Film-goers spent more time on the beach than at theaters this summer. Box office revenue for the summer was up 3% from last year to $3.7 billion, while admissions were down 3% to 638 million. The year-to-date take through August was up 5% to $6.4 billion compared to the same months in 2003.
Some sequels helped: DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 and Sony’s Spider-Man 2 accounted for 22% of the summer’s take; other part twos didn’t fare as well: The Chronicles of Riddick, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid and The Exorcist: The Beginning were all box office under-achievers.
Shrek 2 made $437 million in ticket sales, surpassing its 2001 $267 million run; Spidey ran in over $340 million. A slew of promotional partners whipped up bigger profits. For example, Shrek 2 featured tie-ins with Burger King and AMF Bowling Lanes. Spider-Man 2 carried more than 14 brands — Dr Pepper dangled Dodge Vipers in its sweeps and Kellogg had Spidey cereal. And who could forget the Major League Baseball bungle that called for Spidey-branded bases?
Expect more sequels in 2005, including MGM’s Be Cool, descendant of Get Shorty, released almost a decade ago; Warner Bros.’ Miss Congeniality 2, DreamWorks’ The Ring 2 and MGM’s Beauty Shop, sequel to the Barbershop comedies. Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith hits theaters in May and Batman Begins rolls in for summer.
The films listed are in chronological order according to information provided by the studios. As always, all items from release dates to casts to property names are subject to change. Studio contacts are posted for easy reference.
First Quarter 2005
Twin Sisters
Ellen Vogel
First Quarter 2005, Miramax Films
Set in Europe during World War II, this love story follows Anna and Lotte, separated after the death of their parents.
Cursed
Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson First Quarter 2005, Dimension Films
Set in Los Angeles, this film puts a modern and inventive twist on the classic werewolf tale.
Coach Carter
Samuel L. Jackson
January, Paramount Pictures
Despite his team’s 13-0 record, a high school coach opts to bench his entire team because of their poor grades.
Best of Youth
Luigi Lo Cascio
January, Miramax Films
Set in Italy, this epic follows two brothers through the tumultuous 20th Century.
White Noise
Michael Keaton
Jan. 7, Universal Pictures
After his wife’s death, a man tries to communicate with her via bizarre electronics.
Elektra
Jennifer Garner
Jan. 14, 20th Century Fox
Anti-heroine Elektra recovers from the mortal wounds she suffered in Daredevil and returns as the world’s most dangerous assassin.
Racing Stripes
Frankie Muniz, Dustin Hoffman
Jan. 14, Warner Bros. Pictures
Live action and computer animation tell the heartwarming tale of a baby zebra abandoned in the middle of Kentucky by a traveling circus.
The Brothers Grimm
Matt Damon, Heath Ledger
February, Dimension Films
Fairy tale authors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are traveling spellbusters, claiming to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures.
Underclassmen
Nick Cannon
Jan. 14, Miramax Films
Ty Streets is a young cop investigating the mysterious death of a high school student.
Be Cool
Feb. 11, MGM Pictures
John Travolta, Uma Thurman
In which Chili abandons the fickle movie business to bring his wise guy skills and negotiation tactics to the music industry.
Constantine
Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz
Feb. 11, Warner Bros. Pictures
A film based on the hero of the Hellblazer comic book, a renegade occultist who has literally been to hell and back.
The Great Raid
Benjamin Bratt
Feb. 18, Miramax Films
An ambitious young colonel leads a group of U.S. soldiers during World War II to liberate American prisoners of war.
The Interpreter
Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn
Feb. 18, Universal Pictures
A United Nations interpreter aids an FBI agent determined to thwart an assassination plot against a controversial African leader.
Because of Winn-Dixie
Jeff Daniels
Feb. 18, 20th Century Fox
A lonely girl adopts a dog named for the supermarket where she finds him; he helps her make friends in her small Florida town.
Swimming Upstream
Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis
Feb. 25, MGM Pictures
Tony Fingleton has a troubled family but manages to become a swimming champ.
Duma
Hope Davis, Campbell Scott
Feb. 25, Warner Bros. Pictures
Set in South Africa, this is the tale of an unbreakable bond between a cheetah and an intrepid young boy.
Sahara
Matthew McConaughey
March, Paramount Pictures
Take James Bond, add Indiana Jones and mix in a dose of American action hero.
Robots
Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry
Mar. 11, 20th Century Fox
A new animated release from the creators of Ice Age.
Cinderella Man
Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Mar. 18, Universal Pictures
The true story of Jim Braddock, an underdog whose rise to success in the boxing ring inspired a Depression-weary public.
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
Sandra Bullock
Mar. 18, Warner Bros. Pictures
FBI agent Gracie Hart returns to save her friends, pageant winner Cheryl and emcee Stan, who are both kidnapped in Las Vegas.
The Ring 2
Naomi Watts
Mar. 24, DreamWorks
Rachel and her son relocate to Oregon where once again strange things begin to happen involving the tape.
Second Quarter 2005
Beauty Shop
Queen Latifah, Alicia Silverstone
Apr. 1, MGM Pictures
Barbershop heroine Gina moves to Atlanta. The salon drama continues with a new group of headstrong stylists.
Hide and Seek
Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning
Apr. 8, 20th Century Fox
A father tries to save his nine-year old daughter from a maniacal imaginary friend.
Otherwise Engaged
Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner
Apr. 15, Warner Bros.
Sarah goes into a tailspin when, at a sister’s wedding, she learns that her mother and grandmother once had the same lover.
Serenity
Alec Baldwin Apr. 22
Universal Pictures
Five hundred years in the future, the crew of a spaceship takes on odd and sometimes criminal assignments.
Elizabethtown
Orlando Bloom, Kristen Dunst
May, Paramount Pictures
In this quirky love story, a shoe designer learns about life, love and death when he returns home to arrange his father’s funeral.
Kicking and Screaming
Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Mike Ditka
May 13, Universal Pictures
A man coaches his son’s soccer team, going up against his own competitive father who has a new son on the opposing team.
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman
May 19, 20th Century Fox
Obi-Wan reveals to Anakin the true nature of power and the secrets of the Force in an attempt to lure him from the dark side.
Madagascar
May 27, DreamWorks
An animated comedy of four civilized zoo animals who live in blissful captivity.
The Longest Yard
Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds
May 30, Paramount Pictures
A remake of the 1974 comedy about a convicted football player who must field a ragtag team to take on the prison guards.
Third Quarter 2005
Must Love Dogs
Diane Lane
Summer, Warner Bros. Pictures
An over-obliging Irish divorcee is prodded and coaxed back into the dating scene.
The War of the Worlds
Tom Cruise
Summer, Paramount Pictures
A modern day adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic science fiction masterpiece.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel
Summer, Warner Bros. Pictures
Four 16-year-old friends use a pair of thrift-shop jeans to keep in touch when parted.
Batman Begins
Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes
June 17, Warner Bros. Pictures
Following his parents’ murder, disillusioned heir Bruce Wayne seeks the means to turn fear against those who prey on the fearful.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Johnny Depp
July 15, Warner Bros. Pictures
The fantasy adventure about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka and young Charlie.
The Pink Panther
Steve Martin, Beyonce Knowles
July 22, MGM Pictures
A world-famous coach is murdered and his priceless ring stolen — a ring set with the stunning diamond known as the Pink Panther.
Aeon Flux
Charlize Theron
August, Paramount Pictures
From MTV, 400 years in the future, the remains of mankind live in a city encased under a protective dome.
Dukes of Hazzard
August, Warner Bros. Pictures
To save the family farm, Cousins Bo and Larry Duke expose rival Boss Hogg’s plot to take over land in the country for a strip mine.
Doom
Cast to be determined
Aug. 5, Universal Pictures
A soldier must save his sister, a scientist who is working on another planet where her lab has been mysteriously overrun by mutants.
Jarhead
Jake Gyllenhaal
Sept. 30, Universal Pictures
A young man joins the U.S. Marines, becomes a sniper, and ends up fighting in the Gulf War.
Fourth Quarter 2005
The Green Hornet
Fourth Quarter 2005, Miramax Films
When evil lurks, beware the sting of the Green Hornet and his trusted companion, Kato. Based on the comics and TV series.
The Last Holiday
Queen Latifah
Fall, Paramount PicturesGeorgia, who works in a department store, abandons her conservative ways after mistakenly hearing she has a short time to live.
Wallace & Gromit: The Movie
Oct. 7, DreamWorks
The two-time Oscar winners, Wallace and Gromit, make their big-screen debut.
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Oct. 14, Warner Bros. Pictures
In 19th Century Europe, young Victor is wed to a mysterious bride in the underworld.
American Gangster
Denzel Washington
Nov. 4, Universal Pictures
Honest cop turned lawyer battles drugs and police corruption in New York in the 1970s.
The Producers
Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane
Dec. 21, Universal Pictures
The Tony winner returns to the big screen, this time with more songs than “Springtime for Hitler!”
King Kong
Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody
Christmas, Universal Pictures
The legendary giant ape is captured by a film crew, then put on display in New York City, only to fatally fall for a beautiful woman.
PROPERTY CONTACTS
DreamWorks: Wendy Ryding, promotions, 818-695-9731, [email protected]
MGM: Trish Halamandaris, VP-worldwide marketing, 310-449-3857, [email protected]; Mary Goss Robino, senior VP-worldwide promotions, 310-449-3345
Miramax Films: Lori Sale, executive VP-worldwide promotions, 323-822-4137, [email protected]
New Line Cinema: Valerie Pappas, VP-national promotions, 310-967-6563, [email protected]
Paramount Pictures: Lisa DiMarzio, senior VP-worldwide marketing partnerships, 323-956-5377, [email protected]
Twentieth Century Fox: Lisa Licht, senior VP-feature film promotions, 310-369-3211
Universal Pictures: Kristin Patrick Petersen, Sr. VP-national promotions, 818-777-1803, [email protected]
Warner Bros.: Louise Soper, director of national promotions, 818-954-6167, [email protected]
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