A Record Year at the Box Office, but With Qualifiers

Yes, it was a record year for the box office. But no, that wasn’t a cause for celebration in Hollywood.

In 2000, films grossed $7.7 billion, surpassing the previous year’s $7.5 billion; it’s the ninth year running that revenues have increased, according to box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Yet the number of tickets sold was down again for the second year in a row after three years of larger audiences.

The record revenue comes from higher ticket prices, according to Exhibitor Relations’ head Paul Dergarabedian--up to $10 in some major-city theaters. Based on a conservative average of just over $5 nationwide, the number of tickets sold was down less than 1%. However, says Dergarabedian, the average price may be somewhat higher, about $5.35, meaning the number of tickets sold was down about 2%.

The situation might have been worse had it not been for a turnaround in late September. For almost three months preceding the release of “Remember the Titans” and, shortly thereafter, “Meet the Parents,” attendance was down sharply and the year was lagging seriously behind 1999. Those two films, however, hit big, generating about $275 million in domestic box office.

By the time they’d run out of steam, “Charlie’s Angels” and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the year’s No. 1 box-office hit) picked up the baton and kept running. The addition of two year-end blockbuster titles, “Cast Away” and “What Women Want,” was enough to keep the movie business from sliding into recession.

Still, there were reasons for concern. There were few outright surprises like 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project,” “The Sixth Sense” or “American Beauty.” And unlike that year, when concept-driven films like the “Star Wars” sequel, “The Mummy” and “American Pie” generated strong business, many of the major hits in 2000 were star-driven. The $20-million players like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson and Jim Carrey justified their salaries and were responsible for the year’s box-office highlights.

Carrey’s “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” captured the box-office crown, dropping Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” sequel, “M:I-2,” to second place, the only two films to gross more than $200 million in 2000 (there were four in 1999). Hanks, however, came up fast at the end of the year with the blockbuster one-man show “Cast Away,” which has grossed more than $100 million in less than two weeks and could end up a $200-million-plus movie as well.

Roberts was no less impressive, scoring with “Erin Brockovich,” a Norma Rae-style vehicle that not only grossed $125 million but also looks likely to place her as a favorite for a best actress Oscar. Gibson starred in and produced two $100-million-plus hits, the year-end comedy “What Women Want” and the expensive and somewhat disappointing Revolutionary War saga “The Patriot,” released around Independence Day.

Harrison Ford rebounded from several disappointing films with the thriller “What Lies Beneath,” though co-star Michelle Pfeiffer shouldered most of the burden (and screen time) in that film, a $155-million winner at the box office.

Also registering with audiences were such reliables as Clint Eastwood (“Space Cowboys”), Robert De Niro (“Meet the Parents,” “Men of Honor”), Bruce Willis (“Unbreakable,” “Disney’s The Kid,” “The Whole Nine Yards”), Denzel Washington (“Remember the Titans”), Eddie Murphy (“Nutty Professor II: The Klumps”), Sandra Bullock (the holiday surprise “Miss Congeniality” and the disappointing “28 Days”), Nicolas Cage (“Gone in 60 Seconds,” “Family Man”) and Samuel L. Jackson (“Shaft,” “Rules of Engagement” and “Unbreakable”).

The Impact of Star Names and High Concepts

Younger stars pulled their weight as well, including Martin Lawrence (“Big Momma’s House”), Ben Stiller (“Meet the Parents”), Jennifer Lopez (“The Cell”) and the team of Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu (“Charlie’s Angels”). After being virtually absent from the screen since her Oscar-winning “As Good as It Gets,” Helen Hunt seemed to be everywhere in 2000, co-starring in the two major Christmas hits “What Women Want” and “Cast Away.” Worthy of honorable mention were Tom Green (“Road Trip”) and Jet Li (“Romeo Must Die”).

In terms of high concept, the big hits were the Roman Empire epic “Gladiator” and the disaster flick “The Perfect Storm”--both computer-enhanced spectacles. And even then, it was star power that propelled the films. Russell Crowe broke through to the big time (his asking price is now $15 million) in the former, while George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg--and a giant wave--contributed to the success of the latter. Only the sci-fi action film “X-Men” and the horror spoof “Scary Movie” didn’t need stars to take them over the $150-million mark.

Poultry ruled the roost in the British-produced clay animation hit “Chicken Run,” the high spot for animation in 2000. The disastrous “Titan A.E.,” which almost single-handedly closed down Fox’s animation operation, was clearly the low point.

And almost as if to redeem an unremarkable year in independent film, the year-end phenomenon “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” struck a blow for non-studio-produced (and international) movies, pleasing critics and audiences alike. Ang Lee’s martial arts fable is still in very limited release--it has taken in a remarkable $12.5 million in limited release--and it will be interesting to chart how successful the Mandarin Chinese action film will be with general audiences. The sibling drama “You Can Count on Me” was also scoring with audiences and critics.

Not all stars delivered. The careers of Sylvester Stallone (“Get Carter”) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (“The 6th Day”) continued their descent. Adam Sandler took a nasty spill with the very expensive “Little Nicky,” and Matt Damon got no points for either “The Legend of Bagger Vance” (ditto co-star Will Smith) or, apparently, “All the Pretty Horses.”

A post-”Titanic” Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t do much for “The Beach” (except overseas). Meg Ryan and Crowe proved more interesting off screen than on in “Proof of Life.” Kim Basinger couldn’t carry “I Dreamed of Africa” or “Bless the Child.” And John Travolta had back-to-back disasters in “Battlefield Earth” and “Lucky Numbers.”

With all the yammering about the potency of the youth audience, many of the big hits last year owe their success to ticket buyers over the age of 25--”M:I-2,” “Cast Away,” “The Perfect Storm,” “What Lies Beneath,” “Gladiator,” “Meet the Parents,” “Space Cowboys,” “Family Man,” “Remember the Titans,” “Erin Brockovich,” “U-571,” “The Patriot” and “What Women Want.”

Of course, the youth audience was still in the driver’s seat with movies like “Scary Movie,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “X-Men,” “Big Momma’s House,” “Scream 3,” “The Cell,” “Road Trip,” “Bring It On,” “Gone in 60 Seconds,” “Final Destination” and “Nutty Professor II.” But as with family films, there were a number of noticeable misses, signaling that young moviegoers were becoming more selective or craving more diverse fare. Horror sequels like “Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows” and “Urban Legend 2” didn’t curry much favor. Plus, there was a host of forgettable low-budget comedies like “Boys and Girls,” “The In Crowd,” “Down to You,” “Loser” and “Whatever It Takes” to prove that teens and hits were not synonymous.

Family films, with few exceptions such as “Grinch,” “Chicken Run,” “My Dog Skip” and “Rugrats in Paris,” fell short of expectations, including such big-ticket items as “Dinosaur,” “The Road to El Dorado,” “102 Dalmatians” and “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle.” The year-end Disney animated film “The Emperor’s New Groove” started off slowly but picked up some steam over the Christmas holidays, though it’s not expected to reach $100 million.

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How They Fared by Genre

Here’s a breakdown of different genre titles and how they fared at the box office.

Teen/Youth Comedy Hits: “Scary Movie,” “Big Momma’s House,” “Bring It On,” “Snow Day,” “Next Friday,” “Coyote Ugly,” “Road Trip,” “Nutty Professor II”

Teen Misses: “Little Nicky,” “Loser,” “Whatever It Takes”

Animation Hits: “Chicken Run,” “The Tigger Movie,” “Rugrats in Paris,” “Pokemon 2000”

Animation Misses: “Titan A.E.” “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle,” “The Road to El Dorado”

Family Film Hits: “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “My Dog Skip”

Family Misses: “The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas,” “102 Dalmatians”

Horror Hits: “What Lies Beneath,” “The Cell,” “Scream 3,” “Pitch Black,” “The Exorcist,” “Final Destination”

Horror Misses: “Hollow Man,” “Lost Souls”

Action Hits: “M:I-2,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Gladiator,” “X-Men,” “Romeo Must Die,” “Shaft,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Space Cowboys,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “U-571”

Action Misses: “Red Planet,” “Get Carter,” “Mission to Mars,” “Battlefield Earth,” “The Sixth Day,” “The Art of War,” “Reindeer Games,” “Dungeons & Dragons”

Adult Comedy Hits: “Meet the Parents,” “What Women Want,” “Kings of Comedy,” “Best in Show,” “Miss Congeniality”

Adult Comedy Misses: “Almost Famous,” “Lucky Numbers,” “What Planet Are You From?”

Adult Drama Hits: “Erin Brockovich,” “Remember the Titans,” “Cast Away,” “Frequency,” “Rules of Engagement,” “Men of Honor,” “Billy Elliot,” “Unbreakable,” “Family Man,” “Sunshine,” “You Can Count on Me,” “Dancer in the Dark”

Adult Drama Misses: “Proof of Life,” “Pay It Forward,” “The Next Best Thing,” “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” “I Dreamed of Africa,” “All the Pretty Horses”