While production costs for tent-pole pictures now regularly exceed $100 million, money spent on marketing often equals half of that -- or more. In certain cases, marketing costs even outpace production expenditures. But executives can rationalize the price tag of, say, the $200 million-plus-budgeted Troy, which earned $135 million domestically, because it made $358 million overseas. And movies like Anchorman, which appear modestly successful after their theatrical runs, are further insured by the prospect of big money to come during a long home-video afterlife.

It wasn't always like this, reminds veteran producer Frank Marshall, whose Bourne Supremacy was the summer's most surprising smash. ''Raiders of the Lost Ark's opening weekend was $8 million,'' notes Marshall, who also produced the $245 million-grossing 1981 hit. ''Now we do that on a Thursday.'' In some places, he adds, Raiders ''played in the same theater for...a...year. A year! That would never happen today.''

But after this summer, Hollywood can at least hope for more than a couple of weeks.

Originally posted Sep 10, 2004 Published in issue #782-783 Sep 10, 2004 Order article reprints
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