Boxoffice-October.02.1978

5th
'House' Challenged
By 'Alive' in N.O.
NEW ORLEANS—-National Lampoon's
Animal House," playing at three theatres,
moved up to take first spot. "It's Alive 2"
took second place in its opening week at
the Loew's State, pushing "Soul Brothers
Kung Fu" to third.
{Av
(Univ),
100)
wk
Lakeside—Jaws 2 13th
Lakeside—Avalanche (New World), 2nd wk
Lakeside—Revenge oi the Pink Panther (UA),
100
8ih wk 175
Loews State—Hatchet Murders (SR), l = t wk 20C
Loews Stale—Thank God Ifs Friday (Co')
5th wk 150
Loews State—Ifs Alive 2 IWB), 1st wk 600
Orpheum—Soul Brothers oi Kung Fu (SR),
2nd wk 500
Robert E. Lee—Heaven Can Wail (Ptig)
Ulh wk 225
3 theatres—Notional Lampoon's Animal House
(Univ), 5th wk 650
EaBjEfiSlE^tEB
HEAVENLY SIGHT — Anyt
passing the Robert E. Lee Theatre in
New Orleans might have wondered if
an angel had descended from heaven
and perched on top of the building.
The angelic figure, painted by Dandy
Signs, Fort Walton, Fla., was 20 feet
high and was installed by Larry Fine,
manager of Paramount Pictures and
'Animal House' Blitzes Memphis Kevin Keller, manager of the theatre.
With a High-Grossing 1,085 for the engagement of "Heaven Can
MEMPHIS—"National Lampoon's Ani- Wait."
mal House" delighted the crowds here,
turning
in high grosses both on screen and at the m ^ m
'
m m m
boxoffice. The frat film turned in a score nil I Jl jwf j
of 1,085 in two situations. Nearest competi- ''' ' ''' '
tor was "Grease" at 655. followed by "Foul -,,_ ^^^ j^^^ Lawrence A. Crowley, for-
Play" at the Malco Quartet. Four nevy films
moved ^^ Cleveland, have to
appeared, including The Manitou and
^^^^^ p.^^.^^ ^^^ purchased a condomini-
FareT'sLhbTok'2-iaws2(Un,v), nthwk 175
"^ '" ^his city. The Crowkys spent the
Fare 2—Coming Home (UA), 1st wk 300 past 22 years in the theatrical and sports
MJi:o'Qu°a";e'',-\i7E:5''ruArT4th''wk'^':^^::::^ arena business in the Mideast. Mrs. Crowley
Malco Quartet 1—Heaven Can Wait (Para), Operated theatres in Cleveland for many
Malco Quortei 3—The Cheap Detective (Col), years and her husband served as Cleveland
uTo Quariet-4-Foui- Play (Para) wk
Memphian, Paramount 1—Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Z^ regional manager for Sportservice Corp. of
Buffalo. His responsibilities included man-
Pa"roun?'2",''Ra;:!gh'spnngs'i-Eyes Laura agement of 80 theatres in five States. The
''
o.
'50 Crowleys to get as
r,*^"^J^°Jl' 1=' "•=. ,
Park—The Manitou (Avco), Isl wk 100
e.xpect
,
involved
t>
here
, .
2, Plaza Whitehaven Cinema 1— The Inheritance owncr-operators Or managers. Both have
'" ''««" ^Ctive WOrkerS and officCrS in NATO
Ridfeway'k^Southbrook 4-Revenge of the
Pink Panther (UA), 6th wk
Ridgeway 3, Southbrook 3—National Lampoon's
265 and Variety Tent 6 in Cleveland.
Animal House (Univ), 2nd wk 1,085
of North
,~ . ^
Ridgeway 4—Grease (PaTa). 11th wk .,.655 closmg
.
The VldCO City, S Miami
^
s^rwl'^.^^.^ ^'^..'^'°" .°"'.".^.''.°"...'.^.^.'.:
Disney Films Still Give
Cryroom a Stiff Workout
LIBERTY, N.C—A tear-stained carpet
is evidence that the tiny room with two
padded chairs in the Curtis Theatre here
has served its purpose over the last 29 years.
A neon sign proclaiming "Cryroom"
points the way to the cubicle, which theatre
operator John Curtis believes to be the only
one of its kind left in North Carolina.
Many first-time patrons of the theatre are
curious when they see the sign and take a
look into the ten-foot-by-seven-foot room,
with a plate-glass window looking into the
theatre and equipped with speakers piping
in sound from the movie. It was designed
to give mothers a place to watch the film
without allowing their bawling babies to
bother others in the audience.
"It used to be occupied more often than
it is now," Curtis said. "Pictures have
changed, you know. There are not as many
small children brought to the theatre as
there used to be." He added that the cryroom
still gets used quite a bit when he
shows a Disney film.
125 film and broadcasting studio, continues to
cause much comment in the area. It is this
studio that occupies the old Ivan Tors stages
where "Flipper." "Gentle Ben" and other
scries were shot, and it has been considered
the heart of the local film industry. The
studio is expected to close down in late
October. Eric Stevens, current operations
manager of the facility, which is an arm
of the New York-based Video Corp. of
America, said: "This place could be run
differently and it could make money. There
was a problem involving the corporate philosophy
and the fact that we were more
expensive than the loal marketplace could
bear."
He also said that Video City, which made
mostly commercials and a few series pilots,
tried to get by with national clients, explaining
that it did not focus on local busi-
FLORIDA THEATRE
EQUIPMENT
& SUPPLY CO.JNC.
"IVIRVTHINC VOU NIID FOR YOUR THtATRI'
1966 N.E. 149th St. • N. Miami, FU., 33181
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ness. "Maybe that was a mistake," Stevens
commented. Another Video executive observed
that they should have focussed sooner
on attracting trade from the southern
states, but that they got started in that direction
too late.
There are offers for the puriihase of
Video City, Norin Co. owns the old Tors
tract and two huge sound stages at 12100
N.E. 16th Ave. here. Right now no one is
sure what use will be made of the property.
John Buddy of the Miami Herald wrote
a two-part article recently pointing up the
decline of the drive-in theatre. He says that
each year the number of drive-ins dwindles
because of changing lifestyles and rising
land values. He says they were at their peak
during the 1960s. The theatres have many
advantages— letting whole families (and
even their pets) attend and watch from the
comfort of their cars. There are perils, also,
with the young folk viewing in such a relaxed
atmosphere.
Dade County, he says, had at least 20
drive-ins at one time, and now has approximately
10, with several sold or up for sale
including the Dixie in South Dade and the
Coral Way. Huddy says there are no new
drive-ins being built. He blames the decline
on the fact that movie houses have moved
from downtown areas and now are more
accessible. They feature discount prices, almost
as low as the drive-in. especially if
they feature a second-run film.
The writer points out that some persons
still think the well-run drive-in can survive
and be profitable, and he cites the Airport
Hi-Way in Broward County, where there
are nine screens and. due to automation,
only one manager and two more employees.
With advanced technology, one print can
be shown on two or more screens at the
same time. The sound is good and there
are other automatic gadgets, such as speakerless
sound systems, which are used in the
Hi-Way. He concludes by saying that new
booking tactics, with multiple drive-ins bidding
for films, are as important as updated
equipment to the success of the drive-in.
Wometco Enterprises has announced that
it has sold an II -acre land tract in Vancouver
and a Miami drive-in for an approximate
after-tax gain of $1,800,000.
^S^ WATC H PROJECTION IMPROVE WITH VJ
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^ * SCREENS '^
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^e LENTICULAR PEARLESCENT 5
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BOXOFFICE :: Octobe 1978 SE-1