Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

BETWEEN THE LINES = —By AL STEEN 'Mad World' Junket JUNKETS such as the recent press expedition to Hollywood for the premiere of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” pay off? From the standpoint of public exposure, via the written word and from the airwaves, the answer definitely is in the affirmative. It is estimated that United Artists and Stanley Kramer and the picture received more than $3,000,000 in free space and air time as a result of the project. Not bad, on an investment of approximately $250,000! It is too early now to determine the boxoffice value of all the publicity, but, on the basis of the four current engagements, there must have been a terrific impact. Business has been tops. At the United Artists home office, there is a file — and a very, very big file, at that — of United States and Canadian newspapers which printed stories about the “Mad World” press junket, prior to the trip, during the stay and the afterthoughts when the news folks returned to their respective desks. Rarely, if ever, has an affair of this kind gathered so much space. Some newspapers printed daily stories from the coast, running five days in a row; one paper gave it columns of space for 11 consecutive days. In many instances, the papers’ representatives on the trip were photographed with stars, thereby giving the overall junket additional space. As for television coverage, the splitframe reels permitted TV guests on the trip to present themselves being seen interviewing the producer and stars over their local stations. And the Jerry Lewis show on the night of November 2 was almost a “Mad World” show, reaching millions of viewers. As a space and air-time grabber, the junket has had no equal. All of which should be an extra plus when the film goes into wider distribution. The impact of the event will be felt by the public for a long time to come. The true test, of course, will show up on the ledgers, but indications are that it will all be written in black ink. • More on Shorts QNE WOULD have thought that the newsreel shots of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, scenes of the funeral procession and the events surrounding the tragedy would have packed New York’s Trans-Lux Newsreel Theatre. But a checkup revealed that business was about normal, the majority of the patrons being those who had no immediate access to television sets. The regular customers apparently were watching the events, as they were happening, on their own TV receivers. The Trans-Lux has its regular and loyal patrons who come twice a week to enjoy travelogs, cartoons and news. And, on Tuesdays and Fridays, when a new program starts late in the afternoon, giving the patrons a double show, the house is jammed. This indicates that there are audiences starving for shorts and the only place they can see them in quantity is in a newsreel theatre. There is a great untapped audience for shorts. If theatres which do show them would give them more prominent space in their advertising, the chances are that new customers would be attracted. Gossip A GROUP of art theatre operators is understood to have formed an organization to finance the production of arttype pictures, both in the United States and overseas. The setup still is in a formative stage but is making progress. To be known as Cinema V, the group is headed by Donald Rugoff, president of Rugoff Theatres. It will operate along the lines of Motion Picture Investors. * * * The admission by Eugene Wyman, head of the California Democratic Committee, that he had been offered the presidency of the Motion Picture Ass’n of America, which he politely refused, might be taken as an indication that the heads of the member companies of the MPAA were shopping around now for a successor to the late Eric Johnston. There had been reports that the association would carry on without a name chief. * * * Usually, if not always, a satire of a book, play or film follows the serious treatment of the same subject. And so the question has been asked as to why “Dr. Strangelove” was going to be released prior to “Fail-Safe,” the former being a light approach to the latter. Both have a similar theme, that of a bomb attack on Moscow, resulting from a misunderstanding of orders. Both will be Columbia releases. Upon questioning Rube Jackter, sales chief of Columbia, on the matter, we were told that his job was to sell as required. And Max Youngstein, producer of “Fail-Safe,” said that under the terms of the settlement of a threatened law suit, his picture had to follow “Dr. Strangelove.” Next question? * * * Estimates as to the number of Hollywood pictures that would be turned out this year vary from time to time, but the latest calculation puts the figure at 12 more than were put out in 1962, or about 126 productions. * * * Reports have been floating around hot and heavy to the effect that the Mirisches were concluding a deal with Paramount for distribution. In response to such rumors, a spokesman said that the UA deal still had several years to go, but it was admitted that there had been “talks” with companies other than Paramount and that the Mirisches were not opposed to, at least, “listening.” BOXOFFICE December 16, 1963 15