Company Town Film Profit Report

This report is based on projections of total U.S.box-office gross from a consensus of industry sourcesand studio financial models. The U.S. returnsrepresent only 20% of a film’s final revenue, whichincludes income from video, TV and overseas theatricalrelease. Typical industry marketing costs are factoredinto this profit analysis. Results for the weekend ofSept. 22-24:

Highlights:

n Thanks to its modest budget, “Urban Legends 2” willclear its costs.

n “The Exorcist” reissue looks to be profitable forWB.

n “Woman on Top” could make up for its shortfalldomestically in Spanish-speaking markets.

$$ Mega-Moneymakers ($50 million or more in profit)

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions Scary Movie Dimension 12 $19 $156 Bring It On Universal 4 10 65

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$ Moneymakers ($10 million or more in profit)

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions What Lies Beneath DreamWorks/Fox 8 $100 $155 Space Cowboys Warner Bros. 9 65 90 The Cell New Line 11 33 60 The Exorcist Warner Bros. 2 1 40

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? Tossups ($5 million in profit or loss)

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions The Watcher Universal 5 $33 $30 Nurse Betty USA 7 24 24 Urban Legends 2 Sony 1 14 20

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Losers (more than $5 million in loss)

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Projected Box- Estimated U.S. box-office office cost, in receipts, Movie title Studio rank millions in millions Almost Famous DreamWorks SKG 3 $60 $42 Bait Warner Bros. 6 35 16 Woman On Top Fox Searchlight 10 8 5

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