A COLUMN BY Dick Rolfe Chairman, THE DOVE FOUNDATION

February 2000

From the Desk Of the President . . .

1999 was a very good year for film makers at the box office, but not at the family table. We moviegoers brought in the largest movie box office of all time at $7.5 billion, up 8% from 1998. That number comes from two sources; a small increase in ticket prices and, a much higher per-movie attendance for fewer films.

In 1998, forty-one films topped $50 million in gross revenue, 22% were rated R. In 1999, fifty films reached that coveted dollar mark, with the percentage of R-rated fare catapulting to 46%.

These numbers seem to refute the Dove Foundation’s profitability study released last year which showed that G-rated films outperformed R-rated titles by a ratio of 8:1. It is difficult to maintain that position for this group of films without an analysis of the profits for all 1999 films. Those numbers won’t be available until next year.

According to pundits, the ideal mixture of movie genre is one part big Action films, throw in a few specialized films appealing to small but loyal target audiences (Sci-fi, Horror, Historical Docu-dramas, Romantic Comedies, Classic Literature), add films for teens (the most prolific movie going audience segment) and a pinch of that ol’ standby ingredient, Family pictures.

Scoreboard, an industry newsletter for theater-owners advised, "Quality family programming is an important key to success. Not only does it help introduce the magic of movies at the theater to young people, it also makes movie going a viable family activity while offsetting some of the criticism directed toward Hollywood and theaters."

Is the writer saying that family films are good business, or are they part of a tactical strategy for deflecting the heat Hollywood receives for creating so many salacious movies? It’s not enough for you and me to find the answer to that question; we must care enough to be the answer.

Copyright © 2000, The Dove Foundation. All rights reserved.