‘Phantom’ casts a huge shadow on summer films

Kirk Honeycutt

Friday, April 30, 1999 | 10:33 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Brace yourself.

As summer nears and the movie business hoists its tent poles under which the multitudes will gather, a Beast lurks nearby. It's a Beast with the stamina to last all summer and possibly devour many other acts.

The Beast is George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace."

It was only two Christmases ago that a similar beast named "Titanic" gobbled up box office receipts many felt would've been theirs had not the all-time top-grossing film demonstrated unexpected staying power.

So the dynamic facing movie distributors this summer, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office analyst Exhibitor Relations, is one of "siphon vs. spill-over."

Will the "Star Wars" prequel demonstrate the kind of staying power that will siphon off box office take well into the hot summer months? Or will Lucas' space opera bring such crowds to the multiplexes that moviegoers unable to see their first choice might opt instead to see another sci-fi thriller such as "The Thirteenth Floor" or a romantic comedy such as "Notting Hill"?

"I think 'Star Wars' is good for the business," DreamWorks distribution head Jim Tharp said. "We've got a driver out there that will drive people to see other movies as well."

Time will tell.

Meanwhile, many in the distribution and exhibition business feel that the Beast may have done Hollywood a service.

Recent summers have featured a celluloid overload of budget-breaking, testosterone-pumped, effects-saturated action-adventures that played havoc with plot, character and audience eardrums. But that approach was not going to work in the Summer of "Star Wars."

" 'Star Wars' has forced Hollywood to be creative in counterprogramming throughout the summer," Pacific Theatres president Jerry Forman said. "It has reshaped the summer releases."

Intensely aware for the last 18 months of the Beast's approach, the studios have (counter) programmed an unusually diverse summer for 1999. Movie fans will be enticed with horror, fantasy, animation, lowbrow goofiness, sophisticated comedy, gritty drama and high art.

There are family films, teen flicks and some very adult movies. And unlike last summer, only three films cost more than $100 million.

Another factor that should help distributors see healthy returns is Lucas' insistence that 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars" release not blanket the country with the film on virtually every screen. By releasing his film carefully and selectively, Lucas has left plenty of screens available for other pictures.

"What people are beginning to realize is that it is not necessary for everybody to steer clear of the monster picture," Bill Kartozian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, said. " 'Star Wars' will not be on every screen, and not everyone wants to see it every time they go to the movies. There is room for other movies, and there certainly is a wide variety available this summer."

Not everyone agrees that this summer has a different look. While conceding that the genre mix is "a little more this year" than last, Sony distribution chief Jeff Blake said 1999 is "a pretty typical mix with a lot of pretty big-looking movies popping up every week of the summer."

Beyond "Star Wars," industry observers tab several movies as likely $100 million-plus films. Disney's animated "Tarzan" made a major impression when an unfinished version debuted at the ShoWest exhibitors convention in early March. Most exhibitors felt that not only is it Disney's strongest animated entry since "The Lion King" but that Phil Collins' five songs add immeasurably to its appeal.

Columbia's "Big Daddy" features waterboy Adam Sandler, which has many insiders predicting a $100 million gross.

Paramount's "Runaway Bride" is based on a comedy screenplay by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott that was considered one of the strongest circulating in Hollywood in recent years.

Warner Bros.' "Wild Wild West" -- which cost more than $100 million, along with "Phantom Menace" and "Tarzan" -- has been the victim of negative buzz. Rumors about its cost and need for additional photography have plagued the film based on the 1960s TV show.

Its trailer has scored well, and a new trailer will be ready for mid-May placement. But no one can say for certain how audiences will react to a Western comedy dressed up with out-of-this-world gadgets.

Other films with $100 million possibilities are New Line's "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and Universal's "Notting Hill." And then there is always the sleeper no one sees coming.

Here's a brief look at the summer's genre breakdown:

Hollywood's "summer" differs from the one declared on everyone else's calendar. The Hollywood Reporter reports summer box office grosses from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. However, Hollywood unofficially launches summer with the first big film of May, which has gradually been released earlier and earlier.

Hollywood's "summer" begins May 7 this year. That's when Universal's big-budget horror film "The Mummy" opens.

This is a key slot that proved successful for "Deep Impact" in 1998 (a $41.2 million opening weekend) and "Twister" in 1996 ($41 million for its three-day).

Clearly, Hollywood has rediscovered the horror genre for the umpteenth time. The savvy, low-budget teen shockers that Miramax's Dimension label has done so well with have spawned several horror flicks for this summer, ranging from micro-budgets to megabucks.

Artisan's low-budget Sundance acquisition, "The Blair Witch Project," gave bone-chilling thrills to that festival's audiences. DreamWorks' "The Haunting" will try to achieve the same thing on a much larger scale with a huge mansion set and Jan De Bont's high-RPM direction. Meanwhile, UA's "Stigmata" will find the devil up to old -- and new -- tricks.

A fair number of romantic comedies will pop up this year, with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts each starring in two. They appear together in Universal's "Notting Hill," and Roberts is teamed with her "Pretty Woman" co-star Richard Gere in Paramount's "Runaway Bride."

Near summer's end, Grant returns in "Mickey Blue Eyes" opposite Jeanne Tripplehorn. And MGM's "The Thomas Crown Affair," a remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, will mix romance with a heist film.

Among the films aimed at teen audiences are Universal's "American Pie," "Big Daddy," "Detroit Rock City" from director Adam Rifkin, Universal's "Mystery Men" and Columbia's "Dick" starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams.

For true grit, try Touchstone's "Instinct" starring Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding, "Summer of Sam" from Spike Lee, Paramount's "The General's Daughter" starring John Travolta or Fox's "The Fight Club" starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.

Animation ranges from Disney's crowd-pleasing "Tarzan" to Warner Bros.' riff on a friendly space alien, "Iron Giant," and Paramount's raunchy "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut."