Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 12:02:10 -0700
From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
Subject: "BIRDCAGE" SURPASSES THE $100 MILLION MARK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact:        Tamra King
                (213) 658-6775
                tamrak@glaad.org


"BIRDCAGE" SURPASSES THE $100 MILLION MARK
Film becomes first gay-themed film to top 100 million marker

LOS ANGELES, CA -- April 24, 1996 -- For the first time in history, a film
featuring gay characters has broken the $100 million mark, the Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced today.  According to
Variety, the United Artist release "The Birdcage" the domestic box office
gross topped $105 million.

"The success of 'The Birdcage' further dispels the myth that gay-themed
films are box office poison," says Tamra King, GLAAD's Entertainment Media
Director, "What audiences want to see when they go to the movies are great
stories with characters they care about.  Given the right mixture,
gay-themed films not only do well, but they can produce blockbuster
figures."

Within its first six weeks of release, "The Birdcage" has even surpassed
the highly successful major studio film "Philadelphia," which grossed
approximately $78 million domestically.  "La Cage Aux Folles," the 1979
French film on which "The Birdcage" is based, grossed $17 million in the
U.S.

In spite of the overall gay positive scene, many in the lesbian and gay
community feel that the main characters played by Robin Williams and Nathan
Lane are still too stereotypical.  In order to address these and other
issues surrounding the exploding number of gay themed films, GLAAD will be
hosting entertainment industry forums "Beyond The Birdcage" in New York and
Los Angeles in May.  For more information, please call Tamra King at (213)
658-6775.

GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive
representation of individuals and events as a means of challenging
discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.

##

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Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
(GLAAD)
glaad@glaad.org
VISIT THE GLAAD WEB SITE AT http://www.glaad.org!

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, GLAAD, is a national
organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of
individuals and events in the media as a means of combatting homophobia and
all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.
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