Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

HYMAN SEES STRONG BUSINESS FOR THE NEXT NINE MONTHS AIP to Release 23 in '64; Top Year Is Expected 12 Companies List Total Of 214 Features for Orderly Release NEW YORK — The product outlook for the balance of 1963 and the first six months of 1964 is hopefully bright and only adverse weather conditions can throw the predictions out of gear. That was the opinion expressed by Edward L. Hyman, v i c e -president of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres in making his semiannual report to the tradepress with the issuance of his latest “orderly distribution book” which compiled the release schedules of 12 companies. TWO PERIODS NEED HELP Hyman said that actually there were two periods which still needed “tremendous” help: April-May and the month of September. He told tradepress editors at a luncheon meeting in the AB-PT dining room that he was endeavoring to set up an orderly distribution pattern on an annual basis for those two “orphan periods.” He said the month of December now was fairly well taken care of, with all distributors willing to release their pictures prior to Christmas as long as they were able to obtain some of the Christmas and New Year’s preferential playing time. Hyman said, however, that he was reluctant to guarantee this pre-holiday playing time unless the pictures had “legs,” meaning strong boxoffice potentials. Hyman said he had received so many assurances from distributors that they planned to release their pictures in orderly sequence that he hoped the “orphan periods” would, eventually, become a title that no longer had any meaning. He added, however, that orderly distribution must go hand in hand with orderly exhibition and repeated his plea to all exhibitors that if given quality product during the “orphan periods,” it was up to them to go all out to exploit those pictures so that both distributors and exhibitors could realize the full potential contained in the quality productions. INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR The AB-PT vice-president, who has been spearheading the orderly release plan for eight years, said that with the many quality pictures released during the past summer, theatres generally enjoyed better business than during the previous year. He pointed out that there had been a disastrous winter season which had affected all sections of the country simultaneously. This, he said, was unlike previous years HOLLYWOOD — In the most ambitious schedule of its nine-year history, American International Pictures this week announced it would release 23 motion pictures during 1964, and provided a complete and detailed schedule for the entire year. AIP heads James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff pointed out that the AIP releases would guarantee the public and exhibitors that 1964 would be the company’s most successful and biggest year. In addition, they said that for the first time the company has sufficient production talent, plus a big-time roster of contract stars, to make such a guarantee to exhibition and the filmgoing public. Included in the schedule are nine productions filmed in Hollywood. “Over the past years,” Nicholson and Arkoff said, “we have learned in our field to take a backseat to no one insofar as production know-how is concerned. This, plus top advertising campaigns and concentrated sales efforts will have truly put AIP in a major status.” With regard to the 1964 schedule, they said there was diversification and starvalues “not comparable” to any past year, including a return to “combination package programs” with two reissue combinations of Edgar Allan Poe films being rereleased with new prints and campaigns. Also included are two “exploitation” specials along the lines of “Free, White and 21,” dealing with “very bold subjects” and “very frank in concept, but in good taste.” when, if one section was hit by severe weather, another section might enjoy relatively good weather, so that in the end it averaged out. Hyman said that AB-PT was in the process of starting a fourth quarter drive and urged all exhibitors to extend themselves and conduct an extensive campaign during this period. He asserted that heretofore the industry had experienced a great falling-off in boxoffice receipts during the fourth quarter of the year, but with the apparent good quality product to be released during the coming fourth quarter, there was great promise for that period. He warned, however, that quality product in and of itself did not guarantee success at the boxoffice and urged all exhibitors to pitch in and work at the grass-roots level to make such success a reality. The newest product book is the result of conferences held by Hyman with sales and promotion executives of each company individually. The book is in 12 sections, one for each of the 12 distributors, and lists the releases through next Easter and, in some instances, beyond. Three thousand Complete schedule for the balance of 1963 and for all of 1964 is as follows: Now in release: "The Haunted Palace" with Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney; "X — The Man With the X-Ray Eyes!" with Ray Mi Hand, Diana van der Vlis, John Hoyt; "Summer Holiday" with Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters. November: "Pryo — The Man Without a Face" with Barry Sullivan and Martha Hyer. December: "Goliath and the Sins of Babylon" with Mark Forrest, Scilla Gabel, John Chevron; and "Samson and the Slave Queen" with Allen Steele and Pierre Brice. SCHEDULE FOR 1964 January: "The Comedy of Terrors" with Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Joe E. Brown, Joyce Jameson; and "Rhubarb." February: "Under Age" with Anne MacAdams, Judy Adler, Roland Royter; "Some People" with Kenneth More, Ray Brooks, Annika Wills. March: "Pit and the Pendulum" with Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders; and "The House of Usher" with Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey (reissue combination); "Muscle Beach Party" with Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Harvey Lembeck. April: "Black Sabbath" with Boris Karloff, Mark Damon; and "Incubus" with Leticia Roman, John Saxon. May: "The Time Travelers" (cast not set); and "The Unearthly Stranger" with John Neville, Philip Stone, Gabriella Licudi. June: "It's Alive" with Peter Lorre, Elsa Lanchester, Harvey Lembeck. July: "Masque of the Red Death" with Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone. August: "Bikini Beach" with Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Harvey Lembeck. September: "Moon Trap" (cast not set). October: "Dunwich Horror" with Tab Hunter. November: "Rumble" with Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, John Ashley, Harvey Lembeck; "Premature Burial" with Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Heather Angel; and "Tales of Terror" with Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, Peter Lorre, Debra Paget (reissue combination). December: "The Graveside Story" with Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone. Also coming in 1964 are: "When the Sleeper Wakes," based on an H. G. Wells classic; "Colour Out of Space," "City in the Sea," an Edgar Allon Poe tale, and "Genghis Khan," in 70mm and planned as a roadshow. copies will be sent to exhibitors in the United States and Canada and overseas, as well as to distributors and producers. Hyman said he believed that the newest book was the most complete and comprehensive to be issued in the eight years he had been preparing them. He also said the listings were 95 per cent accurate, indicating that some minor changes in release dates had been made since the books went to press six weeks ago. The book lists 214 titles, including nine rereleases. In most instances, the months of the releases are given, but on some pictures no release month had been determined, particularly those in mid1964. The breakdown by companies is as follows: Paramount, 19, including four reissues; Warner Bros., 13; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 22; Columbia, 28; Buena Vista, 11, including two reissues; Universal, 26, including two reissues; 20th Century-Fox, 24; United Artists, 12; Allied Artists, 17; American-International, 19; Embassy, seven, and Continental 16, including one reissue. Edward L. Hyman 4 BOXOFFICE :: October 14, 1963