Holiday Brings Box Office Boost

(JAN 01, 2009) A Variety article by Pamela McClintock with some post-Holiday box office analysis.  The full article can be read HERE.

(EXCERPT) The Christmas box office has turned into a cash cow for a diverse litter of titles, guaranteeing that ticket sales for 2008 will match or exceed last year’s record-breaking haul of $9.62 billion.

“Marley,” produced by Fox 2000 and New Regency, was one of five titles opening nationwide on Christmas Day. All but one — “The Spirit” — are collecting plenty of coin and seeing the sort of midweek grosses that can make the week between Christmas and New Year’s the most lucrative stretch of the year.

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Studios Expand Winter Film Slate

(DEC 31, 2008) A Variety article by Pamela McClintock giving us a preview of the big studio releases scheduled for Winter 2009, even amid news that production, hand in hand with the economy, is recessing.  The full article can be read HERE.

(EXCERPT) Hollywood studios are scaling back production, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the multiplexes in the first part of 2009.  The first few months of the year were once a graveyard for the least promising fare, but ’09 is seeing a flood of titles entering the marketplace.

There are numerous reasons for the glut. With the summer and holiday frames jam-packed, the majors can no longer afford to save their best titles for those key dates. And studios are using the January-April period to open a cluster of pics that were put into production before the 2007-08 writers strike.

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