each movie takes three to four years to complete, a time during which audience tastes could change. And there's no guarantee audiences will respond to the story line, as shown by the mediocre results for some DreamWorks animated movies.
8. THE NEXT BIG (SMALL) PLAYER
With the future of onetime independent-movie king Miramax in doubt -- co-chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein may not have their contract extended by parent Disney -- the spotlight is moving to possible successors among the smaller independent players that have had recent big successes.
Among those emerging from the shadows: Newmarket Films, which distributed "The Passion of the Christ" for Mel Gibson's Icon Productions. Turned down by the major studios, the movie took in more than $600 million at the box office. Similarly, IFC Films and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. have wallowed in the success of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Meanwhile, the low-budget arms of the various studios have been quietly gathering steam. Under the guidance of highly regarded executive Peter Rice, Twentieth Century Fox's Searchlight backed this summer's "Garden State," "Sideways" and "Napoleon Dynamite." That came on the heels of two years of solid performance with winners like "28 Days Later." And Universal Pictures' Focus Features has been making an impact with movies like "Lost in Translation" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
9. STAR POWER WEAKENS
Big stars can no longer guarantee big returns. This year, few A-list stars matched the box-office results of their previous movies. Tom Hanks, for example, had two big disappointments: Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal" and the Coen brothers remake of "The Ladykillers." Mr. Hanks's recently released "The Polar Express" also is shaping up to be a misfire.
Meanwhile, most of the year's top movies so far -- "Shrek 2," "The Passion of the Christ," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and "The Day After Tomorrow" -- didn't star A-list talent (at least not on-screen).
The blame lies at the door of a fast-evolving celebrity culture, observers say. "There are so many venues where celebrities are exposed now: on TV, in print, on the Internet," says Robert Sklar, professor of cinema studies at New York University. "The aura that was once associated with a star barely exists anymore."
10. LIE BACK AND RELAX
The movie theater is showing signs of losing its allure. So to recapture audiences, theater owners are packing on frills.
Over the all-important summer season, U.S. ticket sales fell 1%. That came on the heels of a 4% decline for all of last year. While the quality of the movies plays a big part in that, theaters are facing new threats. One problem is that moviegoers now have the option of re-creating the cinema experience at home with mega-screen TVs and surround-sound systems.
So some theaters are showcasing wider seats and even rocking leather recliners. Others try to engage viewers with live preshow introductions, where someone will come out and talk about the movie. There's also escorted seating and concessions that go beyond the standard movie fare of popcorn and soda, such as Starbucks coffees.
And the next big move to attract audiences will be digital projection. But theaters and movie studios first need to agree on who will pay the bill.
Ms. Marr is a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's Los Angeles bureau.
Write to Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com
By MERISSA MARR
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 22, 2004; Page R7
Long considered a gambler's pursuit, the movie industry has a modern-day lucky charm: the digital video disc.
DVDs are showering Hollywood with profits, easing the pain of some films that would otherwise be flops and allowing studios to rationalize ever-higher movie budgets. But even as the industry basks in its DVD success, Hollywood already is setting the stage for the battle to determine what will replace it.
1. DVD: THE SEQUEL
These days, only six in 10 movies make a profit at the box office. DVDs go a long way to mopping up the mess left behind by the other four. For hits like this year's "Spider-Man 2" or "Shrek 2," a studio can easily make as much, if not more, from DVD sales as from the box office.
Last year, DVD sales grew 43%, according to Adams Media Research, Carmel, Calif. Such phenomenal growth won't continue indefinitely, of course. So the industry is already rolling up its sleeves for the inevitable fight over what will replace the silver disc.
The immediate focus will be on the next generation of DVDs: high-definition discs that promise sharper pictures and better sound. Already, the battle lines are being drawn, and the format battle may get as messy as the 1980s VCR struggle between VHS and Betamax. A group led by Sony Corp. is pushing one format, known as Blu-ray, while a consortium led by Toshiba Corp. is developing another.
Aside from Sony Pictures, which is following the lead of its corporate parent, the studios so far have been hedging their bets. In the coming months, however, they're likely to start making some decisions about which format to use.
2. BATTLING THE PIRATES
Another war is brewing in Hollywood -- this time against piracy. The next year will see studios turning up the volume, especially with a new leader in place at the Motion Picture Association of America after the decades-long reign of Jack Valenti.
Critics say the studios have been too slow off the mark and are falling into the same complacent trap as the music industry, which has been dogged by piracy. Downloading of movies historically has not been as easy as music, given the sheer size of the files. But a study released by the Motion Picture Association of America in July showed that one in every four Internet users had tried downloading a movie. As high-speed Web service expands, that will only get worse -- and physical copying of DVDs is already rampant.
For their part, movie studios are lobbying for more aggressive legislation and campaigns to educate the public. Last week, the studios filed a first batch of lawsuits against individuals who illegally share movies online. Technology companies, meanwhile, say that such strong-arm tactics will have little impact, and that the only way forward is to develop low-cost alternatives.
Among some of the more elaborate piracy-busting techniques: Secret cameras and camcorder-jamming technology are being developed for cinemas to crack down on the most damaging source of piracy, illegal recording of movies with camcorders.
3. THE BIG BANG
The release of big event movies has started to follow a common pattern: a big bang the first weekend, followed by a massive drop in sales as new movies quickly hit the theaters. Part of the problem is that scores of movies are being crammed into just a few months of the year when kids are on vacation. So to stand out from the crowd, studios are having to retool their marketing.
"The industry has been selling movies the same way for a long time; we need to find more inventive ways to reach the audience," says Hutch Parker, president of production at News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, which earlier this year forged a partnership with a shopping-mall owner to promote its movies exclusively.
One tactic the industry is likely to see more of is the extended sample. General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures led the way this year with a 10-minute clip of "Dawn of the Dead" (trailers are normally 30 seconds long). The studio struck a deal with USA Networks to show the first 10 minutes during a commercial break for its showing of the horror movie "Final Destination."
For "Spider-Man 2," Sony formed an alliance with NBC to embed a two-minute trailer more densely into programming so that it became an event in its own right. For example, on the penultimate episode of "The Apprentice" last season, the trailer was promoted with banners including: "up next, the Spider-Man trailer." Then just before Donald Trump fired someone, the trailer was aired during the commercial break.
4. SHOW ME THE FRANCHISE
If there was ever an example of why studios need franchises, it's "Spider-Man." After the monster splash of the first movie, "Spider-Man 2" topped $780 million at the box office this summer. Add to that the DVDs, Spidey dolls and other Web-related paraphernalia, and Sony has a multibillion-dollar property on its hands.
Spurred by such riches, studios are chasing the franchise dragon harder than ever, and the coming year has a multitude of contenders. There's the revival of an old franchise: "Batman Begins." There are adaptations of the comic book "Fantastic Four" and C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." There's also the movie version of the children's cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants," among other potential sequel machines. Meanwhile, Time Warner Inc.'s New Line Cinema, the studio behind the "Lord of the Rings" series, hopes to sow the seeds of a successor franchise with the fantasy adventure "His Dark Materials."
"It's clear that audiences like comfort entertainment, with characters they're familiar with and continued storylines," says Bob Shaye, co-chairman and co-CEO of New Line Cinema. "It's like the feeling you got with comic strips as a kid."
5. YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS
Hollywood's desire for safe bets also is fueling a revival in remakes. As budgets soar, studios have been digging deeper into their catalog of old movies for titles to recycle. The theory goes: If it worked once, it'll work again.
"Studios make up to 30 new products a year with little advance test marketing," says Stacey Snider, chairman of Universal Pictures. "In the mix to control risk, it's certainly better if some of those have some kind of built-in brand awareness."
The coming months will bring, to name a few, "Flight of the Phoenix," with Dennis Quaid in the James Stewart role; "The Longest Yard," with Adam Sandler in place of Burt Reynolds; and "The Pink Panther," with Steve Martin in the Peter Sellers role.
But as a number of this year's offerings showed, it's not easy to squeeze a blockbuster out of a remake. Recent remakes of "The Manchurian Candidate," "The Stepford Wives" and "The Ladykillers" were all box-office disappointments.
6. FEAR FACTOR
Horror is making another comeback. The success of movies like this year's "Dawn of the Dead" and "The Grudge" took executives by surprise. And now producers can barely pitch a movie without being asked whether they have a horror picture in the works. Coming up in the next few months: "The Ring 2," a remake of the "The Amityville Horror," and "Blood and Chocolate," a Romeo & Juliet-style movie with Juliet as a werewolf.
The revival may reflect the mood of the country. "Horror is a genre that flourishes when audiences are looking for escape from real horror, and unfortunately there's plenty of that these days," says Marc Abraham, who produced "Dawn of the Dead."
It's also a profitable genre. Horror movies rarely feature big stars and have relatively modest budgets. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., for instance, is believed to have made a $60 million profit from its two "Jeepers Creepers" movies, which had a combined budget of $27 million.
7. EVERYONE IS GETTING ANIMATED
The computer-animation industry is getting more crowded. The genre is dominated by two players -- Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation SKG, which went public last month. But Sony, Twentieth Century Fox, George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. are all angling for a piece of the action with movies in the works.
Moviegoers have given a big thumbs-up to computer animation. DreamWorks has made a monster splash with the "Shrek" franchise, while Pixar topped off a flawless record of five straight hits with "The Incredibles." Conversely, Disney's "Home on the Range," made in the traditional hand-drawn style, didn't register nearly as well with audiences this year.
Still, it's not an easy genre to crack. Each movie takes three to four years to complete, a time during which audience tastes could change. And there's no guarantee audiences will respond to the story line, as shown by the mediocre results for some DreamWorks animated movies.
8. THE NEXT BIG (SMALL) PLAYER
With the future of onetime independent-movie king Miramax in doubt -- co-chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein may not have their contract extended by parent Disney -- the spotlight is moving to possible successors among the smaller independent players that have had recent big successes.
Among those emerging from the shadows: Newmarket Films, which distributed "The Passion of the Christ" for Mel Gibson's Icon Productions. Turned down by the major studios, the movie took in more than $600 million at the box office. Similarly, IFC Films and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. have wallowed in the success of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Meanwhile, the low-budget arms of the various studios have been quietly gathering steam. Under the guidance of highly regarded executive Peter Rice, Twentieth Century Fox's Searchlight backed this summer's "Garden State," "Sideways" and "Napoleon Dynamite." That came on the heels of two years of solid performance with winners like "28 Days Later." And Universal Pictures' Focus Features has been making an impact with movies like "Lost in Translation" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
9. STAR POWER WEAKENS
Big stars can no longer guarantee big returns. This year, few A-list stars matched the box-office results of their previous movies. Tom Hanks, for example, had two big disappointments: Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal" and the Coen brothers remake of "The Ladykillers." Mr. Hanks's recently released "The Polar Express" also is shaping up to be a misfire.
Meanwhile, most of the year's top movies so far -- "Shrek 2," "The Passion of the Christ," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and "The Day After Tomorrow" -- didn't star A-list talent (at least not on-screen).
The blame lies at the door of a fast-evolving celebrity culture, observers say. "There are so many venues where celebrities are exposed now: on TV, in print, on the Internet," says Robert Sklar, professor of cinema studies at New York University. "The aura that was once associated with a star barely exists anymore."
10. LIE BACK AND RELAX
The movie theater is showing signs of losing its allure. So to recapture audiences, theater owners are packing on frills.
Over the all-important summer season, U.S. ticket sales fell 1%. That came on the heels of a 4% decline for all of last year. While the quality of the movies plays a big part in that, theaters are facing new threats. One problem is that moviegoers now have the option of re-creating the cinema experience at home with mega-screen TVs and surround-sound systems.
So some theaters are showcasing wider seats and even rocking leather recliners. Others try to engage viewers with live preshow introductions, where someone will come out and talk about the movie. There's also escorted seating and concessions that go beyond the standard movie fare of popcorn and soda, such as Starbucks coffees.
And the next big move to attract audiences will be digital projection. But theaters and movie studios first need to agree on who will pay the bill.
Ms. Marr is a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's Los Angeles bureau.
Write to Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com