The chairman of Walt Disney Production`s movie division climbed onto a conference table, fulfilling a promise cheerfully despite a certain amount of embarrassment.
Jeffrey Katzenberg had rashly volunteered to dance if ”Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” the top-grossing movie in the country in its first weekend of business, did even better in its second weekend, and studio executives refused to begin the Monday meeting until he performed.
The film is the first movie project announced by Disney`s new management team when it took over the studio 17 months ago. The satire about an insecure nouveau-riche family whose life is invaded by a bum increased its ticket sales from $5.7 million to $6.1 million, a sure sign that audiences were telling their friends to go see the movie. It is rare for a movie to increase ticket sales in its second weekend; a drop of less than 15 percent is considered good.
Katzenberg hummed ”Zip a dee doo dah” as he danced. But he was not gloating; well aware of the riskiness of trying to make successful movies, he said, ”Our next nine in a row will probably be bombs.”
As to why Paul Mazursky`s ”Down and Out in Beverly Hills” is the first box-office success of 1986, Katzenberg said, ”You`ve got to start with a good movie” and added, ”Our people went out and found a hole in the marketplace.”
The fate of ”Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” which stars Richard Dreyfuss, Bette Midler and Nick Nolte, was psychologically important to Disney. The new management team was trying to bring Disney into the Hollywood mainstream for the first time, knowing that the sometimes brutal spotlight would be focused on each of its early films. ”One Magic Christmas,” the first movie made and released by the new team, had fumbled its way in and out of theaters in December. ”Down and Out” is an unusually sophisticated comedy and Disney`s first R-rated movie.
There was no need to force the movie to compete in the crowded Christmas field, said Bob Levin, the studio`s senior vice president for marketing, especially since there appeared to be a ”window of opportunity” at the end of January. Although a lot of movies would pour into theaters in February, only one–”Wildcats,” starring Goldie Hawn–seemed to be directly competitive with ”Down and Out.” By opening Jan. 31, ”Down and Out” would have a two-week jump over that film.
The thrust was ”to key everything to opening this movie as an event,”
Levin said. On New Year`s Eve, Disney previewed ”Down and Out” in 36 theaters in 36 cities.
The sneak previews drew good crowds everywhere; theaters in over half the cities sold out.
”Down and Out” was released under Disney`s adult label, Touchstone. Although the studio would have preferred a PG-13 rating, it decided not to fight the R rating it received (No one under 17 admitted without a parent or adult guardian).
Levin is new to the movie industry, having come from a Chicago advertising agency. Marketing executives are usually recycled, moving from one studio to another when management changes or a scapegoat for box-office failure is needed. Hollywood was surprised when Disney chose Levin. ”But I handled Sears on a national basis and getting people to show up on a specific day to buy movie tickets is the same as getting them into stores for a three- day sale of television sets,” he said.
His chief weapon was buying some $2 million to $3 million worth of local television commercials, an unusual ploy. When Katzenberg and the Disney chairman, Michael Eisner, headed production at Paramount before they came to Disney, they also bought local rather than national television, although buying a program nationally makes it cost less per city.
”We believe the movie business is a local business,” Levin said.
”People watch television differently in different cities.”
In New York, 25 percent of the commercials were placed on such late-night programs as the Johnny Carson show and reruns of ”MASH,” while in Los Angeles only 3 percent were placed late at night. In Chicago, where, Levin said, ” `Wheel of Fortune` is as good as prime time,” two-thirds of the money was spent between 4 and 7 p.m. One program–”Late Night With David Letterman”–was bought in a majority of markets, and a special tongue-in-cheek commercial was tailored for the Letterman show, ”Saturday Night Live” and MTV.
A hurdle remained. Disney had not had much contact with theaters suitable for sophisticated, adult movies. Dick Cook, the company`s senior vice president for distribution, said he ”started to plant seeds of relationships in September, 1985, with much more upscale theaters with a reputation for playing classy movies.”
Perhaps because the three stars have not had commercial success with their recent movies, they were willing to do a lot of publicity for ”Down and Out.” When the movie opened, serendipity took over. And with what some critics called an Oscar-caliber performance, a new star was born: Mike, the border collie who plays Matisse, the neurotic dog of the house.
Disney was not slow to take advantage. Mike has been flying from coast to coast for interviews and television appearances, sprawling over two seats in the first-class cabin. He has been on ”Entertainment Tonight,” and the next few weeks include the Letterman show, the Merv Griffin show, a People magazine picture session and a ceremony in which he will leave his pawprints in concrete in front of a hot-dog stand.
