Boxoffice-Janury11.1965

1965 OUTLOOK IS BRIGHT, AS
CROWDS SWARM TO THEATRES
First-run theatre records all across the
nation were shattered during the Christmas-New
Year's holiday season as patrons
turned out in hordes for a view of exceptionally
strong product, causing exhibitors to express
outright jubilation over the business
prospects for 1965.
In Boston, for instance, business was so
big that the Record-American ran a fourcolumn
photo of the lineup before one
theatre, captioning it, "Breaking All
Records—Movies Ai-e Better Than Ever."
"Mary Poppins," scoring 50 per cent at
the Gary in its 11th week with a take of
$53,000, broke the house record established
in July 1961 by "Guns of Navarone." "Goldfinger,"
with a $74,060 gi'oss in its first
week, scoring 600 per cent, established the
biggest gross in the history of the Music
Hall and what is believed to be the biggest
week's gross for any picture in Boston's
history.
These two theatres and three others,
all operated by Ben Sack, grossed some
$192,000 for the seven-day holiday period,
a combined gross that broke all records
in the history of Boston exhibition. For
Christmas week, "My Fair Lady" at the
Saxon was sold out, with $45,000 in the
till in its tenth week; "Kiss Me, Stupid"
racked up $9,500 at the Beacon Hill and
"Emil and the Detectives" scored $11,000
at the Capri.
Sack was elated. "This proves that people
will turn out and they will come by the
thousands when you give them what they
want," he said. "I've always contended
that today you just give the public gi-eat
pictm-es—big pictures—the days of the socalled
mediocre pictures are over—and
this proves it. What a combination! 'Mary
Poppins' during the day lined with kids and
their parents, and 'Goldfinger' during the
night with teenagers and adults. You can't
top that!"
Exhibitors reported the same story from
Broadway to Hollywood Boulevard. Throngs
swarmed into Broadway houses, shattering
records. "My Pair Lady" remained absolute
capacity at the Ci'iterion and the opening
of "Father Goose" at the Radio City
'Goldfinger' and 'Fair Lady' Boxoffice Leaders
Miami—The hottest things in Florida
show business during the holiday season
were "My Fair Lady" and "Goldfinger."
"Lady," since its opening in late
November at the Lincoln Theatre in Miami
Beach, has broken every existing
motion picture record for that city, according
to manager Lou Fishkin. Lines
start forming at the theatre at 10 a.m.
for tickets which are sold out two and
three weeks in advance.
"Goldfinger" has broken every record
at the Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale
and at Lake Worth. It was reported
that the fUm wound up its first week
with a total attendance of 80,000 persons,
some 8,000 more than attended the
Music Hall, with a $243,833 gross, gave
that theatre the biggest single week gross
in its 32-year history. "Goldfinger" broke
records at the Walter Reade-Sterling De-
Mille on Broadway and Coronet on the East
Side, with a whopping $192,609 in its opening
week. The DeMille, with tumaway
business, grossed $132,141 In seven days
and instituted a policy of staying open
24 hours a day to accommodate the patronage.
In Chicago, Pittsburgh, Dallas, New Orleans,
Omaha and city after city the story
was the same, with "Goldfinger" the
biggest
news in many of them.
Balaban & Katz pointed to the UA release
as the "all-time greatest recordbreaking
performance in Chicago motion
picture history" when the film, after taxes,
netted a first-week total of $76,047 at the
B&K Roosevelt. Similarly, "My Fair Lady"
continued at capacity at the Palace, with
$53,311 for Christmas week. Also big in
the Loop were "Kiss Me, Stupid" at the
Oriental; "Sex and the Single Girl" at
the Chicago, with a Christmas weekend
Crowds lined
theatres
the nation over in
huge holiday throngs.
Here, part of the
holiday lineup for
"Goldfinger" is shown
before the Balaban &
Katz Roosevelt on
the Chicago Loop.
Orange Bowl New Year's football contest.
The Gateway showed "Goldfinger"
around the clock New Year's Eve as did
the Lake Worth Skydrome Drive-In,
both serving coffee and doughnuts free.
Night club performers, usually blase
about such things, pleaded with Harry
Botwick, Florida State Theatres head
man in south Florida, to arrange a
showing for them, which he did at 2:30
a.m. New Year's morning at the Beach
Theatre. The performers offered to pay
for the special performance, but Botwick
told them it was "on the house,"
courtesy of Florida State Theatres and
United Artists.
take of $25,000, and "Mary Poppins" at
the State Lake.
"Goldfinger" filled the Pulton Theatre
in Pittsburgh with a first week gross of
$35,000, the best since Associated Theatres
took the house over from the Shea circuit,
and "My Fair Lady" opened to record
business at the Squirrel Hill.
In Dallas, Interstate Theatres publicist
Hal Cheatham gleefully reported, "All theatres
are doing excellent boxoffice — a
wonderful way to start the New Year."
The Majestic Theatre broke all boxoffice
records for the first week's nin of "Goldfinger,"
Cheatham continued, noting also
that "My Fair Lady" enjoyed its biggest
gross to date at the Tower Theatre during
the holiday week.
T. G. Solomon, president of Gulf States
Theatres in New Orleans, reported a $4,-
378 opening day gross on "Goldfinger" at
Loew's State and termed the film "real
boxoffice dynamite." He continued: "It
started off with a bang on opening day
with no letup in attendance for the first
few days. Actually, the crowds get bigger
day by day."
In Omaha, Ralph Blank, manager of
the Admiral Theatre, said the 450 per
cent score recorded by "Goldfinger" was
the best gross he could recall in the last 23
years of theatre operation; and in Memphis,
virtually all of the fu-st-run managers
termed holiday season business the "best
ever" in their memories. "Goldfinger"
filled every seat for every show at the
Malco to rack up $40,227, or 550 per cent,
while the lobby was packed £ind Unes
foi-med down the street waiting for admission
to the next show. Both "My Fair Lady"
and "Father Goose" set records at the
Ci-osstown and Palace, respectively, with
400 per cent scores in their openings, and
"Sex and the Single Girl" ran well, with
300 per cent at the Paramount.
Manager Jack SUverthorne of the Hippodrome
in Cleveland reported that crowds
lined the streets at both entrances for
two blocks in each direction. "Goldfinger"
grossed almost $50,000 in its first week
BOXOFFICE :: January 11, 1968