After a year when films like Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and The Blair Witch Project were the real sensations at the box office, the year 2000 appeared to represent more traditional movie-making economics, the New York Times indicated today (Thursday).

"To me, these movies where there are no stars, and they make big bucks, they are the anomalies," Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian told the newspaper. "There are reasons why these big stars get big bucks. They get people into theaters." Dergarabedian cited as an example the extraordinary performance of Cast Away, which has earned more than $100 million in less than two weeks. "Imagine that movie without Tom Hanks in it," he said, "and you have a hard time seeing it as the sensation that it's become."

Source: Studio Briefing