Hot Summer II

Last summer, after the U.S. movie industry had begun its rebound from a 214-year slump to record the biggest box-office grosses in its history, the story was front-page news and real tinsel was flying from every flagpole in Bel Air. This summer the lines outside movie theaters are even longer, but nobody seems to be shouting. The industry appears so robust that its latest gains are almost unremarkable. According to Variety, ticket sales were up 10.5% for the month of July, and about 9% for the year so far, over comparable 1982 figures.

The financial contours of summer '83 are similar to those of '82: one super-smash (Return of the Jedi) from the mega-hit monopoly of Spielberg-Lucas (the six top alltime grossers, including last year's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, were either produced or directed by Steven Spielberg or George Lucas); one surprise hit from early spring that gained momentum by the summer (Porky's in 1982, Flashdance this year); and the usual olio of comedies, thrillers and musicals. As of last week, seven 1983 films had earned more than $50 million: Jedi ($216.9 million), Flashdance ($74 million), Trading Places ($72.9 million), WarGames ($61.8 million), Superman III ($61. 5 million), Octopussy ($59.6 million) and Staying Alive ($50.9 million).

A pair of comedies dominate the late-summer box office. National Lampoon's Vacation is a lame, hard-to-sit-through farce starring Chevy Chase as a food-additives specialist who takes his '50s sitcom family on a calamitous cross-country car trip. The other hit, Paul Brickman's Risky Business, is yet another entry in the lamentable tits-and-zits genre of teen-age sex comedies: a young man finds love and success by becoming a pimp. Still, this film is deftly made, the humor nicely understated, the leading actors (Tom Cruise and Rebecca de Mornay) smart and appealing. Risky Business has eyes to emulate Flashdance as a sleeper smash. If it does, that will be news. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.