TO LORD

23 OUT OF 25 RELEASES RATED
TOP HITS' IN WINTER QUARTER
'Star Is Born' Tops at 674;
'King Kong,' 'Enforcer'
Follow With 500-Plus
KANSAS CITY—Nineteen distributors
placed 52 feature films in release during the
winter quarter (December 1976 through
February 1977) and, with another two dozen
coming from independent companies,
exhibition had a total of 76 films available
tor booking in the three-month period.
Only 25 of the total 76 films recorded
the five or more playdates necessary to indicate
potential strength on the Boxoffice
Barometer. Of the 25, 23 scored 150 per
cent or more to rank as possible hits.
Total film output for this same quarter
a year ago—from both majors and independents—was
a much higher 101, with 31
hits out of the 35 qualifying releases. Since
this quarter covers the Christmas-New Year
holiday period, traditionally the best time
of year to release major films, the product
shortage became more evident. None of the
24 foreign-independent releases achieved
the required number of playdates, in sharp
contrast with the eight which did in the
previous season—and four of these went on
to become hits.
Leaders in the winter quarter were: "A
Star Is Born" (WB), a dramatic musical
remake starring Barbra Streisand and Kris
Kristofferson as the star-crossed duo, 674
per cent; "King Kong" (Para), also a remake—
this time, courtesy of producer Dino
De Laurentiis, 598; "The Enforcer" (WB),
not a remake, but a "Dirty Harry" sequel
with Clint Eastwood reprising his laconic
police inspector role, 519; "The Pink Panther
Strikes Again" (UA), another sequel,
with Peter Sellers as the ever-befuddled
Clouseau—also a police inspector, 517; and
"Rocky" (UA), an "original" from Sylvester
Stallone, which went on to garner ten Oscar
nominations and the best picture award, 497.
Five other pictures were in the 300-plus
category for the period: "Silver Streak"
(20th-Fox), 411 per cent; "Network" (UA-
MGM), 408; "Wizards" (20th-Fox), 361;
"Freaky Friday" (BV), 358; and "The Seven-Per-Cent
Solution" (Univ), 320.
In addition to the ten leading grossers,
another ten winter releases scored in the
200-or-better division: "Fellini's Casanova"
(Univ), 282 per cent; "Fun With Dick and
Jane" (Col), 281; "The Last Tycoon" (Para),
280; "The Shaggy D.A." (BV), 248; "Exit
the Dragon, Enter the Tiger" (Dimension),
240; "Nickelodeon" (Col), 223; "Thieves"
(Para), 219; "The Sentinel" (Univ), 205;
"Monkey Hustle" (AIP), 204; and "The
Town That Dreaded Sundown" (AIP), 203.
Three features ranked in the 150-plus class.
For the same quarter in '75-'76. these
were the big ones: "Dog Day Afternoon"
Top Hits for the Winter Quarter
(December 1976 Through February 1977)
Bound lor Glory (UA)
Cassandra Crossing, The (Avco Emb)
Enforcer, The (WB)
Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (Dimension)
Fellini's Casanova (Univ)
-Freaky Friday (BV)
Fun With Dick and lane (Col)
King Kong (Para)
Last Tycoon, The (Para)
Monkey Hustle (AIP)
Network (UA-MGM)
Nickelodeon
(Col)
- Pink Panther Strikes Again, The (UA)
-Rocky
(UA)
Sentinel, The (Univ)
Seven-Per-Cent Solution, The (Univ)
Shaggy D.A., The (BV)
Silver Streak (20th-Fox)
Star Is Bom, A (WB)
Thieves (Para)
Town That Dreaded Sundown, The (AIP)
Voyage of the Damned (Avco Emb)
Wizards (20th-Fox)
Blue Ribbon Award Fall release
(WB), 580 per cent; "The Hindenburg"
(Univ), 565; "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest" (UA), 516; "Taxi Driver" (Col), 512;
and "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes'
Smarter Brother" (20th-Fox), 423.
The box score on winter product is as
follows (beginning with the largest number
of top hits):
Req. No. Top
Company Releases Playdates Hits
United Artists 5 4 4
Paramount 4 3 3
Universal 4 3 3
Avco Embassy 2 2 2
Buena Vista 2 2 2
Columbia 2 2 2
20th Century-Fox 3 3 2
Warner Bros. 3 2 2
American International 4 2 2
Dimension 1 1 1
Allied Artists 1 1
Monarch Rel. Corp. 1
Irwin Yablans Co. 1
Atlas 2
Cinema Shares Int'l 2
Group 1 2
New World 3
Boxoffice International 4
Intercontinental Rel. 6
Independent/Foreign 24
Releases, with the percentages available
for the three-month period (December '76
through February '77), follow by company.
The symbol (*) denotes fall releases which
B 194
182
, 204
,223
,205
,219
,203
,181
,240
,248
,282
,281
,280
,320
,358
,361
,411
,519
,598
,408
,517
,497
,674
did not have a sufficient number of pla
dates reported to qualify for the fall surve
(Average Is 100)
ALLIED ARTISTS:
Twilight's Last Gleaming
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL:
Monkey Hustle
Town That Dreaded Sundown, The
AVCO EMBASSY:
Cassandra Crossing, The
Voyage of the Damned
BUENA VISTA:
OFreaky Friday
Shaggy D.A., The
COLUMBIA:
Fun With Dick and Jane
Nickelodeon „
DIMENSION:
Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger
MONARCH REL.
CORP.:
'Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth
NEW WORLD:
"Lumiere (French)
PARAMOUNT:
King Kong
Last Tycoon, The
Thieves
20TH CENTURY-FOX:
All This and World War II
Silver Streak
Wizards „ _
UNITED ARTISTS:
Bound for Glory
Network (MGM) -
(£Pink Panther Strikes Again, The
syRocky
_
UNIVERSAL:
Fellini's Casanova
Sentinel, The
Seven-Per-Cent Solution, The
WARNER BROS.:
Enforcer, The
Star Is Born, A
IRWIN YABLANS CO.:
'Assault on Precinct 13
MISCELLANEOUS:
'Alice in Wonderland (General National Enterprises)
_
•Marquise of O, The (New Line/German)
M
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BOXOFFICE :: April 18, r