Vampires Thrill

Sony subsidiary Screen Gems sent out three releases in 2003, all genre standbys: a martial arts film, a Gothic vampire thriller and an erotic pulp mystery adaptation.

The R-rated horror-actioner "Underworld," starring Kate Beckinsale as a leather-clad, butt-kicking vampire warrior, opened in September, fresh from a midnight slot at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Len Wiseman, the high-octane twist on a monster movie may have looked like it was following the ever-growing Hollywood trend of films based on comic books and video games, but the project was actually an original concept, co-created by Wiseman, and it bit off more than $51 million by year's end.

"We were thrilled that the film opened the way it did," says Screen Gems topper Clint Culpepper and marketing chief Valerie Van Gelder. "Because of the subject matter, there was early buzz for 'Underworld' on the Internet." Culpepper adds that the film made sense to Toronto programmers, explaining that "because it's a genre film doesn't mean it is not an auteur's vision. People kept saying, 'Who is this guy?' but I knew from Len Wiseman's reel exactly what this film would look like."

Earlier in the year, the summer rollout "The Medallion" — a Hong Kong-produced, PG-13-rated action vehicle for martial arts meister Jackie Chan — hit theaters without much competition. Directed by Gordon Chan and co-starring Claire Forlani, "Medallion" hung up $2,648 per theater for an $8.1 million haul in its first frame. The film went on to chop a modest $22 million by year's end.

Like "Underworld," the highly anticipated erotic thriller "In the Cut," by art house helmer Jane Campion ("The Piano"), also screened at Toronto just before its release in October. Starring veteran Meg Ryan and up-and-comer Mark Ruffalo, the film was a complex psychological story adapted from Susanna Moore's 1995 noir best seller. But "Cut" was sliced and diced by the critics and took in just over $4.7 million in five weeks of release. Says the Screen Gems team: "The film was a brave undertaking by Jane Campion and Meg Ryan that was not received as well as some of us might have liked. But in time, people will look back on it and appreciate it."

Upcoming films on Screen Gems' slate include an "Underworld" sequel as well as another chapter in its "Resident Evil" franchise; the Sundance Film Festival entry "D.E.B.S."; writer-helmer Chris Stokes' "You Got Served"; and the Milla Jovovich vehicle "Ultraviolet."