a259  1754  28 Nov 86
AM-AP Arts: Holiday Films, Adv 04,0830
$Adv 04
For Release Thurs AMs, Dec 4, and Thereafter
Latest 'Star Trek' Adventure Headlines Holiday Movies
By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
    HOLLYWOOD (AP) - The movie industry is looking to a wide array of
holiday movies, especially ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,'' to
boost the 1986 box-office to last year's high figures.
    Space adventure, an Eddie Murphy comedy, a Clint Eastwood war movie,
heavy drama and even King Kong are on the holiday menu during
December. If the offerings click with the public, the year's theater
take could mount to $3.75 billion, according to Daily Variety's A.D.
Murphy. That would equal the 1985 total, third highest in history.
    ''The Christmas pictures are not as good as last summer's,''
observes Larry Collins, buyer for the Pittsburgh-based Cinemette
theater chain. ''There are a lot of good movies, but nothing really
great. But maybe that's better - instead of two blockbusters, having
four to six good ones.''
    At the top of the lineup is Paramount Picture's ''Star Trek IV,''
which always carries a built-in audience.
    ''The new one has a different twist which could attract a wider
audience,'' said Tom Sawyer, film buyer for the 214-screen Stewart
and Everett chain of North and South Carolina. ''Usually the 'Star
Treks' open big and are gone quickly. This one may be different.'' In
the latest adventure, the crew visits modern-day San Francisco.
    Already flush with the receipts from ''Top Gun'' and '' 'Crocodile'
Dundee,'' Paramount appears destined to continue its string with
''Star Trek IV'' and ''The Golden Child,'' starring Eddie Murphy. The
comedy is Murphy's first since the runaway ''Beverly Hills Cop,''
which dominated the holiday trade two years ago.
    Tri-Star Pictures has high hopes for its comedy, ''The Three
Amigos,'' which stars Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short. But
preview reaction has been mild.
    Warner Bros. has three December releases: ''Heartbreak Ridge,''
which takes Clint Eastwood from the hills of Korea to the shores of
Grenada; ''The Little Shop of Horrors,'' the movie version of the hit
off-Broadway musical-fantasy about a man-eating plant in a New York
flower shop; and ''The Mosquito Coast,'' Harrison Ford in the Central
American jungle.
    As usual, a few dramas aimed at Academy Award consideration will be
released before the year ends: ''The Morning After,'' Jane Fonda as
an alcoholic actress in a murder mystery with Jeff Bridges; ''Crimes
of the Heart,'' Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek and Diane Keaton as three
quarreling sisters in Mississippi; ''No Mercy,'' Richard Gere as a
police officer seeking a buddy's killer in the Louisiana swamps.
    Neil Simon returns with his autobiographical ''Brighton Beach
Memoirs,'' Disney reissues the classic ''Lady and the Tramp'' and
Dino De Laurentiis has another go at a classic with ''King Kong
Lives!'' There also will be MGM's futuristic ''Solarbabies,''
produced by Mel Brooks' company, and ''Allan Quartermain and the Lost
City of Gold,'' with Richard Chamberlain repeating his ''King
Solomon's Mines'' character.
    ''Three pictures float to the top of the list: 'Star Trek,'
'Heartbreak Ridge' and 'Golden Child,''' said Sawyer. '''Crimes of
the Heart' may have emotional appeal, but it won't do well in country
towns. Nor will 'Brighton Beach,' though it's well done.
    ''Usually a Harrison Ford film is a natural. But in 'Mosquito Coast'
they seem to have put him in a black hat. I don't think the folks
will like that.'' Ford plays a brilliant inventor who endangers his
family in his escape from civilization's pollution.
    ''I was disappointed in all the holiday pictures except 'Star Trek,'
which was better than I expected,'' said Collins. ''When you hear the
names Clint Eastwood, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase and Steve Martin, you
expect great things. I haven't seen anything great, but you never
know - one of the films may pull out of the pack.''
    Columbia Pictures is the lone major company which has no holiday
attraction, because ''Ishtar'' (Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman) was
not deemed ready for release.
    ''Naturally we would prefer to have a Christmas picture,'' said
Peter Seeley, Columbia's president of domestic marketing and
distribution. ''But I think we in the industry tend to overemphasize
the period of the year rather than the movies themselves. Last Aug. 8
we released 'Stand by Me,' and it has earned $43 million at the box
office and continues at the rate of $1.5 million a week.''
    '''Crocodile' Dundee'' has grossed more than any other fall movie.
    ''Those are two perfect examples of how good pictures can benefit by
the period they're in,'' Seeley said.
    ''When four or five pictures open on a weekend, with all the media
attention they receive, the consumer has a lot of choices and often
winds up being confused. I think all of the companies would benefit
from 1) smaller releases with smaller number of prints, and 2) better
spacing of releases throughout the year.''
    End Adv
    
AP-NY-11-28-86 2051EST
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