Posted on: Tuesday, August 20, 2002

'XXX,' other hits lift Sony to box-office record

By David Germain
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Sony, which released "Spider-Man," "Men in Black II" and Hollywood's current box-office leader "XXX," has broken the industry record for highest annual revenues by a studio.

Vin Diesel's espionage tale "XXX" remained the No. 1 film for a second straight weekend, its $22.1 million helping to lift Sony beyond the $1.27 billion the studio grossed domestically in 1997. That was the previous best by any Hollywood studio.

As of Sunday, the studio's revenues stood at $1.29 billion, and Sony still has plenty of mileage left in "XXX" plus a fall and holiday lineup that includes Eddie Murphy's "I Spy," Adam Sandler's "Punch Drunk Love" and the animated "Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights" and Jennifer Lopez's "Maid in Manhattan."

"This is a milestone that is usually determined on Dec. 31 after we've counted every last dollar, not the middle of August," said Jeff Blake, Sony president of worldwide marketing and distribution.

Sony established the previous record on the strength of such 1997 releases as "Men in Black," "Air Force One" and "My Best Friend's Wedding." Admission prices have risen about 25 percent since then, meaning Sony films would need to gross roughly $320 million more this year to match the number of tickets it sold in 1997.

With its remaining slate, the studio should be able to surpass its 1997 ticket volume, Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, said yesterday.

"They could end the year today, and they would have had a stellar year and be proud of what they accomplished at the box office," Dergarabedian said. "It's like all gravy from here on."

The top 20 movies at North American theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled yesterday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. and Nielsen EDI Inc. are:

1. "XXX," Sony, $22.1 million, 3,388 locations, $6,526 average, $84 million, two weeks.

2. "Signs," Disney, $19.4 million, 3,344 locations, $5,790 average, $150.5 million, three weeks.

3. "Blue Crush," Universal, $14.2 million, 3,002 locations, $4,720 average, $14.2 million, one week.

4. "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams," Disney, $11.5 million, 3,307 locations, $3,484 average, $45.6 million, two weeks.

5. "Austin Powers in Goldmember," New Line, $8.7 million, 3,113 locations, $2,804 average, $183.9 million, four weeks.

6. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," IFC Films, $5.7 million, 1,060 locations, $5,377 average, $52.8 million, 18 weeks.

7. "Blood Work," Warner Bros., $4.8 million, 2,525 locations, $1,904 average, $15.3 millions, two weeks.

8. "Road to Perdition," DreamWorks, $3.8 million, 1,914 locations, $1,985 average, $90.3 million, six weeks.

9. "The Master of Disguise," Sony, $3.2 million, 2,137 locations, $1,481 average, $30.3 million, three weeks.

10. "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," Warner Bros., $2.2 million, 2,320 locations, $941 average, $2.2 million, one week.

11. "Stuart Little 2," Sony, $1.9 million, 1,714 locations, $1,136 average, $57.1 million, five weeks.

12. "Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat," Paramount, $1.7 million, 774 locations, $2,148 average, $16 million, three weeks.

13. "Possession," Focus Features, $1.6 million, 270 locations, $5,834 average, $1.6 million, one week.

14. "Men in Black II," Sony, $1 million, 1,223 locations, $821 average, $188.5 million, seven weeks.

15. "The Good Girl," Fox Searchlight, $840,660, 60 locations, $14,011 average, $1.2 million, two weeks.

16. "The Bourne Identity," Universal, $684,185, 494 locations, $1,385 average, $115.9 million, 10 weeks.

17. "Minority Report," Fox, $564,101, 506 locations, $1,115 average, $129.1 million, nine weeks.

18. "Space Station," IMAX, $552,001, 61 locations, $9,049 average, $20.3 million, 18 weeks.

19. "Lilo & Stitch," Disney, $502,239, 619 locations, $811 average, $139.5 million, nine weeks.

20. "The Country Bears," Disney, $408,814, 516 locations, $792 average, $15.4 million, four weeks.