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 (about 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 Feb. 12-15:

“Message in a Bottle” scored with its core female audience and should break even. “My Favorite Martian” will see only moderate theatrical action in the U.S. but should make up most of its losses on home video. “Rushmore” looks to have enough mileage to recoup its costs, possibly more; but “Blast From the Past” will end up in the red. Oscar attention will deliver a greater profit to “Shakespeare in Love.” “Life Is Beautiful” has already grossed more than $100 million worldwide and is now the highest-grossing foreign film ever released in the United States.

$$ Mega-Moneymakers

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions Life Is Beautiful Miramax 11 $11 $35 Patch Adams Universal 9 65 135 Saving Private Ryan DreamWorks SKG 7 65 220

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$ Moneymakers

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions Varsity Blues Paramount 10 15 55 She’s All That Miramax 4 11 60 Shakespeare in Love Miramax 6 42 75 Payback Paramount 2 52 85

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? Tossups

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions Message in a Bottle Warner Bros. 1 55 60 Rushmore Disney 8 12 20

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Money Losers

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions My Favorite Martian Disney 3 45 32 Blast From the Past New Line 5 32 25 The Thin Red Line Fox 12 53 38

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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.