STUDIO SPOTLIGHT Thanks to the surprise blockbuster comedy Scary Movie, Miramax posted a 49% improvement over 1999 with $476.5M in receipts. Poking fun at the company's own Scream franchise, the summer spoof grossed a towering $157M becoming the biggest hit in Miramax history. The Dimension banner also delivered a $89.1M take for Scream 3, the final installment of the lucrative trilogy. Together the two films accounted for over half of Miramax's annual sales.

During Oscar season, The Cider House Rules brought in some solid but not spectacular grosses ending up with $57.5M. Freddie Prinze Jr., who brought Miramax riches in 1999's She's All That, failed to find repeat customers with the teen flops Down to You and Boys and Girls. December brought an assortment of films including A Hard Day's Night, which flourished in limited release, Chocolat, which is trying to build on year-end buzz, the horror flick Dracula 2000, and a dismal run by All the Pretty Horses.