Phantom of the Paradise
Phantom of the Paradise is a film that was released by 20th Century Fox in October of 1974. Written and directed by Brian DePalma, Phantom of the Paradise shares a common history with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Both are rock-musical parodies of a familiar mix of horror films, both have outstanding soundtrack albums and both have a very devoted following.
Like Rocky Horror, Phantom of the Paradise had special premiere opening in Westwood Village, which included a Halloween costume contest. The film was even advertised on the back page of The Rocky Horror Show program at the Roxy Theatre. As with Rocky Horror, Phantom was a commercial disappointment, though it developed a respectable cult following fairly quickly, as well as an Oscar nomination for its fantastic score. The female lead of the film was Jessica Harper, who later played Janet Majors in Shock Treatment.
In its initial L.A. run, Phantom actually grossed higher receipts in the weeks following its opening week, indicating the power of word of mouth (since promotion and media acclaim was almost non existent) setting a precedent for Rocky Horror's handling by Fox the following year. Once going wide, Winnipeg, Canada, was the most receptive Phantom market, where the film surprisingly played for eighteen weeks, uninterrupted. It also did well in France. Additionally, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score (which it lost to the less-memorable one from The Great Gatsby) in addition to a Golden Globe nomination for the same.
With pockets of small success, Phantom was given a revamped ad campaign, and reissued in mid 1975. It was resuscitated via a run on pay cable channels not long after.
In Los Angeles, Rocky Horror had moved from Westwood to the Holly Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in March of 1976, where it ran 5 times a day until October 5th. On October 6th, Fox began to pair Rocky and Phantom, and reissued them citywide in Southern California in addition to rolling out screenings across the country in revival theaters and in college cinemas. In L.A., the reissue was to several first-run theaters and drive-ins, including the famed Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Blvd. Rocky Horror, sans Phantom, also returned to the UA Cinema Center in Westwood, where it remained almost continuously until 1983.
The pairing became a regular revival-house double-bill which lasted for the duration of the early RHPS cult, slowly separating as Rocky Horror evolved into an exclusively midnight movie over the next couple of years. For early enthusiasts, it was not unusual to attend the 7 pm screening of Rocky Horror, sit through Phantom at 9pm and stay for the rowdier 11pm Rocky re-run. The Rocky Horror Picture Show became huge and widespread, though Phantom of the Paradise remained more of a standard cult film, with a quieter, but equally devoted following.
