‘Groove’ Strong in U.S.; Seeing Red: ‘Avengers’
“How Stella Got Her Groove Back” should make enough money in the U.S. to cover its production costs, but its prospects remain uncertain because it may not have much strength overseas. Fox shouldn’t lose anything on it.
Warner Bros. “The Avengers” and PolyGram’s “Return to Paradise” appear certain to end up in the red.
Miramax’s “Air Bud 2” was a low-cost pickup (for domestic rights only) that should recoup when released on home video by Miramax, whose parent company Walt Disney is the leader in family video sales.
“Saving Private Ryan” showed continued strength, which should carry it over the economic hump of giving away 35% of its profits to talent (Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks) and still manage to bring a tidy sum back to DreamWorks and Paramount.
“The Mask of Zorro,” which is also giving part of its proceeds to Spielberg via its producer Amblin Entertainment, will not accumulate any significant profit for Sony unless it does significantly better than expected overseas.
Paramount’s “Snake Eyes” lost all the wind in its sales in its second weekend and now seems doomed for an abbreviated run.
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