August Box Office Is Scorching
By Leonard Klady
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Fueled by $100 million performances of
The Sixth Sense,'' The Blair Witch Project’’ and ‘‘Runaway Bride,’’
August box office receipts rose to a record $788.6 million, a boost of
6.5% from the year-ago period.
Admissions also set a new record, rising by 2% to about 161.3 million.
While the past month had an unusual number of high grossers, the span was also rife instant duds.
Among the casualties were Sony’s Dick'' and Universal Soldier: The Return,‘’ A Dog of Flanders'' from Warner Bros., Dimension's Teaching Mrs. Tingle,‘’ New Line’s Detroit Rock City,'' Fox's Brokedown Palace’’ and Universal’s ``Dudley Do-Right.‘’
Disney’s Buena Vista romped to the top of the market share chart, with August releases grossing
$205 million and accounting for 26% of total ticket sales. Second place Universal trailed by almost
50% with a 13.1% share.
BV’s The Sixth Sense'' was August's top individual performer, followed by (in descending order) The Blair Witch Project’’ (Artisan), Runaway Bride'' (Paramount), Inspector Gadget’’ (Buena
Vista), The Thomas Crown Affair'' (MGM), ''Deep Blue Sea'' (Warner Bros.), Bowfinger’’
(Universal), ‘‘The Haunting’’ (DreamWorks), American Pie'' (Universal) and Mickey Blue Eyes’’
(Warner Bros.)
Debuting specialized fare was largely put on hold, though Trimark/Motion’s Better Than Chocolate,'' Sony's Twin Falls Idaho’’ and Artisan’s Illuminata'' have had good initial response, and Eros' Hindi Taal’’ (‘‘Rhythm’’ starring Aishwarya Rai and Anil Kapoor) has had one of the best runs on the ethnic circuit with close to
$1.5 million in three weeks. For the most part, though, the niches were carried by continuing runs of
Run Lola Run,'' Buena Vista Social Club’’ and The Red Violin,'' and such large-format fare as Everest,‘’ Mysteries of Egypt,'' T-Rex’’ and ‘‘Extreme.’’