Holiday Film Take: Hot, Hotter, Hottest?

Searing temperatures on the West Coast, combined with keen interest nationally in this summer’s crop of films, brought near-record Labor Day weekend business to Hollywood.

Hollywood’s major releases generated about $55.6 million in ticket sales between Friday and Monday, according to Entertainment Data Inc., which tracks box-office receipts for film studios. Taking into account price increases, actual ticket sales were up roughly 13% over last year’s Labor Day weekend.

“It definitely looks like the hot weather helped, particularly at walk-in theaters,” said Chan Wood, executive vice president of Pacific Theaters, which owns 300 screens throughout the West and in New York.

The top-grossing film of the weekend was an independent release, New Line Cinema’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.” “Nightmare’s” horrific central character Freddy Krueger is a cult favorite among teens. “He’s become an icon of our culture,” said Mitchell Goldman, president of distribution for New Line Cinema.

“Nightmare 4” opened even bigger than Disney/Touchstone’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”--the top-grossing film of the summer--and has remained firmly at the top of the charts since its release three weeks ago.

During the Labor Day weekend, “Nightmare 4” grossed $6.4 million in 1,758 theaters, or $3,660 per screen, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. To date, the film, which cost only $6 million to produce, has generated ticket sales of $34.3 million.

Sara Risher, the film’s executive producer, said that “Nightmare 4” was holding onto the No. 1 spot because of the timing of its opening, a wider release than earlier sequels, and the fact that this sequel is attracting an audience beyond male teens. The third “Nightmare” opened at No. 1 in February, 1987, but was knocked out of first place the following weekend when “Lethal Weapon” opened.

Two films that are attractive primarily to adult audiences trailed close behind the teen favorite “Nightmare 4.” United Artists’ “Betrayed,” which stars Debra Winger as an FBI agent who infiltrates a white supremacist group, grossed $5.5 million over the four-day holiday weekend at 1,099 theaters, averaging $5,001 per screen.

“A Fish Called Wanda,” a quirky comedy from MGM/UA that pokes fun at the strains between Americans and their British relations, came in third place, with $5 million at 1,187 theaters, or $4,294 per screen.

Another film aimed at older audiences but released in just a handful of theaters also made impressive showings. “Crossing Delancey,” a love story from Warner Bros., took in an average of $41,919 at six theaters, or a total of $251,518.

As the tallies for the last weekend of the summer were coming in Tuesday,even the experts wouldn’t state precisely which studio won the summer competition. Based on estimated grosses from the weekend, said Phil Garfinkle, Entertainment Data’s senior vice president, Paramount and Disney/Touchstone were tied--each with 20.4% of the summer market.

“It’s too close to call at this point,” said Garfinkle, adding that less than $100,000 separated the two studios.

Disney/Touchstone released the biggest film of the summer, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” which rang up a total of $130.7 million, according to Exhibitor Relations. “Roger Rabbit” continued its momentum at the box office over Labor Day weekend, coming in fifth place even though it was released 11 weeks ago.

Paramount’s big film of the summer, Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America,” was No. 2 for the season and its “ ‘Crocodile’ Dundee” was No. 3.

The studio that surprised industry insiders by grabbing the third spot in the summer derby was 20th Century Fox. According to an analysis appearing in Tuesday’s Daily Variety, the Hollywood trade paper, Fox was No. 1 in profitability.

Variety’s calculations show that Fox--which spent $67 million to make four films that brought in rental revenues of $115 million--had the best ratio of revenues to cost in the industry.

“Big,” Fox’s summer comedy with Tom Hanks, was the fourth top-grossing film of the season, while “Die Hard,” its action picture starring Bruce Willis, claimed the No. 5 spot for the season.