Columbia Plans Big Future for ‘Little’ Film

Hollywood skeptics predicted that Columbia Pictures’ costly, special effects-dependent movie “Stuart Little” would be one of the biggest money losers of all time.

But the movie, adapted from E.B. White’s classic children’s book about a clever mouse adopted by a human family, has proved to be a box-office bonanza. After seven weeks in release, “Stuart Little” has taken in nearly $130 million, ranking it among the highest-grossing non-Disney family films ever.

Sources estimate that Columbia, which has invested some $200 million in production and marketing, could make at least $50 million in profit over the life of the picture through global theatrical, home video, digital videodisc, television and other ancillary sales.

As one top executive at the studio said about “Stuart Little’s” surprise success: “Who would have thunk?”

Historically, Disney has cornered the family market, mostly with its blockbuster animated fare. Other studios, including Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks SKG, have stepped up efforts in recent years with mixed results.

“Making non-Disney family films is a really awful business to be in--until it works,” said Jeff Blake, head of worldwide distribution at Columbia, a unit of Sony Corp.

Sources said the film’s female lead, Geena Davis, who deferred most of her salary and is the only actor who is a profit participant, could get as much as $7 million as a back-end bonus. They also said the studio recently sent Michael J. Fox, who is the voice of Stuart, “a good-faith bonus” check of $500,000.

Now, executives from the studio’s various divisions are trying to figure out how to manage and grow what could be the evergreen worldwide franchise they have pined for, extending “Stuart Little’s” life for years through sequels, television series, the Internet and toys.

The film’s success is particularly sweet for Columbia Pictures’ recently named chairwoman, Amy Pascal, who was a staunch supporter during the project’s tumultuous journey. In the early 1990s, while in another position at Columbia, Pascal convinced the studio to option White’s 1945 book. Though a previous regime was unhappy with the script, Pascal said it was through the efforts of producer Doug Wick and screenwriter M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”) that “the script became a movie.”

“It was a long, arduous adventure,” recalled Wick, who shepherded the project through a difficult two-year production process. “Everyone was aware that it was a big roll of the dice, but there was never a turn where the studio wasn’t a committed partner.”

Millions of dollars were spent on research and development and re-shoots, trying to hone the technology to make Stuart believable and marry the computer-animated mouse with a live-action world. Columbia invested some $115 million in production and will wind up spending more than $80 million on worldwide marketing.

“We believe the movie is going to gross $300 million worldwide,” said Pascal, adding that a sequel is in the works for Christmas 2001. “The movie is very easy to understand in any language because it’s a universal and simple story.”

In a testament to its staying power, “Stuart Little,” directed by Rob Minkoff, is still playing strong in 2,700 theaters in the U.S. Some industry executives question whether the movie will appeal as strongly overseas, where the book is not as well known. But Blake said that, based on the film’s first few foreign openings in Argentina and in Mexico and South Korea, where it beat “Pokemon,” “It’s clear that it’s the character, not the source material, that’s selling.”

Blake also believes that “Stuart” won’t face the kind of direct competition abroad from Disney’s mega-hit “Toy Story 2,” because the openings are more spread out. “Stuart” debuts in Europe in April and in Japan in July. “Toy Story 2” opens in Japan on March 11 and rolls out in Europe over the next two months.

Columbia also is hoping “Stuart” will be its biggest sell-through video with the exception of “Men in Black,” which shipped 15 million units. “Stuart’s” video release is targeted for spring, when Sony’s business plan should be in full swing. Robert Levin, Sony’s worldwide marketing chief, said that includes transitioning Stuart from a promotional Internet site to an entertainment site featuring the mouse in stories, interactive games and activities. He said the company is considering television specials and series and is scrambling to get “Stuart” merchandise into mass-market stores, after what some believe was an initial miscalculation.

In the weeks prior to the film’s Dec. 17 release, most of the toys sold out.

“Some might look at it like I left money on the table,” acknowledged Peter Dang, executive vice president of Sony Pictures Consumer Products, defending the exclusive launch of “Stuart” merchandise in upscale specialty stores such as FAO Schwarz and Bloomingdale’s before mass-marketing the character.

In Dang’s opinion, no one could have predicted “Stuart’s” popularity. “You couldn’t estimate what ‘Stuart’ would do because he was new,” Dang said. “A lot of people might disagree with how I did it, but I’m happy we sold through and now get a chance to come again.”

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All in the Family

Hits and misses of non-Disney family films since 1995:

Hits

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Domestic gross Release Title (millions) date “Stuart Little”* (Columbia) $128.7 12/17/99 “The Prince of Egypt” (DreamWorks) 101.2 12/18/98 “The Rugrats Movie” (Paramount) 100.4 11/20/98 “Casper” (Universal) 100.2 5/26/95 “Antz” (DreamWorks) 90.6 10/2/98 “Space Jam” (Warner Bros.) 90.3 11/15/96 “Pokemon: The First Movie”* (WB) 85.1 11/10/99

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Misses

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Domestic gross Release Title (millions) date “The Iron Giant” (Warner Bros.). $23.1 8/4/99 “Quest For Camelot” (Warner Bros.) 22.9 5/15/98 “Flipper” (Universal) 20.0 5/17/96 “Babe: Pig in the City” (Universal) 18.3 11/25/98 “Muppets From Space” (Columbia) 16.6 7/14/99 “Fairy Tale: A True Story” (Paramount) 14.1 10/24/97 “The King and I” (Warner Bros.) 12.0 3/19/99 “Balto” (Universal) 11.2 12/22/95

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*Still tracking at the box office

Sources: Exhibitor Relations Co., Columbia Pictures