European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Paramount Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills cop Iii. Initially in Kaiserslautern Mannheim Vilsick and Frankfurt in Germany. For example Wolf the Werewolf adventure starring Jack Nicholson opened in the United states on june 17 and hit the cafes first run circuit in Europe on july 1. Maverick starring Mel Gibson and Beverly Hills cop Iii featuring Eddie Murphy made it to Europe within similar Tim frames. Three other movies Are scheduled for openings on the heels of stateside kick offs Wyatt Earp Friday baby a Day out july 22 and Arnold Schwarze neg Eros latest True lies july 29. Even Spielberg a the Flintstones is on the first run circuit for an aug 5. Debut in Europe two months after its stateside debut a something of a record for the renowned Dii rectors films. The reasons behind the relatively Early arrival of a Spielberg film on the cafes first run circuit underscores the intricate marketing game that the highly competitive studios play to squeeze every drop of Revenue from their products. Poffenbarger said that while the Flintstones has been successful it also opened Early in the summer movie season a the most competitive time of year for the film Industry. Now that school is out and legions of kids Are swarming to Heaters the studios Are flooding the commercial Market with High profile summer offerings. A. A a so the Flintstones is being elbowed out. That in turn is allowing the film to make the relatively Quick transition to the military circuit. A the average film costs $30 million to make and $9 million to advertise a Poffenbarger said. Quot there Are All kinds of strategies the studios follow in trying to recoup at least that $40  a Quot out of every five pictures three or four lose Money or barely break even a Pitcher said a the Stu Dios Are always looking for ways to improve those  a film with blockbuster potential a studio May boost the advertising budget to $15 to $20 million a it saturation level a and open it in virtually All . Heaters at once he said. If a film looks As if might be a Sleeper hit a studio May decide to strike a smaller number of prints than usual and open the film in select markets to gauge a viewer demand. Some Low budget films Are specifically designed to quickly make the leap to Home video and May be released in that format a few weeks after their debut. Those strategies cover Only the initial theatrical release of a film. In addition to the no theatrical Market of which cafes and amps Are a part other niches include pay per View Cable regular Cable Home video and network to. The studios consider All those formats to be separate and distinct a Revenue windows a links in a Chain each representing a fresh Opportunity to squeeze More juice from a film. The timetable for placing a film in each window including the military circuit varies. A depending on the movie and its Success at the commercial Cinema Box office the timing and order of these windows can change and can even overlap a Andersen said. Some films that Are successful but Lack the megaton cachet of a Schwarzenegger epic May never make it to the military circuit at All. Last years in the name of the father and the recent Brandon Lee smash the Crow have yet to reach military Heaters in Europe ditto the Martin Lawrence comedy you so crazy and the fringe lesbian film go fish. Then there Are the cult hits the crying game and the the piano both from Miramar films. A they have their own Way of doing things Quot Pitcher said of Miramar which also produced the Crow. A instead of making 2,500 prints they May distribute Only 300 or 400, then Send the movie straight to video As soon As it comes off the commercial  the studio used just that strategy for both the crying game and the piano. By the time those films ended their commercial runs the studio had already set a Home video release Date which eliminated. Them from consideration for the military circuit. A once a film goes to video people prefer to watch. It in the Comfort of their Homes rather than in a theater especially if it does no to have super special effects a Pitcher said. But the vast majority of mainstream releases even. Tally do make it to the military circuit a although it May take a while. The films of Spielberg and George Lucas of Star. Wars Fame As Well As most Disney animated releases Are prime examples. Spielberg a Jurassic Park took five months to make it to the military circuit while Disney Saladdin took close to a year. The phenomenal track records of Spielberg Lucas and the folks at Disney gives them unprecedented contractual control Over the release of their movies said Wynn Salisch head of the amps. Field support department. Schindler a list is a classic Case of a film that has been so successful that its no theatrical Quot windows has been delayed months beyond Normal in order to maximize its commercial Box office potential. The film is just winding Down its commercial run and is now playing in stateside discount Heaters a fall shows $1.50�?�. A it All comes Down to the films performance at the commercial Box office a Goldberg  just did no to have the 140 prints cafes needs. A lot of. Other Heaters were ahead of them in  another Factor that figured into the delay in obtaining Schindler a list highlights a difference in the Way cafes and the Navy handle movies. Cafes uses 35 my films a the Industry Standard a in almost All its Heaters but the Navy uses the 16 my format almost exclusively. Amps has Only two Sites that use 35 my prints both in the states. Using 16 my adds to the delay in obtaining films because the studios typically done to strike any prints in that format until after a movie makes its commercial premiere. The 35 my format generally also has better image Resolution and sound Quality. On the plus Side Andersen said 16 my film offers easier projector operation greater portability of prints and projectors and much lower equipment and shipping costs. T despite the advances cafes and amps has made it getting films More quickly than Ever they will probably never become a part of the $5 billion a year commercial film Market. That will always be the studios top priority because that a where the biggest profits Are. A the Only thing that matters in the movie business is Money a Pitcher said. A not family not loyalty just  Price of catching flicks Over Here Bonnie Bartel latino a a a Miramar the late Brandon Leeds the Crow a . Box office hit has yet to land in military Heaters Here. Thoughts on military Heaters As we revel in the lion King and wait for the Flintstones. A americans in the Kaiserslautern Germany area Are spoiled because we have several military Heaters and get movies As quickly As anyone assigned to Europe. To tier is also a Multi screen English speaking civilian Complex just Down the autobahn near Lan Stuhl where a family of four can catch the hottest flick and enjoy a Petite snack. A this for the equivalent of a second lieutenants monthly housing allowance. A easily the Best thing about cafes Heaters is Low Cost. Frankly i find it extraordinary that cafes has not yet thought to encourage patrons to charge the Price of admission and milk duds on App. A How slowly films reach us is the most heard complaint about military Heaters Schindler a list opened in the states in december yet has Only recently begun running Over Here. Steven Spielberg could produce another movie before personnel on the outer fringes of the military movie circuit see the holocaust epic. When people first heard about the Flintstones parents wondered a will it arrive before our second grader reaches puberty a thanks to late arrivals there Are no Surprise endings when a movie reaches us. We could use a a done task done to Tell in this Arena. A crying babies arc near the top of everyone a movie aggravation list. One Waits eight months for 8 seconds to arrive and the sound of thundering hooves on screen is drowned out by the bawling Rodeo of Little Darlings surrounding you. Perhaps baby crying rooms could solve this problem As they. Do at Many base chapels during worship services. A then there Are noisy people a period. Shadow lands arrived at my local theater but the poignancy of celluloid Jove scenes fired by raging menopausal hormones was negated by Rowdy pre teens talking Back to the actors. Some parents apparently use base Heaters As a cheap baby sitting service dropping the kids off leaving them a chaperoned. A if movie buffs would use trash containers provided floors would be less shall we say adhesive. Mike Dillon the enthusiastic charming manager of numerous cafes Heaters in the Kaiserslautern area assures me Tongue firmly in Cheek a cokes Are never spilled on the front Row a Only in the rear of the building so they trickle Down throughout the entire  a a our National Anthem ritual differentiates the military movie experience from the civilian variety. Some say they feel something is missing at civilian Heaters where our Anthem is never played. Conversely you can easily identify a civilian guest in a base theater. Recently everyone quickly standing at the first loud blast of music so startled a visiting California teen Ager she thought there must be a fire. Occasionally in a darkened theater in the silent moment Between the National anthems ending and the movies beginning a male voice murmurs a play Ball a i know exactly How the old Jock feels. Thirty years after my cheer leading Days when our Anthem ends i still get this urge to do a split jump. If Only i could pry my feet up off the Sticky floor. Bonnie Bartel latino la a Amily member living near Kaiserslautern Germany. July 10, 1994 sunday pages