Company Town Film Profit Report

The report is based on projections of total U.S. box-office gross from a consensus of industry sources and studio financial models. The U.S. returns (approximately 55% of gross) represent only 20% of a film’s final revenue, which includes overseas theatrical, video and TV income. The industry marketing average of $30 million per film is factored into these profit equations, as is the relative strength of specific film genres in foreign markets. Results for the weekend of Dec. 25-27:

Universal’s “Patch Adams” is likely to be the studio’s first movie since “The Lost World” in 1997 to make a substantial profit. “Stepmom” should perform well enough to bring Sony strong net revenue. “The Faculty” will do no better than most horror movies, scraping by with ancillary income. Due to its relatively high cost for an independent film, “Shakespeare in Love” will do good business but is unlikely to throw off significant profit. “Mighty Joe Young” will be a Disney holiday disappointment.

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions $$ Mega-Moneymakers A Bug’s Life Disney 7 $85 $150 Patch Adams Universal 1 65 120 Rugrats Paramount 11 25 90 $ Minor Moneymakers Enemy of the State Disney 9 85 100 Star Trek: Insurrection Paramount 8 62 65 You’ve Got Mail Warner Bros. 3 60 95 Stepmom Sony 2 50 90 ? Tossups Prince of Egypt DreamWorks 4 75 85 The Faculty Miramax 5 23 30 Shakespeare in Love Miramax 12 40 42 ? Money Losers Jack Frost Warner Bros. 10 40 30 Mighty Joe Young Disney 6 85 45

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Notes: Cost estimates are for production only. Only half of box-office receipts come back to the studio.

Researched by RICHARD NATALE

If you have information or comments about the chart, call (213) 237-2001 or send e-mail to company.town@latimes.com. Send faxes to (213) 237-7837.

For weekly box-office listings, see Calendar section on Tuesdays.