The Exhibitor (1966)

Record 9-Month Income For Fox Zanuck Sees Continuing Upward Trend This Year; "Music” At $68 Million As Other Pix Do Well NEW YORK — Darryl F. Zanuck, president, 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation, reported that total income in the first three quarters of 1966 was the highest in the company’s history for such a period. Film rentals from feature pictures for the nine months ended Sept. 24, including television and film series specifically produced for television, amounted to $154,192,000, an increase of 46.1 per cent over $105,571,000 reported for the same period in 1965. Total income increased to $160,179,000 from $110,951,000. Net earnings after full federal and foreign income taxes amounted to $9,210,000 or $3.21 per share on 2,866,208 shares outstanding. This compares with $8,773,000 or $3.06 per share earned in the first nine months of 1965 when the company enjoyed a substantial shelter from federal income taxes. Net earnings of the corporation for the third quarter alone were $3,100,000 after taxes, equal to $1.08 per share, compared to $2,962,000 or $1.03 per share in the third quarter of 1965. “Third quarter operations sustained the very satisfactory rate of total income and net earnings reported the first half of the year, and we anticipate a continuation of this trend in the final quarter of 1966,” Zanuck added. The principal contributions to income in the quarter came from the continuing roadshow release of “The Sound of Music,” the road¬ show release of “The Blue Max,” the general release of “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” and “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” as well as “How to Steal a Million,” “Fantastic Voyage,” “Stagecoach” and “Mod¬ esty Blaise.” Other successful earlier releases which contribute to the nine-month record gross were “Our Man Flint,” “Von Ryan’s Express,” “The Flight of the Phoenix” and “Do Not Disturb.” With a late September opening, “The Bible” was not a factor in the third quarter financial results, but will contribute significantly to income in the current period and in 1967. “The Sound of Music” continues to enjoy tremendous acceptance and to date (Nov. 16) has accumulated a world-wide film rental in excess of $68,000,000. The company’s next roadshow release will be “The Sand Pebbles,” producer-director Robert Wise’s first film since his Academy Award-winning production of “The Sound of Music.” It is scheduled to follow “The Sound of Music” in its world premiere engagement at the Rivoli Theatre in New York on Dec. 20. “The Sand Pebbles” then will open Dec. 28 at the Fox Wilshire Theatre in Eos Angeles to qualify for this year’s Academy Awards. In addition to “The Sand Pebbles,” the outstanding pictures through the summer period will include George Segal and Alec Guinness in “The Quiller Memorandum,” Doris Day and Richard Harris in “Caprice,” Paul Newman in “Hombre,” James Coburn in “In Tike Flint,” Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney in “Two For The Road,” “One Million Years B. C.,” “The Flim Flam Man,” “A Guide for the Married Man” and “Fathom.” Currently shooting is “Doctor Dolittle,” star¬ ring Rex Harrison, which will be a Christmas, Buffalo D. A. Would Form Citizen Review Board BUFFALO — District Attorney Michael F. Dillon soon plans to name a citizen review board which would determine if a movie or a book has any social value. “I do not ask that it be a vigilante com¬ mittee,” he stressed. “I would like to see representatives of the community attending certain movies or reading certain publications and establish for us ‘contemporary community stan¬ dards.’ “I would like their counseling of whether a movie or book has social value or is utterly without redeeming value,” said the district attorney. Dillon said he was taking the action to “protect the community from being buried under filth. I can see seeds in various sections of the community that could well give rise to such a burial. FIowever, the law recognizes the constitutional rights and guarantees of the individual and gives us little room for prosecution for ob¬ scene material and movies.” Warners' CATV System Maps Expansion Program NEW YORK — Following a year of testing and evaluation in the Mission Viejo area of Laguna Hills, Calif., Warner Bros.’ CATV operation has been given the “full steam ahead” signal by Jack L. Warner, president of Warner Bros. “Results of the past year have shown the kind of success we may expect from our CATV system,” Warner said. “Electronic problems have been solved, and the system has been refined to a point of exceptional quality. It is considered one of the finest com¬ munity antenna designs in the nation.” Warner Bros.’ community antenna staff has been working closely with the telephone com¬ pany, it was reported by Jack Frost, general manager of the Warner Bros, subsidiary, with a view to perfecting the design and reception performance. Since last spring, 12 miles of buried cable have been laid at Mission Viejo. This is enough to service up to 600 homes. Full-range programs for this operation call for 100,000 homes to be serviced by Warner CATV in a 56,000-acre district. Warner also discovered that the program has been budgeted to meet competition throughout California, and at least 25 offers have come from throughout the nation seeking Warner participation with other CATV outfits. At this time, the company president said, the CATV operations are being limited to California. With the Mission Viejo project moving into high gear, many other areas are being surveyed for the installation of the Warner service, and two additional districts are expected to be tied up soon. 1967, roadshow release. The company continues to maintain its position as the foremost producer and distri¬ butor of film series for prime time network television. There are 1 1 programs represented on all three major networks, comprising a total of 9/2 hours weekly. Col. Names Jerry Levine Roadshow Ad Director NEW YORK — In a move designed to keep pace with Columbia Pictures’ expanded road¬ show line-up, Jerry K. Levine has been ap¬ pointed director of roadshows advertising and publicity. Levine will head Columbia’s advertising and publicity program for all of the company’s hard-ticket atrtactions, the first of which is Fred Zinnemann’s “A Alan For All Seasons.” In 1964, Levine returned to Columbia, where he had previously served as the com¬ pany’s advertising manager, to coordinate the roadshow activities on Richard Brooks’ “Lord Jim.” Following this, he served as an execu¬ tive in Columbia’s advertising department. Levine's considerable experience in the in¬ dustry includes service as an account executive for the Donahue and Coe advertising agency, and as advertising manager with Paramount Pictures. Jewison To Yale HOLLYWOOD— Producer-director Nor¬ man Jewison has accepted an invitation to fly to New Haven on Dec. 7 and address the combined Yale University drama and cinema departments, it was announced by Sperie P. Perakos of the Yale faculty. Jewison will speak on “Motion Pictures as a Contemporary Art.” According to Perakos, Jewison will use “The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming” as a case history in tracing movies “as an art; as an entertain¬ ment; and a business.” Three More For Century NEW YORK — Leslie R. Schwartz, presi¬ dent of Century Theatres, announced that the circuit has signed leases with the WinstonMuss Corporation for three motion picture theatres located in the following shopping centers: An 850 seat theatre in the Thomas Mall Shopping Center in Phoenix, Arizona; a 950 seat theatre in the Page Manor Shopping Center in Dayton, Ohio; and a 1200 seat theatre in The Alall at New Rochelle, West¬ chester County, New York. November 23, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 5