Quite a number of movies by top-caliber filmmakers are due out before year's end. The next few weeks will reveal some of the reasons why.
On the whole, this season's studio releases appear to be a strong, varied, and interesting lot - especially in comparison with last year when such end-of-the-year releases as Sling Blade, Shine, and The English Patient helped foster the ill-substantiated notion that 1996 was the "year of the independents." It seems certain that the Hollywood "regulars" will regain their dominance at this year's Academy Awards. 19 with the simultaneous release of the new James Bond caper Tomorrow Never Dies and the media-saturated vessel Titanic. The following weekend, November 14, a similar slate of hopefuls was released: The Jackal, The Man Who Knew Too Little, and One Night Stand, as well as Disney's limited two-week re-release of The Little Mermaid that was calculated to provide a strategic hedge against Fox's entry into the animation field with Anastasia. The 1997 holiday season actually began back on November 7 with the release of Bean, Mad City, and Starship Troopers, all films that hoped to make a strong showing through the end of the year. And with both Christmas and New Year's falling on Thursdays this year, it's the windfall equivalent of two four-day weekends in a row. The holiday season is the most lucrative one for the film industry, with an average of 25% of its annual profits earned during these few weeks. Add to that another dozen or so from the smaller outfits and the bottleneck for screen space becomes readily apparent. This year, the majors are introducing close to 40 new films during these two months. It helps that the Hollywood studios annually flood the theatres with new product during the November-December holiday period. Time off from school, time off from work - the movies provide the perfect opportunity for shared activity, even if the only tangible thing shared is a tub of popcorn. What's a family to do in between all the holiday meals and the wrapping and unwrapping of presents? Why, go to the movies, of course.
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