BoxOffice® Pro - July 2010

CHECK OUT OUR NEW MONTHLY FEATURE FOR EXHIBITORS: BOOK IT! SEE PAGE 46
®
$6.95
WWW.BOXOFFICE.COM
JULY 2010
D
V
E R
T I
S
E
M
E
N T
A
Relaunch!
Now with BOXOFFICE WEBWATCH and our new sister site: BoxOfficeMagazine.com
INSIDE SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE VOLUNTARY RATINGS SYSTEM
GOING GREEN > 8 CHEAP AND EASY WAYS TO CUT YOUR ENERGY BILLS
HOW YOU CAN USE THE NEW BOXOFFICE.COM TO FORECAST RESULTS
The Official Magazine of NATO

JULY 2010 VOL. 146 NO. 7
BOXOFFICE MEDIA
PUBLISHER
Peter Cane
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Kenneth James Bacon
BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
EDITOR
Amy Nicholson
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Sara Maria Vizcarrondo
24 Go Green
Landmark’s quest for a greener popcorn bag / Hollywood goes green
/ Eight cheap and easy tips to cut your energy bills today / Make your
competitors green with envy
30 The Relaunch of BoxOffice.com
Meet MOBI > Introducing Boxoffice WebWatch at BoxOffice.com
Buzz > Five films hit by the buzz / The power of buzz
Twitter & Facebook > How we use social media to forecast and predict
Grosses > BoxOffice.com is the best place to read the numbers
36 Big Picture > Predators BY AMY NICHOLSON
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW A man for all mandibles > Director Nimrod Antal
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Hey, tough guy > Actor Danny Trejo
PROMOTION Who you calling ugly? > Your box office could be gorgeous
DEPARTMENTS
2 Charts & Graphs
Numbers never lie > Fun facts from the
best movie database around
6 Peanut Gallery
We ask > Who—or what—makes you
decide to see a movie?
8 Industry Briefs
Roundup of the latest announcements
from the world of exhibition
10 Executive Suite
Supreme Court case could
fundamentally change the
entertainment industry By John Fithian
12 Show Business
The future of the arthouse theater
By Phil Contrino
14 Digital Marketing
Online games are the latest movie
marketing ploy
By Amy Nicholson
16 Timecode
Shoveling coal
By Kenneth James Bacon
54 Marketplace
56 Classifieds
AWARDS
18 Front Line
Caitlin Vielhaber, Oxford, MI
20 Front Office
Andrew Thompson, Brookline, MA
22 Marquee
Neighborhood Cinema Group, Owosso
Cinemas, Owosso, MI
THE SLATE
42 On the Horizon
Machete / Legend of the Guardians: The
Owls of Ga’hoole / Buried
44 Coming Attractions
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice / The Last
Airbender / The Kids are All Right /
Despicable Me / Dinner for Schmucks /
Ramona and Beezus / Cats & Dogs: The
Revenge of Kitty Galore
46 Book It!
Flash reviews and recommendations of
films that should be on your radar
52 Booking Guide
Nearly 150 films that you can book
right now, complete with contact info,
film formats, audio formats and more
INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTORS
John Fithian
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
S. Matthew Bauer
|Pam Grady
Ray Greene
Cole Hornaday
Wade Major
John P. McCarthy
Richard Mowe
Matthew Nestel
Steve Ramos
Ed Scheid
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Ally McMurray
BOXOFFICE.COM
EDITOR
Phil Contrino
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Tim Cogshell
Alex Edghill
Tyler Foster
Pete Hammond
Joe Galm
Daniel Garris
Barbara Goslawski
Mark Keizer
Cathleen Rountree
Steve Simels
Christian Toto
EDITORIAL INTERNS
Melissa Savignano
ADVERTISING
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
Ben Rosenstein
230 Park Ave., Ste. 1000
New York, NY 10169
212-627-7000 tel
866-902-7750 fax
ben@boxoffice.com
CIRCULATION INQUIRIES
Palm Coast Data
800-877-5207
boxofficemagazine@emailcustomerservice.com
EDITORIAL
9107 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 450
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-876-9090 tel
866-902-7750 fax
MARKETING
Jonathan Margolis
the michael alan group
michael-alan.com
2 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

STOPPRESS
We’ve got a lot of ground to cover this month. Our new websites – BoxOffice.com
and BoxOfficeMagazine.com – are covered in the pages that follow. The former
delivers a new toolkit for the industry, and the latter carries on our 90-year
tradition of reporting and analysis on the both show and business.
In this issue, we’re also launching a new feature called BOOK IT! It’s where you’ll
find ground-level intelligence on the independent film marketplace – reviews, news and
marketing angles that will help small films become big earners.
So read (and click) away. And don’t forget to let me know what you think.
peter@boxoffice.com
To read this issue online, go to
BoxOffice.com/gogreen/ and enter this access code: PS926509
Coming in July at BoxOffice.com and BoxOfficeMagazine.com
Insurance
Services
for the
Theatre
Industry
REVIEWS
Christopher Nolan’s Inception (above) has been shrouded in secrecy.
Will it be worth the tease? Consult our reviews section to find
out.
LONG RANGE FORECAST
Each week BoxOffice.com takes a look at the financial prospects for
the most promising upcoming releases. Be ahead of the curve: read
our analysis.
Make sure to register as a user on our new site to automatically
be placed on the mailing list for The BOXOFFICE Report, our email
blast. For a better idea of all the great new features on our site,
check out page 30 of this issue.
RETRACTION: In our June 2010 Marquee Award article devoted to IPic Entertainment, we stated Muvico Theatres
filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. That was not correct. To the contrary, in March of 2009, Muvico successfully
negotiated a complete restructure of its financings and emerged in March 2009 debt-free and recapitalized. Muvico
BOXOFFICE (ISSN 0006-8527) is published Monthly for $59.95 per year by Boxoffice Media, LLC, 9107 Wilshire
continues to operate nine theaters, with a total of 154 screens, in Florida, California and Illinois, including its newest
Blvd, Suite 450, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Periodical Postage Paid at Beverly Hills, CA and at additional mailing
offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to : BOXOFFICE, 9107 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 450, Beverly Hills ,
theater in Thousand Oaks, California. Boxoffice regrets the error.
CA
MOC
Insurance
Services
THEATRE INSURANCE
SPECIALISTS
800 951 0600
San Francisco
www.mocins.com
license #0589960
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 3

NUMBERS NEVER LIE
CHARTS & GRAPHS
ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION CHAMP
$198,676,568 / $1,857,470,000 (adj)
BREAKDOWN BY DISTRIBUTOR OF THE
TOP 50 ALL-TIME GROSSERS (ADJ)
Fox 11
Universal 8
Paramount 8
Disney 5
Warner Bros. 5
Columbia 4
MGM 3
Other 6
With the relaunch of BoxOffice.com (and its sister site
BoxOfficeMagazine.com) our box office numbers are now second to
none. Here are a just few fun and surprising facts we’ve learned:
THE HIGHEST GROSSING MOVIE RELEASED ON A SUPER BOWL WEEKEND
Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour > $31,116,780 2008
THE HIGHEST GROSSING R-RATED MOVIE
The Passion of the Christ > $370,773,682 2004
9 FILMS THAT TOP AVATAR’S $794,052,000 (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
Gone With the Wind, Star Wars, The Sound of Music, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Titanic,
The Ten Commandments, Jaws, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Doctor Zhivago
BEST JULY 4 OPENING FOR A FILM NOT BASED ON AN EXISTING PROPERTY
Hancock > $62,603,459 2008
HIGHEST GROSSING 3RD FILM IN A SERIES (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
Return of the Jedi > $741,427,000 (adj) / $309,306,996 (gross) 1983
HIGHEST GROSSING ANIMATED FILM (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs > $944,573,000 (adj) / $184,925,342 (gross) 1937
QUICKEST AND SLOWEST TO $300 MILLION
The Dark Knight—10 Days (2008) / Star Wars: Attack of the Clones—104 Days (2002)
HIGHEST GROSSING G-RATED, ANIMATED FILM NOT DISTRIBUTED BY DISNEY
The Polar Express > $181,320,448 2004
OUR JULY PREDICTIONS
OPENING WEEKEND / TOTAL GROSS
Inception
$67 mil / $220 mil
The Last Airbender
$52 mil / $145 mil
Salt
$38 mil / $105 mil
Despicable Me
$35 mil / $120 mil
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
$30 mil / $90 mil
Cats & Dogs:
The Revenge of
Kitty Galore
$23 mil / $80 mil
Dinner for Schmucks
$25 mil / $75 mil
Predators
$24 mil / $50 mil
Charlie St. Cloud
$16 mil / $42 mil
Ramona and Beezus
$11 mil / $30 mil
All data from BoxOffice.com
4 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

The fi rst name in 4K.
Sony launched the fi rst 4K digital cinema projectors in 2005 to meet the industry’s highest specifi cations.
Our research proved that audiences appreciate the 4K advantage. After careful evaluation, our customers
agree. And now competitors are jumping in. It’s no surprise. Sony has long been synonymous with advanced
engineering, innovation and picture quality. No wonder the industry is choosing Sony 4K. First and foremost.
Visit sony.com/4K to see the full list of Sony Digital Cinema 4K theaters or to schedule a demonstration.
© 2010 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Features and specifi cations are subject to change without notice.
Sony, Sony Digital Cinema, Sony Digital Cinema 4K, make.believe and their respective logos are trademarks of Sony.

PEANUT GALLERY
THE QUESTION: Who—or what—makes you decide to see a movie?
Dennis Dugan
Director, Grown Ups
If it’s a comedy, I try to see it even
if I know I’m going to hate it, because
that’s my job. I don’t go to
scary movies and even though I
love Martin Scorsese I didn’t see
Shutter Island, because I’m working
on a comedy and I don’t want to
get disturbed. I want to have happy,
funny thoughts; I guard myself
that way. When I saw the trailer for
Robin Hood, I went, “Those guys
made Gladiator, so I’m going to
go because that was great.” I can
escape and see something fun.
And my wife, she’ll say, “Let’s go
to the movies! Anything you want
to see! What do you want to see?”
I’ll say, oh say, Robin Hood. And
she’ll say, “What if we saw...?”
Wasn’t it ‘anything I want to see?’
Wasn’t that the proposal? So then
we see whatever she wants. And
then I see anything Working Title
does, because I love what they do.
And then I’m in the Academy, so
we get all the discs and sit in the
house and watch everything. And
I’ve gotta see my friends’ movies—
anything my friends are in. I have
too many friends, I’ll tell you that
right now.
Gale Anne Hurd
Producer, The Incredible Hulk
I have an 18 year old daughter.
Whenever there’s a film that she
and her friends are really interested
in, that triggers my interest. I want
to see why they’re so interested in
a particular film. So I often go to
see the films that she’s passionate
to see. Surprisingly, it’s not always
Twilight—they also go to see quite
a few foreign films, which defies
expectations. And I’m still driven
to the movies by what critics find
interesting—the smaller films can
really be overlooked if you’re’ not
paying attention.
Rachel Klein
Post-Production Supervisor
Rocky Balboa
Something new I haven’t seen. It
could be emotional like The Hurt
Locker. When I hear everybody talking
about it, when there’s a movie
like that, you have to go see it just
to see what you think about it yourself.
And something that brings back
memories like Nightmare on Elm
Street—I like to go see those just to
see if I can still sit through them like
I did when I was a kid.
Jason Lim
CEO, Trigger LA
I really like the visual directors. I hear
about a film early on from a movie
blog—I’ll hear about the premise
and the actors back when the director
gets signed. Films are in the
back of my mind and during their
development I’ll hear the behindthe-scenes
stories. But then there’s
the trailer: it shows the emotional
content and the visual content, and
that’s what gets me excited.
Martin Olesen
Director of Marketing
Packing Concepts Inc.
Working in this industry, I’m obviously
influenced by my peers—I
hear a lot from screenings. But I’m
also influenced by plain advertising.
I’ll see trailers I’d like to go
see, good advertising in television
and magazines.
Sol Tryon and Mike O’Connell
Director and Actor, The Living Wake
Sol: The easy, honest answer is:
my wife.
Mike: I don’t have one of those—
where do you get one?
Sol: [I’ll go] if I hear about something
that sounds thought-provoking
and fun. I try to support independent
filmmakers, and things
that make me think and feel. I try
not to get too attached to a person—obviously,
there are directors
I know and want to support—but
it’s really just about trying to find
an emotion that grabs me in a
trailer.
Mike: For me, anything that
screws with conventions.
Anything that tries to step out
of the formula that movies have
become. Romantic comedies
are the best example—you’ve
seen them all, but every once in
a while there’s one that thwarts
the convention and you can enjoy
the medium again. Sometimes
these artists take themselves very
seriously.
6 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

INDUSTRY BRIEFS
3D company MasterImage 3D, LLC expanded
its operations by opening a European office.
Located in the UK’s Pinewood Studios, the new
office serves the growing number of theaters
adopting MasterImage’s 3D digital cinema systems
across Europe and will help drive adoption
of its auto-stereoscopic 3D display systems. Cinema
technology veterans Brian Kercher, newly
named managing director of 3D cinema, MasterImage
3D Europe and Andrew Lee, director
of sales engineering, are leading the company’s
European operations.
The FCC cited “public interest” when it approved
a request by the MPAA to permit recent
movies to be sent directly to American households
over secure high definition transmission
lines from their cable or satellite providers prior
to their release on DVD or Blu-ray. In its order,
the FCC said: “On balance, this limited waiver
will provide public interest benefits—making
movies widely available for home viewing far
earlier than ever before—without imposing
harm on any consumers.” Added MPAA’s Bob
Pisano, “The first, and best, way to view movies
will always be in movie theaters—and nothing
can replace the pleasure this brings to millions
and millions of people all across our country
and the globe. But for those people unable to
make it to the theater and interested in viewing
a recently released movie, thanks to the FCC,
they will now have a new option. For other consumers
who prefer standard, linear, on-demand
or DVD or Blu-ray options, these services will be
unchanged.”
Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. announced
its Phase 2 subsidiary has expanded an existing
non-recourse $8.9 million credit facility to
approximately $47 million. A previous increase
of $2.9 million in the facility along with this new
increase of $35 million will be used to fund approximately
750 digital cinema systems with
exhibitors under signed deployment agreements.
As is the case with each of Cinedigm’s
Phase 1 and Phase 2 loans, this expanded facility
is non-recourse to Cinedigm and is structured
to be repaid by VPFs earned under long term
contracts with all major studios. Cinedigm
Digital Cinema Services will oversee the deployment
of these systems and manage the installed
asset base as it does for all Phase 1 and Phase
2 deployments. Cinedigm’s Phase 2 Digital Cinema
subsidiary expects to convert up to 10,000
theater screens to Cinedigm CertifiedTM digital
cinema systems in its Phase 2 VPF-backed deployment
program. To date, it has contracted
for and funded in excess of 1,600 screen transitions
through both non-recourse facilities and
the Cinedigm Exhibitor-Buyer program. “We are
thrilled that this financing has closed and that we
can continue the momentum which started late
last year,” said Bud Mayo, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Cinedigm.
NEC Display Solutions of America, a provider
of commercial LCD display and projector solutions,
announced that Southern Theatres, LLC
selected NEC digital cinema projectors for
the newly renovated and redesigned Theatres
at Canal Place in New Orleans. The move by
Southern Theatres extends its current relationship
with NEC and Master Reseller Ballantyne
Strong, Inc. Seeking to resurrect The Theatres
at Canal Place, Southern Theatres outfitted five
all-digital auditoriums with oversized, reclining
leather seats, shared swivel-tables and drinkholders
in a stadium-seating configuration with
reserved seating. The new amenities include an
upscale café and premium bar in the foyer, and
a call button for in-theater food and beverage
table service. NEC large-screen LCD displays
give the concession areas added appeal and
menu flexibility. The grand opening of the complex
was the midnight premiere of Sex and The
City 2. Said Pierre Richer, president and COO of
NEC Display Solutions, “New Orleans is being
restored one project at a time, and we are very
privileged to play a small role.” Added George
Solomon, president of Southern Theatres, “Investing
in this community means a lot to us.”
Singaporean President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
has signed the Anti-Camcording Act, thereby
passing it into law and intensifying the fight
against movie piracy in the country. Considered
a milestone legislation piece in Southeast Asia,
the Anti-Camcording Law will target people
who are caught using or attempting to use an
audiovisual recording device to transmit or
make a copy of any part of a performance in an
exhibition facility of any cinematographic film or
other audiovisual work, and these movie pirates
will be charged a fine of PhP 50,000 to PhP 750,
000 (US$1,000-US$17,000) and face imprisonment
of a minimum of six months and one day
to six years and one day. “We congratulate the
Philippine government in this milestone victory
in the country’s fight against movie piracy
and its renewed commitment to join its Asian
counterparts in protecting content and tackling
copyright theft by going after the source with
a strong anti-camcording law,” said Mike Ellis,
president and managing director for Asia Pacific
of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Currently,
more than 90 percent of the pirated copies
of newly released movies on the street and
on Internet sites originate from illegal copies
made in cinemas. Around nine percent of global
camcorders in 2009 have been forensically
traced to theaters in the Asia-Pacific.
Regal Entertainment Group announced the
addition of the Regal Premium Experience SM
(RPX) to Kendall Village Stadium 16. The alldigital
giant screen experience opened May
28th in Miami with the midnight screening of
Disney’s Prince of Persia. RPX presents movies
with uncompressed surround sound and 2D and
RealD 3D. Said Greg Dunn, president and COO
for Regal Entertainment Group, “Regal is proud
to continue the rollout of RPX at our Kendall
theater, which is already an extremely popular
location for moviegoers in the Miami market.”
Fandango and Common Sense Media—a nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization dedicated to
improving the media and technology experience
for kids and families—have formed an editorial
partnership to help parents make age-appropriate
movie choices for their families. As of May,
millions of Fandango users can find Common
Sense Media movie reviews for thousands of new
releases and DVDs. By clicking “Information for
Parents,” users will be taken to the full Common
Sense review at the bottom of the page, featuring
the Decider Slider, What Parents Need to Know
and a breakdown of the movie’s content, from
violence and sex to role models and messages.
“As parents, we need to be selective about our
kids’ entertainment choices, and Common Sense
Media provides Fandango with easy-to-read
consumer reviews especially tailored for parents,”
said Jessica Yi, vice president of product development
for Fandango. Added Anne Zehren,
president and COO of Common Sense Media,
“Our Common Sense reviews are designed to
empower parents with the tools and information
they need to help kids get the best—and avoid
the worst—of media and entertainment.”
Christie announced that Cinemas Guzzo, a
Canada-based independent cinema chain, has
purchased 57 Christie Solaria series digital cinema
projectors,. Cinemas Guzzo is a family owned
business founded in 1974, with 148 screens in 11
theater complexes throughout the Montreal area.
Founder Angelo Guzzo is one of the earliest pioneers
of independent multi-screen movie theaters
in Canada. He led the struggle for independent
theater owners to obtain the right to project
first-run movies. Over the next few years, he and
son Vincenzo Guzzo anticipate opening three
new 100 percent digital multiplexes, all using
Christie projectors. Said Vincenzo Guzzo, “We are
confidently moving forward with Christie as our
exclusive digital cinema provider because of their
extensive history of delivering reliable products,
along with friendly and supportive service to the
exhibition community.” Installation began in January
of this year and Cinemas Guzzo anticipates
that all 57 Christie Solaria projectors (of which
30 are Christie CP2230s) will be fully deployed
by November, in time for the U.S. Thanksgiving
holiday weekend. At that point, they will have
doubled their 3D capacity in all 11 theater complexes.
Cinemas Guzzo also selected GDC servers
and MasterImage’s 3D technology.
AMC Entertainment Inc. and Kerasotes Show-
Place Theatres, LLC completed the agreement
by which AMC has acquired substantially all
of the assets of Kerasotes. Kerasotes owned
95 theaters and 972 screens in 21 mid-sized,
suburban and metropolitan markets, primarily
in the Midwest. More than three quarters of the
Kerasotes theaters include stadium seating, and
almost 90 percent have been built since 1994.
Tony Kerasotes will retain and operate three of
its theaters: two ShowPlace ICON locations in St.
Louis Park, MN. and Chicago and the ShowPlace
14 Theatre in Secaucus, NJ. This transaction
raises AMC’s total number of theaters to 380
with 5,325 screens, maintaining the company’s
place as the second-largest theatrical exhibition
company.
8 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

Our performance
is your success
One brand – one total audio solution. The DCP 300 processor with
built-in monitor and crossover, industy standard DCA amplifiers and
the broad range of DCS speakers, make QSC the source for great
cinema audio.
www.qscaudio.com
Cinema Expo
June 21 - 24, 2010
Visit us at Booth 242
©2010 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office and other countries.

“EXPENDABLES’ TOP DOMESTIC GROSSERSEXECUTIVE SUITE
JOHN
FITHIAN
NATO
President
and Chief
Executive
Officer
SUPREME COURT CASE COULD
FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Voluntary Movie Rating System in Danger
On April 26, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United
States decided to hear a case with potentially dramatic
implications for the movie rating system
and the way all entertainment retailers—including movie
theater operators—must do business. In Schwarzenegger v.
EMA, the State of California argues that the Court should
create a new exception to the First Amendment by subjecting
depictions of violence to the same standard as obscenity,
which may be regulated. Though the case involves
video games, an adverse decision would set a very dangerous
precedent for future restrictions on the sale of tickets
to violent movies and could essentially mean the end of the
voluntary movie rating system.
Driven by concern over depictions of violence and
minors’ perceived ability to purchase violent video games,
seven states and two local jurisdictions have passed laws
in the last decade attempting to restrict minors’ access to
games (see below). From 2000 to this year, approximately
220 similar laws were proposed in the U.S. Congress, 33
states, the District of Columbia, New York City and Puerto
Rico, but none were enacted.
The nine enacted laws took a variety of approaches to
restrict minors’ access to violent video games, and in each
instance video game retailers and publishers successfully
challenged the laws on First Amendment grounds. Video
game content constitutes protected speech under the First
Amendment, as do movies, music and books. Attempts to
restrict the sale of protected speech are subject to very strict
scrutiny under the First Amendment.
The State of California passed such a video game law,
only to have a federal court strike it down as unconstitutional.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (the
irony of him attacking entertainment violence should be
lost on no one) petitioned the Supreme Court to review
the lower court’s ruling. He argues that the First Amendment
should not prevent a state from restricting the sale of
violent video games to minors, and that the state shouldn’t
have to prove a causal link between violent video games
and physical or psychological harm to minors before imposing
such restrictions.
Briefing on the case will be completed by August, and
the case will be heard and decided in the Court’s next term,
which begins in October. NATO will support our friends in
the video game industry. The legal arguments will be made
in the briefs, and I won’t bother you with those details
here. At this juncture, though, I believe the movie industry
should take a look at recent political and legislative history
and ask ourselves this question: what would have happened
in this history had violent entertainment not commanded
full First Amendment protection?
“
April 1999: The Columbine High School massacre. Two
students kill 12 classmates and a teacher, wounding another
24. The resulting media investigation indicates that the
two killers liked violent movies and video games.
May 1999: Congressional hearings begin to investigate
the marketing and sale of violent entertainment to
children. Liberal and conservative senators alike criticize
voluntary entertainment ratings systems for their lack of
efficacy. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Hatch (R-
UT) suggests that Congress mandate enforcement of movie
and video game ratings. At a House hearing, a panel of
teenagers describes how easy it is to buy tickets to “R” rated
movies. Legislation to tax, study and restrict violent movies
is proposed in the Senate.
June 1999: President Clinton directs the FTC and the
Justice Department to investigate the marketing and sale of
violent movies, songs and video games. In a White House
ceremony, Clinton and NATO leaders announce new voluntary
ratings enforcement campaign at movie theaters.
Members of the House of Representatives vote down a
proposal by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) to restrict the sale and
exhibition of violent or sexual material in movies, video
games and elsewhere, citing First Amendment concerns.
The Hyde amendment would have imposed fines and years
of jail time for violations. The House also votes down a proposal
by Congressman Zach Wamp (R-TN) to create a comprehensive
system for labeling all violent entertainment
and imposing fines of $10,000 for each violation (i.e., each
movie ticket or video game sale).
September 1999: Two reports—one from Congress and
one from a private group—are released regarding the effects
of violent media on children.
March 2000: Congress holds more hearings on violent
video games.
May 2000: Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Lieberman
(D-CT) introduce legislation calling for a standardized and
mandatory rating system with fines for violations of enforcement
requirements.
September 2000: The FTC issues its first report on the
marketing and sale of violent entertainment to children.
Deferring to First Amendment case law, the FTC does not
recommend legislation, but strongly encourages better voluntary
practices. More congressional hearings are held on
violence in entertainment, including movies. Senator John
Breaux (D-LA) suggests that theater owners forfeit their
business licenses if they fail to prevent teens from slipping
into movies rated “R” or “NC-17.”
First half of 2001: Five states (Arkansas, Utah, Virginia,
Massachusetts and Delaware) propose legislation to mandate
movie ratings enforcement or restrict movie ticket
10 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

sales to minors in some other way. Some proposals would impose stiff
criminal penalties. With First Amendment arguments front and center,
NATO helps defeat all five proposals.
Summer 2001: Rep. Wamp and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) reintroduce
the legislation that had been defeated in 1999. Senate holds more
hearings.
2001: An early court ruling on violent video games strikes down
an Indianapolis ordinance that would have prohibited operators
of video arcades to allow persons under 18 to operate games with
violence. The ordinance was an early attempt to expand “harmful to
minors” and obscenity standards to violence.
Fall 2003: FTC holds a “workshop” during which NATO and other
entertainment retail groups are “asked” to testify about their ratings
enforcement policies and procedures. The FTC encourages retailers
to follow the example of NATO members and increasingly enforce
ratings.
2003-2004: Washington State outlaws the sale of video games that
depict harm to law enforcement officers. A federal court strikes down
the law under the First Amendment.
June 2004: NATO and four other trade associations hold the first
joint “Entertainment Ratings and Labeling Awareness Month.”
2005–2006: State legislators propose a flood of bills to restrict the
sale of violent video games. Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota
and Oklahoma enact laws. All five are later declared unconstitutional
under the First Amendment. The Michigan bill originally covered
video games and movies until NATO of Michigan successfully lobbied
for modifications in the bill.
April 2007: Virginia Tech shootings take 32 lives. Once again, the
media associates the shooter with violent movies and video games.
2008: In the fifth FTC report on media violence, video game retailers
leap ahead of movie theater operators in their enforcement record.
Since 2000, video game ratings enforcement has risen from 15 percent
to 80 percent. (Over the same period, movie theaters rose from 52 percent
enforcement to 65 percent.)
2009: Legislators in Utah and Louisiana introduce movie ratings
legislation. The Utah bill would impose criminal penalties on cinema
operators that ascribe to the movie ratings system, but fail to fully
enforce it. The Utah legislature approves the bill, but it is vetoed by
the governor. The Louisiana bill would give movie ratings the force
of law. NATO’s lobby against both bills included a detailed message
to the Utah governor with strong arguments under the First Amendment.
2009: In the sixth FTC report, movie theater ratings enforcement
improves, but still trails video game retailers. Video game retailers are
enforcing ratings at 80 percent, movie theaters at 72 percent.
April 2010: Supreme Court grants certiorari in the California
video game case.
Before I joined NATO full-time in 2000, I worked at a law firm and
represented various clients (including NATO) with First Amendmentprotected
activities. One of the reasons I decided to come to NATO
is my belief that our democracy works best when all ideas flow
freely. Movie theater entertainment constitutes an important aspect
of free speech. In my opinion, the Supreme Court’s decision in the
Schwarzenegger case will be the most significant judicial opinion of
my tenure. I also believe that if violent entertainment did not have
First Amendment protection, our industry would not have prevailed
through this list of dangerous proposals. Let’s all hope the Court
reaches the right decision.
■
JU:Y 2010 BOXOFFICE 11

SHOW BUSINESS
PHIL
CONTRINO
Editor
BoxOffice.com
THE FUTURE OF
THE ARTHOUSE
THEATER
Pay attention to the Michigan
Theater’s Russ Collins
That first trip to the arthouse theater,
whether in high school or college,
represents a maturation landmark for
each and every one of us. Face it: we all
feel smarter when we go to the local
arthouse. And it’s not artificial intelligence,
like, for instance, sitting in
a Barnes and Noble while pretending
to read a pretentious tome in front of
some cute girls. I’ve never gone to see a
film at an arthouse that didn’t provoke
a strong reaction, whether it’s watching
Michael Haneke pull off another masterful
cinematic enigma in The White
Ribbon or suffering through the Noah
Baumbach/Ben Stiller dud Greenberg.
As much as I love going to the multiplex,
I can’t always say much about the
educational experience. The arthouse
needs to be preserved and protected for
future generations.
Enter Russ Collins.
Collins works as the CEO/executive director
of the Michigan Theater in Ann
Arbor, Michigan and also serves as the
co-chair of the Sundance Institute’s Art House
Project. In a climate where a lot of people are
still predicting the demise of the exhibition
industry (yawn), Collins feels there will be more
arthouse theaters in the future. He goes against
the mystifying conventional wisdom that people
just like to sit at home and be entertained.
“I’m very bullish on seeing arthouses across
the country, because cinema is the most important
form of art to come out of the 20 th century
and it’s still very relevant,” says Collins.
Comparing independent film to music is
something that Collins does
a lot, and it makes sense.
“The way we look at cinema
is very, very prejudiced,
because it’s slanted only
towards the commercial dynamic,”
says Collins. “That
would be like looking at the
music business through the
lens of commercial concerts
and not recognizing that
there’s a whole range of music
that’s presented in communities
across the country
in all different contexts.”
Think the buzz around Lady
Gaga’s summer tour vs. the
hip underground band that
sells out the bar.
“We need to think about
movie exhibition in the
same way we think about
concert promotion,” continues
Collins. “There are
some concerts that need to
be presented by commercial
promoters that do them in
arenas and big theaters and
they’re doing them singularly
for the profit motive.
Then there are the folks who
are dedicated to the artform,
to a particular type of music
that can only exist in a subsidized
format, and there are
dedicated people who present
that type of concert.”
“Think local” is a trope of
the green movement, which
Collins tweaks to apply to
the cinema.
“I think there’s a tremendous
growth potential in the
arthouse segment, but the art house segment
will be oriented towards the community-based,
mission-driven kind of exhibitor,” says Collins.
“What’s going to help the arthouse cinema in
the future is the understanding that their job is
to marry their local audience to the type of film
the local audience is interested in. That’s going
to vary from town to town.”
For the last three years, the Sundance Institute
has hosted a conference called the Art
House Convergence, which allows small exhibitors
to gather and share ideas.
“The conference has grown tremendously
over the last three years, and the folks who
come to it are primarily—but not exclusively—from
non-profit arthouse theaters from
around the country,” says Collins. “What we
want to do is learn from each other the best
practices of how to be the very best community-based,
mission-driven arthouse”
Crucially, arthouse theaters need to reach
out to younger moviegoers and plant the seeds
that will provide new patrons for decades to
come.
The Michigan Theater keeps a very active
Facebook page, which helps the theater push
screenings to fans. The page even opens up
for feedback about potential films they could
book.
“We do a lot of different programs where
we get kids and parents to come to movies,”
says Collins. “Teenagers are going to do what
teenagers are going to do. There are a lot of
teenagers who are interested in arthouse films,
but there are more of them who aren’t into it
at all. They think that it’s gross because it’s
what their moms and dads do.” Arthouses have
to make an impression on kids before they’re
too “cool” to give them a shot.
Both arthouses and multiplexes know they
need to provide future generations with a love
of the cinematic experience. While the exhibition
industry continues to face challenges, one
thing that it can always change is minds.
“Our job isn’t to keep people away from the
multiplex,” says Collins. “We want people to
go to the multiplex. I think that’s one of the
things that multiplex operators don’t understand
about arthouses. The arthouse is a particular
segment of the market, but the people
who love arthouse films also love commercial
films...for the most part. I think that every
commercial theater should enthusiastically
embrace an arthouse moving into their town
because they increase the profile of going to
a theater to view a motion picture—and the
beneficiaries of that are also going to be the
commercial theaters.”
■
12 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

DIGITAL MARKETING
ONE-UP
Online games are the latest
movie marketing ploy, and
they’re getting smarter every
day
by Amy Nicholson
The Karate Kid hit theaters on June 11,
but fans have been getting to know
stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan for
months in an online video game created by
Trigger LA, a digital marketing company
that’s helped Hollywood push its products
for blockbusters like Transformers 2, District
9 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
It’s been a year since
those films detonated—an
eternity on the web—and
Trigger CEO Jason Yim is the
man to ask about the role of
the Internet in boosting box
office. After all: people say
“Use the web!” but what does
that mean?
“Clearly, the Internet has
taken over print media—and
in some ways, TV—as the
primary source of information
for a broad audience,”
says Yim. “Before, that audience
was limited to younger
viewers, college kids and
below, but every year it’s
growing larger and larger.”
Still, Yim sees mass marketing and the Web
as having two distinct uses. “Probably the
first time the broad audience hears about a
film is when a billboard on a bus drives by.
But once they are aware, digital media has a
huge advantage because you can take that
interest and nurture it, feed it, provide more
narrative and character interaction—an immersive
experience that can tie into a social
network where people can spread the news
to all of their friends.”
And gaming is a core part of Trigger’s
strategy, one that they’re also touting this
summer for The A-Team, Toy Story 3 and Salt.
Explains Yim, “ We’ve found that gaming
is the second most popular thing on a film
site after the trailer.” Even better, games
are long and ingratiate themselves to their
audience. “Game play times are, on average,
an upwards of 10 minutes. A trailer is 60
seconds, maybe two minutes. If the average
gamer plays a game five times, that’s a lot of
time for people to spend with your brand.
And game playing is inherently competitive,
so there’s a lot of stickiness from that.
Players post their scores on Facebook and
they advertise us to their friends.”
Trigger creates games in different formats:
web, phone and Facebook. Each has
different strengths. “The advantage of a
website game is it’s front and center on a
film’s website and really easy to access. It’s
one click away and there’s no installation,”
says Yim. Trigger’s popular games average
a million hits, with some blockbuster successes
reaching 10 million. But on the web,
people are always tempted to surf away.
Fewer people play games on their
FINGER ON THE TRIGGER
Trigger LA’s website promises a taste of upoming releases
via digital gameplay
phones—estimates are in the hundreds of
thousands—but that format has a more
lasting effect. “On a mobile device, a person
keeps it in their pocket. When they play
a game, they don’t forget about it. There’s
an icon and they can play it repeatedly,”
says Yim. “And the iPhone is a shared
experience—people are always showing
their friends what the cool new download
is.” Still, the game has to look interesting
enough to get players to download it, and
those crucial extra steps can discourage the
half-hearted.
“With Facebook, the advantage is it
plugs into everything,” says Yim. Fans can
more easily tell their friends about the
game and scoreboards encourage competition
and repeat playing. But the wildly
popular social site is continually retooling
their pages and developers have to do lots of
coding to get their games to mesh.
“Customers are aware of authenticity,”
warns Yim, and audiences don’t like feeling
like they’re being tricked into playing
with an ad. To sidestep that resistance, he
and his team work with studios to create
a game that’s both targeted and irresistible.
“We normally get to read a script in
advance or see an early cut of the film or
concept art.” Then, Trigger meets with the
studio to hammer out the details. “We talk
about what secrets they want to avoid, or
what characters and environments they
want to focus on. We strategize and take
it back to our team,” he says. To them, the
games’ small file size—the opposite of the
bigger-is-better console aesthetic—is a bonus.
“The fun part about the brainstorming
is that they’re limited by file
size. Because of that, we can
reference games we grew up
with, simple arcade games
from the ‘90s.” If you squint,
The Karate Kid game takes on
the look of Double Dragon—a
classic favorite.
But the future is nothing
that a kid with an 8-bit Nintendo
could have conceived.
Imagine this: the opening
weekend of a film who’s gotten
you mildly addicted to
their game. When you walk
into the lobby of the movie
theater, the GPS on your
phone unlocks the secret last
level—and when you ace
it, you win a free popcorn.
That’s what digital marketers are calling
“Augmented Reality,” and Yim predicts that,
within the year, it could be a powerful force.
“It’s important to have the campaign
run in advance of a film, but inside the
lobby is a cherry on top,” says Yim. “To
make a movie relevant when the weekend
comes—that’s a two step attack.” With augmented
reality, a fan can hold a magazine
ad up to an iPhone and see a secret 3D image
pop out, or they can take a picture of a
movie poster and use that image to unlock
contens. “Digital is finally connecting to the
real world using GPS—by pushing to locations
and windows of time, you can make
activity happen when you want it to happen.
It’s all evolving so fast—online gaming
is changing, social media is changing,
mobile is changing and augmented reality
is the new giant bucket of treasure.” And
it’s time for smart exhibitors to plunder its
bounty.
■
14 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

SHOVELING COAL
The World Wide Web is a wonderful thing unless
you’re charged with the task of feeding it
EXPENDABLES’ THERE WERE LESS TOP DOMESTIC THAN 3,000 GROSSERS WEBSITES IN EARLY 1994
TIMECODE
KENNETH
JAMES
BACON
Creative
Director,
BOXOFFICE
Media
The story I’m about to tell would be so
much better if I used real names, but for
reasons both legal and moral I have chosen
to change them all except for two, those two
who are the heroes of this story. After all, why
give the unnamed guilty more publicity than
they already crave? Though I am tempted.
FROM OUT OF THE PAST VIA ARCHIVE.ORG
BOXOFFICE Online launched a full four years before this 1998 version of our site
In 1995 I was employed as a visual communications
manager by Big Giant Company.
If anything featured Big Giant’s logo, it came
across my desk before it went out into the world.
One fine day—it was partly sunny with a 100%
chance of being Seattle—I was invited to a meeting
with the BGC IT team. Big Giant was and
still is a Fortune 1000 technology company with
employment numbering in the thousands. This
IT team was rocket smart—men and women
from places like Stanford and CalTech (otherwise
known as my safety schools). One of the
team’s members was named Phyllis. At the conclusion
of this big meeting Phyllis was selected
to co-lead the effort to figure out how to get Big
Giant on the World Wide Web. I would be the
other co-lead, which was a pretty bright move
on the part of Slick Operator, the company’s
CEO (who would later become a major name
in the search business). I claim ‘bright move’
because at that time, it was the general belief at
most companies that web development was the
sole province of geeky techno MIT nerds—no
one with a marketing background need apply.
We were, they said, morons. This is why so
many early websites looked the way they did—
garish colors, blinking icons and everything all
in caps. However, Slick wanted to communicate
with customers in a manner that supported
and reflected the company’s existing marketing
tools. The site should look and operate like a
brochure, but with all the technological trimmings.
Besides, I had the only copy of Photoshop
in the building.
In August 1995 there were just 18,000 websites
on the internet (there are over 230,000,0o0
now), so there weren’t a lot of how-to books
on the subject. Phyllis and I were given an SGI
workstation to act as the dedicated server and
we set about learning HTML, the hypertext
language devised by Tim Berners-Lee just 5 years
earlier. There were no design tools to speak of—
we coded the site ourselves and the results can
still be seen at Archive.org—reason enough for
me not to divulge BGC’s true name.
Once launched we had to update Big Giant’s
site constantly, and we had to do it by hand.
Every day. Press release updates, product specs,
news and photos—it was endless. Phyllis and I
took to calling the task ‘shoveling coal’ and the
train was always moving. It was drudgery.
16 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

A full year earlier, former Boxoffice
editor Ray Greene lead the
effort to devise an online version
of this magazine. In late 1994, the
first online edition of Boxoffice appeared,
but instead of typing www.
BoxOffice.com, you typed this:
www.usc.edu/dept/etc/stand.html,
then clicked on a Boxoffice icon.
When Ray introduced the site to
our readers in a November 1994
full-page feature, he enlisted Ann
Kwinn, a Ph.D. in instructional
technology, to explain to readers
how all this complicated piece of
business worked. Soon, Boxoffice
migrated to its own URL and you
can see how our site looked in
1998 on the previous page.
Over the years our site has
changed developers, editors,
designers, writers and focus. My
adventure at Boxoffice intially
began not as the creative director
of this magazine, but as part of a
small team tasked by publisher
Peter Cane with giving BoxOffice.
com a makeover. Now the only
way to hear that complete and
BEN’S BACK
The site in 2005 featuring our current Director of Advertising
unexpurgated story is over beers
at Capri Ristorante Italiano—and
you’re buying.
The sites we recently launched
are the result of the amazing work
done by a team much smarter
than me, but to mention their
names would only embarrass
them and take the focus off of me.
And it’s all about me.
In the 15 years since my first
foray into the hyperlinked world,
the tools and tricks have evolved
at an exponential rate—I understand
little of it. The good news
is that a great team, lead by Peter
Cane and Phil Contrino, do understand
it all and the result of their
insight are our two data-driven,
visitor-centric sites: BoxOffice.com
and BoxOfficeMagazine.com.
Earlier I mentioned Phyllis,
my co-developer of BGC’s first site
in 1995. I only mentioned her by
name because you might find it
interesting that just a few months
earlier her name had been Robert.
And what an interesting story
that is.
■
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 17

FRONT LINE AWARD
Caitlin Vielhaber
Box office and floor staff
Goodrich Quality Theaters
Oxford 7 / Oxford, Michigan
Holland 7 / Holland, Michigan
Nominated By
Richard Shults
Manager
WWW.GQTI.COM
Goodrich Quality Theaters Inc. has
given audience the goods since 1930,
and they’re still going strong with 28
locations and 252 screens
QUALITY OF CARE
An open heart
inspires
by Cole Hornaday
Caitlin Vielhaber’s life
is constant motion.
Days are challenging
enough when you’re a full-time
student and cinema employee,
but when you’re working at
two different theater locations,
you’d best be skilled at time
management.
“Caitlin started out five
years ago at the Oxford 7
Theater under manager Scott
Miller,” says Goodrich Quality
Theaters, Inc (GQTI) Holland
7 manager, Richard Shults. “She moved up to
Cleaner and then Staffer and transferred over
here when she enrolled at Grand Valley State
University.”
Vielhaber has a gift for caring, intuition and
empathy and it came as little shock to friends
and family when she announced her desire to
pursue a career in social work. “Ever since I can
remember I’ve always ended up being the one
that friends and family turn to when there’s
some sort of crisis,” recognizes Vielhaber. “I
ended up getting really good at keeping a
level head. I very quickly decided that helping
people is important to me, and if I can be of
benefit to people that I don’t know, that would
be amazing.”
Vielhaber admits it’s challenging to work
at the GQTI Holland location during the
school year and at the Oxford during winter
and summer, but it’s less daunting with focus,
time-management and a solid game plan. “I’m
taking a spring class that lasts until the end of
June,” she says. “At the beginning of July, I’ll be
back at Oxford through August, and then when
fall rolls around again I’ll be back at Holland 7.”
A recent Holland, Michigan transplant, Vielhaber
cops to a few anxious moments in her
new workplace. “It was nerve-wracking, especially
when people would call and ask for directions.
It’s hard because I’m not from around
here. I live three hours away, so, I have to
very quickly defer to other people,” Vielhaber
laughs. “I’ve lived here for months and I still
don’t know my way around at all. Mapquest is
my best friend!”
Shults agrees Vielhaber’s pursuit of a social
work career is a calling. “She is instantly approachable,”
he notes. “Unlike a lot of people
who show a fake enthusiasm, you can see right
away that she is actually a genuinely happy
person.”
It is precisely these cheerful qualities that
make Vielhaber so very good at her job—and
hint at a greater career success to come. “I’ve
often found people I’ve never met before telling
me their life story,” says Vielhaber. “As odd
as that sounds, I’ve become very used to it.
I’ve had customers come out of movies when
I’m ushering and talk to me about their lives.
People tell me the most random things.”
Vielhaber’s new coworkers at Holland 7
consider her just as accessible—a compliment
she returns. “I have yet to find a person that
I don’t like,” Vielhaber smiles. Holland and
Oxford both are full of amazing people. Like
in any workplace, I’m closer to some people
than others but I think that the people here are
fantastic.”
Of course, knowing which hat to wear and
when is a challenge. Vielhaber knows that the
flip side of having high levels of empathy and
intuition is that she must establish and maintain
boundaries. “Friends actually come looking
for advice which isn’t really the ‘social work
way.’ We’re supposed to listen and present
options—not advice.” Vielhaber also confesses
a need to curb her persistent urge to physically
demonstrate her caring. “I’m a hugger,” she
laughs, “and professionally, hugging is usually
a bad choice.”
Following graduation, Vielhaber will work
as a school district counselor or attach herself
to the military. “I know that the military needs
a lot of social workers. My neighbor back home
is an Army veteran and my best friend is about
to marry a Marine. I figure somebody is throwing
Army people at me for a reason.”
Shults admits Vielhaber’s eventual departure
will leave a void on the GQTI team, but
he takes pride that she is destined for greater
things. “Caitlin is very inspirational to the other
staff,” he says. “Even for those who may not
want to make a career out of the theater see it
can still be a pivotal step in attaining what you
want.”
■
BOXOFFICE is looking for winners—theater employees you consider to be genuine role models making a significant, positive impact
on your theater operations. Monthly winners of the BOXOFFICE Front Line Award receive a $50 Gap Gift Card! To nominate a theater
employee send a brief 100– to 200-word nominating essay to cole@boxoffice.com. Be sure to put ‘Front Line Nomination’ in the
subject line.
18 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

[advertorial]
Bring movies
to life
Feel what Philips can do for a 3D cinema experience

FRONT OFFICE AWARD
Andrew Thompson
Operations Director
Coolidge Corner Theatre
Brookline, MA
Nominated By
Jesse Hassinger
Program Manager
WWW.COOLIDGE.ORG
Coolidge Corner Theater is a Not-For-
Profit cinema devoted to art, education
and the living language of film
IN GOOD
HANDS
Veteran manager
has situation under
control
by Cole Hornaday
Like the lighthouse
keepers of old, Andrew
Thompson’s
workday never ends. Arriving
early, leaving late,
his job as Operations Manager at the Coolidge
Corner Theatre calls for superhuman diligence.
Thompson started working the box
office at the Coolidge at 23. Fourteen years
later, many wonder if the beloved old arthouse
could go on without him.
“He has his hand in literally every little part
of the theater,” says Program Manager Jesse
Hassinger. “Quite honestly, if he weren’t here
I don’t know that the place could survive for
long without him. It would require a few different
people stepping in to take over his position—and
with all of that on his shoulders,
he’s still completely sane.”
At the nonprofit Coolidge theater, everyone
pitches in where they can. While job descriptions
are defined over time, distinctions often
blur the edges. “We do have a full staff at the
theater,” says Hassinger, “including a theater
manager who works directly under Thompson—but
in terms of the down and dirty work,
the stuff that needs to get done when it needs
to get done—he’s really the point person.”
Still, his first love was not on the screen. In
fact, Thompson grew up in a home that didn’t
even have a television. Instead, he discovered
a love for reading. At a young age, the public
library became his second home. “I was always
bringing home shopping bags full of books,”
recalls Thompson. “I remember the day I went
to the upstairs part of the library for the first
time and I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s all of
these big books up here that don’t have pictures!’
I think I was about seven and the librarian
shooed me away, but I kept going back.
Eventually she said, ‘Okay, I guess you’re just
one of those kids that’s going to be a reader’
and she let me return.”
Like any urban teen, Thompson found
ways to rebel. He got into punk rock and hung
out in clubs, but a book was never far from
reach. In college, he discovered his dormitory
had its own VCR and he set out on a quest to
fill the Grand Canyon-wide gaps in his knowledge
of popular film. “I just started watching a
lot of movies on tape and going to the school
library and checking out videos, sort of giving
myself a loose film education.” It was then
Thompson made a connection between his
love of the written word and the language of
film.
At age 37, the Coolidge is the only movie
theater on Thompson’s resume. He’s been on
hand for many changes, not only in the theater’s
make-up and its governing board, but
the width and breadth of his own responsibilities.
“For many years, I was putting in roughly
60 hours a week,” Thompson recalls. “Things
are a little less crazy because we’ve become
better organized. We also used to have a pretty
shoestring budget for video equipment and
stuff. I kind of miss those days because they
were fun and crazy—we did a lot of wacky
stuff because we were largely left to our own
devices.”
Living a 20-minute walk from the theater,
Thompson admits the Coolidge is the nexus
of his life. “This place is really kind of my
home at this point. In the past decade, I think
I’ve spent more time here at the theater than
I have at my own apartment. I tend to make
friends with most of the people who work
here. It’s kind of a big extended family for me.”
Now Thompson spearheads special projects
like the ceiling mural restoration in the
main auditorium, securing the theater’s beer
and wine license, or retrofitting old office
space into a VIP screening room. Still, he
admits making time for himself is a challenge.
“I try to spend as much time outdoors
as possible,” he says. “I walk along the Charles
River and take a book with me. I try to spend
as much time hanging out with my girlfriend
as I can—cooking and doing couple stuff. I
have tentative ambitions to publish a novel
someday. I think that’s something you aspire
to when you grow up reading books.”
Staff at the Coolidge cannot image a future
without Thompson. “Anything that has been
done or is being done at the theater has passed
through Andy’s hands,” says Hassinger. “There
is no one else that I know who has done a
more impressive job.”
■
BOXOFFICE is looking for winners—managers, operators and executives you believe to be the real stars—exhibition professionals making
a significant, positive impact on operations, employees and the bottom line. To nominate a front office star for the monthly BOXOFFICE
Front Office Award, send a brief 100– to 200-word nominating essay to cole@boxoffice.com. Be sure to put ‘Front Office Nomination’
in the subject line.
20 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

MARQUEE AWARD
Neighborhood Cinema Group
Owosso Cinemas
Owosso, Michigan
WON’T YOU BE
MY NEIGHBOR?
Twenty-five years of small town
hospitality
by Cole Hornaday
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The newly opened Owosso 3 Cinema
complex in the summer of 1985, it now
features a total of 7 screens and alldigital
projection
On a humid evening in late June
of 1985, Gary Geiger climbed to
the rooftop of his newly opened
Owosso 3 Cinema complex, surveyed the
packed parking lot and saw that it was good.
It was an auspicious opening night for the
little theater—the golden link in a company
chain soon known as Neighborhood
Cinema Group (NCG). Maybe the terrific
turnout was due to the long absence of a
movie house in the small town, maybe it
was Geiger’s gift for marketing, or maybe it
was due to the copious amounts of alcohol
on hand thanks to Geiger’s father, William,
and his long-time connections with the
Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
Whatever the cause, the lobby was abuzz
and the auditoriums were
packed.
“My father and I knew
nothing about the movie
business—all my father
and I knew was the bowling
business,” says Geiger.
“Somehow, I received a copy of
Boxoffice magazine and I read
about ShowEast.” The pair
attended their first exhibition
convention mere months
before breaking ground on
their new cinema. It was an
eye-opener. “We just looked
around and started to figure
out where we were going to
get seats and projectors—and
how to get the movies.”
Geiger recalls a wealth of
helping hands. “Bob Goodrich
[president and owner of
Goodrich Quality Theatres,
Inc], who had been in the
business all his life, helped
us out some. He trained my
projectionist up in Saginaw,
Michigan and set us up with
an initial film booker,” says
Geiger. “The rest of the industry, from NATO
and on, were there for whatever else we
needed. People really tried to accommodate
us.”
Geiger was entering the industry at
a risky time. Home video was gouging
attendance—doomsayers asked how he
could he possibly think a three-screen
cinema would succeed where local singlescreens
had failed? Geiger had faith. The
bowling business had taught him how to
handle a customer-concentrated business
with successful one-on-one customer
service. Though daunting, he knew his
goal of running a movie theater was not
insurmountable.
Once the lights dimmed over that first
audience, Geiger gave himself a moment
to breathe...and then panic. “The film for
Rambo: First Blood II got brain-wrapped—I
didn’t know what a brain-wrap was until
then!”
Brain wrap—a phrase guaranteed to give
old school projectionists palpitations – is a
film tangle that, if not caught in time, will
tear the film, damage the sprockets and seize
up the entire projector.
Geiger had no clue what to do. “The
projectionist, Bob Brown, was a rookie. He’d
only been trained for a couple weekends up
at the Goodrich in Saginaw,” he moans. “He
tried to calm me down but I wanted to just
cut it and splice it. He back-spun it and got
it going in about 20 minutes—but it seemed
like forever.”
Geiger bounced back big, opening
another cinema in Clio, Michigan in
1987. Soon he’d partner up with another
former bowling proprietor, Steve Smith,
and over the next 10 years the two opened
another seven cinemas across Michigan and
reached beyond the border into Georgia and
Tennessee. At present, NCG plans to break
ground on its 13 th location in Peachtree City,
Georgia, which will bring the company’s
screen total to over 125.
“As far as his growth strategy was
concerned, it’s always been pretty
conservative,” says Vice President of
Corporate Development, Jeff Geiger of his
father. “We grew when the opportunities
were right for us and that’s something we
continue to do. We don’t like to over-extend
ourselves, but when we find a location or
anything that fits what we do, we like to
jump on board.”
And jump on board they have—as one of
the first companies to participate in Phase
I of Christie’s digital rollout, NCG is now
100 percent digital with every auditorium
upgraded to stadium seating and 3D
capability. Even the original NCG Owosso
Cinema location, the home of it all, has had
its facelifts. It’s still the company’s home
base with a sprawling office that stretches
atop an expanded seven screens.
According to Jeff, NCG’s Silver
Anniversary event will be low-key and
guests won’t expect further favors from
the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
“We’re probably just going to celebrate here
in Owosso amongst friends that have been
involved over the years. I wish it could be
more exciting, but that’s never been our
kind of style.”
Looking back, Gary says the last 25 years
have been about customer satisfaction and
small town sensibility. “In the bowling
business, I realized what it took to keep a lot
of people happy at once,” he says. “Coming
from a small town and then growing
through small towns, we’ve tried to keep that
feeling, whether it’s in Lansing or Atlanta.
We want a very friendly staff, a clean, safe
environment—whether it’s in a small town
or a big town, that’s a welcome feeling we
try to give to everybody.”
■
22 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

RELEASE CALENDAR
2010
07.02.10 Paramount The Last Airbender
07.09.10 Universal Despicable Me
07.30.10 Warner Bros.
Cats & Dogs: Revenge of
Kitty Galore
08.06.10 Disney Step Up 3-D
08.27.10
The Weinstein
Company
Piranha 3D
09.10.10 Sony Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D
10.01.10 Lionsgate Alpha and Omega
09.24.10 Warner Bros.
Legend of the Guardians:
The Owls of Ga’Hoole
10.15.10 Paramount Jackass 3D
10.22.10 Lionsgate Saw VII 3D
11.05.10 Paramount Megamind
11.19.10 Warner Bros.
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hollows (Part 1)
11.24.10 Disney Tangled
10.15.10 Paramount
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Voyage of the Dawn
Treader
12.17.10 Disney Tron Legacy
12.17.10 Warner Bros. Yogi Bear
2011
01.14.11 Sony The Green Hornet
01.14.11 MGM The Cabin in the Woods
02.11.11 Summit Drive Angry
02.11.11 Miramax Gnomeo and Juliet
03.04.11 Universal Sanctum
03.04.11 Screen Gems Priest
03.11.11 Disney Mars Needs Moms!
03.25.11 Warnr Bros. Sucker Punch
04.08.11 Fox Rio
04.15.11 Summit The Three Musketeers
05.21.11 Disney
Pirates of the Caribbean:
On Stranger Tides
Universal’s Despicable Me opens July 9, 2010
06.03.11
DreamWorks
Animation
Kung Fu Panda:
The Kaboom of Doom
06.17.11 Warner Bros. Green Lantern
06.24.11 Disney Cars 2
07.15.11 Warner Bros.
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hollows (Part II)
08.03.11 Sony The Smurfs
08.19.11
The Weinstein
Company
Spy Kids 4:
All the Time in the World
08.26.11 New Line Final Destination 5
09.23.11 New Line
Journey to the Center
of the Earth 2
10.21.11 Warner Bros. Contagion
11.04.11 DreamWorks Puss in Boots
11.11.11 Universal Immortals
11.11.11 Sony Arthur Christmas
11.18.11 Warner Bros. Happy Feet 2
12.09.11 Sony
The Invention of Hugo
Cabret
12.16.11 Fox
Alvin and the Chipmunks
3D
12.23.11 Paramount
The Adventures of Tintin:
The Secret of the Unicorn
2012
03.02.12 Universal Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
03.30.12 Paramount The Croods
05.18.12 Paramount Madagascar 3
05.25.12 Sony Men in Black 3
06.15.12 Disney Brave
07.13.12 20th Century Fox Ice Age: Continental Drift
09.21.12
11.02.12
Paramount
(DreamWorks)
Paramount
(DreamWorks)
Hotel Transylvania
The Guardians
11.16.12 Disney Monsters Inc. 2
2013
03.22.12 Disney Reboot Ralph

GOING GREEN
WHAT’S POPPING?
Landmark’s quest for a greener popcorn bag
by Amy Nicholson
“It actually wasn’t much of a tough decision,” says Damien
Farley, head of concessions for Landmark Theaters, on
the chain’s recent switch to eco-friendly bags. They had
standards: biodegradable, natural water-based inks, chlorine-free.
But the chain also had worries.
“We had two major concerns,” explains Farley. “First: price.
The economics were fine—it was not a huge cost differential from
traditional bags. Second: is the product functional?” With shiny
lining, would recycled paper bags leak butter onto people’s laps?
Farley ran tests. He solicited green bags from different suppliers,
filled them with popcorn, plunked them on paper towels and
waited. “We had them sit around for two to three hours, the maximum
length of a movie we might be playing.” One bag leaked.
Another didn’t. Time for another round of tests.
“We put these bags through the entire movie theater experience,”
Farley describes. “What happens when the concession
attendants open them—do they tear? Do they cause noise in the
theater?” At the end of a grueling day (for the bags), Landmark
had a winner: the EcoSelect popcorn bag from Packing Concepts
Inc.
Malco Theatres, Metropolitan Theatres, Carmike Cinemas
and the Canadian chain Guzzo Cinemas have also switched to
the EcoSelect. What’s behind the trend? Explains Martin Olesen,
Director of Sales at Packaging Concepts, “These clients are generally
concerned about the environment and want to be part of the
green movement—it conveys a message that you and I and they
are concerned about what we do in our day to day lives to protect
the Earth.”
And, as Farley found, the heat-seal on the bottom of the EcoSelect
bags is guaranteed to be leak-proof. “It’s a concept we took
from our mocrowve bags,” adds Olesen.
Still, though Landmark had found its bag, rolling it out would
take time. “The biggest issue was that we already had our traditional
bags manufactured,” says Farley. “Obviously if we’re trying
to do something environmentally friendly, we shouldn’t throw
out tens of thousands of obsolete bags.” Although their announcement
of the EcoSelect switch was timed for Earth Day, making
the transition has been an ongoing process. “We deal with several
different distributors and distribution centers around the country,”
explains Farley. “Some theaters have already converted all
three sizes of popcorn bags, some only two. It’s a matter of depleting
our existing supply. There’s no 100 percent date, that’s just an
impossibility.”
Olesen is heartened that another chain making the switch will
encourage the green movement, which for Packaging Concepts
is a key value. “Part of our energy comes from wind resources
and we’re very conscious about our plant and operations green
consciousness. Our factories replant trees,” Olesen says. “If people
came to us and said, ‘Tell us about where this paper comes from,
we can tell them of the true process that starts from the tree itself
to the day the individual goes to the concession stand and grabs
our bag.”
And Landmark, too, is pressing forward with creating a greener
concession stand. “Obviously, not all of our products are as environmentally
friendly as these bags are,” notes Farley. “We hope
that in months and years to come we can convert to a more environmentally
friendly soda cup, lid and straw.”
Adds Olesen, “We’re continually researching how we can improve
on other concession items. We may not be able to change
the bigger picture, but we can be a part of the bigger picture.” ■
HOLLYWOOD
GOES GREEN
Are filmmakers taking the right approach
when it comes to conveying their message
to moviegoers?
by Christian Toto
The entertainment industry celebrated Earth Day with two
releases designed to inspire moviegoers to live a more environmental
life.
Disneynature‘s Oceans showcased the beautiful, odd and even
unnerving creatures swimming and brawling in our seas. Audiences
marveled at the majesty of the deep, while Pierce Brosnan’s
restrained narration wove in a few lines on how these marvels are
24 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

GO GREEN > HOLLYWOOD GOES GREEN
threatened by pollution and over-fishing.
That same day, Avatar hit DVD and Blu-ray shelves. Despite
the dazzling CGI effects, the environmental messages within the
movie can’t be missed. The peaceful citizens of Na’vi protect their
planet from aggressive earthlings who will demolish trees to
serve their needs.
“As an artist, its kind of my responsibility to create a warning
and remind people,” said James Cameron upon the film’s release.
“I just want them to internalize a sense of respect and a sense of
taking responsibility for the stewardship of the earth.”
The simultaneous release of the two films shows there’s no
“one size fits all” approach to spreading the word about going
green, says Kristen Grimm, president of the D.C. based social
change company Spitfire Strategies.
“Organizations dedicated to environmental issues first need to
identify and understand their audience, then find innovative ways
to target and mobilize people, and cultivate a new generation of
socially responsible, environmental leaders,” Grimm says.
And using the clout of the local movie theater is a “powerful”
way to do just that, she says. The impact of An Inconvenient Truth
aside, PowerPoint presentations can’t compare to an immersive
film.
“Stories are the best ways to deliver important messages about
the environment,” she says. “Whether these films include in-yourface
messages or more subtle ones, movies get people talking.”
If a filmmaker does his or her job, those two hours spent in a
movie theater can be “life-changing” for viewers, she says.
“Movies are good for making environmental issues real to
people,” she says. “It isn’t far off. It isn’t about talking heads. It is
about a powerful story and one where we have an important role
to play.”
Ted Martens, Director of Outreach & Development at Sustainable
Travel International in Boulder, Colorado, says different approaches
work better—or worse—for different audiences.
“Some people respond better to very blunt, direct and in-yourface
messaging,” Martens says. “Others tire of having these types
of messages shoved down their throat, and prefer to be introduced
more subtly.”
But artists eager to spread their own views on a green lifestyle,
like Cameron, tend to generate more press, notes Marten. That
isn’t always a positive. “The downside is that they may be turning
off just as many people as they are turning on,” he says.
Fair enough. But are they turning viewers off? Stateside, Oceans
took in just $6 million opening weekend across 1,206 theaters
despite good reviews—not a cull, but no triumph, though it’s apt
to sell very well on DVD. As for Avatar, it made $130 million from
DVD and Blu-ray sales in just four days.
With two very different responses to two very different—but
equally gorgeous—films flogging the beauty of nature, audience
reaction is as mixed as an unsorted can of trash and recyclables.
But at least Cameron and Disneynature aren’t just hoping to
nudge audiences into going green—they’re leading the charge.
To commemorate the DVD release of the highest grossing green
film of all time, Cameron announced he’ll plant 15 million trees
around the world. And Disneynature set aside a portion of their
opening weekend profits to protect the waters of the Bahamas,
selling enough tickets to rescue 55 square acres of coral reef—
enough footage to build 412 Atlantis Disneylands.
■
IT’S PRETTY EASY
BEING GREEN
Especially when it makes your
competitors green with jealousy
by S. Matthew Bauer
Nothing escapes
our popcorn bags.
PCI’s customizable popcorn bags are
100% guaranteed leak-proof, meaning
no butter, no grease and no worries!
To find out more simply call 314-329-9700
or email info@packagingconceptsinc.com
greener, cleaner packaging concepts
www.packagingconceptsinc.com
Were he alive today, I wonder what my first generation
Italian grandfather would think about retail chains
offering free recycling services. “Why they take-a you
garbage?” he might ask, while watching me throw a handful of
used batteries in a receptacle at Best Buy. And he’s right—why does
my local supermarket allow me to cart trash inside their store every
week? I suppose it’s because, in our society, “going green” has
become an indication of ethical soundness, and the business-minded
have smartly jumped on board. Perhaps you, theater owner, are
taking some steps in that direction—and you’ve found it’s considerably
easier (and cheaper) than you think.
A major discount store’s website—not naming names, but you
can guess—devotes an entire page to their “environmental philosophy,”
which contains a lot of verbs in the future tense. Evidently,
you can be “green” by simply seeking to do the right thing. This is
good news! Boast to the public about what you’re considering doing,
what you’re looking into.
Still, at some point you’re actually going to have to visibly go
green. While exhibition looks into biodegradable popcorn sacks
26 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

GO GREEN > IT’S PRETTY EASY BEING GREEN
and Earth-friendly solvents, some changes
are too subtle for the public to applaud.
Here’s a flashy option: turn your staff into
green, recycling, composting hippies.
Start your green endeavor by recruiting
that staff member with a bit of moxie;
you’re going to need someone resourceful,
trustworthy and restless for action on slow
afternoons. Here’s what you’re going to do:
compost. You probably already have a recycling
bin. (If not—and your district offers
recycling pick-up—get on it.) Add another
bin marked for compost and encourage
your patrons and your staff to tip in that
extra popcorn, those extra nachos, that last
drizzle of soda. Large outdoor compost bins
are cheap and even if you only compost a
fraction of what you receive, that’s one hell
of a step in the green game. Some other
theater near you may use compostable
cups. Ha! You’re going to make damned
sure your waste biodegrades within a week.
This says to the public that you’re both
comfortable with and responsible in dealing
with incredibly gross trash. They will
love you for it.
And add that extra sizzle to make
them cheer: have the moxie kid plant a
flower garden in front of your theater with
compost-fed soil. It’s genius! You plunk
in a little hand-painted sign (made from
recycled notebooks if you want that second
elbow) that says, “Our popcorn grew
these petunias!” Call the local news. Offer
to compost competitors’ trash. I guarantee
this will rope in more satisfied patrons, and
with very little effort.
By all means, go green because you’re
a good person. Go green because, according
to Al Gore, when my child is 33 years
old, her local tap water will look like
Aquafresh. But, let’s be honest, like the
best of our retail chains and fast food restaurants,
exhibitioners also want to turn
a profit, and that takes building—and
solidifying—your local fans to choose you
over the competition. Try something new.
Something green and cheap. Hippie. ■
THE MAGNIFICENT EIGHT
Cheap and easy tips to cut your energy bills today
by Amy Nicholson
1 Change the thermostat. Especially in summer, businesses and office
buildings keep the air conditioner cranked up. But count the
number of people—especially women—sneaking in sweaters so they
can watch a July blockbuster without shivering.
Compromise by turning the temperature to a
reasonable 78 degrees, and six months later
when everyone is in winter wear, it’s okay to
keep the heating at 68.
2 Reduce the flush. Low water toilets are a pricey
remodel. Here’s an alternative that’s practically
free: fill an empty bottle—there are plenty
of those around—with water, sand or rocks and use it to displace
water in your toilet tank. You may have heard that a brick works, too,
but those can crumble and cause a hefty repair bill.
3 Switch to compact florescent bulbs. They slash electricity costs by
75 percent. Sure, you’ve heard that argument a thousand times—so
why wait?
4 Kill the light. Here’s a test: turn out the lights
in an auditorium and see if you can see a strip
of light around the emergency exits. If you can,
that’s money you’re spending on your thermostat
bill running right out the back door. A 1/8 th
inch gap is the equivalent of a 2 inch by 2 inch
hole in your wall. Most doors can be weatherstripped
for less than the cost of a pizza—and
check your lobby doors, too, for an extra savings boost.
5 Put computers to sleep. A screensaver sounds like it’s saving electricity.
Not so: as long as there’s a logo or a field of puppies or Megan
Fox bouncing around your screen, you’re wasting as much energy
as leaving your computer on. And lets be honest—most people
are greeted by their screensaver in the morning after keeping their
computer running all night. Instead, switch your computer settings to
sleep or hibernation mode during the day and shut your computer
off at night.
6 Paint the roof white. U.S. Secretary of Energy
(and Nobel winner) Steven Chu has calculated that
if everyone painted their roof white, the global
heating avoided by reflecting sunlight back into
space would equal taking all cars off the road for
11 years. If that’s not enough, reflecting sunlight
means that your building absorbs less heat—a gift
for exhibitors with high air conditioning bills.
7 Upgrade the bathroom faucet. Two quick fixes can save gallons of
water a day. First, if a faucet is dripping, take the plunge and fix it
immediately. Most likely, it’s a tired washer or O-ring, and both cost
under a dollar. Why wait? Second, add low flow aerators to your faucets.
They add air into your water flow and reduce water use by 13
percent. And they cost less than a Happy Meal—
that’s something to celebrate.
8 Guilt patrons. There are some great energy-efficient
hand dryers hitting the market, but installing
them today can be an intimidating commitment,
especially when your patrons still seem to
prefer grabbing paper towels by the fistful. Join
guerrilla environmentalists in picking up a stack
of stickers from TheseComeFromTrees.com [center, top] that remind
people that paper towels have an environmental impact. Fifty
stickers cost $10 and they’ve been shown to cut paper towel use by
nearly 30 percent. Or, you could make like Landmark Theatres and
slap up this sweet, cheeky reminder [center, bottom] that we’ve got
to work together to make smart sacrifices for the earth.
■
28 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

The Dawning of a New Digital Era
Unveiling GDC’s SX-2000 Digital Cinema Server
with Integrated Media Block
Born out of GDC’s relentless pursuit of product excellence, the SX-2000 with Integrated Media Block marks yet another
milestone in GDC’s ongoing innovation. With an Integrated Media Block (IMB) built in, the SX-2000 can be seamlessly
integrated into Series 2 DLP Cinema® projectors. All the advanced features and familiar user interface of GDC’s existing SA-2100
servers have been retained in the SX-2000 – illustrating GDC’s longstanding design philosophy of offering users a seamless
upgrade path. Also the same workflow and knowhow now handle not only 2k but also 4k content. With the SX-2000, you can
look forward to enjoying a new digital projection solution that is future-proof based on Texas Instrument’s Enhanced DLP
Cinema® technology while having the peace of mind that all your earlier investments are safeguarded.
Integrated Media Block
Series 2 DLP Cinema® projector
with SX-2000 server &
Integrated Media Block
SX-2000 Digital Cinema Server
PA-0029-1005-V2E
Copyright © 2010 GDC Technology Limited. All rights reserved.
GDC Technology Limited
Los Angeles, CA • Sterling, VA • Hong Kong • Singapore • Shenzhen • Beijing
www.gdc-tech.com

WWW.BOXOFFICE.COM
Your patrons talk.
You want to listen.
Now you can.
The most talked-about subject
on the Internet is movies—in
the U.S. alone, millions of
movie conversations take place
every month. In our “know your
customer” industry, it is crucial
to listen—and respond—to
the wants, needs and opinions
expressed online.
The new BoxOffice.com
introduces a new technology—
WebWatch—that allows
you to tune in to all of these
conversations, in real time, in a
way that makes common sense.
The applications are endless.
Which films to book, where to
run them and for how long are all
decisions that will benefit from
this data. Click around and see
for yourself.
And while you’re there,
don’t forget to check out
BoxOfficeMagazine.com. More
about that in our next issue.
Title Opinions Positive
Opinions
All Released Films
Movies Released Jun 26 - May 28
(Opinions Expressed May 27 - Jun 02 04:13 PM)
Negative
Opinions
Neutral
Opinions
Opinions
Market
Share (this
report)
Opinions
Market
Share (All
Movies)
Box Office
Market
Share
Sex and the City 2 144,660 40,845 13,165 90,650 25.33% 19.12% 25.79%
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 144,046 38,705 7,824 97,517 25.22% 19.04% 19.35%
Alice in Wonderland (2010) 30,331 5,444 1,019 23,868 5.31% 4.01% 0.10%
Iron Man 2 26,071 8,982 1,853 15,236 4.57% 3.45% 11.50%
Shrek Forever After 21,702 7,188 1,189 13,325 3.80% 2.87% 30.93%
The Twilight Saga: New Moon 18,076 5,482 1,124 11,470 3.17% 2.39% 0.00%
Avatar 11,581 4,412 990 6,179 2.03% 1.53% 0.09%
Robin Hood (2010) 7,522 2,805 870 3,847 1.32% 0.99% 0.00%
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) 7,342 1,848 708 4,786 1.29% 0.97% 0.66%
Letters to Juliet 7,206 3,035 542 3,629 1.26% 0.95% 4.27%
Dear John 7,164 3,378 941 2,845 1.25% 0.95% 0.00%
MacGruber 6,835 1,717 915 4,203 1.20% 0.90% 1.24%
Percy Jackson and The Olympians:
The Lightning Thief
6,614 1,471 256 4,887 1.16% 0.87% 0.05%
Just Wright 5,857 1,714 416 3,727 1.03% 0.77% 1.58%
The Human Centipede (First
Sequence)
5,492 1,221 998 3,273 0.96% 0.73% 0.00%
Shutter Island 4,795 1,160 477 3,158 0.84% 0.63% 0.11%
Kick-Ass 4,780 3,245 532 1,003 0.84% 0.63% 0.12%
The Book of Eli 4,531 1,056 314 3,161 0.79% 0.60% 0.00%
2012 4,513 1,490 415 2,608 0.79% 0.60% 0.00%
Clash of the Titans (2010) 4,334 1,060 340 2,934 0.76% 0.57% 0.16%
The Hurt Locker 4,104 756 176 3,172 0.72% 0.54% 0.00%
Last Night 4,101 1,961 584 1,556 0.72% 0.54% 0.00%
The Road 3,900 1,200 598 2,102 0.68% 0.52% 0.00%
The Lovely Bones 3,712 1,169 452 2,091 0.65% 0.49% 0.00%
Invictus 3,600 928 134 2,538 0.63% 0.48% 0.00%
Page 1 of 4
ALL MOVIE OPINIONS THIS PERIOD
2,645 Sources
161 Movies
All contents © 2010 BOXOFFICE Media, LLC. Any reproduction or retransmission without the prior written authorization of BOXOFFICE Media, LLC is strictly prohibited.
WHAT’S MY SHARE
Films are analyzed by type of opinion
and percent of total buzz
BOXOFFICE WEBWATCH PLANS
FREE >
$0 per month
INSIDER > $10 per month
PRO >
$20 per month
KNOW THE INSIDE SCOOP
Eclipse gets the tabloids, but Karate Kid
dominates the buzz
All Upcoming Movies - Cast
Movies Scheduled for Release Jun 04 - Apr 22
(Opinions Expressed May 27 - Jun 02 04:13 PM)
Title Opinions Positive
Opinions
Negative
Opinions
MEET MOBI
Just looking at
WEBWATCH at
BoxOffice.com,
it’s difficult to grasp
how unique it is.
by Marshall Toplansky
Neutral
Opinions
ALL MOVIE OPINIONS THIS PERIOD
2,645 Sources
161 Movies
Opinions
Market Share
(this report)
Opinions
Market Share
(All Movies)
The Karate Kid (2010) 6,664 1,246 229 5,189 27.41% 11.26%
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 5,785 942 320 4,523 23.79% 9.78%
Killers 1,826 471 149 1,206 7.51% 3.09%
The A-Team 1,309 277 96 936 5.38% 2.21%
Jonah Hex 879 198 171 510 3.62% 1.49%
Knight and Day 855 192 48 615 3.52% 1.45%
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 838 262 119 457 3.45% 1.42%
Get Him to the Greek 830 249 67 514 3.41% 1.40%
Splice 642 126 55 461 2.64% 1.09%
The Expendables 532 126 47 359 2.19% 0.90%
Salt 417 81 56 280 1.72% 0.70%
The Last Airbender 379 84 34 261 1.56% 0.64%
Life As We Know It 355 86 33 236 1.46% 0.60%
Inception 273 81 15 177 1.12% 0.46%
Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D 257 57 9 191 1.06% 0.43%
Marmaduke 230 39 37 154 0.95% 0.39%
Takers 206 85 13 108 0.85% 0.35%
Toy Story 3 197 71 8 118 0.81% 0.33%
Grown Ups 165 102 18 45 0.68% 0.28%
Eat Pray Love 161 94 20 47 0.66% 0.27%
Ramona and Beezus 154 51 5 98 0.63% 0.26%
Charlie St. Cloud 139 47 15 77 0.57% 0.23%
Machete 136 22 12 102 0.56% 0.23%
Predators 117 20 10 87 0.48% 0.20%
Beastly 113 42 10 61 0.46% 0.19%
The Sorcerer's Apprentice 101 29 8 64 0.42% 0.17%
The Adjustment Bureau 89 29 17 43 0.37% 0.15%
Page 1 of 2
All contents © 2010 BOXOFFICE Media LLC Any reproduction or retransmission without the prior written authorization of BOXOFFICE Media LLC is strictly prohibited
Webwatch is based on
Mass Opinion Business
Intelligence (MOBI) from
WiseWindow, the most advanced
web measurement system available
today. Founded on state-of-the-art
principles of pattern recognition,
deep website crawling and cloud computing,
MOBI far surpasses the old
measuring techniques of keywords
and clickthroughs. In fact, keywords
produce only 7 percent of the total
information.
Previous types of web measurement
could tell you that a lot of people are talking about
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. But here’s what Webwatch can
tell you that they couldn’t: how Eclipse’s buzz stacks up
against concurrent releases Knight and Day and Grown
Ups. Is Eclipse’s negative buzz related to individual actors?
Which trailer is receiving the most positive response?
Imagine knowing in advance which actor is generating the
most positive conversation in a film—who would you feature
in the ads? Webwatch provides industry professionals
with actionable data—real information
to make fast decisions about marketing,
release dates and casting.
Webwatch ranks competitive
“share of opinion”—a metric that’s
never before been available for online
measurement. Research shows that
share of opinion is a strong predictor
of share of market. These reports total
thousands of individual unsolicited
opinions—positive, negative and neutral—and
because films are ranked,
it’s easy to compare them and see the
relative rise and fall of market share
reflecting rise and fall of opinion. And
our data can be sliced and diced to
determine rankings by rating and by
genre.
Webwatch powered by MOBI is
literally a paradigm shift in movie
tracking and results measurement—
an advanced technology that could be
key to the industry’s future.
■
Marshall Toplansky is the president of
WiseWindow
30 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

FIVE FILMS HIT BY BUZZ
What worked—and what didn’t
by Amy Nicholson
THE BLIND SIDE DOMESTIC GROSS: $255,952,000
Before Sandra Bullock got blindsided, the big story about her
Oscar-winning film was how the producers turned a mid-sized
uplifter into a $255.9 million success. The secret was production
company Alcon Media’s insistence to Warner Bros., their
partner, that they have their own cash to spend on creating
buzz. Though wags credited the flick’s feelgood message for
The Blind Side’s box office touchdown, the truth was cannier
and included smart strategies like inviting 23,000 churches
to use clips of the film to create that Sunday’s sermon. Buzz
means knowing your audience and elbowing them to spread
the word, and Alcon Media knew their strategy worked when
the country charmer lingered on the charts for two months,
making as much over its sixth weekend as it did in its third.
VALENTINE’S DAY DOMESTIC GROSS: $110,486,000
Talk about a one-night stand. On Valentine’s Day, Garry
Marshall’s panned rom com opened to $56.2 million, sweet
enough to inspire a rash of editorials about how critical opinion
doesn’t matter. (BOXOFFICE’s Mark Keizer sighed that
“Marshall hasn’t made a movie up to his early-career standards
since the administration of George H.W. Bush.”) But
while dullard boyfriends reticently ponied up for an opening
weekend ticket, their ladies clearly told their friends to stay
away.
The next weekend, Valentine’s Day nose-dived 70 percent
at the box office and spent the remainder of its run in free
fall—by week five, it ranked an embarrassing 14th. Over half
of the film’s domestic take was made in its first three days.
So will there be a second date? Actually … yes. And rumor
has it Marshall’s New Years Day is pinning its hopes on Justin
Bieber.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON DOMESTIC GROSS: $213,208,783
As we went to press, How to Train Your Dragon was eight
weeks into its release and still in the top five. Like last fall’s
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the DreamWorks cartoon
realized there’s good money in good family product—kids
will want to see it again, and parents won’t mind going with
them. Last year Monsters vs. Aliens, another DreamWorks 3D
flick, opened bigger, scaring up $72.1 million over Dragon’s
$43.7.
But audiences were unimpressed and the film fell substantially
and kept on plummeting. By contrast, Dragon made
headlines when it wrasseled its way back to the top in its fifth
week of release. Fueled by great word of mouth (backed
up by a 98 percent Fresh Tomatometer reading) it’s already
walloped Aliens’ domestic and international sales and will certainly
leave its predecessor in the dust.
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE DOMESTIC GROSS: $179,883,400
Piracy panic had insiders nervously watching Wolverine’s
opening weekend take to see how much a leaked copy of
the film would damage the box office. Surprise! It didn’t. The
Hugh Jackman hit landed with a snarl at $85 million. But Jackman—and
20th Century Fox—faced a bigger enemy. Bad reviews
didn’t hurt the opening figures (the Tomatometer was
set to Rotten at 36 percent). But bad buzz took the
beast down fast. (Sample internet quote: “Wolverine sucks
like a black hole.”) By its second weekend, grosses dropped
67 percent. By its fifth weekend, it was barely crawling with
a screen average of $2,407—arthouse numbers. Within one
month, buzz had taken Wolverine from the top of the food
chain to practically extinct.
AVATAR DOMESTIC GROSS: $749,090,092
James Cameron’s juggernaut scored a lot of technical coups.
But its biggest—and most underplayed—success was its consistency.
Unlike most of today’s mega-blockbusters—Transformers,
Iron Man 2, Alice in Wonderland—it opened under
$100 million. In fact, its $77 million debut was barely half the
take of Spider-Man 3’s $151.1 million wallop. Yet with buzz
on his side, Cameron went on to make nearly three times as
much money. Comparing the second weekend box office for
both films, Spider-Man 3 dropped 60 percent in numbers
while fans of the planet Pandora continued to grow, climbing
a modest (but uncommon) 6.9 percent to stay on top of the
charts. And thanks to good word of mouth, it stayed there
for seven weeks, with an average slip of just 22 percent every
weekend. By the time Avatar dropped to #2, Spider-Man 3
was already out of the top ten. That’s how you become king
of the world—a lesson Cameron learned when audience enthusiasm
for Titanic kept that boat afloat at the top spot for
15 weeks.
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 31

TWITTER
Making Twitter Make Sense
by Alex Edghill (@alexedghill)
Twitter is a widely adopted, free, global platform for people to get
together and share their thoughts. Twitter is by no means a representative
sample of the population, but it is a pretty consistent
sample that’s relevant to the theatrical film industry as they share an active
core demographic. Following it over weeks and months, clear patterns
emerge that can be analyzed even
with variances for genre, appeal
and wider environmental factors
(like holidays, midnight screenings,
premiere dates and gossip
items), all of which affect totals.
The methodology involved is
relatively simple. We record every
post on Twitter (called “tweets”)
for each film we’re tracking daily
for the twelve weeks prior to its
theatrical release, and simultaneously
rate them as positive, negative
or neutral. These tweets are
then used to compare the film’s
performance during that 12-week
span to similar past titles. We’ve
been collecting data on films using
this methodology since Sep-
TWEET TWEET
The Boxoffice staff is listening—and making—
online buzz
tember 2009 and have identified
and can recognize clear trends and patterns. Films catering to younger audiences
generally have the lowest tweet totals since their target audience
are the most under-represented on Twitter; by contrast, tweets about films
aimed at young women from 18-30, a very active Twitter demographic, are
fast and frequent.
With this knowledge, we’re developing a credible tweet-to-box office
ratio by genre and audience. Why is this important? For one, it’s been
proven to be a reliable indicator of box office potential. It can predict
flops from a safe distance and to mine diamonds that will exceed expectations—and
with just eight months of lab time under our belt, our Twitter
project is already 77 percent accurate for all of 2010’s wide release films
and we’re getting smarter every day.
n
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:
Phil Contrino / @Boxoffice
Kenneth James Bacon / @BoxofficeKen
Sara M. Vizcarrondo / @SaraBoxoffice
Amy Nicholson / @AmyBoxoffice
FACEBOOK
Making friends, fans and
financial predictions
by Phil Contrino
Iknow that I’ve taken up a decent amount
of these pages singing the praises of
Facebook, but there’s a reason. Even more
than Twitter—and certainly more than
MySpace—Facebook is defining the way a
BOXOFFICE ON FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/boxofficemagazine
new generation approaches the world. Think
I’m overstating its importance? I don’t. Go
ask the teenager operating your concessions
stand how often he or she checks Facebook.
Chances are they’ll laugh and say, “A lot.”
I’m very proud to have a system on our
new site that tracks Facebook’s impact.
We’re keeping an eye on the most active
Facebook page for theatrically released
movies. A healthy increase in Facebook fans
means that a film’s marketing campaign
is going over well or, post-release, that
audiences are enjoying the film. It’s
important for the exhibition industry to pay
close attention to these increases because
they indicate whether or not a film will
succeed, often months before it opens.
For instance, if a new trailer gets positive
reactions, many moviegoers show their
interest by immediately becoming a fan of
the film on Facebook.
Since our system is still in the beginning
stages, we’re eager to use the info we
collect after a film is released to make
improvements. As we gather more data
about growth patterns, we’ll be able to
better analyze how a film’s performance on
Facebook relates to its performance at the
box office. It’s obvious that certain films
perform better on the site than others, but
more fans doesn’t always equate to more
money. It’s all about comparison.
Check out our Facebook tracking. I
welcome your suggestions!
n
(more BoxOffice.com Relaunch on page 34)
32 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

The Closed Captioning System for
Hearing Impaired Patrons
CCS
CLOSED
CAPTIONING
SYSTEM
The USL Closed Captioning System (CCS) is designed to enhance the hearing impaired cinema patron’s
movie-going experience. A single infrared emitter broadcasts closed caption text and two channels of audio
into an auditorium. Channel one is for hearing impaired (HI) and Channel two is for visual impaired narrative
(VI-N). The use of IR instead of radio frequency transmission eliminates interference between adjacent
auditoriums.
Two types of private display units are available: The "Seat Mount" display that clips to the arm rest and an
"Eyewear/glasses" display. Each unit contains custom optics which display the caption as a virtual image far
enough from the viewer to avoid the need to refocus between the caption and the movie screen.
Designed for D-Cinema
Visit our website at: www.uslinc.com
181 Bonetti Drive, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7397
TEL (805) 549-0161 • FAX (805) 549-0163

RELAUNCH > BoxOffice.com & BoxOfficeMagazine.com
DON’T CALL IT
A COMEBACK
The power of buzz
by Amy Nicholson
Here’s what buzz can do. A studio
comedy opens in fourth place.
In this opening-weekend-or-bust
economy, that’s low enough for industry
wags to shrug it off as an underperformer.
Its second weekend, the comedy holds
steady, dropping only eight percent in
gross. But it clings on, teetering between
the third and fourth spot for an eyebrowraising
six weeks before clawing its way to
#2. Finally, eight weeks later, that comedy—
There’s Something About Mary—ascends to
the top of the box office. In its ninth week,
the Farrelly Brothers hit jumped 30 percent
at the box office and rolled on to rack up an
astonishing $369 million worldwide as the
third-highest grossing R-rated comedy of
all time.
“Audiences are listening to their friends
and their social networks to make their
decisions about movies,” says Jake Zin, VP
of digital marketing for 20th Century Fox.
“Positive buzz translates into greater box
office and negative buzz can really harm a
movie—it’s a fairly simple equation.”
Jaded box office prognosticators and
studio execs have convinced Hollywood
that a movie’s got to make its money in the
first three days of release. Open big and go
home. And they haven’t always been wrong:
in 2009, Friday the 13 th dropped 80 percent
its second weekend. (But its $40 million
opening more than recouped its $19 million
budget.) The common wisdom has been: sell
a stinker hard enough, and you’ve got a decent
shot at making your money back.
A sprint has been a fair way to gauge box
office success. But audiences are speeding
up, too, using Twitter and Facebook to warn
their friends about wasting $9 on a lousy
flick. Now, execs must beware the second
day drop. Soon, could the cynical big opening
weekend lose power? And if so, what’s
next?
“The Internet is a place where users
have a great deal of control. That’s a good
thing, but it’s also a challenging thing as a
marketer—we have to be very strategic,”
says Zim. His team saw the effect of Internet
buzz first hand when Avatar made its
(proportionally) modest debut, but went on
to make billions. “When those first audiences
started to come out of theaters, they
jumped right onto social networks—Facebook,
Twitter, MySpace—and started talking
about how great the experience was, we
saw a domino effect of increased buzz and,
obviously, great box office.”
“We monitor buzz; we take the temperature
of the conversation,” adds Zim. And he
and the rest of Hollywood are watching out
for those midsize and big budget films that
don’t have buzz in their favor. With budgets
soaring while the home entertainment
market crumbles, soon studios might feel
the squeeze to make fewer one weekend
smashes and more quality films with legs—
a win-win for everyone.
■
GROSSES
Every day, we watch those
wallets
by Phil Contrino
There’s no reason to go to any other
site for daily box office grosses. It’s
that simple.
Our new website allows us to post numbers
fast, but speed isn’t the only advantage.
We’ve also expanded our charts section, and
we’ll continue to expand it in the future. Understanding
the financial side of the movie
industry is dependent on a keen understanding
of box office history, and we give you
that history on our new site. Our adjusted
All Time charts rank Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs against The Incredibles and The
Sound of Music against High School Musical.
(Think you know the winners? Check the
list.)
Another great feature on the new Box-
Office.com is the ability to see the current
gross for theatrical releases on a page dedicated
solely to that movie. Type in the name
of any summer blockbuster or indie favorite
into our search box and you’ll find its receipts
along with cast and crew info and
links to all related articles and reviews.
We’ve also expanded our international reporting.
Anybody in the exhibition industry
knows that domestic receipts only tell part
of the tale—for some Hollywood films, they
tell us much less than half—so we’re bringing
the world to you at the click of a mouse.
Counting cash has never been easier. ■
A TALE OF TWO SITES > BoxOffice.com, your first stop for numbercrunching
news and WEBWATCH data and BoxOfficeMagazine.com, the
place for reviews, interviews, blogs and think-pieces
34 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

SURVIVAL OF THE RUTHLESS
Adrien Brody is the game on this deadly
preserve
BIG PICTURE
In 1987, Predator was unleashed and Arnold Schwarzenegger slunk out of the mud to snatch $98.2
million ($187.1 million in today’s dollars) out of moviegoers’ wallets. Fans were grateful and the hit
begat a sequel which begat a spec script scribbled out in 1994 by young filmmaker Robert Rodriguez,
then an unknown 26 year old about to start work on his first film, Desperado. It took 15 years for his
script to get a callback. 20th Century Fox saw the potential in rebooting the franchise after two silly
(but internationally profitable) Aliens vs. Predators. Now called Predators (in a nod to Aliens—the
two beasts are the Freddy and Jason of space horror), the Rodriguez-produced flick is set to debut
at the height of summer and takes fans to the Predators’ game preserve, where they’ve dropped off
eight human killers—Yakuza, black ops, mercenaries, Sierra Leone death squad captains—to hunt
them for sport. BOXOFFICE talks to director Nimród Antal and star Danny Trejo about facing down
Hollywood’s eternal eight-foot enemy and giving the franchise fresh blood (hopefully not their own).
by Amy Nicholson
36 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

LOOK OUT ABOVE
Nimród Antal (left) and Robert Rodriguez
calculate an attack
PREDATOR 1987
Opening weekend $12,000,000
Adjusted weekend $24,398,977
Total domestic gross $59,735,206
Total adjusted gross $121,456,493
PREDATOR 2 1990
Opening weekend $8,800,000
Adjusted weekend $16,578,199
Total domestic gross $30,669,840
Total adjusted gross $57,778,490
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR 2004
Opening weekend $38,289,995
Adjusted weekend $49,018,592
Total domestic gross $80,282,078
Total adjusted gross $102,778,573
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM 2007*
Opening weekend $26,889,034
Adjusted weekend $31,107,904
Total domestic gross $41,797,544
Total adjusted gross $48,298,034
*Opened Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007: Weekend total is for first 6 days
A MAN FOR ALL
MANDIBLES
Director Nimród Antal on
giving orders to a Predator
Do you remember the first time you saw
Predator?
I was 14. They were showing it at a movie
theater in Westwood on Wilshire Blvd.
called the Avco. I can still picture standing
in line with friends on opening night.
I loved it—it was one of those films that,
at the time, no one knew it would become
a classic. It certainly resonated with everybody
I saw it with that night. We couldn’t
articulate what it was, but we all knew we’d
just seen something big.
Not to blow your cover, but I’m assuming
at 14 you were a little scared of the Predators.
What was it like that first time you
had to go up to a Predator on set and tell it
what to do?
[Laughs] That was kind of strange. Very
strange. All these guys in their suits, Derek
[Mears] and Bryan [Steele] and Carey [Jones],
they’re all big guys in general—I’m standing
there looking up at them. One time, one
of them had an articulated head where the
mandibles could move—they have several
engines that K.N.B. and Greg Nicotero had
built into the Predator suits. But when the
mandibles were moving, the engines were
buzzing in his ear and the actor couldn’t
hear me. I’d step up to him and go, ‘Hey, I
was hoping you could do it this way,’ and
he’d say to me, ‘What! What!?’ At first, I
thought he was angry! Before I learned it
was a hearing problem, I got a little nervous
having to instruct a Predator.
Derek Mears also plays Jason in the Friday
the 13th films. What is it in the way he
moves that gets him cast as these silent,
scary monsters?
He’s an actor. In real life, Derek is just a nice
guy—he’s a sweetheart with a smile and
a kind word for everybody. I’m very fond
of him. But if he has to bring the scary, he
does, and he does it well. We certainly spoke
about the body language and what felt right
or what felt over the top. It was always a
balance. The guys all understood the importance
of the physicality of the character.
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 37

BIG PICTURE > PREDATORS
You’re expressing emotions through the
shrug of the shoulders, bowing down your
chin. There’s a whole set of things a silent
character can put across if the actors do it
really well.
And you’ve also got to order around a cast
of pretty imposing tough people. How
would you handle it if Danny Trejo gave
you a dirty look?
We wrestle! No, he’s a teddy bear. Not that
I want to ruin his image. But I did wrestle
Oleg Taktarov [UFC champion who plays
Nikolai, a Russian commando]. That was
pretty one-sided. There were only two hits:
he hit me and I hit the ground.
People were surprised that Adrien Brody
was cast as the lead, but he’s got the intelligence
and he’s also got some serious
muscles.
One, he’s huge in this movie. He really
bulked up. There’s a scene at the end of the
film where you’re going to see how big he
got—it’s really impressive. There were early
criticisms of his casting, but if we had gone
with an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like character,
we would have been persecuted for that,
too. We weren’t trying to remake the film—
we were trying to do something that would
stand entirely on its own feet. Also, if you
look at any theater of war, of the actual soldiers
in battle nowadays, 99 percent of them
look like Adrien. The other one percent
may look like Arnold. Modern day warriors
TROPICAL THUNDER
Hawaii doubled for the Predator’s alien planet
aren’t the bulked-up,
muscle-bound men
of the ’80s. That’s
not reality. And
what we were going
for is something that
could be plausible
for the viewers. And
he’s a great actor,
by the way. That’s
the most important
thing—he’s superb.
And handsome.
There’s been so
much secrecy surrounding
this film,
especially about
what the Predators
look like.
That’s always a difficult balance. You want
to tempt viewers, but you don’t want to
show them all of your assets. The less you
know, the more you get excited.
And you’ve put an emphasis on practical
effects over CGI.
Chewbacca over Jar-Jar any day.
Did that take any convincing?
No. I think that re-watching the original
film, we thought about the elements that
made the original the classic that it is—the
practical Predator suits were one of them.
We knew that the Predator had to be there;
the Predator had to be something that the
actors interacted with. The viewers deserve
to have the Predator there.
Will Predator fans see any homages to the
original?
Certainly. That was another fine balance,
mind you, because we wanted to throw in
some nods and at the start, there were a lot
of references. But it was a question of finding
the right balance. We want the fans to
be able to smile and go ‘Yeah!’ but at the
same time, we want them to enjoy a new
journey in a new film.
This is your fourth film but your first franchise.
What is it like making a remake
when everyone you meet feels entitled to
an opinion?
I was a big fan and I know the scrutiny. I
was aware of it and anticipated it. I’m under
the microscope. A guy who used to cut my
hair in Budapest had a Predator tattoo—I
completely understand the passion and
intensity of the fans. I certainly kept them
in mind when we were making the film—
every decision we made was a question of,
‘Do you think they’d like this? Do you think
they’d enjoy this?’ It was a film made by
fans for fans.
How did you prepare for the tone for a
film about human prey? Did you go back
and read The Most Dangerous Game?
Actually, that was one of the books I read. I
even read up on the old comics. I’ve always
loved the universe, so I just got to revisit it.
I read some of your old interviews and
I found one you did in 2005 when your
first film, Kontroll, hit the States. You
were talking about how you insisted on
shooting in 35 mm and said, ‘Robert Rodriguez
would be angry with me.’ Then,
you two hadn’t met. And now he’s your
producer.
[Laughs] That’s funny! And we did shoot
Predators digitally—it’s my first digital film!
You made your name in Hollywood with
Kontroll, a Hungarian film shot in Hungarian.
[Antol, the son of immigrants,
was born in Los Angeles and moved to
Hungary when he was 17 to study film.]
When you met people who didn’t know
your life story, were they shocked that
you were a regular guy who didn’t have
an accent?
Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. [Laughs] Yes.
And when you moved back to California at
the age of 31, Arnold Schwarzenegger was
governor. Is he stalking your career?
We see him and his wife walking in the
park—I’m always tempted to run up and
say something, but I’d probably be shot by
his bodyguards from far off in the distance,
watching him.
You should study your own movies and
learn diversionary tactics.
Exactly!
■
38 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

GUNS BLAZING
As Cuchillo—aka “Knife”—Danny Trejo isn’t
going down without a fight
HEY,
TOUGH GUY
Danny Trejo on tattoos, prison
and … the Jonas Brothers?
You’ve played a lot of killers and drug
dealers. How does Cuchillo measure up?
He’s a killer for the cartels and he’s kidnapped
by the Predators and placed on a
planet to be hunted. The hunter becomes
the prey. I land with two machine guns. My
first look at a human being is Adrien Brody
and I start screaming at him. I don’t know
what’s going on, so it’s a stand off, but then
he calms me down and we go find everybody
else. But I have to make my killers
different. I have to find something different
about them because I’m always the killer—
there’s got to be some little twist. This guy’s
a wise-cracker. There’s a line where Alice
Braga says, “C’mon you guys, we have to
start working as a team!” And I look around
and say, “Does this look like a team-oriented
group of individuals to you?” We’re all basically
serial killers.
I’m guessing you don’t live, but is your
death cool?
He gets killed pretty viciously. I can’t give
away too much of it, but he doesn’t die easy.
You’ve been killed in a lot of movies. What
is that like to watch yourself continually
getting shot or blown to pieces?
[Laughs] I always make sure that I have a
little tv set and I’m watching it from the
bank.
Between Arnold Schwarzenegger and
Jesse Ventura, people in Predator movies
have a knack for getting elected to political
positions. Any ambitions?
I’m in Sacramento right now and Arnold
just cut a bunch of different programs in
California. He just cut medication to 58,000
drug addicts. If this passes, he’ll unleash
58,000 drug addicts onto Los Angeles. Arnold,
you goofed. Go back to Predator.
The state of Arizona is giving Machete a lot
of free advertising.
Did you see the message I sent them!?
[Growling] ‘Here’s a message for you, Arizona.’
I think I’m going to go down there with
t-shirts that say, ‘You fucked with the wrong
Mexican. Machete—coming soon!’
With Machete, you’re top-billed over
Robert DeNiro. What’s that like?
When Robert DeNiro showed up on set, he
said, “Danny, this is it. This is your starring
role. I knew when we did Heat, you had it.
You made it, dude.’ I looked him right in the
eyes and said, ‘Can I get you some coffee, Mr.
DeNiro?’ He is The Guy no matter what. Billing
is just billing. You should see him in this
movie—he’s amazing. He plays a crooked
senator and God. It’s like no other character
he’s played. He’s racist! I love watching him
work.
Steven Seagal is also in it with you and I
heard on set he’s always daring you to do
more of your own stunts.
I got stunt guys that do my stunts!
People thought both of you were also in
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 39

BIG PICTURE > PREDATORS
The Expendables,
which didn’t
happen, though it’s
still on your IMDb
page.
That was Stallone’s
deal. Stallone would
say, ‘Oh, he’s in The
Expendables and he’s
in The Expendables,’
so everybody would
go to see it. All my
fans are going to go
see it and I’m not
in it.
This year, you’re
I’M NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS
slated to be in 16
For Trejo and the gang, trust is in short supply
movies. Is it hard
for you to say, ‘I
want to take a vacation.’
Have you ever wanted to change up your
look, cut your hair, but worried that you
I’ve been so blessed. I just finished a movie might lose roles?
called Death Race 2, and I was in Cape Town,
South Africa for six weeks. I worked for four [Laughs] You’re not going to fix this. It’s
weeks and I had two weeks off. That was what you got. If there were 30 of us standing
my vacation. I sent for my kids and we had around, the cop’s going to look at me and
a vacation on the studio. We just hang out say, ‘C’mere.’ It always got me in trouble, but
all over the world. We were in Austin, Texas now it’s paying off.
for three weeks and that was a vacation.
Working with Robert Rodriguez is just so Your giant chest tattoo of a sexy woman
cool. He’s a real family guy. His kids were in in a sombrero was voted the most
Machete, my kids were in Machete. My two recognizable tattoo in the world by
BFFs are in it—don’t put I said BFF, that’s International Tattoo Magazine. But when
embarrassing.
audiences see it for the first time, everyone
assumes it’s makeup.
and got the outline
done. Then I got
thrown out of San
Quentin and Harry
said, ‘Don’t let anybody
touch it—I’ll
be there!’ I got sent
to Folsom and three
months later Harry
showed up and
said, ‘Let me finish
it.’ We got most of
it done but then
there was a big riot.
I got kicked out of
Folsom and went to
Soledad, Harry went
to Vacaville. Then
three months later,
he got transferred
to Soledad and we
fixed it. Two and a half years, three penitentiaries
and it’s the most famous tattoo in the
world.
Did Harry ever see it on the big screen and
boast, ‘That’s my work!’
Are you kidding? I made him famous. He
passed away a couple years ago, but people
would ask him for the tattoo and he’d say,
‘I can’t, I can’t.’ He hasn’t put this tattoo on
anybody.
He copyrighted it for you?
It’s like doing two Mona Lisas!
BOXOFFICE JULY 1987
I know! ‘Is that real?’ But this tattoo was
done by a friend of mine called Harry ‘Super
Jew’ Ross. We started in San Quentin
Here’s something about you that would
surprise people: this year you were in a
Jonas Brothers video.
CLASSIC REVIEW > JULY 1987
PREDATOR
Predator stars Arnold Schwarzenegger
as Dutch, the leader of a crack commando
squad that is dispatched to find
some American soldiers who have been lost in
a South American jungle. Almost immediately,
though, they find that the situation is much
graver than they had been led to believe. They
find four of the missing Americans skinned and
hanging from trees, while two more are being
held captive.
It turns out that the missing Americans are
prisoners of some kind of guerrilla group, and
Dutch and the boys had been tricked into rescuing
them. In a prolonged and incredibly violent
sequence, they bust up the camp. If this
were Rambo or Missing in Action, this would
be the end of the movie.
No such luck. See, every so often, the film has
to cut to a solarized point of view shot of some
kind of creature that is watching Dutch and the
boys as they work their way through the jungle.
The real villain in the movie is quickly revealed
to be a towering alien being that has the ability
to make itself invisible—in other words, the
movie becomes Aliens in Rambo clothing.
The film soon falls into a very dull pattern that
we’ve seen too many times before: They see
the creature, they chase the creature, the crea-
40 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

BIG PICTURE > PROMOTION
They’re the cutest kids in the world! They
were scared to come out of their trailer at
first, but then I hollered, ‘C’mon out!’ and
made them get pictures with me. My daughter
was like, ‘Can I come!? Can I come!?’
was just Inmate #1. I never ever had a name.
Inmate #1 or Bad Guy #1.
Did you ever worry you were perpetuating
stereotypes?
Oddly, Eric Roberts was in the video, too.
You worked with him on your first movie,
Runaway Train (1985).
I got hired to train him how to box—that’s
how I got into the movies. I was a drug
counselor. I’d never been on a movie set
in my life, and one of the kids I was working
with was working on the film and he
called me up and said, ‘Will you come
hang out with me because there’s a lot of
drugs here and I don’t want to get loaded.’ I
went down to hang out with him and I ran
into a friend of mine, Eddie Bunker, who
I’d known since 1962. Years, I’d known
him—we were in San Quentin together. He
knew I used to box and he said, ‘Danny, we
need somebody to train Eric Roberts how
to box.’ I said, ‘What’s it pay?’ and he said
$320 a day. I said, ‘How bad do you want
this guy beat up?!’ And he was like, no,
no, no, I’ve got to be real careful because
Roberts was high-strung and might sock
me. For $320 a day, give him a stick! This
Mexican’s been beaten up for free! I started
training Eric Roberts how to box and the
director, Andrei Konchalovsky, saw me
and said the contrast between me and Eric
was really good and that I should be in the
movie. That’s how I got started.
And 25 years later, you’re both getting
screamed at by Jonas Brothers fans...
It’s funny. The first five years of my career, I
ture kills one of them. They see the creature,
they chase the creature, the creature kills one
of them. The only artistry involved here is how
suspenseful and how gory the filmmakers can
make each killing, and if that’s your idea of art
you can have it.
Finally, of course, only Arnold is left. Covering
himself with mud so that the alien’s heatdetecting
eyes wont find him, Arnold turns the
tables on the beast and ultimately conquers
it. Had he been in his underwear, we might
have mistaken him for Sigourney Weaver. Well,
maybe not.
Predator is chiefly concerned with showing us
the usual explosions and gunshots, combined
[Laughs] Sweetheart, look at my picture. You
can’t stereotype me—I am what I am. When
you look at me, you think this guy’s either
going to be the bad guy or the bad guy gone
good. But we’re going to start off with the
bad guy.
If you could only keep one of your 185
movies, which would you pick?
I would have to say Heat. Robert DeNiro, Al
Pacino, Val Kilmer. But! Machete. Wow. It’s
so over the top. With what’s going on with
Machete is a political statement that’s just
going to piss everybody off.
And you get to make out with Jessica Alba.
Wow. I kissed her and then three of my best
friends tried to kiss me. “You kissed her! You
kissed her! Her lips are still on you!” She is
amazing. God worked overtime on her. She
and Michelle Rodriguez are my two love
interests. Can you imagine? I died and went
to heaven! Michelle Rodriguez is go-to-hell
beautiful. The first time I saw her, I was like
‘Damn!’ She came up and said, ‘Danny, I’m a
big fan of yours.’ I looked at her and said, ‘I’m
going to be a big fan of yours for the rest of
my life, lady.’ All of us used to go out dancing
and we just had a blast. They were surprised
because I can salsa, I can swing, I can do them
all. I can do the cha-cha. They’d ask, ‘Where
did you learn that?!’ C’mon, I’m Mexican! I
was dancing like this in the ‘50s!
■
with a really sick fascination with entrails and
skinned human beings. Schwarzenegger, who
can be a lot of fun when he’s playing an urban
hulk taking on city dwellers, is just another
musclebound grunt in the jungle. The creature
is the star here, and like Harry and the Hendersons
it provides the only moments of diversion
(interestingly, the creatures in both movies are
played by Kevin Peter Hall). It’s a great demonstration
of movie technology, but for what? At
heart, Predator is just a violent and predictable
slaughter film with a high tech murderer.
Such a combination has earned lots of money
before, but not with as little style as Predator
has.
■
MAKE ‘EM SCREAM
It’ll be one of summer’s sweetest sounds
WHO YOU
CALLING
UGLY?
Especially when the box
office could be gorgeous
If you’re lucky enough to have a movie
theater in Nashville, Tennessee—home of
the Nashville Predators hockey squad—
you’ve already got your local tie-in figured
out. But for everywhere else, here’s an
idea (if you think your audience has the
guts). With Predator costumes retailing for
$65 online, scare up some thrills by running
down the aisle at tense moments during
a late night screening. Or earlier, mill
about in the lobby after advertising that all
patrons can get their picture taken with the
mandibled murderer.
The franchise’s sidestep into Aliens vs.
Predator opened the door to hundreds
of YouTube parodies: Batman vs. Predator,
Ewoks vs. Predator, Power Rangers vs.
Predator, Terminator vs. RoboCop vs. Predator.
For the build-up to that first Thursday
midnight screening, get fans there early—
and get them buying popcorn—by screening
half an hour of the best clips before the
clock strikes 12 and the main event begins.
Make Predators an event and you’ve made
loyalty points with action fans—and with
two more months of summer blockbusters
to go, that’s as great a feat as outsmarting
the Predators on their own planet.
■
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 41

THE SLATE
ON THE HORIZON
CHOOSE YOUR
WEAPON
Machete lives up
to his name
RODRIGUEZ’S TOP DOMESTIC GROSSERS
2009 2007 2005 2005 2003 2003 2002 2001 1998 1996 1995 1992
EL MARIACHI
2,040,625
DESPERADO
$25,405,706
FROM DUSK TILL DAWN
$25,836,899
THE FACULTY
$40,283,084
SPY KIDS
$112,719,821
SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF
LOST DREAMS
$85,846,314
ONCE UPON A TIME IN
MEXICO
$56,359,724
SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER
$111,761,923
THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK-
BOY AND LAVAGIRL IN 3-D
$39,177,673
SIN CITY
$74,103,420
GRINDHOUSE*
$25,037,267
SHORTS
$20,919,546
* Grindhouse co-directed
with Quentin Tarantino
by Amy Nicholson
SLICE UP A SMILE
Machete
DISTRIBUTOR 20th Century Fox CAST Danny
Trejo, Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica
Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Steven
Seagal DIRECTORS Robert Rodriguez, Ethan
Maniquis SCREENWRITER Robert Rodriguez PRO-
DUCERS Elizabeth Avellan, Aaron Kaufman, Iliana
Nikolic, Robert Rodriguez, Rick Schwartz,
Quentin Tarantino GENRE Action/Crime RATING
TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE September
3, 2010
Audiences met Machete in the faux trailers that ran
before Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s
Grindhouse. But they actually first saw Danny Trejo’s take-no-prisoners guerrilla in Rodriguez’s
2001 Spy Kids, where he played Antonio Banderas’ estranged brother. But Machete goes back
further still to when Rodriguez cast Trejo in Desperado and got a man-crush on the character actor’s
cragged face and crazy tattoos.
“I wrote him this idea of a federale from Mexico who gets hired to do hatchet jobs in the U.S.,”
said Rodriguez. “I had heard sometimes when FBI or DEA have a really tough job that they don’t
want to get their own agents killed on, they’ll hire an agent from Mexico to come do the job for
$25,000. I thought, ‘That’s Machete.’” Then Desperado launched Rodriguez’s career and his schedule
got really busy. “I never got around to making it,” he sighed.
But the idea lingered in his head—or really, loitered—as Rodriguez brainstormed ways to resurrect
Machete in all three Spy Kids movies, and finally for that riotous trailer in Grindhouse. During the
press tour for the film, he announced that Machete would be a feature-length film, a claim nobody
took seriously even as they agreed it would be killer. And with the film set for release in September,
its timing—however delayed—couldn’t be better. Not only does it have a cast with clout including
Robert DeNiro, but Arizona has put immigration tensions back in the headlines. In the actual film,
Machete is a bitter ex-cop who’s fled Mexico for the States after Steven Seagal slaughtered his family.
But on May 5, Rodriguez released a fake trailer that recut Machete to look like a film about a Mexican
hired gun paid to assassinate a senator, only to realize he’s been set up for a failed hit designed as a
sympathy ploy for an anti-immigration bill. Fans took the fake trailer seriously. Rodriguez, however,
thought the prank was hilarious—and it sure got people buzzing about the flick.
“What can I say, it was Cinco de Mayo and I had too much tequila,” he explained.
■
42 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

FEATHERS OF
FURY
The stakes
are high in
this animated
Legend
AN OWL FOR AN OWL
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole
“I
wanted to make a movie my kids
could watch,” said director Zack
Snyder at ShoWest earlier this
year. After shooting the violent hits 300
and Watchmen, Snyder surprised many in
the industry by signing on to direct the
first chapter in a popular kids series of
novels about a pack—or parliament—
of young owls. Called the Guardians of
Ga’Hoole, transposed in Hollywood-ese
as the cumbersome Legend of the Guardians:
the Owls of Ga’Hoole, the series has
compressed its first three books into this
gorgeous 3D animated flick.
Warner Bros. scooped up the rights to
DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Jim Sturgess,
Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Taylor, David Wenham
DIRECTOR Zack Snyder SCREENWRITERS John Orloff,
John Collee PRODUCERS Zareh Nalbandian
GENRE Adventure/Animation/Fantasy/3D RAT-
ING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE September
24, 2010
the series in 2005, two years after Kathryn
Lasky’s first book hit shelves. Kids were
drawn to the series’ rich and fearless storytelling—like
Harry Potter, this is a franchise
where heroes can die. The plot follows a
young owl named Soren (voiced by Brit Jim
Sturgess) who gets scooped up by a school
of owls who control their fledglings with
mind control. Along with a few feathered
friends, he escapes and sets out to find a
mysterious band of noble super owls who
roost far, far away.
Though Snyder is known for layering
animation on live action, this is his
first full cartoon, and he was a bit nervous.
“I actually feel like I’ve learned so
much about the process of how to make
an animated movie,” said Snyder. “When
I first came to it I was like, ‘Oh, you guys
have to help me out.” Still, he tried to make
the animated world look realistic—or at
least, as realistic as 300. “I didn’t want to
make a cartoon,” Snyder adds. “I wanted to
make these paintings that look awesome.
And that signature Zack Snyder slo-mo and
fighting and craziness? There’s a bunch of
that in there, but I wouldn’t say it’s wall-towall.”
If audiences—and his kids—like the
result, there’ are 12 more books to go. ■
SIX FEET UNDER
Buried
Talk about a stunt. This tense thriller shot for peanuts by
Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes is as minimal as films get:
one character, one location and one wrenching premise. Ryan
Reynolds takes a break from starring in Sandra Bullock comedies
and X-Men adventure flicks to star as
a civilian contractor in Iraq who gets
ambushed on the job. He comes-to in
a box buried in the ground. Where?
By whom? Why him? And worst of
all, how is he going to get out before
he runs out of oxygen in, oh, the next
90 minutes.
For credibility, Cortes shot much
of the claustrophobic film in what
looks like actual light. In his living
tomb, Reynolds has a lighter, a cell
phone and glow sticks. As such, so do
we—Cortes gets so close to Reynold’s
DISTRIBUTOR Lionsgate CAST Ryan Reynolds, Robert Paterson, Jose Luis Garcia-Perez, Stephen
Tobolowsky, Samantha Mathis, Warner Loughlin, Erik Palladino, Ivana Mino DIREC-
TORS Rodrigo Cortes SCREENWRITER Chris Sparling PRODUCERS Adrián Guerra, Peter Safran
GENRE Thriller/Suspense/Drama RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 95 min. RELEASE DATE September
24, 2010
face under the sickly green glow that we get to know his pores better
than our own. The cell phone is key as it’s Reynold’s only link with
the outside world: the American officials who don’t believe him and
the terrorist who want to make sure they do.
When Buried hits theaters in
NO, I CAN’T
CALL BACK
Ryan Reynold’s
life depends on
his battery life
September, it’s going to be one of
the oddest movie experiences of the
month. The rest of the cast, which
include several decent sized names,
are no more than offscreen voices.
But the micro-budgeted thriller was
snatched up minutes before its Sundance
premiere by Lionsgate, who
laid out $4 million for the distribution
rights—the studio is betting that
audiences will be eager to see how
Cortes pulled it off...or eager to argue
that he didn’t.
■
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 43

COMING ATTRACTIONS
THE POWER OF
GRAY SKULL
Noah Ringer
is the magical
Airbender
THE SLATE
The Sorcerer’s
Apprentice
MOP IT UP, BRUCKHEIMER
DISTRIBUTOR Walt Disney Pictures CAST
Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Teresa Palmer,
Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell, Monica Bellucci
DIRECTOR Jon Turteltaub SCREENWRIT-
ERS Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal,
Matt Lopez Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
GENRE Action/Adventure RATING TBD RUN-
NING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE July 16, 2010
> How would Jerry Bruckheimer
reimagine Mickey Mouse?
Explosions. (Duh.) And there are
plenty of them in this updated
Fantasia classic, itself adapted
from a 213 year old ballad. Nicolas
Cage stars as a modern Manhattan
wizard who hires college
student Jay Baruchel to help him
defeat the evil Alfred Molina.
What follows is an understated
character portrait of two souls
united by totally awesome magical
spell bombs.
■
SMOKE ON THE WATER
The Last Airbender
DISTRIBUTOR Paramount CAST Dev Patel, Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone,
Jessica Jade Andres, Aasif Mandvi, Shaun Toub, Cliff Curtis, Keong Sim
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER M. Night Shyamalan SCREENWRITER M. Night Shyamalan
PRODUCERS Scott Aversano, Frank Marshall, Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan
GENRE Fantasy/Action/Adventure RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE
July 2, 2010
> After six senses, M. Night Shyamalan takes on the four elements in this tween action film about
the battle to control fire, earth, air and water. Based on a Nickelodeon series, Airbender marks a radical
turn for Shyamalan who made his name (and increasingly, detractors) with his twisty thrillers.
But Paramount must also have something up its sleeve to release it so daringly close to Twilight:
Eclipse, which opens just two days before.
■
WORRY ABOUT THEIR PARENTS
The Kids are
All Right
DISTRIBUTOR Focus Features CAST Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska,
Josh Hutcherson, Mark Ruffalo DIRECTOR Lisa Cholodenko SCREENWRIT-
ERS Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg PRODUCERS Gary Gilbert, Jordan Horowitz,
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg GENRE Comedy
RATING R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and
alcohol use. RUNNING TIME 104 min. RELEASE DATE July 7, 2010
> At Sundance, Focus Features threw down a princely sum for this comedy, which stars Annette Bening
and Julianne Moore as a longterm lesbian couple shaken up when their two teens (Josh Hutcherson
and Mia Wasikowska) dig up their sperm donor dad. The kids love that Mark Ruffalo is a party
monster motorcyclist, but Bening fears—rightly—that he just might have a crush on her wife. ■
LOVE ME, TENDERIZER
Despicable Me
DISTRIBUTOR Universal Pictures CAST Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will
Arnett, Danny McBride, Russell Brand, Jemaine Clement, Jack McBrayer, Julie
Andrews, Miranda Cosgrove, Mindy Kaling DIRECTORS Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
SCREENWRITERS Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio PRODUCERS John Cohen, Janet Healy,
Christopher Meledandri GENRE Comedy/Family/Animation RATING PG for rude
humor and mild action. RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE July 9, 2010
HE’S GOT
THAT GLOW
Nicolas Cage has
magically great
hair
> Forget superheroes. Long live supervillains, in Universal’s sprightly kiddie comedy about a
schemer named Gru (Steve Carell) and his fleet of minions who gets distracted from their evil mission
to steal the moon by the arrival of rival villain Vector (Jason Segal) and, worse, three orphan
girls who see the daddy in the baddie.
■
44 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

A TOAST TO US
Steve Carell and
Paul Rudd make
plans for Dinner
Beastly
MORONS, PARTY OF TWO?
Dinner for
Schmucks
DISTRIBUTOR Paramount CAST Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Lucy Punch, Zach
Galifianakis, Stephanie Szostak, Bruce Greenwood, David Walliams,
Ron Livingston, Andrea Savage DIRECTOR Jay Roach SCREENWRITERS
Michael Handelman, Jon Vitti PRODUCER Laurie MacDonald, Walter F.
Parkes, Jay Roach GENRE Comedy RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RE-
LEASE DATE July 23, 2010
> Riffing off the French comedy The Dinner Game—a hit so successful it’s also been adapted
in China and India—this flick directed by Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents) stars
Paul Rudd as an up-and-coming businessman who has to impress the office by dragging an
idiot to his boss’ pick-on-the-fools dinner party. Problem is, his pick (Steve Carell) ruins the
life of anyone he meets. And he’s really into mouse taxidermy.
■
DON’T BE A PEST
Ramona and Beezus
DISTRIBUTOR 20th Century Fox CAST Selena Gomez, Joey King, Josh
Duhamel, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Hutch
Dano DIRECTOR Elizabeth Allen SCREENWRITER Laurie Craig PRODUCER
Denise Di Novi, Alison Greenspan GENRE Comedy/Family RATING G
RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE July 23, 2010
DISTRIBUTOR CBS Films CAST Vanessa Hudgens, Alex
Pettyfer, Mary-Kate Olsen, Neil Patrick Harris, Peter
Krause DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Daniel Barnz PRO-
DUCER Susan Cartsonis GENRE Fantasy/Horror/Romance
RATING PG-13 for language including some
crude comments, drug references and brief violence.
RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE July 30, 2010
> Fledgling CBS Films is betting the
bank that this gothic romance will take a
bite out of Twilight. High School Musical’s
Vanessa Hudgens stars as a gawky beauty
forced to live with the most popular
guy in school (Alex Pettyfer) after a teen
witch (Mary-Kate Olsen) turns him into a
tattooed, scarred, hairless monster. With
Neil Patrick Harris as a blind tutor who
helps transform the beast from a major
league jerk into a major sweetheart. ■
WHO YOU CALLING CURSED?
> Fox updates the ’50s Beverly Cleary young adult novel series about two squabbling sisters
by aging up the eldest daughter seven years to cast 17 year old Disney star Selena Gomez. The
girls who pored over the books are now mothers and grandmothers, and if they deem Fox’s
version suitable, you can bet they’ll buy plenty of tickets for the next generation.
■
TIME—AND FUR—FLIES
Cats & Dogs:
the Revenge of Kitty
Galore
DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Chris O’Donnell, Roger Moore, Jack
McBrayer, Paul Rodriguez, Malcolm Goodwin, Malcolm Stewart, Alec
Baldwin, Michael Clarke Duncan, Joe Pantoliano, Bette Midler DIREC-
TOR Brad Peyton SCREENWRITERS Ron Friedman, Steve Bencich PRODUC-
ERS Polly Johnsen, Andrew Lazar GENRE Adventure/Animation/Family
RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE July 30, 2010
> When the first Cats & Dogs grossed $200 million, everyone assumed Warner Bros. would
make a sequel. But no one figured they’d wait nine years. This sequel’s been maturing as long
as their target audience—still, it’s not like kids will have to bone up by watching the first
animal super-spy movie to appreciate this second installment about a hairless cat out to
conquer the world. Heck, they might think it’s a follow-up to G-Force.
■
BUT HE’S GOT
A LEVELY
PERSONALITY
Actually, not
so much in this
Beauty and the
Beast update
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 45

THE PROPHET OF SOUTH AFRICA
Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema
BOOK IT!
THE SLATE
QUESTIONS? CONTACT US AT INDIE@BOXOFFICE.COM
BOOK IT! >Little
gems that could
pay off at the box
office
In addition to our Internet
eavesdropping through
WebWatch, we occasionally
indulge in the old-fashioned
kind. Especially at trade shows.
We recently overheard two
seasoned exhibitors talking
about the current state of the
independent film world. “How
are you booking independent
pictures?” asked the first.
“What independent pictures?”
replied the second.
And there you have it. The
independent film distribution
system is broken. The capital
freeze and changing business
models in Hollywood are
among the flies in the ointment,
but the fundamental truth is
that millions of moviegoers will
pay to see “small” films on big
screens.
Welcome to BOXOFFICE’s
modest proposal to help solve
the problem: BOOK IT!, our
guide to the independent films
we think are worthy of your
attention.
BOYS WITH
TOYS
Gangster’s
Paradise charts
the rise of a
criminal
UNFORGETTABLE MAN, UNFORGETABLE MOVIE
American Jihadist
DISTRIBUTOR Anchor Bay Films CAST Ronnie Nyakale, Rapaulana Seiphemo, Jeffrey Sekele,
Robert Hobbs, Kenneth Nkosi, Eugene Khumbanyiwa, Louise Saint-Claire, Malusi
Skenjana DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Ralph Ziman PRODUCERS Ralph Ziman, Tendeka Matatu
GENRE Crime Drama; English-, Afrikaans-, Zulu-, Suthu-, Xhosa-, Tswane-, Ndebele- and
Tsotsie Taal-languages, subtitled RATING R for violence, language, drug use and some
sexual content RUNNING TIME 118 min RELEASE DATE June 11 ltd.
BOOK IT > Anchor Bay / 424 204 4166
Ed Scheid says…
> Inspired by true events in South Africa, Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema
documents the development of a crime lord from his start as a
petty childhood crook. When Lucky (the raw and powerful Rapaulana
Seiphemo) tires of armed robbery, he thinks big. But his new
business—stealing high rise slums by starting a revolution among
the tenants—makes him rich and makes him a target. Where’s the
line drawn between being Robin Hood and robbing your own ‘hood?
This absorbing, angry and utterly unrepentant view of urban decay
in Johannesburg has the potential to draw the audience who made
City of God an arthouse hit beyond the arthouse.
■
DIRECTOR Mark Claywell SCREENWRITER Jody Jenkins PRODUCERS Mark Claywell, Jody Jenkins RATING Documentary RUNNING TIME 72 min.
BOOK IT > Glen Reynolds / 323 667 3301 / glen@circusroadfilsm.com
Matthew Nestel says…
> To draw the profile of DC-born Isa Abdullah Ali, a self-described terrorist and family man, you’d
need to pull from multiple sources. Mix Mike Tyson, G.I. Joe and Kung Fu’s Kwai Chang Caine and
you’d have pretty good starter dough. American Jihadist tours with him into the red zones of war,
retracing the internal (and external) hemorrhaging that manufactured a homegrown, unforgiving
Soldier of Islam. What follows is a hardcore offensive by a film crew trying to tap the goods of this
rogue, demon-channeling warrior who stands proud when he says, “I actually stopped counting in
1981 the numbers of persons I had killed.” The doc has potential to perform like a sleeper cell. ■
EAGLES, ATTACK!
Birdemic: Shock and Terror
DISTRIBUTOR Severin Films CAST Alan Bagh, Whitney Moore, Janae Caster, Colton Osborne, Adam Sessa DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/
PRODUCER James Nguyen GENRE Action/Thriller/Romance RATING Unrated RUNNING TIME 90 min.
BOOK IT > Evan Husney / 612 423 9963 / evan@severin-films.com
Amy Nicholson says…
> For the cost of Avatar you could shoot 35,000 Birdemics, the $10,000 Hitchcock homage (not spoof)
storming midnight movie screenings led by writer/director James Nguyen. With Internet buzz on its
side, Birdemic is selling out showings of a genuinely terrible film. Audiences from Tuscon to Toronto
are flocking to the hooting party atmosphere that follows this thriller about the Bay Area under
attack from eagles—venom-spitting eagles who, like kamikaze pilots, explode on impact. Nguyen
confessed that he hired a student for a $100 down payment to computer animate his killer birds—
they’re as 2D as a sticker and they hover, screeching, in front of our heroes who try very, very hard to
pretend that something is there. The hapless director has created accidental comedic brilliance and
there’s no greater reward than audiences spinning Birdemic into an interactive repeat event. ■
46 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

REVIEWING THE STATEMENT
“SUPPORT THE TROOPS”
Restrepro
DISTRIBUTOR National Geographic Entertainment DIREC-
TORS/PRODUCERS Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
GENRE Documentary RATING R for language throughout
including some descriptions of violence. RUNNING TIME
93 min. RELEASE DATE June 25 ltd.
BOOK IT >
National Geographic / mkatz@ngs.org
Pam Grady says..
> Filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim
Hetherington bring the reality of war to the
big screen. What began as an assignment for
Vanity Fair and later as reports for ABC News
morphed into a feature-length documentary
that limns a year in the life of U.S. soldiers
deployed to one of the most dangerous spots
in Afghanistan. Moving and as riveting as
any dramatic narrative, the doc recently
screened at the San Francisco International
Film Festival. War films have been a hard sell
at the box office in the near-decade that the
U.S. has spent in its separate battlefronts in
Afghanistan and Iraq, but the film will arrive
in theaters with festival buzz and a Sundance
Grand Jury documentary award. With an appeal
to fans of human interest stories, as well
as those interested in war and politics, the
movie should score a moderate success. ■
FAMILY HOSTILITIES IN FOCUS
The Full Picture
DISTRIBUTOR One Big Head Films CAST Daron Jennings,
Lizzie Ross, Joshua Hutchinson, Bettina Devin, Heather
Mathieson DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER Jon
Bowden GENRE Dramedy RATING Unrated RUNNING TIME
80 min. RELEASE DATE June 11 ltd
BOOK IT > Jon Bowden / 415 412 3567
jon@onebigheadfilms.com
Pam Grady says…
> In Jon Bowden’s first feature, a commitment-phobic
guy has somehow gotten three
years into a relationship without either he,
his brother or his sister-in-law spilling the
beans about their dysfunctional family to
his girlfriend—no small feat when his parents’
messy public divorce was front page
news in gossip mags. And with his soured,
camera-hungry monster of a mother paying
a visit, this jaded boyfriend needs to confront
the parents who turned him into such
a love cynic. Adapted from Bowden’s play
Big Mouth, the film suffers from a few debut
BOOK IT > Kino International / 212 629 6880
THE YOUTUBE MOVIE STAR
How to sell an indie doc in an internet age
by Amy Nicholson
Stop me when this sounds familiar: a man—
fuzzy after two decades of VHS dubs—stands
inside of a deluxe 1988 Winnebago wearing a
white shirt and tie and starts recording an industrial
sales film.
“The Winnebago concepts and engineering departments
have developed a multi-functional bathroom,
privacy...I don’t even know what the f--k I’m reading!”
For the next seven minutes and 28 seconds, we watch
outtakes from the worst shoot of this man’s life, edited
into a montage of rage at flies, bad dialogue, faulty
props and idiot assistants—there are more curses
per minute than the last moments of a tight NBA
championship game. Dubbed “The Angriest Man in
America,” that video, secretly leaked by a disgruntled
crew member, has been seen on YouTube by over 20
million people, and if you haven’t seen it, take a break, watch it and come back.
Director Ben Steinbauer went on a search to find that man, Jack Rebney, and his
feature-length documentary is the first film to go from Internet meme to theatrical
release—and, like its subject, Winnebago Man is an interesting case study in finding an
audience through the Internet. Producer Joel Heller knew the film had a chance when it
sold out all three screenings at South By Southwest. (“The theater manager came out and
said he’d never seen a theater so full,” says Heller.) To his relief, the documentary got the
crowd laughing, and watching them, he resolved to get his film a theatrical release.
“When I realized it played as a comedy, it would be a missed opportunity to have
people watch it on a computer,” says Heller. And to further his resolve, he saw that Winnebago
Man reached a wider audience than he’d expected. “As we took it around the country
with film festivals, it played in urban areas and the Midwest. It wasn’t just hipsters—it
was a four-quadrants movie. Even AARP audiences identified with Jack as this character
who spoke freely.”
But every film festival has a dozen crowd favorites that never get a theatrical release—
and if they do, they don’t have the budget to advertise—so Heller and Steinbauer realized
that they’d have to make some smart moves online.
“BoingBoing.net was one of the first sites to gather viral videos—they’re really part
of the phenomenon of promoting them,” says Heller. He saw a chance to target one audience
for the film. “Rather than just put the trailer up on a site for indie films, we thought
we should give it to the guys who would appreciate it. When you promote it on an online
news site, it then becomes part of the news cycle—the media loves to cover itself.” In
one week, the trailer had over 100,000 views and 40 write-ups on sites like NBC, Wired,
Moviefone and New York Magazine. Exclaims Heller, “That’s extraordinary for an indie
documentary with no advertising budget.”
“When Conan O’Brien said that the clip was one of his favorites, for an independent
film, that is going to make a huge difference,” says Heller. But to him and Steinbauer,
while the “Angriest Man” clip is, in essence, free advertising, they believe that it’s the
film’s good word of mouth that will get people offline and into a theater.
With boutique distributor Kino on their side, (“They’re very good at high turnout
in selected theaters—with Harvard Versus Yale, they played in 150 markets over three
months,” notes Heller) as well as a solid foundation from seeing what worked at film festivals,
the film’s marketing strategy is coming together. They stalled on an early offer of a
story from NPR so that they could time the publicity to the film’s release. But Heller sees
(continued on page 48) (continued on page 48)
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 47

BOOK IT! > WINNEGABO MAN (continued from page 47) BOOK IT! (continued from page 47)
their most valuable advertising as coming
from online, making this a story about a
video that’s gone from VHS to the web to
film to web again.
“Kevin Smith and Michael Moore said
they loved it on Twitter—having someone
with a million followers on Twitter say
they love the film, is that more helpful
than even a news article? It’s certainly
more immediate,” says Heller. Still, for the
first 15 years of its existence, the “Angriest
Man” video wasn’t immediate, which is
part of why it’s the first viral video to merit
a feature film.
“Very few things make it though all
those channels of VCR, TV and YouTube,”
says director Ben Steinbauer. Since Rebney
had his infamous meltdown, dozens of
other civilians have become accidental
celebrities thanks to a camera that recorded
the most embarrassing seconds of
their life for posterity. What makes Jack
Rebney stand out is that he predates the
internet—it’s easy to click a link and share
an average video, but early fans of Jack had
to hook up two VCRs, dub the tape and
pass it forward like a chain letter. Every
time-consuming copy was a testament to
people’s love of the film. “People trading
tapes is how South Park started, how Jackass
came to be,” says Steinbauer. “Now that
we’re inundated with media, the role of
the curator is more important.”
“The competition for people’s attention
is tough,” admits Heller. “We pay attention
to what the audience is telling us,
and what we know is that want to have a
personal connection to Jack. We can create
that by bringing him to some of the premieres
or having Ben go and host a Q&A
where he calls Jack on the phone—when
that’s happened, people have cheered for a
phone for 60 seconds.”
“When you have a movie that’s driven
by a character people love, it’s important
that they get to interact,” says Heller.
That’s good advice for any film, whether
it’s a doc or fiction. And as Winnebago Man
gets closer to its patient national rollout,
Twitter is another way they can make that
audience connection happen. They’ll solicit
questions on Twitter and then one or
two days a week, have Jack respond to his
fans. “We’ll call it ‘Rebney Wednesdays,’
or something—maybe we’ll even audio
record him and add a link.”
Another tactic they’re brainstorming
is a video of shame contest inspired by the
montage that started it all. “Everyone can
relate to an embarrassing moment or outtake,”
says Heller. “We’re thinking about
a competition where people upload their
videos and the funniest will win an award:
tickets, t-shirts, maybe a personal phone
call with Jack. It’s just another way to get
people to engage with the film.”
Heller and Steinbauer know they have
a lot of work ahead of them, but that’s the
nature of the independent film market
in 2010. “It’s no longer a romantic idea to
finance a movie on credit cards—people
just think you’re stupid,” says Heller. Still,
he’s glad to be making his own dent in the
marketplace. “I’m very optimistic for any
film that has a great character and is very
well told. I’m very pessimistic about the
survival of anything that falls short of that.
There’s so much content in the world; unless
you have something special, why even
bother?”
■
film kinks, but it is an amiable and occasionally
hilarious dramedy with plenty of appeal.
It’s a fresh film that deserves a shot and
exhibitors could cast their nets wide to pull
in an eclectic audience.
■
AT 87, ALAIN RESNAIS REMAINS IN
TOP FORM
Wild Grass
Les herbes folles
RIGHT NUMBER
Wild Grass is a classy French romance
DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Classics CAST Sabine Azéma,
Andre Dussollier, Anne Consigny, Emmanuelle Devos,
Mathieu Amalric, Michel Vuillermoz DIRECTOR Alain
Resnais SCREENWRITERS Lauret Herbiet, Alex Reval PRO-
DUCER Jean-Louis Livi RATING PG for some thematic material,
language and brief smoking. RUNNING TIME 104
min. RELEASE DATE June 25 NY/LA
BOOK IT >
Sony Pictures Classics / 212 833 8851
Steve Ramos says...
> A Lifetime Achievement Award received
at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival hints
that the film world thinks 60-year veteran,
French director Alain Resnais’ best work is
in his illustrious past. Not so says Wild Grass
(Les herbes folles), a lively romantic comedy
that premiered that same year at Cannes before
traveling to the Toronto International
Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.
The story of an unexpected romance
between a couple (Resnais regulars Sabine
Azéma and André Dussollier) who meet
over a lost wallet, Wild Grass is colorful,
smart and brought to vivid life. This Italian-
French co-production comes to U.S. theaters
in late June from Sony Pictures Classics,
around the same time a long lost behindthe-scenes
documentary about Resnais’ 1961
drama Last Year at Marienbad surfaces. The
two films qualify summer 2010 as something
of a Resnais-ance Fest—tout them as
such to your French film fans.
■
48 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

A FILM WITH WINGS
The Red Birds
Les Oiseaux Rouges
DISTRIBUTOR Les Films du Siamois/Cetre Popidou CAST
Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, Geneviève Cadieux, Annette
Messager, Carolee Schneemann, June Leaf, Nicola
L, Pat Steir, Nancy Holt, Mary Miss, Gloria Friedmann,
Joan Jonas, Gwenn Thomas, Martha Rosler DIRECTOR/PRO-
DUCER Brigitte Cornand GENRE Documentary/Conceptual
film; English- and French-languages, subtitled RATING
Unrated RUNNING TIME 75 min. RELEASE DATE April 21 NY
BOOK IT > Anthology Archives
stephanie@anthologyfilmarchives.org
DOUGLAS SIRK REBORN IN ITALY
HEART TO
HEART
Tilda Swinton
(left) listen’s to
her daughter’s
secrets—but
doesn’t share
her own
Matthew Nestel says…
> In Red Birds (Les oiseaux Rouge—sounds
much better in French), filmmaker Brigitte
Cornand shoots footage of 14 different
birds—sparrows, robins, cardinals—and
lays over it monologues by 14 significant
female artists (and friends) opening up
about how their lives have been influenced
by their work, and vice versa. Her documentary
becomes an exercise in tuning into
what’s unseen—and in the art world, that’s
usually talented women. The odd coupling
works. As two doves roost, sculptor Kiki
Smith wonders if domesticity could have
derailed her career. Pitch this bold oddity to
art-lovers, women and Francophiles. ■
I Am Love Lo Sono L’Amore
DISTRIBUTOR Magnolia Pictures CAST Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono,
Maria Paiato, Marisa Berenson DIRECTOR Luca Guadagnino SCREENWRITERS Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, Walter
Fasano, Luca Guadagnino PRODUCERS Luca Guadagnino, Tilda Swinton, Alessandro Usai, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Marco
Morabito, Massimiliano Violante. GENRE Romantic drama; Italian-, Russian- and English-languages, subtitled RATING R
for sexuality and nudity. RUNNING TIME 119 min. RELEASE DATE June 18 NY/LA, June 25 Exp.
BOOK IT > Magnolia / Neal Block / 212 924 6701 ext. 211
Richard Mowe says…
> This intense and almost operatic Italian family melodrama recalls the best of ‘50s
melodramatist Douglas Sirk. Playing the matron of a devastatingly wealthy Italian family,
Tilda Swinton has a stellar presence that commands attention throughout. This film
about her affair with her son’s best friend—who, like her, feels out of place in this very
nice world—is set in a sumptuous Art Deco villa in Milan. Oozing elegance, emotion,
style and wit, the film should have an obvious appeal to arthouse connoisseurs. ■
CHATTY AND CLASS-ABSORBED
Let it Rain
AND ANOTHER THING
Jean-Pierre Bacri bends Agnés Jaoui’s ear
DISTRIBUTOR IFC Films CAST Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre
Bacri, Jamel Debbouze, Pascale Arbillot, Guillaume
de Tonquedec, Frédéric Pierrot, Florence Loiret-
Caille DIRECTOR Agnès Jaoui SCREENWRITERS Agnès
Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri Producers: Jean-Philippe
Andraca, Christian Berard GENRE Dramedy; Frenchlanguage,
subtitled RATING Unrated RUNNING TIME 110
min. RELEASE DATE June 18 NY
BOOK IT > IFC / maboxer@ifcfilms.com
Richard Mowe says…
> The tandem of Agnès Jaoui and Jean-
Pierre Bacri (The Taste of Others and Look at
Me) has an enviable record of attracting
audiences to their civilized musings on the
world and its foibles. Here they take on issues
of class, race and loyalty in a droll way
that has shades of Woody Allen-esque humor.
Watchable, well acted and eminently
appealing to lovers of Gallic cinema, this
title needs nurturing to find its audience. ■
BIG DOGS ON PARADE
Great Directors
DISTRIBUTOR Paladin DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR: Angela Ismailos
GENRE Documentary RATING Unrated RUNNING TIME 85
min. RELEASE DATE July 2 NY, July 9 LA
BOOK IT > Paladin / 917 593 1237
Ray Greene says…
> Great Directors is a documentary about
noteworthy filmmakers for the hyperlink
era. First time documentarian Angela Ismailos
has interviewed 10 noteworthy international
directors about their art from David
Lynch and Richard Linklater to Bernardo
Bertolucci and John Sayles—and then cut
them together by skipping back and forth
between their voices like an iPod in shuffle
mode. Ismailos is a woman of mystery; if
my Google skills are worth anything, her
“Great Directors Cannes Yacht Party” got a
rave from Variety for its “yummy food, wine,
music and dancing,” which is an odd factoid
for those of us who think of the first time
documentarian as a figure who traditionally
lives from hand to mouth. Still, Ismailos has
impeccable taste. Cinephiles are the obvious
audience for this, though they are also likely
to feel Great Directors defects most acutely,
which may divide its limited audience. ■
WASTED YOUTH
Gabi on the Roof in July
CAST Sophia Takal, Lawrence Michael Levine, Brooke
Bloom, Robert White, Louis Cancelmi, Amy Seimetz,
Kate Lyn Scheil DIRECTOR Lawrence Michael Levine,
Sophia Takal SCREENWRITERS Kate Kirtz, Lawrence
Michael Levine PRODUCER Lawrence Michael Levine,
Sophia Takal, Kathrine Fairfax Wright GENRE Comedy/
Drama RATING Unrated RELEASE DATE 99 min.
BOOK IT > Sophia Takal / 917 743 1271
sophiathecoolest@gmail.com
Sara Maria Vizcarrondo says…
> A casual but focused comic parable about
a college student who visits her artist broth-
(continued on page 50)
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 49

THE
INDEPENDENT
GIANT
AMC resurrects the arthouse
multiplex
by Amy Nicholson
Four years ago, AMC launched
AMC Select, a program where 72
theaters—roughly a quarter of the
chain’s reach—commited one screen each
to showing arthouse films. The program
fizzled, but the idea behind it didn’t.
“We’re a commercial circuit, but there
are so many amazing films that don’t
get a voice, stories that need to be told,”
says AMC Theatres’ VP of Specialty and
Alternative content Nikkole Denson-
Randolph. “Our guests are growing in
diversity and interests and we need to
reflect that within our theaters.”
AMC took note of where AMC Select
floundered and also paid attention to other
chains that were selling seats to smart films.
“Other theater circuits who focus solely on
independent and artfilms are doing very
well,” notes Denson-Randolph. And so,
AMC has launched AMC independent, or
AMCi. “We took AMC Select and made a
new and improved version—we cleaned it
up, learned more and now it’s 2.0.”
“Before, the goal was to use screens that
might be less busy—we chose theaters that
had the space. But now we’ve been more
thoughtful about where these films work,”
says Denson-Randolph. “A major difference
is we are letting the content drive the film’s
placement. We do our homework to figure
out the best places to put a film—it’s my job
every day to watch these films and figure
out their audience.”
Today, 60 theaters make up the core of
AMCi with another 18 theaters jumping
in when they feel the film makes financial
sense for their market. To figure out which
theaters should be involved, Denson-
Randolph reached out to distributors to
hear their thoughts on markets that tend
to support independent film. They also
choose circuits based on demographics, but
more important are indexes of where past
independent films have done well.
AMCi is open to the range of
independent film from the distributors
Denson-Randolph calls “the pros”—Fox
KEEP IT UNDER
YOUR HAT
The drugsmuggling
devout of Holy
Rollers
Searchlight, Focus Features—on down to
“the one guy with the film, the distributors
who aren’t quite on the map.” What matters
is marketability. “If they can prove that they
know their audiences and we believe in
their content, we’re able to support them,”
she says.
As evidence, she cites their recent
release of Holy Rollers, a small Sundance
STAND UP
One of Babies
pint-sized stars
dramedy about a Hassidic ecstasy
smuggling ring. “I knew it was a quality
film that should get some eyeballs and that
it’d be intriguing to the Jewish community,”
she explains. “We were willing to make that
bet.”
To promote Holy Rollers, AMCi hosted
video interviews on their website and
Facebook page with the cast, which
includes Zombieland’s Jesse Eisenberg.
Interviews that center traffic on their sites
are one key element of their marketing
strategy. “Folks really gravitate to those,”
notes Denson-Randolph. “It’s a captivating
way to resonate with potential guests.”
The chain has also put their efforts into
old-fashioned promotions, handing out free
picture frames on Mother’s Day for people
who bought a ticket to Babies. Says Denson-
Randolph, “We want to event-ize some of
our opening dates. I see us getting more
involved on a grassroots level. Eventually,
we’ll be involving our theaters more and
encouraging our managers to reach out and
introduce themselves to interest groups.
We’re going to arm them with the right
content and direction so they can share our
programs with their neighborhoods.”
That’s the kind of old-fashioned legwork
that still sells seats even in the Internet age.
And Denson-Randolph understands that
what will make AMCi a success is reaching
out to audiences who don’t yet know they’re
arthouse fans.
“The blockbusters are all we see because
they can afford being on TV every five
minutes,” she says. “There are so many
people that if they knew there was a great
story to see, they’d walk away thanking us
for introducing them to content they didn’t
know existed. I think a lot of audiences
don’t know where to find good independent
content. Hopefully, we’re going to gain
more traction and show them,” she says.
“We’ve grown up as a commercial circuit,
but it doesn’t mean we can’t answer the
call of folks with other cultural and social
interests. And at the end of the day, it’s
because we’re a business.”
■
50 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

BOOK IT! (continued from page 49)
er in New York for a summer, Gabi on the Roof in July uses its indie
limitations to affectionate and purposeful ends. Instead of getting
caught up in semi-trendy, late mumblecore trappings, Gabi evokes
a New York sentimentalist tradition that mixes the edge of golden
era Cassavettes with the nostalgia of Woody Allen. But it’s also got
a sharp edge: among Gabi’s attempts to find herself as an artist, she
paints herself with whipped cream and plays naked Twister. Meanwhile,
her brother is on the cusp of having—or losing—it all when
he cheats on his fiancée with a rich, well-connected scenester. With
the hipster context of Brooklyn and the moral quandaries of Eric
Rohmer, the film is a memento mori to the end of our faith in parental
(and patriarchal) authority. It’s young and dreamy and just a little
young and, if promoted to students and artist types, it could turn a
pretty weekend profit.
■
Save Without
Sacrifice.
PERLUX ® SCREENS ARE LOW ON
COST, HIGH ON PERFORMANCE
A PROVOCATEUR’S BIOPIC TAKES POETIC LIBERTIES
Gainsbourg (Heroic Life)
Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque)
OUI MONSIEUR
French
supermodel
Laetitia Casta
plays bombshell
Brigitte Bardot
DISTRIBUTOR Focus Features CAST Eric Elmosnino, Lucy Gordon, Laetitia Casta, Doug
Jones, Anna Mouglalis, Sara Forestier DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Joann Sfar PRODUCER Marc
Du Pontavice, Didier Lupfer GENRE Biography; French-language, subtitled RATING Unrated.
RUNNING TIME 130 min. RELEASE DATE TBD
BOOK IT > Focus / 818-777-7373
Wade Major says…
> Despite its unusually introspective tone and surrealistic stylization,
renowned graphic novelist Joann Sfar’s impressive writing/
directing debut (a.k.a. Gainsbourg: Je T’Aime moi non plus) still relies,
like all biopics, on a certain measure of audience familiarity with
the subject—in this case, legendary French singer/songwriter/
provocateur Serge Gainsbourg. Given that Gainsbourg—who died
of a heart attack in 1991 at age 62—is as obscure in Kansas as he is
infamous in France, the picture will undoubtedly need copious critical
plaudits and strong word of mouth from stateside devotees to
reach cruising altitude. Once there, however, strong platform figures
should become self-sustaining.
■
Consistency. Quality. Performance.
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 51

BOOKING GUIDE
Action = Act Arthouse = Art Documentary = Doc Family = Fam
Adventure = Adv Biography = Bio Drama = Dra Fantasy = Fan
Animated = Ani Comedy = Com Epic = Epic Foreign Language = FL
FILM RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE RT FORMAT
CBS FILMS 310-575-7052
FASTER Wed, 11/24/10 Dwayne Johnson, Salma Hayek George Tillman Jr. NR Act/Dra
DISNEY 818-560-1000 / 212-593-8900
TOY STORY 3 Fri, 6/18/10 Tom Hanks, Tim Allen Lee Unkrich G Fam/Com 103
Digital 3D/Quad/
IMAX
THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE Wed, 7/14/10 Nicolas Cage, Alfred Molina Jon Turteltaub PG Dra/Fan Scope/Flat
STEP UP 3-D Fri, 8/6/10 Sharni Vinson, Rick Malambri John Chu PG-13 Mus/Dra/Rom Digital 3D
TALES FORM EARTHSEA Fri, 8/13/10 LTD. Mariska Hargitay, Timothy Dalton Goro Miyazaki NR Ani/Adv/Fant 115
YOU AGAIN Fri, 9/24/10 Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver Andy Fickman NR Com Quad
SECRETARIAT Fri, 10/8/10 Diane Lane, John Malkovich Randy Wallace NR Dra/Spt Quad
TANGLED Wed, 11/24/10 Kristen Chenoweth, Mandy Moore Glen Keane/Dean Wellins NR Ani/Com/Fam/Mus Digital 3D
TRON: LEGACY Fri, 12/17/10 Michael Sheen, Jeff Bridges Joseph Kosinski NR 3D/Act/SF
Digital 3D/IMAX/
Quad
I AM NUMBER FOUR Fri, 2/18/11 Alex Pettyfer, Sharlto Copley D.J Caruso NR SF Quad
MARS NEEDS MOMS! Fri, 3/11/11 Seth Green, Joan Cusack Simon Wells NR Ani/CG Digital 3D/Quad
AFRICAN CATS Fri, 4/22/11
Alastair Fothergill/Keith
Scholey
NR Doc Quad
FOCUS 818-777-7373
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Fri, 7/9/10 LTD. Julianne Moore, Annette Bening Lisa Cholodenki R Com
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Flat
THE AMERICAN Wed, 9/1/10 George Clooney, Violante Placido Anton Corbjin NR Dra/Sus
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Scope
IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY
Fri, 9/24/10
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Kier Gilchrist, Emma Roberts Anna Boden/Ryan Fleck NR Dra
EXCL. NY/LA
Flat
SOMEWHERE
Wed, 12/22/10
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning Sofi a Coppola R Com/Dra 98
EXCL. NY/LA
Flat
THE EAGLE OF THE NINTH Fri, 2/25/11 Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell Kevin Macdonald NR Dra
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Scope
JANE EYRE Fri, 3/11/11 LTD. Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender Cary Fukunaga NR Rom/Dra Flat
HANNA Fri, 4/8/11 Cate Blanchett, Saoirse Ronan Joe Wright NR Adv/Thr
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Scope
FOX 310-369-1000 / 212-556-2400
THE A-TEAM Fri, 6/11/2010 Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson Joe Carnahan PG-13 Act/Adv 117 Scope/Quad
KNIGHT & DAY Fri, 6/25/10 Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz James Mangold NR Dra Scope/Quad
PREDATORS Fri, 7/9/10 Alice Braga, Adrien Brody Nimród Antal NR Act/Sus
RAMONA AND BEEZUS Fri, 7/23/10 Selena Gomez, Ginnifer Goodwin Elizabeth Allen G Com 104 Scope/Quad
UNTITLED VAMPIRE SPOOF Wed, 8/18/10 LTD. Ken Jeong
Jason Freidberg/Aaron
Seltzer
PG-13 Com
MACHETE Fri, 9/3/10 Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro Robert Rodriguez NR Act/Adv/Cri/Thr
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS Fri, 9/24/10 Shia LaBeouf, Javier Bardem Oliver Stone PG-13 Dra 135 Scope
UNSTOPPABLE Fri, 11/12/10 Denzel Washington, Chris Pine Tony Scott NR Act/Dra/Thr Scope
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS Wed, 11/24/10 Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway Edward Zwick NR Dra Flat
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA:
THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
Fri, 12/10/2010 Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes Michael Apted NR Adv/Fam/Fant 3D/Scope/Quad
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS Wed, 12/22/10 Emily Blunt, Jason Segel Rob Letterman NR Com 3D/Scope
BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON Fri, 2/18/11 Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson John Whitesell NR Com
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID 2: RODRICK RULES Fri, 3/25/11 NR Com/Fam
RIO Fri, 4/8/11 Anne Hathaway, Neil Patrick Harris Carlos Saldanha NR Ani/CGI 3D
FOX SEARCHLIGHT 310-369-1000
CYRUS Fri, 6/18/10 LTD. Catherine Keener, Jonah Hill Jay Duplass/Mark Duplass R Com 91 Flat/Quad
NEVER LET ME GO Fri, 10/1/10 LTD. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley Mark Romanek NR Dra/Thr Flat
BETTY ANNE WATERS Fri, 10/15/10 LTD. Sam Rockwell, Hillary Swank Tony Goldwyn R Dra/Bio
LIONSGATE 310-449-9200
THE EXPENDABLES Fri, 8/13/10 Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham Sylvester Stallone NR Act
THE LAST EXORCISM Fri, 8/27/10 Ashley Bell, Patrick Fabian Daniel Stamm NR Hor/Sus
ALPHA AND OMEGA Fri, 9/17/10 Christina Ricci, Justin Long Ben Gluck NR Ani/Adv/Com 3D
WARRIOR Fri, 9/17/10 Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte Gavin O’Connor NR Act/Dra
BURIED Fri, 9/24/10 TBD Ryan Reynolds, Samantha Mathis Rodrigo Cortés NR Mys/Thr 89
SAW VII 3D Fri, 10/22/10 Tanedra Howard,Tobin Bell David Hackl NR Hor 3D
THE NEXT THREE DAYS Fri, 11/19/10 Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks Paul Haggis NR Cri/Rom/Dra
FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE
WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF
Fri, 1/14/11 Halle Berry, Oprah Winfrey Tyler Perry NR Dra
TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY Fri, 4/22/11 Tyler Perry Tyler Perry NR Com
MGM/UA 310-449-9200 / 212-708-0300
RED DAWN Wed, 11/24/10 Josh Peck, Chris Hemsworth Brendan Bradley NR Act
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS Fri, 1/14/11 Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford Drew Goddard NR Com/Fan/Hor 3D
MIRAMAX 323-822-4100 / 917-606-5500
SWITCH Fri, 8/20/10 Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman Josh Gordon/Will Speck NR Rom/Com
GNOMEO AND JULIET Fri, 2/11/11 Emily Blunt, James McAvoy Kelly Asbury NR Ani/Fam/Com 3D
OVERTURE 424-204-4000 / 212-905-4200
JACK GOES BOATING Fri, 9/17/10 LTD. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan Phillip Seymour Hoffman R Dra 89
LET ME IN Fri, 10/1/10 Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins Matt Reeves NR Hor
PARAMOUNT 323-956-5000 / 212-373-7000
THE LAST AIRBENDER Fri, 7/2/10 Jackson Rathbone, Cliff Curtis M. Night Shayamalan NR Dra/Adv/Fam 94 3D/Scope/Quad
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS Fri, 7/23/10 Steve Carell, Paul Rudd Jay Roach NR Com
JACKASS 3-D Fri, 10/15/10 Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O Jeff Tremaine NR Doc/Act/Com 3D
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 Fri, 10/22/10 Tod Williams NR Hor
MEGAMIND Fri, 11/5/10 Tina Fey, Robert Downey Jr. Tom McGrath NR Ani/Fam 3D
MORNING GLORY Fri, 11/12/10 Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford Roger Michell NR Com
TRUE GRIT Sat, 12/25/10 Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges Ethan & Joel Coen NR Dra/West
UNTITLED ASHTON KUTCHER/NATALIE PORTMAN Fri, 1/7/11 Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman Ivan Reitman NR Rom/Com
RANGO Fri, 3/18/11 Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher Gore Verbinski NR Ani/Act/Adv
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PICTURES 801-943-1720
STANDING OVATION Fri, 7/16/10 Jeana Zettler, Al Sapienza Stewart Raffi ll PG Mus
EXPECTING MARY Fri, 9/10/10 LTD. Elliott Gould, Lainie Kazan Dan Gordon NR Fam 99 Dolby SRD
SONY 310-244-4000 / 212-833-8500
KARATE KID Fri, 6/11/10 Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith Harald Zwart PG Act/Dra 140 Scope/Quad
52 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

Horror = Hor Live Action = LA Performance = Per Science Fiction = SF Suspense = Sus Urban = Urban
Kids = Kids Martial Arts = MA Political = Poli Stop-Motion Animation = SMAni 3D = 3D War = War
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered = LGBT Mystery = Mys Romance = Rom Sports = Spr Thriller = Thr Western = Wes
FILM RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE RT FORMAT
GROWN UPS Fri, 6/25/10 Adam Sandler, Kevin James Dennis Dugan PG-13 Com
SALT Fri, 7/23/10 Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber Phillip Noyce NR Thr
OTHER GUYS Fri, 8/6/10 Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg Adam McCay NR Act/Com
EAT, PRAY, LOVE Fri, 8/13/10 Julia Roberts, Billy Crudup Ryan Murphy NR Dra
TAKERS Fri, 8/20/10 Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen John Luessenhop PG-13 Act/Cri 108
RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE Fri, 9/10/10 Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter Paul W.S. Anderson NR Act/Thr 3D
EASY A Fri, 9/17/10 Stanley Tucci, Emma Stone Will Gluck NR Rom/Com
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Fri, 10/1/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake David Fincher NR Dra/Com
BURLESQUE Wed, 11/24/10 Cher, Christina Aguilera Steve Antin NR Dra
HOW DO YOU KNOW Fri, 12/17/10 Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd James L. Brooks NR Dra/Com
THE GREEN HORNET Fri, 1/14/11 Seth Rogen, Enzo Cilenti Michel Gondry NR Act/Adv 3D
THE ROOMMATE Fri, 2/4/11 Cam Gigandet, Leighton Meester Christian E. Christiansen NR Cri/Mys Scope
JUST GO WITH IT Fri, 2/11/11 Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston Dennis Dugan NR Rom/Com
PRIEST Fri, 3/4/11 Paul Bettany, Maggie Q Scott Charles Stewart NR Adv/Hor
BATTLE: LOS ANGELES Fri, 3/11/11 Michelle Rodriguez, Aaron Eckhart Jonathan Liebesman NR Act/SF 3D
BORN TO BE A STAR Fri, 4/22/11 Christina Ricci, Stephen Dorff Tom Brady NR Com
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS 212-833-8851
COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY
Fri, 6/11/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Anna Mougalis, Mads Mikkelsen Jan Kounen R Dra/Rom 120 Dolby SRD/Scope
WILD GRASS
Fri, 6/25/10
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Andre Dussollier, Anne Consigny Alain Resnais PG FL/Dra 104
EXCL. NY/LA
Scope
ORLANDO - REISSUE
Fri, 7/23/10
Dolby SRD/Flat/
Jimmy Somerville, Tilda Swinton Sally Potter Dra 93
EXCL. NY/LA
Scope
GET LOW
Fri, 7/30/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Lucas Black, Bill Murray Aaron Schneider PG-13 Cri/Dra 100 Dolby SRD/Scope
LEBANON
Fri, 8/6/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Reymond Amsalem, Ashraf Barhom Samuel Maoz R Dra 90 Dolby SRD/Flat
ANIMAL KINGDOM
Fri, 8/13/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn David Michod R Cri/Dra 112 Scope
THE WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP
Fri, 9/3/10
aka San qiang pai an jing qi
EXCL. NY/LA
Honglei Sun, Xiao Shen-Yang Yimou Zhang NR FL/Dra 95 Scope
YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER Fri, 9/24/10 LTD. Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin Woody Allen R Com Dolby Dig
SUMMIT 310-309-8400
TWILIGHT/NEW MOON Tue, 6/29/2010 Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
Catherine Hardwicke/
Chris Weitz
PG-13
Dra/Sus/Rom
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: THE ECLIPSE Wed, 6/30/10 Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson David Slade PG-13 Dra/Sus/Rom 124
Dolby SRD/DTS/
Scope/IMAX
RED Fri, 10/15/10 Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman Robert Schwentke NR Act/Com
DRIVE ANGRY Fri, 2/11/11 Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard Patrick Lussier NR Thr 3D
THE THREE MUSKETEERS Fri, 4/15/11 Christophe Waltz, Logan Lerman Paul W.S. Anderson NR Act 3D
UNIVERSAL 818-777-1000 / 212-445-3800
DESPICABLE ME Fri, 7/9/10 Steve Carell, Jason Segel Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffi n PG CGI/Ani 3D
CHARLIE ST. CLOUD Fri, 7/30/10 Zac Efron, Kim Basinger Burr Steers PG-13 Dra/Rom Quad
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Fri, 8/13/10 Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead Edgar Wright PG-13 Act/Adv/Com Quad
NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS Fri, 8/20/10 Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal Susanna White NR Com/Fam Quad
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU Fri, 9/17/10 Matt Damon, Emily Blunt Geogre Nolfi NR Rom/SF
CATFISH Fri, 9/17/10 TBD Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman NR Doc 94 Quad
MY SOUL TO TAKE Fri, 10/29/10 Denzel Whitaker, Max Thieriot Wes Craven NR Hor/Sus 3D/Quad
LITTLE FOCKERS Wed, 12/22/10 Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller Paul Weitz NR Com
UNTITLED VINCE VAUGHN/KEVIN JAMES COMEDY Fri, 1/14/11 Vince Vaughn, Kevin James Ron Howard NR Com Quad
KIDS IN AMERICA a.k.a. YOUNG AMERICANS Fri, 1/28/11 Topher Grace, Anna Faris Michael Dowse R Dra/Com Quad
NIGHT CHRONICLES: THE DEVIL Fri, 2/11/11 Chris Messina
Drew Dowdle/John Erick
Dowdle
NR Hor/Sus Quad
JAMES CAMERON PRESENTS SANCTUM Fri, 3/4/11 Richard Roxburgh, Alice Parkinson Alista Grierson NR Adv/Dra/Thr 3D
THE DARK FIELDS Fri, 3/18/11 Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro Neil Burger NR Thr Quad
I HOP Fri, 4/1/11 Russell Brand, James Marsden Tim Hill NR CG/Act/Rom/Com
YOUR HIGHNESS Fri, 4/8/11 James Franco, Natalie Portman David Gordon Green NR Com/Fan
WARNER BROS. 818-954-6000 / 212-484-8000
JONAH HEX Fri, 6/18/10 Josh Brolin, John Malkovich Jimmy Hayward NR Act/Dra/Thr
INCEPTION Fri, 7/16/10 Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page Christopher Nolan PG-13 Act/SF IMAX/Scope/Quad
CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE Fri, 7/30/10 Chris O’Donnell, Jack McBrayer Brad Peyton PG Com 3D/Quad
FLIPPED Fri, 8/6/10 LTD. Penelope Ann Miller, Rebecca De Mornay Rob Reiner PG Rom/Com/Dra 90 Quad/Flat
LOTTERY TICKET Fri, 8/20/10 Ice Cube, Bow Wow Erik White PG-13 Com Quad
GOING THE DISTANCE 8/27/2010 Drew Barrymore, Justin Long Nanette Burstein R Rom/Com Quad
THE TOWN Fri, 9/17/10 Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm Ben Affl eck NR Dra/Cri/Rom Quad
LEGEND OF THE GUEARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE Fri, 9/24/10 Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving Zack Snyder NR Ani/Adv/Fant
3D/IMAX/Scope/
Quad
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Fri, 10/8/10 Katherine Heigl, Josh Lucas Gary Berlanti NR Rom/Com Quad
HEREAFTER Fri, 10/22/10 Matt Damon, Cecile De France Clint Eastwood NR Thr Quad
DUE DATE Fri, 11/5/10 Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Galifi anakis Todd Phillips NR Com Quad
HARRY POTTER AN THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS: PART 1 Fri, 11/19/10 Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson David Yates NR Adv/Dra/Fan 3D/IMAX/Scope
YOGI BEAR Fri, 12/17/10 Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake Eric Brevig NR Ani 3D/Quad
UNKNOWN WHITE MALE Fri, 1/7/11 Liam Neeson, January Jones Jaume Collet-Serra NR Dra/Thr Quad
THE RITE Fri, 1/28/11 Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue Mikael Håfström NR Dra Quad
HALL PASS Fri, 2/25/11 Owen Wilson, Jason Sudekis Peter & Bobby Farrelly NR Com Quad
SUCKER PUNCH Fri, 3/25/11 Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfried Zack Snyder NR Act/Fan/Thr 3D/IMAX
BORN TO BE WILD Fri, 4/8/11 NR IMAX/Quad
RED RIDING HOOD Fri, 4/22/11 Amanda Seyfried, Max Irons Catherine Hardwicke NR Sus Quad
WEINSTEIN CO./DIMENSION 646-862-3400
THE CONCERT a.k.a. Le concert Fri, 7/16/10 LTD. Aleksei Guskov, Mélanie Laurent Radu Mihaileanu NR FL/Com/Mus 119
THE TILLMAN STORY Fri. 8/20/10 LTD. Josh Brolin Amir Bar-Lev NR Doc 94
PIRANHA 3-D Fri, 8/27/10 Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O’Connell Alexandre Aja NR Hor/Thr Digital 3D
NOWHERE BOY Fri, 10/8/10 Ann-Marie Duff, Aaron Johnson Sam Taylor Wood NR Bio/Dra 98
THE KING’S SPEECH Fri, 11/26/10 LTD. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush Tom Hooper NR Hist/Dra
BLUE VALENTINE 12/31/10 LTD. Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams Derek Cianfrance NR Rom/Dra
SCREAM 4 Fri, 4/15/11 Neve Campbell, David Arquette Wes Craven NR Hor/Sus
122
130
Dolby DTS
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 53

AD INDEX
MARKETPLACE
> Can’t Wait
> @MovieGuy23
> Despicable Me
> Inception
> It Sucked
> @BoxofficeAmy
> The Last Airbender
NOW TRACKING *
15,399,883 Opinions
91,713 Sources
505 Movies
*updated in real time
Sign up now for:
• The Boxoffice Report
> Dinner for Schmucks
• Full Access to all WebWatch reports, including:
• All Genres • All Ratings
> Trailer Rocked
> Predators
> Inception
• Theatrical Trailers • Online Trailers
• More than 50 other Data Points
BOXOFFICE WEBWATCH
®
Movie News Before It Happens
www.BoxOffice.com
CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS
10550 Camden Dr.
Cypress, CA 90630
Craig Sholder
714-236-8610
craig.sholder@christiedigital.com
www.christiedigital.com
Inside front cover
CINEDIGM
55 Madison Ave., Ste. 300
Morristown, NJ 07960
Suzanne Tregenza Moore
973-290-0080
info@accessitx.com
www.cinedigm.com
Back cover
CROSSPOINT
P.O. Box 2128
Mail Drop DY-02
Dalton, GA
Steve Magel
706-879-4055
steve.magel@shawinc.com
www.crosspointfabrics.com
PG 55
DATASAT DIGITAL
9631 Topanga Canyon Place
Chatsworth, CA 91311
818-531-0003
www.datasatdigital.com
Inside back cover
DOLBY LABORATORIES
100 Potrero Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Christie Ventura / 415-558-2200
cah@dolby.com / www.dolby.com
PG 15, 23
DOLPHIN SEATING
313 Remuda St.
Clovis, NM 88101
575-762-6468
www.dolphinseating.com
PG 13
FRANKLIN DESIGNS
208 Industrial Dr.
Ridgeland, MS 39157
601-853-9005
franklindesigns@aol.com
www.franklindesigns.com
PG 25
GDC TECHNOLOGY LLC
3500 W Olive Ave. Suite 940
Burbank, CA 91505
818-972-4370
www.gdc-tech.com
PG 29
HARKNESS SCREENS
Unit A, Norton Road
Stevenage, Herts
SG1 2BB United Kingdom
+44 1438 725200
sales@harkness-screens.com
www.harkness-screens.com
PG 11, 51
HANOVER HOUSE
1428 Chester Street
Springdale, AR 72764
479-751-4500
www.hanoverhouse.com
PG 1
HURLEY SCREEN
110 Industry Ln.
P.O. Box 296
Forest Hill, MD 21050
Gorman W. White
410-879-3022
info@hurleyscreen.com
www.hurleyscreen.com
PG 4
KERNEL SEASONS
1958 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647
Krystal LaReese-Gaul
773-292-4576
info@kernelseasons.com
www.kernelseasons.com
PG 27
MAROEVICH, O’SHEA & COUGHLAN
44 Montgomery St., 17th Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94104
Steve Elkins
800-951-0600
selkins@maroevich.com
www.mocins.com
PG 3
MASTERIMAGE 3D
4111 W. Alameda Ave. Suite 312
Burbank, CA 91505, USA
818-558-7900
www. masterimage3d.com
PG 21
MOBILIARIO S.A. DE C.V.
Calle Del Sol #3 Col./
San Rafael Champa
Naucalpan de Juarez
53660 Mexico
5255-5300-0620
Claudia Gonzalez
877-847-2127
mobisa@netra.net
www.mobiliarioseating.com
PG 7
PACKAGING
CONCEPTS, INC.
9832 Evergreen Industrial Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63123
John Irace / 314-329-9700
jji@packagingconceptsinc.com
www.packagingconceptsinc.com
PG 26
PHILIPS LIGHTING
200 Clarendon St.
Boston, MA 02116
Dina Munchback
617-449-4127
www.philips.com
PG 19
QSC
1665 MacArthur Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Francois Godfrey / 714-754-6175
francois_godfrey@qscaudio.com
www.qscaudio.com
PG 9
READY THEATRE SYSTEMS
4 Hartford Blvd.
Hartford, MI 49057
Mary Snyder
865-212-9703x114
sales@rts-solutions.com
www.rts-solutions.com.com
PG 55
SCHULT INDUSTRIES
900 N.W. Hunter Dr.
Blue Springs, MO 64015
800-783-8998
sales@schult.com
www.schult.com
PG 55
SENSIBLE CINEMA SOFTWARE
7216 Sutton Pl.
Fairview, TN 37062
Rusty Gordon
615-799-6366
rusty@sensiblecinema.com
www.sensiblecinema.com
PG 56
SONY ELECTRONICS
One Sony Dr.
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
201-476-8603
www.sony.com/professional
Cover, PG 5
STRONG CINEMA PRODUCTS
(Division of Ballantyne Inc.)
4350 McKinley St.
Omaha, NE 68112
Ray Boegner
402-453-4444
ray.boegner@btn-inc.com
www.ballantyne-omaha.com
PG 35
TRI-STATE THEATRE SUPPLY CO.
3157 Norbrook Drive
Memphis, Tennessee 38116
800-733-8249
www.tristatetheatre.com
PG 56
USL
181 Bonetti Dr.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
805-549-0161
usl@uslinc.com
www.uslinc.com
PG 33
VISTA ENTERTAINMENT SOLUTIONS LTD.
P.O. Box 8279
Symonds Street
Auckland, New Zealand
Meika Kikkert
011-649-357-3600
info@vista.co.nz
www.vista.co.nz
PG 13
WHITE CASTLE
555 West Goodale St.
Columbus, OH 43215
Timothy Carroll
614-559-2453
carrollt@whitecastle.com
www.whitecastle.com
PG 17
54 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

"Add the warmth of a by gone era"
Acoustical Wallcoverings
Insulate While Reducing Noise
42 stock colors available
Custom colors for any environment
LEADING MANUFACTURER
of acoustical wallcarpet
888.396.6750
www.crosspointfabrics.com
JULY 2010 BOXOFFICE 55

CLASSIFIED ADS
DIRECTOR OF CONCESSIONS METROPOLITAN THEATRES CORPORATION, a fourth-generation family-owned
company based in Los Angeles, is seeking a self-motivated professional to ensure premiere guest service and optimize
food and beverage profit at its 20 locations in California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and British Columbia, Canada.
Goal-oriented and budget-minded candidates must have prior senior concessions experience,
be available for limited travel and possess excellent analytical, leadership and communication
skills. Please send resume and salary requirements to: jobs@metrotheatres.com
DRIVE-IN CONSTRUCTION
DRIVE-IN SCREEN TOWERS since 1945. Selby
Products Inc., P.O. Box 267, Richfield, OH 44286.
Phone: 330-659-6631.
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
ASTER AUDITORIUM SEATING & AUDIO. We offer
the best pricing on good used projection and sound
equipment. Large quantities available. Please visit
our website, www.asterseating.com, or call 1-888-
409-1414.
BOX OFFICE TICKETING AND CONCESSIONS
EQUIPMENT. Stand-alone ticketing or fully integrated
theater ticketing and/or concessions systems are
available. These fully tested, remanufactured Pacer
Theatre Systems have extended full-service contracts
available. Complete ticketing and concessions systems
starting at $2,975. Call Jason: 800-434-3098;
www.sosticketing.com.
WWW.CINEMACONSULTANTSINTERNATIONAL.
COM. New and used projection and sound equipment,
theater seating, drapes, wall panels, FM transmitters,
popcorn poppers, concessions counters, xenon
lamps, booth supplies, cleaning supplies, more.
Call Cinema Consultants and Services International.
Phone: 412-343-3900; fax: 412-343-2992; sales@cinemaconsultantsinternational.com.
CY YOUNG IND. INC. still has the best prices for
replacement seat covers, out-of-order chair covers,
cupholder armrests, patron trays and on-site chair
renovations! Please call for prices and more information.
800-729-2610. cyyounginc@aol.com.
DOLPHIN SEATING At www.dolphinseating.com
Find today’s best available new seating deals 575-
762-6468 Sales Office.
TWO CENTURY PROJECTORS, complete with base,
soundheads, lenses. Pott’s 3-deck platter,like new.
Rebuilt Christie lamp,goes to 150 amps. Model H-30.
603-747-2608.
EQUIPMENT WANTED
OLD MARQUEE LETTERS WANTED Do you have
the old style slotted letters? We buy the whole pile.
Any condition. Plastic, metal, large, small, dirty,
cracked, painted, good or bad. Please call 800-545-
8956 or write mike@pilut.com.
MOVIE POSTERS WANTED: Collector paying TOP $$$
for movie posters, lobby cards, film stills, press books
and memorabilia. All sizes, any condition. Free appraisals!
CASH paid immediately! Ralph DeLuca, 157 Park
Ave., Madison, NJ 07940; phone: 800-392-4050; email:
ralph@ralphdeluca.com; www.ralphdeluca.com.
POSTERS & FILMS WANTED: Cash available for
movie posters and films (trailers, features, cartoons,
etc.). Call Tony 903-790-1930 or email postersandfilms@aol.com.
OLDER STEREO EQUIPMENT AND SPEAKERS,
old microphones, old theater sound systems and old
vacuum tubes. Phone Tim: 616-791-0867.
COLLECTOR WANTS TO BUY: We pay top money
for any 1920-1980 theater equipment. We’ll buy all
theater-related equipment, working or dead. We remove
and pick up anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.
Amplifiers, speakers, horns, drivers, woofers, tubes,
transformers; Western Electric, RCA, Altec, JBL, Jensen,
Simplex & more. We’ll remove installed equipment
if it’s in a closing location. We buy projection
and equipment, too. Call today: 773-339-9035. cinema-tech.com
email ILG821@aol.com.
AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS LLC is
buying projectors, processors, amplifiers, speakers,
seating, platters. If you are closing, remodeling or
have excess equipment in your warehouse and want
to turn equipment into cash, please call 866-653-
2834 or email aep30@comcast.net. Need to move
quickly to close a location and dismantle equipment?
We come to you with trucks, crew and equipment, no job
too small or too large. Call today for a quotation: 866-
653-2834. Vintage equipment wanted also! Old speakers
like Western Electric and Altec, horns, cabinets, woofers,
etc. and any tube audio equipment, call or email: aep30@
comcast.net.
AASA IS ASTER AUDITORIUM SEATING & AUDIO. We
buy and sell good used theater equipment. We provide
dismantling services using our trucks and well-equipped,
professional crew anywhere in the United States. Please
visit our website, www.asterseating.com, or call 1-888-
409-1414.
FOR SALE
First run movie theater. Vibrant Vermont college
town. Vaudeville stage, 3 screens, 298 seats, renovated.
$850,000. 802-999-9077.
FOR SALE Independent owned & operated, eight-screen,
all stadium-seating theater complex located in suburban
Chicago. Completely renovated in 2004. Seating capacity
for 1,774 people within a 48,000-square-foot sqft building
on 5.32 acres. Preliminary site plan approval for expansion
of additional screens. Proximate to national/regional retail
and dining. Strong ticket and concession revenues. Excellent
business or investment opportunity. Contact Kevin
Jonas at 305-631-6303 for details.
FIVE-PLEX, FULLY EQUIPPED AND OPERATIONAL:
$735,000, land, bldg., equip., NW Wisconsin. Priced
$50,000 below appraised value. 715-550-9601.
FIVE-PLEX THEATER FOR SALE in the beautiful Florida
Keys. Business established in 1974 with no competition
within 40 miles. Completely renovated five years ago. Call
Sam: 305-394-0315.
THEATER FOR RENT 1,500 seating capacity. No hanging
balconies. Largest single screen in Chicagoland. Over
500,000 potential patrons, serving NW side of Chicago
and suburbs. Contact dkms72@hotmail.com.
THEATERS FOR SALE Three screens (370 seats), North
Florida. First-run, no competition 60 miles. Additional
large multipurpose room (75 seats), with HD projector on
13.5-by-7-foot screen for birthday parties, conferences,
receptions and café. Contact 850-371-0028.
HELP WANTED
PARTNER AND/OR EXPERIENCED GM NEEDED for
ground floor opportunity in Arizona. New and popular
“Brew and View” concept in outstanding area. Contact
Stadiumtheatres@aol.com
FOR SALE
3-screen theatre in Marshall,
MO. Owner will carry back
some financing. Contact
Dennis 816-407-7469
7’6” Value Series Retracta-Belt ®
$69
+ UPS
Knocked-Down
Shipping saves over 50%
Patent Pending Brake
creates the safest post
Built-in Sign Frame
Adapter
All Parts Easily
Replaceable
Universal Belt Clip
works with most
existing posts
TRI-STATE THEATRE SUPPLY CO.
800.733.8249
www.tristatetheatre.com
GREAT ESCAPE THEATRES is a regional motion picture
exhibition company with 24 individual locations that
include 275 screens throughout the Midwestern United
States. Founded in 1997, Great Escape is one of the fastest-growing
movie theater operators in the country. We
are currently seeking a motivated individual to fill our position
as the chief financial officer or vice president of finance
and accounting. Please send resumes to amccart@
alianceent.com.
STORYTELLER THEATRES (TRANS-LUX THEATRES)
have management positions open in Los Lunas, Taos and
Espanola, NM. Prior management experience required.
Salary commensurate with experience. Send resumes to
2209 Miguel Chavez Rd. BLDG A Santa Fe, NM 87505 or
email to info@storytellertheatres.com.
SERVICES
DULL FLAT PICTURE? RESTORE YOUR XENON RE-
FLECTORS! Ultraflat repolishes and recoats xenon reflectors.
Many reflectors available for immediate exchange.
(ORC, Strong, Christie, Xetron, others!) Ultraflat, 20306
Sherman Way, Winnetka, CA 91306; 818-884-0184.
FROM DIRT TO OPENING DAY. 20-plus years of theater
experience with the know-how to get you going. 630-417-
9792.
SEATING
AGGRANDIZE YOUR THEATer, auditorium, church or
school with quality used seating. We carry all makes of
used seats as well as some new seats. Seat parts are also
available. Please visit our website, www.asterseating.
com, or call 888-409-1414.
ALLSTATE SEATING specializes in refurbishing, complete
painting, molded foam, tailor-made seat covers, installations
and removals. Please call for pricing and spare
parts for all types of theater seating. Boston, Mass.; 617-
770-1112; fax: 617-770-1140.
DOLPHIN SEATING At www.dolphinseating.com, find
today’s best available new seating deals: 575-762-6468
Sales Office.
THEATERS WANTED
WE’LL MANAGE YOUR THEATER OR SMALL CHAIN
FOR YOU. Industry veterans and current exhibitors with
40-plus years’ experience. Will manage every aspect of
operations and maximize all profits for you. Call John
LaCaze at 801-532-3300.
WELL-CAPITALIZED, PRIVATELY HELD, TOP 50 THE-
ATER CHAIN is looking to expand via theater acquisitions.
We seek profitable, first-run theater complexes with
6 to 14 screens located anywhere in the USA. Please call
Mike at 320-203-1003 ext.105 or email: acquisitions@uecmovies.com
56 BOXOFFICE JULY 2010

SOUND DEFINED.
sound refined.
Like a full bodied and well-balanced
wine, the new AP20 Audio Processor
offers 512 filters with 20,480 coefficients
per channel for elegant playback, 4
HDMI inputs for extending maturity and
improved impulse response via Dirac
Live® room optimization technology for
complete sonic transparency.
Harvested from the vineyards of
audio innovation and aged in the barrels
of engineering and critical listening
for over 16 years, the AP20 Audio
Processor has refined the delicate art
of audio reproduction and has defined
versatility by way of its mature architecture.
AP20 Audio Processor Features:
(per channel)
(per channel)
DATASAT DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT | 818.531.0003 | WWW.DATASATDIGITAL.COM
9631 TOPANGA CANYON PLACE | CHATSWORTH, CA 91311