MILLIONS ROLLING IN

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 7 (Supplement)

MILLIONS ROLLING IN

ONCE more Hollywood has proved that the plunger wins. This time it is a producer who has made a lifetime habit of upsetting dismal prophecies and breaking all-time records—Walter Elias, Disney, father of the celluloid Snow . White and Her Seven Dwarfs. Gross American /rentals of 4,000,000 . dollars in 12 months and play-dates running over SOOO. That's the history-making-performance to date for "Snow ,"White; and the -Seven • Dwarfs," first.

feature cartoon of the "world's screen, now rounding out its first year in circulation. In addition, states the New York "[Motion Picture Herald," another 4,000,000 dollars in rentals are accruing from foreign markets —1,750,000 dollars from England.; 500,000 dollars i from France and#l,7/50,000 from the 43 other foreign countries, where the cartoon is now showing—a total of 8,000,000 in gross rentals for 12 months, and R.K.O. says there still are thousands of theatres to he ibooked. . Considering the picture's 8,000,000 dollars world rental return to date, the picture probably has grossed to • 16,000,000 in admissions, a total arrived

at by figuring on the general 40 to 50 per cent rental charge prevailing! On the basis of 4,000,000 dollars gross rentals and the probable 8,000,000 dollars gross admissions for the 8000 playdates in America, an average admission income could be figured at. 1000 dollars per theatre and an average rental income of 500 dollars per house—l- - the United States exhibitions.

A better comparison of the historymaking, 12-month box office and playdate performance can be gleaned from the fact that, generally, a feature picure. considered as "doing well" over a normal life of circulation, running from two to two and a half years, has about 10,000 play-dates grossing 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 dollars.

"Snow White" grossed G30.000 dollars at one theatre alone, at the Rockefellers' Music Hall, where it played five weeks, at its first United States showing, a year ago.

Comparing the 4,000,000 dollars domestic, . 12-month gross of "Snow White" with other motion picture his-tory-making rental performances, we find that the all-time high, "Singing Fool," Hollywood's first -sound picture, grossed 5.000,000 dollars in rentals for the full life of its circulation, starting in 1028, and that the next record rental grossers run as follows: "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," silent, J921, 4.500,000 dollars; "Ben Hur," silent, 1920, 4,000,000 dollars, and "Big Parade," "Birth of a Nation," "Covered Wagon." "Jazz Singer" and "Sunnyside Up," all grossing 3,500,000 dollars.

Many outstanding productions have grossed less than 2.000.000 dollars; "Dead End." "Good Earth," "In" Old Chicago," "Stella Dallas," "King of Kings," "The Hunchback," "City Lights," "The Champ," "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Seventh Heaven," "What • Price Glory," and scores of 'others.

With Hollywood features generally requiring from .50 to 2.10 prints, "Snow White" has been running with 500 prints domestic and 750 abroad, the unusually large number abroad having been made necessary by "dubbings" in the languages of Czechoslovakia. French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch,. Italian, Danish, and Polish. The second Walter Disney feature, musical, all-colour cartoon will 'be "Phiocchioj" ready in the autumn.