Boxoffice-August.11.1975

MCA Earnings for '75 2nd Quarter
Are Highest Ever, Excluding Jaws
UNIVERSAL CITY—Lew R. Wasserman,
chairman of the board of MCA, Inc..
announced July 28 that earnings for the
first six months and the second quarter of
1975 were the highest semi-annual and
quarterly earnings ever achieved by the
company.
Net income for the first six months ended
June 30, 1975, amounted to $34,660,000
compared to $25,287,000 for the same
period in 1974, an increase of 37 per cent.
Earnings per share were $4.09 compared to
$3.01 for the first half of 1974. Revenues
increased 7 per cent to $328,431,000 from
the revenues of $305,652,000 for the
period a year earlier.
For the three months ended June 30,
1975, net income was $19,649,000, an increase
of 32 per cent over net incomes of
$14,926,000 for the second quarter last
year. Earnings per share were $2.32 compared
to $1.77 for the three months ended
June 30, 1974. Revenues for the 1975
second quarter were up 3 per cent to
$158,609,000 from $154,150,000 for the
same period of 1974.
Wasserman said the motion picture
"Jaws," which opened in the U.S. and
Canada June 20, has met with the greatest
audience response ever experienced and it
appears to be on its way to becoming the
all-time domestic boxoffice champion. Only
one week's revenues from "Jaws" are included
in the second quarter; the major
its portion of domestic revenues will be
recorded in the third quarter. Several other
films in current release, principally "Earthquake,"
contributed importantly to the
record earnings.
Other divisions of the company which
had excellent second quarter results are
records and music publishing, Spencer Gifts
and recreation services, according to Wasserman.
He also stated the company has now paid
off the remaining balance of $10 million
of loans under its principal bank loan
agreement for a total reduction of $100
million in bank debt since Jan. 1, 1974.
Wasserman concluded by saying, "While
the second quarter was the highest in the
company's history, it will be exceeded by
the upcoming third quarter. Revenues and
net income for 1975 will be substantially
higher than those for the year 1974 which
will make it the fourth consecutive year
of record earnings."
'Dolemite' Gross Exceeds
$6 Million in 14 Weeks
HOI LYWOOO— in its lirst 14 weeks of
'Jaws' Now Ranking
In AU-Time Top Ten
UNIVERSAL CITY—Universal's "Jaws,"
after its first five weeks of theatrical exhibition,
already ranks among the top ten
most successful domestic films of all time.
Additionally, the Zanuck/ Brown production
directed by Steven Spielberg and starring
Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard
Dreyfuss, based on Peter Benchley's
best-seller, already has had a greater impact
on the public consciousness than any motion
picture in history, according to Universal.
"Jaws" fever is sweeping the national
culture as these facts will attest:
• Thirty-five cartoons, mostly political,
have utilized the "Jaws" advertising logo to
make potent and comic points.
• Comedians across the country have
used the film as a basis for new routines;
e.g., Johnny Carson recently interviewed a
"talking shark" on "The Tonight Show"
on NBC-TV.
• A Georgia shark fisherman switched
from selling shark fins to Chinese restaurants
at 15 cents a pound to selling shark
jawbones to collectors at $50 a set.
• A New Jersey ice cream stand renamed
its flavors "sharklitt," "finilla" and
"jawberry."
• T-shirts, beach towels, cups, shark'stooth
pendants, record albums, paperback
books, posters and other items already have
been licensed by the studio, with other merchandise
set to follow (Universal says
there's no license yet for "Jaws" toothpaste).
• Several of the nation's leading psychologists
have contributed to discussions
on the reasons for such instant and widespread
receptivity to the film. Some theories:
"The killer shark substitutes for audience
aggressions"; "The shark and the sea
are primal fears of man"; "Getting engrossed
in the film relieves the audience
from its own problems"; "Lifts routine
lives into those of intense feeling and living";
"Gives moviegoers a feeling of conquering
fear—good triumphs"; "The real
terror is happening to someone else," and
"You in the audience survive and you can
face your real problems better."
• Peter Benchley's novel, on which the
film is based, enjoyed a rebirth of interest
with the advent of the film. More than
8,000,000 paperback editions already have
rolled off the presses and the end is nowhere
release, playing only 31 cities. Dimension
in sight.
Pictures' black feature "Dolemite" has
•
racked up a gross of more than $6,100,000, A "Jaws" discotheque has opened in
according to Lawrence H. Woolner, president
of Dimension. The feature stars Rudy • An oyster bar in Cape Cod has added
the Hampton area of New York.
Ray Moore and D'Urville Martin.
broiled shark to its menu for $5.25, ehiiniing
it "tastes like swordfish."
Dimension has 135 prints of film working
to date.
• In all coastal areas, newspapers and
other media have presented shark news
about real and false sightings, history of
attacks, habits and frequency in local waters
—always asking "can it happen here?"
• One month after the release of "Jaws,"
a great white shark (12 feet, 8 inches long
and weighing 1,400 pounds) was caught by
Larry Mansur off Santa Catalina Island in
Southern California. Two days earlier, a
scuba diver was attacked in 20 feet of
water by a white shark at nearby Santa
Barbara. In July, "Jaws" author Peter
Benchley narrowly missed an attack by a
smaller but vicious white-tip shark off the
Bahama Islands during the filming of a TV
special.
• A real estate developer in the Poconos
is promoting a natural lake, stating: "No
'Jaws' here." Another in Southern California
shows the open-mouthed shark and adver-
"Bite Now and Satisfy Your Appetite."
tises
• A Brooklyn college advertised diploma
education by showing an open-mouthed
shark and advising readers "Don't Get
Swallowed Up."
• Women's Wear Daily displayed
sketches of new bathing suits near an openmouthed
shark.
• Carl Gottlieb, who co-authored the
screenplay with novelist Benchley, has
struck a new rich vein with the paperback
"Jaws Log," detailing the making of the
film. It's on its way to becoming another
best-seller.
'Devil's Rain' Grosses Up
In SF and Detroit Areas
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.—"The Devil's
Rain," the Sandy Howard/ Bryanston
production in its first 30 days of release
continues to be the biggest grossing picture
in the two-year history of Bryanston Distributors.
The occult thriller starring Ernest Borgnine,
Ida Lupino, Eddie Albert, Keenan
Wynn and William Shatner, racked up an
impressive $452,366 in a 68 theatre San
Francisco area break for one week. A 96-
theatre multiple in the Detroit area earned
the company $464,822 for one week's time
as well.
"The Devil's Rain" was produced by
James V. Cullen and Michael S. Glick with
Robert Fuest directing the Gabe Essoe,
James Ashton and Gerald Hopman screenplay
for Sandy Howard Productions under
the Bryanston release banner.
UA Film Title Changed
HOLLYWOOD — "Undercovers Hero"
is the new title of Peter Sellers comedy in
which he plays a half dozen different characters
in the Boulting Bros, production.
The film earlier had been titled "Soft Beds
and Hard Battles." It co-stars Lila Kedrova,
Curt Jurgens, and Beatrice Romand.
Roy Boulting directed from a story and
screenplay he wrote with Leo Marks. John
Boulting was producer for the Lion International
Film presentation for United Artists
Love and Death" has gros,sed $741,128
16 situations.
August 11, 1975