Paul Dergarabedian

Every summer has its own unique pathology, trajectory, and this is not a summer we want to repeat. Next summer looks really good, it looks like a pretty darn good summer, ... If next year we're down, it will be 'Houston, we have a problem.'

This was a good kickoff to what I think will be a pretty good run leading up to summer.

Forty-year-old virgins everywhere are celebrating the No. 1 opening of their hero.

The pressure is on, ... This holiday season is being held to a high standard in terms of quality, because we always need that quality, and in terms of the box office.

It's a battle of the holiday blockbusters. It was very close for the No. 1 position.

We've never needed two films like this more than we do now. It's the knockout punch that Hollywood needs.

People are very selective right now about how they are choosing to spend their discretionary income.

This is a late bloomer.

Audiences are obviously in the mood for some light-hearted films.

It's a two-fold process It's the product, which the studios supply, and it's the in-theater experience, which the theater owners supply. And both of those have to be top-notch.

I think the thought is that this movie would have opened bigger, because it's 'King Kong' and it's Peter Jackson.

You've got to look at 'Harry Potter' as being the savior of the box office right now. Who would have thought in a year we're having this down box office that we'd have the second-biggest Thanksgiving ever

Who would have thought in a year we're having this down box office that we'd have the second-biggest Thanksgiving ever

It's an amazing run. Nobody ever thought this would have a chance of challenging 'Fahrenheit.

The three newcomers kind of had a rough time in this marketplace, ... We think the audiences were fragmented and sent in a lot of different directions.

There's a lot at stake. There always have been with these films. That being said, this (Lord of the Rings) is as much of a sure thing as you can get at the box office. It's a real important film for Time Warner, but I think it's going to deliver.

This should be a wakeup call. It's fair warning with plenty of time to fix things. If ignored, it's at the peril of the entire industry.

Moviegoers have so many more options today that the movie-going experience has to be better than ever. It's no longer just about the movie -- it's more about the total experience.

It's a moral and psychological victory for Hollywood. It won't pull us completely out of the slump, but we'll end the year on a very positive note.

There seems to be a new benchmark in terms of what we call a blockbuster, ... This year, by the end of the year, we'll wind up with about 17 films over 100 million. But the key to this year's success is that we have five films that have gone beyond 200 million. That's never happened before.

This film has everything going for it the critical acclaim, the word of mouth and, of course, the seven Golden Globe nominations never hurt. It's become the must-see movie of the season.

This is a film that builds through word of mouth and critical acclaim. People want to see what all the fuss is about.

It's becoming more challenging to get people in the theater. When word out of mouth on a movie is not strong, that hurts. But the summer of 2006 is looking good. Hopefully Hollywood will be back on track.

There hasn't been a lot of positive word-of-mouth on the mainstream films this summer. Great marketing, huge production spending can probably get you a mega opening, but beyond that, it's up to the moviegoers to spread the word.

This fall season has been in a word, spectacular. We'd been so fixated on the box-office slump, and here we are in a fall boom. This is terrific for the industry and bodes well for a very strong holiday season.