Hollywood Finds Oscar Wisdom Less Conventional

More than two dozen films are being released in theaters in the final three weeks of the year, many timed to qualify for Academy Award consideration as well as to capitalize on what has become the year’s most intense moviegoing period.

Particularly in the 1970s and ‘80s, many of the best picture, actor and actress Oscars were given to films released during late November and December.

Even though that scenario is changing, many distributors find it difficult to resist targeting the rich bounty of box-office dollars and awards buzz that awaits those films that cut through the holiday clutter.

“You try to go for that 10-day gold mine and it also positions everything for Academy Awards and Golden Globes,” said Paul Rosenfeld, senior vice president of distribution, Gramercy Pictures.

But the downside can be considerable, he added. “There’s a huge risk because out of those released, how many are going to work? There’s tremendous competition. There are lots of good pictures in a very tough field. And sometimes good pictures get lost.”

“It’s virtually impossible for the consumer to consume all that product,” said Wayne Lewellen, president of distribution, Paramount Pictures. “It’s very difficult even for avid moviegoers to go to the movies a couple times a week.”

Occasionally, a studio intentionally sits out this highly competitive period, as MGM/UA is this year. Gerry Rich, the studio’s president of worldwide marketing, pointed out that not only are Christmas movies duking it out with one another for audience share, but the rates to advertise and market them shoot up during the holiday season.

“It’s a real gamble,” Rich said. “The cost of releasing a film at this time of year is extraordinary. The risks and stakes are higher. . . . But, the highest grossing week of the year is the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so there is good reason to be in the season. But given the cost of entry, there is also a good reason to avoid it--unless you feel very sure of the product.”

The financial upside is clear: Last year the two-week period beginning Dec. 22 topped $380 million, a box-office record, according to Exhibitor Relations Inc.

But a holiday release is no longer viewed as necessary for a film to win awards.

Four of the last five best picture Oscar winners were released prior to November (the exception being 1993’s “Schindler’s List,” a December release).

Last year, “Braveheart” opened in May and won best picture and best director Oscars. Only one of the five films nominated for best picture last year, “Sense and Sensibility,” was released after Halloween.

In 1994 “Forrest Gump” came out in July and won best picture, actor and director honors. “Unforgiven,” an August 1992 release, won best picture and director honors, and 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” came out in February but still earned picture, actor and actress Oscars 13 months later.

“The mantra used to be if you didn’t come out in November or December, then you had no chance [for Oscar contention],” said Mark Gill, Miramax Films’ president of marketing. “That was the old conventional wisdom. But that clearly has been disproved in the last few years.”

“Now, [Oscar nominees] can come any time of the year,” said Jeff Blake, president of Sony Pictures Releasing.

Increasingly, studios are scheduling year-end re-releases of prized movies launched earlier in the year to bolster their awards chances. Such a move can jog memories of awards voters and, while a lower immediate priority for many, attract moviegoers who missed out the first time around.

“If you release in March or June or earlier, you have to come back around at the end of the year to remind people,” Gill said. “You can release a film at any time of the year as long as you bring it back in the holiday period. I haven’t seen anyone not do that and succeed.”

Miramax did just that last year with “Il Postino (The Postman)” and Gramercy is trying it with its critically acclaimed dark comedy “Fargo,” released in March. Last week, “Fargo” was named the year’s best picture by the New York Film Critics Circle.

“Our re-release strategy is to recall awareness,” said Russell Schwartz, president of Gramercy. “We did not re-release for business purposes. It’s not about box office. It’s about reminding people--academy members, critics organization, the Screen Actors Guild.”

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Another strategy increasingly employed by studios at this time of year is to release movies for limited runs. A movie will open first in key North American cities--usually New York and Los Angeles, and sometimes Chicago and Toronto--then expand, (or “platform,” in Hollywood-ese) to additional markets over the course of the next couple months.

But while the timing of a film’s opening is undeniably important, industry insiders insist that the critical factor for academy consideration is still the quality of the picture.

“We can talk all day about dates, but the thing that really matters is how good the movie is,” Gill said. “All the rest is secondary.”