"Mel's Passion" People's best
Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ" scored not only at the box office, but on newsstands, too. "Inside Mel's Passion", a March cover story, was People's biggest newsstand hit in the first six months this year, selling more than 1.7 million copies.
Other celebrities who helped mags mine single-copy gold in the first half were Orlando Bloom and Jack Nicholson. GQ's January issue, which featured Bloom on the cover while he was also on screens in the new "Lord of the Rings" film, was the mag's top draw. At 290,000 copies, it outsold issues fronted by a demurely topless Karolina Kurkova, Ashton Kutcher and others.
Under Jim Nelson, who's given GQ a younger focus since becoming editor in 2003, the average newsstand sale rose a hefty 23.8% in the first six months over a year ago, and 6.6% overall, to 815,000. The Audit Bureau of Circulations yesterday released figures for the first six months of 2004.
A cheshire-smiling Nicholson - Esquire's best seller, 140,428 copies in January - kicked off the mag's fifth period of newsstand growth under editor in chief David Granger. Though Esquire's total was flat, at 717,000, its average newsstand sale rose 13.9%.
A spike on newsstands typically signals to advertisers - and an editor's boss - that the editor is doing something right, such as drawing new readers. Us Weekly editor in chief Janice Min drew many newcomers, as its average newsstand sale soared 47.3% and total circ rose 17.4%, to 1.35 million.
The Star, completing its first year under American Media chief editorial director Bonnie Fuller, showed a 10.5% drop on newsstands. But the company said in its recent quarterly report, newsstand sales have grown since the Star's makeover in April - to a glossy mag from a tabloid. The "Best & Worst Beach Bodies" cover in late June, which showed a bikini-clad Mariah Carey (best) opposite an unflattering shot of Guess Who (Jerry Hall, worst), was the Star's newsstand topper, at more than 1.2 million copies.
In Touch Weekly soared 73.6% on newsstands, and 77.4% overall, for an average circ of 751,000. People, still the champ among celeb-watching mags, was up 3.3% on newsstands, and 2.8% overall, to 3.7 million. Lucky, the guilty pleasure and shopping mag, had a 18% gain on newsstands, as Conde Nast prepares to raise its guaranteed circ again - to 1 million. Jane's 733,000 reflected a 16.5% bounce on newsstands.
On the downside, Martha Stewart Living suffered a plunge in subscriptions and on newsstands, as total circ sank 19%, to 1.9 million. Mighty Maxim's total circ was little changed, at 2.5 million, but the mag took a 15.8% dive on newsstands. (New York Daily News)
|
