Who Gets the Cover?

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov 1, 2002

Editors kicking around cover concepts for their February 2003 issue are, you can bet, looking to Hollywood to size up the flicks likeliest to be buzzing for Valentine's Day openings. A quick flip through the Daily Variety and a spin around the Internet suggest that two films with A-list casts and big box-office potential for V-Day are Duplex and Daredevil.

Duplex, starring Drew Barrymore is a twisted tale about a couple plotting to off a little old lady who happens to be living in their dream home - a converted duplex apartment. Daredevil, which stars Ben Affleck, is the latest transference of a comic-book character to the big screen. Sporting red tights and a horned mask, Affleck plays the acrobatic crime crusader with radar-like superpowers.

Two buzz-worthy films, two popular stars. But before you phone Barrymore and Affleck's publicists, you may want to take a look at their single-copy box scores. According to Cover Analyzer, an information network owned by Source Interlink Companies, Affleck is no superhero on the newsstand. On average, sales for magazines featuring the Boston-bred actor as the primary cover subject decreased by 25 percent versus the average sales fore those titles in the prior 52-week period.

Barrymore, on the other hand, received mixed reviews. On average, titles featuring the effervescent (dare we say loopy?) actress saw a 15 percent boost in sales. But when she bombs, she bombs big. On teen titles, for instance, she consistently underperformed by an average of 40 percent. "Teenagers just don't buy her," says John D'Aloia, executive vice president, chief marketing officer at Source Interlink. In the entertainment category, Barrymore is a hit, says D'Aloia, "but these mags should steer clear of Affleck."

Note: Cover Analyzer data is based on point-of-sale sales numbers that are collected from approximately 3,500 retail outlets including Barnes & Noble (approximately 1,000) and Efficiency Marketing Service grocery retailers (approximately 2,500). The POS sample is reflective of national sales averages but cannot be relied on 100 percent for sales trending.