Can ‘Creature’ Feed Ratings-Starved ABC?

Following an unprecedented fourth-place February sweeps finish, ABC is barely treading water during the latest ratings survey, which concludes May 20. About all that stands between the network and another dismal performance, in fact, is “Creature,” a four-hour miniseries premiering Sunday, based on “Jaws” novelist Peter Benchley’s book about a shark-like monster that can venture on land. If “Creature,” which stars Craig T. Nelson, scares up an audience, it will be a rare occurrence for ABC’s Sunday movie, which has seldom possessed any ratings bite this season. ABC miscalculated by scheduling male-oriented action movies Sundays as a method of countering CBS, which has done well with films appealing principally to a female audience. Unfortunately for ABC, many of the men the network sought were already otherwise occupied, watching Fox’s “The X-Files.” Sources say ABC is altering its movie strategy for next season and might drop the Sunday movie altogether, scheduling “20/20” and “The Practice” that night from 9 to 11 p.m. Such a shift will come too late, however, to help ABC in the current sweeps, leaving “Creature” to sink or swim against “The X-Files” season finale.

It’s Animated, Just Don’t Use the ‘F’ Word

Four years ago, Hollywood was all agog over the box office success of Disney’s animated feature-length film “The Lion King.” The Disney magic was working overtime as the movie opened big and went on to gross an impressive $312 million. With the success of that film and other Disney animated movies--from “Aladdin,’ which grossed $217.3 million domestically, to “Beauty and the Beast,” which took in $145.9 million--it was only a matter of time before other studios jumped on the animation bandwagon. Warner Bros., for example, came out with the part-live-action and part-animated “Space Jam” in 1996, while 20th Century Fox followed last year with “Anastasia.” This week, Warner Bros. will release “Quest for Camelot,” its first full-length animated film developed by the studio’s fledgling feature animation division. The studio is giving it its best shot. With voices supplied by such stars as Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, Celine Dion, John Gielgud and Jane Seymour--and music and lyrics created by Grammy-winners David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager (the wife of Warner Bros. co-chairman Bob Daly), “Quest for Camelot” is being released on 3,000 screens. Set in the time of King Arthur, the film tells the story of a strong-willed girl whose dream is to become a knight of the Round Table like her late father. But the promise of huge returns could be dampened by the fact that, ever since “The Lion King,” non-Disney animated films have struggled. According to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., a firm that tracks box office returns, Paramount Pictures’ 1995 film “Beavis and Butt-head Do America” grossed $63.1 million in North America; “Anastasia” made $56.5 million; “Thumbelina” made only $11.4 million for Warner Bros.; and Universal Pictures’ “Balto” made $11.2 million. The problem, as some see it, is that although Americans may say they want more “family” movies, studio executives say that once a film is tagged as such, it hurts box office. “What happens is that the word ‘family’ got beat up somewhere,” said one high-ranking studio executive. “You say ‘family,’ and teens say, ‘That’s for my younger brother or sister.’ It’s become the kiss of death.”

Limited Series, Unlimited Success

Capitol Nashville Records will probably raise a toast on Wednesday, when SoundScan is expected to report that Garth Brooks’ new six-CD boxed set, “The Limited Series,” has entered the national album sales chart at No. 1. First-week sales are expected to approach 400,000 copies. On the face of it, it would seem to be an extraordinary achievement. A six-CD collection topping the chart? But retailers say they would have been shocked if the budget-priced package had not been a huge seller. Containing all of Brooks’ first six albums, along with six new tracks, the aggressively promoted box is selling for as little as $27.85, only slightly more than the typical cost of a two-CD set, and no more than about $40. (The Wherehouse chain is offering it for only $14.99 to buyers who trade in five used CDs.) “If it would have come out at a typical price for a six-CD box--say, $59.99--and did those numbers, that would be incredible,” says Bob Feterl, a regional manager for Tower Records. “But at that price, and with all the hoopla? No. I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t come in that strongly.” Says Jim Litwak, executive vice president of the Trans World Entertainment chain: “The pricing was very powerful, it was marketed strongly on television and you’ve got Mother’s Day. You combine those three things and it adds up to a fantastic campaign.”

--Compiled by Times staff writers and contributors