Montreal: The distribution power of Alliance Atlantis Communications was again highly evident in 2000 as the company leveraged a massive theatrical release slate, more than 120 films, and a promotional, print and advertising profile to match.

Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution, Odeon Films and Quebec-based Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm combined for a $108-million take at the box office in 2000 and a 14% share of the market, ranking second only to Universal Pictures.

‘We are very proud of the fact that for two consecutive years we have eclipsed more than $100 million at the box office,’ says Toronto-based Jim Sherry, executive vp and gm, Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution.

On the strength of Scary Movie, Alliance Atlantis had a gigantic 39% share of the Canadian box office in mid-July, the most lucrative box-office period after the Christmas holiday break. Sherry says aac has its seasonal blockbusters, but has emerged as a consistent competitive force 52 weeks a year.

‘We’ve always been historically a company that performs well in the fourth and first quarters of the calendar year. The reason for this is that we’ve always had great success in representing quality films. Consider, Alliance Atlantis and Odeon Films have had at least one film up for nomination for best picture at the Oscars in each of the last seven years, and a total of 10 in those seven years, with two actual winners.’

Top aac releases in 2000 were: Scary Movie, more than $19 million at some 300 screens; Scream 3, more than $8.5 million; The Cell, $8.5 million; The Cider House Rules, $5 million-plus; Final Destination, $5 million; Magnolia, $3.7 million; and of course, the Denis Villeneuve romance comedy La Vie Apres l’Amour, at the top of the Genie Awards nominees list with 10 nominations and aac’s top Canadian film last year, garnering $2.7 million at the box office.

On the front lines of aac’s Canadian distribution business, Sherry points out many of aac’s suppliers recognize the massive p&a support given their films in this market. ‘And when you add up the market share of the companies we represent we are consistently delivering 2% or better [market share] in Canada than delivered out of North America, which suggests we have a firm grasp of this market. I think it also suggests we are fully utilizing the economies of scale and the distribution capability of the company.’

Canadian movies

On Canadian film, Sherry says one of the first issues is ‘coming to a meeting of minds’ with the producer and ‘discussing the property and what we perceive to be the real potential return for the film, the financials around it, and most of the producers here in Canada are pretty savvy as to how these economies work. We’ve been rather fortunate in that we’ve been relatively profitable with the Canadian films we’ve distributed.’

At aac, the p&a marketing investment for a homegrown movie varies year to year and can range from a low of $100,000 to more than $1 million for ‘a handful of films.’

‘We also have a responsibility to try and launch these films in the world market, which impacts the financial commitment,’ says Sherry. ‘And a lot of it is predicated on the size of the property and its salability.’

Istvan Szabo’s historical romance saga Sunshine premiered in Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival. It received an ambitious, specialty-style release over the ’99/00 holiday period, growing to 35 to 40 screens during the Genie Awards period and bringing in $1.2 million in box office receipts to date. The film has been acquired by Paramount Classics in the u.s. and was slated for a re-issue (in view of its multiple Golden Globe Award nominations) in principal Canadian keys on Jan. 19.

‘And to this point, Paramount Classics is putting in a joint effort with Serendipity Point Films (Robert Lantos, the film’s producer) and Alliance Atlantis in promoting this film for the Academy Awards,’ says Sherry.

Other Canadian films released by aac units last year include the critically acclaimed Allan Moyle drama New Waterford Girl, which has pulled in $858,000 to date, and Denys Arcand’s Stardom, which was highly promoted with festival dates at Cannes and Toronto but pulled in a ‘disappointing’ gross of $260,000. ‘It is an important film and we are happy to work with the filmmaker,’ says the distrib.

Current Canadian releases from Odeon Films include Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed Maelstrom, Canada’s nominee for the best foreign-language Oscar; Robert Lepage’s Possible Worlds, which was slated to open Jan. 19 in Toronto and Vancouver; waydowntown, with box office receipts of $150,000 to date and starring Fabrizio Filippo and Don McKellar, which has a staggered domestic release schedule, opening in Toronto and Vancouver in late November and Montreal in late February; and the Canada/France historical drama The Widow of St. Pierre/La Veuve de St-Pierre, which Lions Gate u.s. is slated to release in two or three major American keys, starting in late February.

In the Canadian theatrical market, Sherry says a wide release pattern starts in the vicinity of 100 prints, increasing to more than 300 ‘runs’ (Scary Movie, Austin Powers, etc.) at the high end.

Some of the top current and coming Alliance Atlantis/Odeon release prospects in 2001 include the David Mamet specialty release satire State and Main (Fine Line); Steven Soderbergh’s crime blockbuster Traffic (USA Films); Roger Donaldson’s Thirteen Days (New Line); and the Robert De Niro crime drama 15 Minutes (New Line).

Other titles include the teen female comedy Get Over It (Miramax); the rescheduled and highly anticipated Town & Country (New Line); and the new Robert Rodriguez kids action movie Spy Kids (Miramax), a Matrix-style action-adventure story with a North American tie-in with McDonald’s Restaurants.

Also in the pipeline: The Anniversary Party (New Line), starring the talented Jennifer Jason Leigh, and the new Wayne Wang movie The Center of the World (Artisan), starring Molly Parker.

Sherry is also keen on the Newfoundland-based story The Shipping News, adapted from the best-selling novel, and Kate and Leopold, starring Meg Ryan.

Other international suppliers to aac’s Canadian movie pipeline in 2001 include Icon, The Sales Co., FilmFour, Summit Films, iac, Overseas Filmgroup, ffp, Cinepool and France’s Studio Canal+.

World rights on 51st State

Sherry is also pegging high box-office hopes on the teen comedy Hooking Up Ethan (aac); the wide release Bridget Jones’ Diary (Miramax), starring Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger; the Wayans brothers’ sequel Scary Movie 2 (Miramax); Rush Hour 2 (New Line); the Denzel Washington drama John Q (New Line); and the Samuel Jackson-starrer 51st State, a Canada/u.k. coproduction, with Alliance Atlantis holding world rights.

Other aac-proprietary films in the Odeon pipeline include Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar and Owning Monday, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Blockbuster Tolkien trilogy

Super hot titles slated for release in the fourth quarter include the new Martin Scorsese drama Gangs of New York (Miramax), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz; and of course, The Fellowship of the Ring (New Line Cinema), directed by Peter Jackson and the first of a gigantic $350-million trilogy already attracting massive traffic on the Internet. All three films (including The Two Towers and The Return of the King) are based on the epic J.R.R. Tolkien classic The Lord of the Rings. The movies are being shot simultaneously, with the releases slated over a period of almost three years. The first teaser for the Dec. 19, 2001 release is already in theatres.

‘There’s a lot of consistent opinion this could be the next Star Wars,’ says Sherry. ‘We’re excited about our full [2001] slate, but this one in itself could just set Alliance on a new high. I don’t think we’re going to get nipped at the wire next year.’ *

-www.allianceatlantis.com

-www.odeonfilms.com