Sony Pictures Releasing Makes Industry History With Record 10th Number 1 Opening for 2006

Sony Pictures Releasing Makes Industry History With Record 10th Number 1 Opening for 2006

CULVER CITY, Calif., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- With the #1 opening of Columbia Pictures' inspiring drama "Gridiron Gang" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sony Pictures Entertainment's distribution arm Sony Pictures Releasing has launched ten #1 movies to date in 2006 -- more than any studio has ever released in a single year, it was announced today by Rory Bruer, President of Domestic Distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing.

The success of the film which opened to $14.4 million puts Sony Pictures in first place in the 2006 industry market share race. To date, the studio has generated more than $1.15 billion in North American ticket sales and has captured 17.6% off all tickets sold.

The previous record of nine No. 1 films in a single year also belongs to Sony Pictures Entertainment and was set in 2003. SPE's motion picture labels -- Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures' and Revolution Studios -- have released 18 movies in 2006 to date, which means that more than 50 percent of all the studio's releases debuted in the top slot.

Besides "Gridiron Gang," the nine other films that have opened in first place since January are Columbia Pictures' "The DaVinci Code," "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," "The Pink Panther," and "R.V.," Tri Star's "Silent Hill," Columbia and Revolution Studio's "Click," and Screen Gems' "The Covenant," "Underworld: Evolution" and "When A Stranger Calls."

Since January, 2002, Sony Pictures Releasing has distributed 39 #1 films and the next closest competing studio during that time has released only 22.

"To have achieved this landmark with yet another quarter to go in 2006 is really something quite extraordinary and rare," said Bruer. "We have released a fantastic line-up of films this year and everyone at Sony -- especially the members of our production and marketing teams have every reason to be proud because we are setting a bar that will be challenging for any studio to break, including ours."

Remaining releases for 2006 include TriStar's comedy/drama "Running With Scissors," Columbia's dramas "All the King's Men," "Marie Antoinette" and "The Pursuit of Happyness," Sony Picture Animation's feature-length family adventure comedy "Open Season," Columbia's horror thriller "The Grudge 2," Columbia's comedy "Stranger Than Fiction" and romantic comedy "The Holiday" and Columbia and MGM's James Bond action/adventure "Casino Royale."

Along with the 10 #1 films, Sony has released other strong performing titles such as Columbia's "Monster House" and Revolution Studios' "The Benchwarmers."

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com/.

Contact:

Steve Elzer
Senior Vice President, Media Relations
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
(310) 244-7142
steve_elzer@spe.sony.com

Source: Columbia Pictures

CONTACT: Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media Relations of Columbia
TriStar Motion Picture Group, +1-310-244-7142, steve_elzer@spe.sony.com

Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/

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