YEAR IN REVIEW 1995 : Film : In the Box-Office Derby, Family Fare Scored--Except When It Didn’t

If Hollywood heard Bob Dole in 1995, it heard John Q. Public louder and clearer.

And, what moviegoers seemed to be saying with their ticket purchases provides mixed messages for the film industry.

Make more family movies? Hollywood did. And films like “Casper,” “Toy Story” and “Babe” became enormous hits.

But some of the biggest duds of 1995 also were family-oriented movies--”A Little Princess,” “The Baby-Sitters Club” and “Fluke.” Even the sequel to “Free Willy” underperformed. It was enough to make producers tear their hair out.

What about violent films? Hollywood released plenty in 1995, but with vastly contrasting results.

“Seven,” the film starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman about two cops tracking down a serial killer, grossed more than $85 million, yet contained gruesome scenes of murder.

“Die Hard With a Vengeance” featured gunfire, numerous explosions and children in peril--one scene depicted a bomb about to go off at an elementary school. That film grossed more than $100 million domestically.

And “Braveheart,” the sweeping saga of medieval Scotland directed by and starring Mel Gibson, displayed realistic battle scenes with much blood and carnage--and pulled in nearly $70 million in North American theaters.

But not all big action movies were hits with the public: Sylvester Stallone’s “Judge Dredd” and Denzel Washington’s “Virtuosity,” which did lackluster business.

Even sex didn’t always sell. From NC-17 rated “Showgirls” to R-rated “Jade,” screenwriter Joe Eszterhas’ steamy plots went over like steamed cabbage with audiences.

In 1996, the studios will continue to have an overabundance of PG and PG-13 movies, but sex and violence will remain part of the mix.

Sex will come in all forms, from stylish in “Diabolique,” starring Sharon Stone, to illicit in “Lolita,” starring 15-year-old Dominique Swain, to grinding in “Striptease,” starring Demi Moore.

Did we say all forms?

There will also be Drew Barrymore in “Frigid and Impotent,” Gina Gershon in “Original Sin” and “Baywatch’s” very own Pamela Lee in “Barb Wire.”

And Hollywood will serve up a steady diet of violent movies, but the real story may be how often studios opt for editing trims in order to avoid an R rating.

Stallone, for example, currently is making “Daylight,” a film for Universal about a bomb blast caving in New York’s Lincoln Tunnel.

“We’re aiming for a PG-13,” said Tom Pollock, a top official at Universal’s parent firm, MCA. “It’s all in how it is shot.”

So is Hollywood starting to wimp out because of Bob Dole?

Not exactly.

“I don’t think either studios or filmmakers think in terms of, ‘Shall we make movies based on a presidential candidate’s posturing?’ ”