Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Spidey Raises Bar; Interview with Paul Dergarabedian
Aired May 07, 2002 - 14:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to get to the movies now.
"Spiderman" swung into theatres this past weekend, raising the bar for weekend box office receipts. A record $114 million.
But as Susan Lisovicz now reports, there are many more potential blockbusters on the way out there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN LISUVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Spiderman" scaled box office heights, but it will be tough to stay there, even for a nimble-footed, web-slinging action hero who looks good in tights.
"Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones" flies into theatres with such a built in fan base that one labor consulting firm estimates it's opening date could cost the United States economy $319 million in lost wages.
Tom Clancy's "The Sum of All Fears," Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report," and sequels to "Men in Black," "Stuart Little," "Spy Kids," and "Austin Powers" are all gunning for something increasingly important in Hollywood: the colossal weekend opening.
PAUL DERGARABEDIAN, EXHIBITOR RELATIONS: 10, 15, 20 years ago, films would do like 10, 15, maybe 20 percent of their opening weekend, they had legs. Today, and especially last summer, we saw this with a lot of films, you know, 1/3 or more of their total final gross was gleaned in the opening weekend. So it's very, very important.
LISUVICZ: "Spiderman" capitalized on its widespread appeal from both sexes and all ages. It also spent $50 million on its marketing campaign, more than 1/3 of the amount it cost to make the film.
(on camera): And some industry observers say the right campaign is critical to a film finding its audience, especially in the crowded summer season.
More than 50 feature films are set to be released in the 15 weeks between Memorial Day and the Labor Day holiday.
(voice-over): Even if "Spiderman" takes a fall at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, it has already set the box office standard. MARTIN GROVE, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: You see, it isn't necessarily what you do week by week by week, it's what it adds up to. And, you know, the bigger they open, it doesn't matter if they fall big, because they're falling from a greater height.
LISUVICZ: To reach that height begins with owning the right franchise, which is why so many familiar characters are returning to the big screen this summer.
Susan Lisuvicz, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: And our next guest tracks those numbers, the big officer numbers.
Paul Dergarabedian is from the Exhibitor Relations Company, live in L.A. How are you today?
PAUL DERGARABEDIAN, EXHIBITOR RELATIONS COMPANY: I'm fine, how are you?
HEMMER: Good afternoon. I'm doing just fine.
There's never been a $100 million weekend before, is that right?
DERGARABEDIAN: You know, it has never happened before. It's been that elusive magic number. It's really been the Holy Grail of box office, and we've never achieved it before. And this weekend, when we saw the numbers coming in, and the Friday number was like $39 million, we were just blown away, and we knew that we were on the way to that record.
HEMMER: So this is better than "Harry Potter." It's better than "Titanic." It's better than anything we can even think of?
DERGARABEDIAN: It's better than everything else by far.
Now, "Harry Potter" showed us that you could get close to that $100 million weekend when it did $90.3 million back in November. But this just, I mean, by leaps and bounds, this blows that away. Every other movie this summer is going to have to try and live up to "Spiderman."
HEMMER: So the world's collided essentially this weekend, when it comes to raising cash -- Paul.
DERGARABEDIAN: Yes.
HEMMER: What were the factors there that enabled that to happen?
DERGARABEDIAN: Well, first and foremost, in order to insure a big opening weekend, you have to have great marketing, and Sony just put everything they had behind this film, and the result was this big weekend. But beyond that, you have to have a film that people enjoy. The critics have been raving about this film. Audiences are enjoying it. I think we're going to see a lot of repeat business. And this will be a film that will play for the long haul during the summer.
HEMMER: You think so? That was my next question.
DERGARABEDIAN: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Because "Star Wars" is out within two weeks' time. I wonder if anything steps in and throws it off the mark right now.
DERGARABEDIAN: I am telling you, if any film can come from, you know, this level and achieve something on the order of "Spider-Man" it would be "Attack Of The Clones." But remember there's a lot of competition in the summer. Makes it tough to stay, especially stay No. 1 for any length of time. And of course "Attack of the Clones" though, highly-anticipated. We are probably going to see some sort of record numbers from that film as well.
You know this is just looking good for the summer box office and I anticipate a record for the season.
HEMMER: That's an interesting comment there at the end. I'm wondering -- if you're a big movie maker, sitting back in your production house watching and listening to what happened to "Spider- Man" what are you thinking right now?
DERGARABEDIAN: You're thinking the bar has been raised. Now in order to impress audiences or impress people in the general public, you know that $100 million weekend now the new benchmark. That just puts a lot of pressure on everybody because in the summer there's all the emphasis on opening weekends and the whole blockbuster syndrome.
It doesn't necessarily have to do with how good a movie is, it just has to do with how well they can bring people into the movie theaters opening weekend.
HEMMER: Paul, how well do you think "Spider-Man" can do ultimately? $200 million probably doesn't seem like long shot at all right now.
DERGARABEDIAN: Not at all. The record-breaking pace to 200 million was set by "Phantom Menace" in 1999. It took that film 13 days. It took "Potter" 15 days. This could do in ten, 11, 12. We don't know yet. But at this pace, this film could do 300 million plus. Who knows? Could go beyond that.
HEMMER: Paul Dergarabedian, Exhibiter Relations Company. Love the name, by the way.
DERGARABEDIAN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Where is that?
DERGARABEDIAN: What's that? HEMMER: Ethnicity goes where on Dergarabedian?
DERGARABEDIAN: Armenian.
HEMMER: Got it. OK. Thank you, Paul. Thanks for being a good sport. We'll talk again.
DERGARABEDIAN: No problem.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
