New MPAA chief says business is healthy

LOS ANGELES, March 16 (UPI) -- The head of the Motion Picture Association of America has told an industry group that the movie business is healthy, The Hollywood Reporter said Wednesday.

In his first state-of-the-industry address since succeeding Jack Valenti as president of the MPAA, Dan Glickman told an audience at the annual ShoWest convention in Las Vegas that the U.S. box office took in $9.54 billion last year -- up from $9.49 billion in 2003.

"We have had some growth this year," said Glickman, "not radical growth, but the trends are positive."

Glickman said individual admissions were down 2.4 percent during 2004 -- from 1.57 billion in 2003 -- to just 1.54 billion last year.

He also reported MPAA-member studios reduced the cost of marketing films last year. The average cost of marketing a film during 2004 was $34.4 million -- down 12 percent from the record high $39 million in 2003.

The average cost of producing a feature film last year was $63.6 million -- virtually unchanged from 2003.

Overall, the average cost of producing and marketing the average MPAA release last year was $98 million -- down nearly 5 percent from the record of $102.8 million set during 2003.