local marketS report

Transcription

www.ScreenDaily.com
local markets
report
Data, analysis and insight on
n Russia n UK n France n Italy
n Eastern and south-eastern Europe n Benelux
£250 2010
Local Markets Report
CONTENTS
Special Focus: Russia
This 26 page in-depth analysis by Eugene Vorotnikov
looks at all aspects of film-making in Russia
3 Market overview
Russian cinema is coming of age as production
values improve and audiences become more willing
to watch local films
The UK landscape will change considerably following
the axing of the UK Film Council. Geoffrey Macnab
looks at the industry as it comes to terms with how
local films will be funded in the future
39 France
7 Key players
Jean-Philippe Guerand takes a look at the French
market, which includes a loyal cinema-going public
and how EuropaCorp is bolstering its position as it
celebrates its 10th anniversary
A focus on the leading companies in production,
distribution and exhibition across the territory
49 Italy
12 Data
Including top-grossing local and international films
14 Deals
A round-up of the deals that are shaping the industry
Government support of film-making is at a 20-year low
in Italy, but there are opportunities for Italian producers
as potential funding arrives from less conventional
sources, writes Sheri Jennings
59 Eastern and South-eastern Europe
17 In focus
Romania might be starting from a low base, but it is
rising fast. And as digital technology rolls out across
this corner of Europe, Theo Schwinke investigates
how it is affecting cinema attendance. Additional
reporting by Vladan Petkovic
Russian film-makers split to form breakaway union;
how Russia is fighting back against piracy
75 Benelux
16 Digest
News stories covering the whole of the market
21 Audience
All currencies in this report are converted according to the exchange rates that applied in November
29 UK and Ireland
Filmgoers give their view on Russian cinema
23 Case studies
Examining the local and international producers
trying to make their mark in the territory
25 In production
A round-up of the local films currently shooting
28 A look ahead
A rundown of major projects in the pipeline
Geoffrey Macnab analyses how the different countries
in this region have competing tax incentives, and
which countries are surviving government cuts better
than others
SPECIAL FOCUS: RUSSIA
The Irony Of Fate 2: success is overshadowed by general unprofitability of Russian film industry
market update
according to KinoBusiness, one of Russia’s leading film
magazines, This will be the biggest growth seen over the past
three years. One of the reasons for this is the ever-growing
number of 3D movies, which currently bring more than 60% of
revenues to distributors. According to official figures, the
share of Russian movies in total box office is estimated at
30%. During the first three quarters of 2010, Russian cinemas
Although the first movies appeared in Russia more than 100
years ago, the Russian film industry is still relatively young
and undeveloped. But it continues to grow, despite the
unfavourable conditions. The collapse of the USSR resulted in
a sharp reduction of local film production and loss of
cinemas, as well as a substantial drop in the skills level in the
industry, which put its very survival in jeopardy.
But a new era in Russian cinematography began in 1996
with the opening of the first modern cinema in Moscow.
For the past 14 years the situation has changed dramatically.
During this time, nearly 2,000 modern cinema screens have
opened in the country, while the number of local
movies has significantly increased. Growth is box office,
overall attendance and the popularity of local movies.
In addition, the share of the Russian films is steadily
increasing, along with their production and advertising
budgets. By the end of 2010, the Russian box office is
expected to grow by 100% and will exceed $1bn (RUB 31.3bn),
Share of box office in GDP
Year
Russia
USA
2002
0.04%
0.08%
2003
0.05%
0.08%
2004
0.05%
0.07%
2005
0.05%
0.07%
2006
0.05%
0.07%
2007
0.06%
0.08%
2008
0.06%
0.08%
2009
0.06%
0.08%
Source: Polit.ru
3
earned nearly $793m (RUB 24.7bn), which is 54% more than
over the same period the previous year.
But the Russian film industry is full of contradictions: its
evolving infrastructure (which is reflected by the construction
of new cinemas and multiplexes); low profitability of local
movies compared with Hollywood rivals; a strong dependence
on public funding and central federal channels involved in
promotion of certain projects; as well as the high threat
of piracy.
the growth of Russian cinema. Nevertheless, the success of a
few Russian movies have helped to attract private
investments to local film production.
Dependence on state funding
So far, the production of most of the movies in Russia is
heavily state dependent. Producers rely on the Russian
Ministry of Culture and other state-owned funds to finance
their movies.
So, of 341 films produced in the country (between early
2006 until mid 2009), 198 received state aid. The average
state support for the production of a movie in Russia is
estimated at $600,000 (RUB 19m), with an additional
$161,434m (RUB 5m) invested in its further promotion.
However, recently the state support system has undergone
dramatic changes.
Until 2010, most of the state funds were distributed by the
Ministry of Culture. But this year, according to an initiative by
Nikita Michalkov, head of the Russian Cinematographers’
Union, a special organisation – Fund of the Social and
Economic Support of the National Cinematography – was
established, which is now responsible for the distribution of
state funds among the leading local film studios. In March
2010 it announced eight companies which are expected to
receive state grants. Among these are STV, Direkcia Kino, Trite
Studio, Central Partnership, Profit, Art Pictures, Bazelevs and
Rekun. Each of these companies will receive nearly $8.3m
(RUB 260m) in the form of a state grant.
The companies were chosen in accordance to criteria
developed by Movie Research, Russia’s independent movie
business research company. Among the criteria were:
Unprofitability
Currently, the Russian film industry remains mostly
unprofitable, with investors failing to get a return on their
investment. Significant box office takings, a critical mass of
screens and the ability to sell rights are all needed to tip
investments into profitability, and this is before the effect of
the global recession hit.
Even before the economic crisis, Russian cinema was
unprofitable, despite new cinema openings in the country
and the success of some Russian movies, such as The Turkish
Gambit, The 9th Company, Day Watch and The Irony of Fate 2.
Since 2000, nearly 100 movies have been produced in Russia
each year, of which only 70 (on average) were released. Very
few of them make enough to cover production costs, let alone
any profit.
The low budgets of the majority of Russian movies do not
allow for high-quality film-making, and in particular they rule
out the inclusion of costly special effects.
So market growth in the region is mainly associated with
the success of Hollywood movies, which have traditionally
brought more than 70% of all box office receipts, stimulating
russian film industry: key figures
Figures
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Total number of releases
315
293
350
355
324
3D releases
–
–
22
63
96
Number of Russian releases
62
61
78
78
78
Box office
$315.8m (RUB 9.8bn)
$411.8m (RUB 12.8bn)
$548.0m (RUB 17.1bn)
$800.9m (RUB 24.9bn)
$705.9m (RUB 22.0bn)
Share of Russian movies in total box office
29.7%
25.7%
26.3%
25.5%
23.9%
Cinema attendance
83.1m
89.5m
103.4m
118.5m
132.5m
Average cost of ticket
$3.8 (RUB 118.3)
$4.6 (RUB 143.2)
$5.2 (RUB 161.9)
$6.7 (RUB 208.7)
$5.3 (RUB 165.0)
Source: RG.ru
4
audience and experts’ opinion, previous work, current
activities, the number of prestigious awards gained and the
current status of the company in the industry.
The new funding scheme is expected to help produce highquality domestic blockbusters that will raise the prestige of
Russian cinema in the international film market, according to
initiators of the project.
But the new project has already drawn sharp criticism from
some Russian analysts and film producers, who believe the
criteria seems to be fitted to certain film companies. They fear
that the criteria are not objective and merely created in order
to promote certain individual projects.
family will need to pay about RUB 1,000 [$30] for one visit to
the cinema. Perhaps, for Moscow or St. Petersburg this is not
a very large sum, but for those living in the provinces, where
the average monthly salary is RUB 15,000 - RUB 17,000 $500$600] this is a significant amount.”
In addition to piracy and high ticket costs, there is an
acute shortage of multiplexes in Russia. To date, half of
Russian cinemas still only have one cinema screen. This
means lengthy film runs are impossible. Many movies,
therefore, simply do not have enough time to realise their
commercial potential.
Foreign players
Despite numerous problems, the Russian film market is
considered attractive by the world’s largest movie producers,
such as Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal
Pictures and Walt Disney. All of them have already teamed up
with local partners for distribution of their films and
co-production of local films.
In 2008, Paramount Pictures International (PPI) signed a
distribution and co-production agreement with Moscowbased Central Partnership, one of Russia’s largest film
distribution and production companies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Central Partnership
became the official distributor of Paramount movies in Russia
and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries
(except Ukraine), while PPI will in turn distribute certain films
from its Russian partner in overseas markets.
“At the moment we are working closely with Central
Partnership to find out what local movies are worth investing
in,” says Andrew Cripps, president of PPI. He believes the
economic crisis has significantly affected the Russian film
industry, but expects it to grow in the long term. “We will wait
for the right project and then evaluate its profitability in the
Russian and foreign markets,” Cripps adds.
Sony Pictures Entertainment also has a strong presence in
Russia. In 2006, the US company and the Moscow-based
Patton Media Group established a joint venture called
Monumental Pictures, which produces and distributes
Russian-language films in Russia and the CIS. Sony is involved
in Monumental through the company’s motion picture
production and distribution unit, Columbia Pictures.
Market problems
The Russian film market is steadily developing but it still faces
some major problems, such as the high threat of piracy, a lack
of regulation and control, insufficient multiplex cinemas and
the high cost of tickets.
Piracy is a major problem. According to the International
Intellectual Property Alliance, at present Russia ranks second
to China in terms of volumes of pirated market, with the
annual loss to the US film studios estimated to be $2bn
(RUB 62.3bn) (see In Focus).
In Moscow alone there are more than 4000 outlets selling
pirated goods, and their average profits may reach $20m
(RUB 622.6m) per week, according to the Russian Association
of DVD publishers’ calculations,
“The situation with piracy in Russia is not improving,” says
Eric Schwartz, former vice-president of IIPA. Schwartz claims
that most of the anti-piracy measures implemented in Russia
have failed.
He believes the Russian government still doesn’t pay
enough attention to the problem of piracy. To date, pirated
products account for up to 70% of Russia’s film market, while
US analysts put the figure closer to 80%. One of the main
reasons for this is the lack of Russian copyright law. It wasn’t
until 1995 that the government adopted a law to establish
criminal liability for piracy activities.
High admission prices also blight the Russian film market.
Natalia Lazareva, a Russian movie business analyst, says:
“The cost of tickets in Russian cinemas is on average $6.50
(RUB 203.6), which is too expensive. An average Russian
5
Also in 2006, an official subsidiary of the Walt Disney
Company, Disney Company CIS, was established. Its director
general, Marina Zhigalov-Ozkan, says that in 2009 the
company started local production and released its first
Russian film called The Book of Masters. This children’s
adventure film, with a budget of $7m (RUB 217.9m), has
already won several international awards, and will soon be
shown at some big festivals in the UK, US and Australia (see
case study).
She adds that currently the company is developing several
other new projects and will not focus solely on fairytale films.
“Russia is a very interesting market for Disney,” says ZhigalovOzkan. “More and more Russian people have started to visit
the cinema, which is reflected by an ever-growing box office.
We are actively co-operating with Russian production
companies and film-makers, as well as with local actors
and writers.”
She adds Disney plans to produce two to three films in
Russia every year and has already launched its own cable
channel.
production of movies is prevalent not only in Russia, but
across the rest of the world, including the US. Most local
analysts believe the Russian movie industry should look for
additional value growth via the introduction of new
technologies, in particular 3D, which should improve the
overall quality of the Russian cinema experience, which at
s
present leaves much to be desired. n
Future opportunities
The Russian film market has not yet reached maturity. There is
still room for new cinema construction. While several major
cities in the country have reached market saturation, in terms
of the number of screens per 100,000 inhabitants, there is
room to open new cinemas in smaller Russian towns. The
problem is that opening new sites in these smaller towns is
considered unprofitable by many investors, and they prefer to
focus on opening multiplexes in big cities. Many of the big
cities (with a population of up to 1 million people) still have a
shortage of cinemas, so their number is expected to increase
in the near future.
There is also an opportunity to increase box office receipts
by attracting bigger audiences, expanding the local cinemas
network and by attracting older viewers. The share of box
office receipts in Russia’s GDP is currently estimated at
0.06%, compared with 0.08% in the US. However, thanks to a
successful year, some Russian experts believe that by the end
of 2010 the share of box office receipts to GDP may have
reached US levels.
Where growth is not thought possible is through the annual
number of films, produced by local companies. Over-
6
key players
Central Partnership was founded in 1996. It comprises
Central Partnership and Central Partnership Sales House,
which is a distributor of film and television rights and owns
more than 1400 full-length movie and 3,200 hours of
TV series production.
Key executives Ruben Dishdishyan, executive producer/CEO.
Best known for Wolfhound, The Suit, The Spot,
Shadowboxing, Rusalka, Taras Bulba.
What the critics say It started as a small seller of foreign
movies in Russia and today it is one of Russia’s largest film
producers. Unlike many of its competitors, the company was
able to avoid affiliation with any Russian channel in its early
stages of development, which helped it become more
independent. Now as part of Prof-Media holding, Russia’s
largest media company, Central Partnership has solid
financial resources and benefits from a synergy with other
Prof-Media assets, such as TV channels, radio stations,
Rambler Internet holding, as well as a regional network of
cinemas, Cinema Park.
Contact details
(+7) 495 777 49 52
www.centpart.com
Production
Since 2000, the volume of production of Russian movies has
increased significantly. In 2006, for the first time in Russian
cinema’s history, the number of movies made by local
producers exceeded 100 (106) a year. However, last year the
number dropped back down to 80 films.
At present nearly 350 companies are involved in movie
production in Russia. The process of making movies in Russia
is decentralised: there are a large number of production
centres and production companies, film studios and service
companies. Some of them are established for a particular
project, disappearing once it is completed.
According to Russian analysts, there is no clear structure to
the market and it’s difficult to identify major film companies –
none of the existing Russian production companies and
studios can be compared with major Western studios. Most
local production companies are small in terms of production
volumes and staff numbers.
Russian film-making is not a profitable business and the
number of movies and projects, where box office receipts
cover the costs of production, remains insignificant.
Currently there are seven major production sites owned by
film studios in Russia, occupying more than 100 hectares,
50 with a total area of about 30,000sq m, as well as private
production sites, which are mainly located on the sites of
former factories.
Before the economic crisis, several major construction
projects for new studios were announced in Russia under
private business initiatives, but most of these have stalled.
Between 2000 and 2005, two state film studios – Lenfilm
and Mosfilm – were the industry leaders in terms of
production volumes, with 21 and 14 movies respectively.
Among private production companies, STV stands out,
which during the same period produced 20 full-length
feature films, nine of which were produced with the state
financial support.
Other prolific companies in that period were NTV-Profit,
Slovo and Central Partnership, which produced nine, seven
and six movies respectively.
During the following four years, Central Partnership became
the leader in terms of production volumes (29 movies), with
STV and Profit making 14 and seven films respectively.
STV was founded in 1992 in St. Petersburg and is one of
Russia’s largest film producers.
Key executives Sergei Selyanov, head of the company and a
well-known Russian producer and member of the Russian
Union of Cinematographers.
Key releases: Yakuza’s Daughter (3 September 2010)
What the critics say Experts estimate that STV is one of the
most active production companies in Russia, which has been
awarded numerous prizes. However, in recent years the
number of its films has significantly declined.
Contacts details
[email protected]
Moscow Office:
[email protected]
Bazelevs Group of Companies was founded in 1994 by its
director and producer Timur Bekmambetov and specialises in
the production of movies and advertising.
Key executives Timur Bekmambetov, chief director and
producer.
7
Best known for The Irony of Fate 2, Night Watch, Day Watch,
Wanted, Black Lightning.
What the critics say The Bazelevs Group operates both in the
domestic and international market, co-operating with
Russia’s largest television and radio stations, as well as
Hollywood studios such as Universal, 20th Century Fox and
Focus Features. The Bazelevs studios have been responsible
for films that have had a revolutionary effect when distributed
in Russia, such as Night Watch and Day Watch, and the
comedy melodrama Irony of Fate: Continued. In addition,
Bazelevs is building a close partnership with the Hollywood
film company, Universal Pictures.
Contact details
(7) 495 223 04 00
[email protected]
www.bazelevs.ru
Key executives Fyodor Bondarchuk and Stepan Mikhalkov,
co-founders, Dmitry Rudovsky, CEO.
Best known for The Inhabited Island, The 9th Company, Heat.
What the critics say Unlike its competitors, the number of
films produced by Art Pictures is relatively low. However, many
of them have gone on to become real hits, such as The 9th
Company, which was honoured with several awards and
received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
Another successful project was teen comedy Heat, which
earned more than$16m (RUB 501.3m) on a budget of only $5m
(RUB 155.7m). HoweverThe Inhabited Island did less well at
the box office.
Contacts
(7) 499 143 49 04
[email protected]
http://art-pictures.ru
Trite is a Russian production association founded in 1987.
Key executives Nikita Mikhalkov, famous Russian film
director and head of the Russian Cinematographers’ Union.
Best known for The Turkish Gambit, Death Of An Empire TV
series, Burnt By The Sun 2.
What the critics say Most of the experts believe that one of
the reasons for Trite’s success is its charismatic figurehead,
Nikita Mikhalkov, who remains one of most influential people
in the Russian movie industry. The most productive and
successful year for the studio was 2005, when it produced five
movies, including The Turkish Gambit, with a budget of only
$4m (RUB 124.5m). The box office of this movie reached
$18.5m (RUB 576.1m), making it one of the most profitable
films for Trite. The Death Of An Empire TV series received
critical success in 2005. Other projects from the studio were
not so successful – Burnt By The Sun 2, with the budget of
$55m (RUB 1.7bn), became the biggest commercial failure in
the history of the Russian cinema.
Contacts
(7) 495 933 60 37
[email protected]
Distribution
The current Russian film distribution market comprises 30
private distribution companies, most of which have rights for
distribution of domestic and foreign movies in Russia, the CIS
and Baltic countries. In addition, there are more than 70
regional state-owned organisations, involved in local
distribution business.
Share of distributors in Russia for JANuary to September 2010
Company
Box office
Share %
Number of
movies
Central Partnership
$221.1m (RUB 6.9bn)
26.4%
31
20th Century Fox C.S
$159.7m (RUB 5.0bn)
19.1%
14
WDSSPR
$152.2m (RUB 4.7bn)
18.2%
16
Caro Premiere
$106.0m (RUB 3.3bn)
12.6%
20
UPI
$61.1m (RUB 1.9bn)
7.3%
12
Source: Polit.ru
The Russian $1bn (RUB 31.2bn)distribution market is highly
concentrated, with five companies (specialising in both
Russian and foreign film distribution) accounting for 90% of
all the distribution receipts in Russia. The leading players are
Buena Vista Sony Pictures Releasing CIS, Caro, Central
Partnership, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures
International. In recent years, in order to strengthen their
positions in Russia, almost all the major Hollywood film
companies have opened subsidiaries in the country.
Art Pictures Studio, a Russian film production company,
was founded in 1992. In addition to films, the studio
also specialises in producing of music videos and
adverts.
8
Key executives Leonid Ogorodnikov, chairman; Aleksey
Ryazantsev,CEO.
Key releases Going The Distance, Devil’s Flower, Legend Of
The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.
What the critics say Since 2001, Caro Premier has been
among the leaders of the Russian market since the beginning
of the decade it has also worked with independent
distributors, buying movies at international film markets from
companies including CLT-UFA International, Universal Pictures
International and Wild Bunch/Canal+. In addition to
promoting Hollywood blockbusters in Russia (mostly
produced by Warner Brothers studio), the company pays
special attention to the distribution of Russian films as well as
cartoons. One of the most successful in recent times was
Belka I Strelka in 3D, whose box office exceeded $6.3m
(RUB 190m). The company has worked with many Russian film
production companies.
Contact details
(7) 495 545 05 05
[email protected]
www.karofilm.ru
Among the other main trends of the distribution market are:
the ongoing centralisation and concentration, tightening
competition among the major players, integration with
production companies and the establishment of their own
film production companies. The latter trend is expected to
have a positive effect on the volume of film production in
Russia, as well as distribution, as companies become more
interested in ensuring the successful distribution of movies
that they have made themselves. At the same time, one of the
main problems of Russian distribution companies is their
unwillingness to work with so-called ‘small films’ and their
focus on only distributing potential blockbusters.
Central Partnership Sales House (CPSH) is the distributor
division of Central Partnership Company.
Key executives Mark Lolo, general director.
Key releases The Ghost, The Switch, Piranha 3D, Moscow, I
Love You.
What the critics say Central Partnership has a good
reputation among western markets with its long-term
partnership with companies such as Warner Bros, Paramount
Pictures, Universal Pictures, Studio Canal+ and Gaumont.
Since January 2009, it is the official distributor of Paramount
Pictures in Russia and the CIS region (except Ukraine).
The company carefully selects films for distribution in the
Russian market, taking into account the habits and
preferences of the local audience, according to local experts,
In addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia’s largest
film markets, the company pays great attention to work in the
vast Russian provinces, making efforts to extend the duration
of the distribution of its films. It also focuses on the
promotion of arthouse cinema.
Contact details
(7) 495 777 49 52
www.centpart.com
Walt Disney Studios/Sony Pictures Releasing CIS (WDSSPR
CIS) is a joint venture, set up in November 2006, between
Buena Vista International and Sony Pictures Releasing
International to distribute movies from their studios in the CIS
region. Between 1998 and 2006, Buena Vista International
used Cascade Film to distribute its movies in Russia. Buena
Vista and Sony’s joint venture was a natural consequence of
their long of history of co-operation outside the US.
Key executives Anton Sirenko, general director.
Key releases Grown Ups.
What the critics say The company holds a strong position in
Russia, leading the local distribution market. One of the
distinctive features its work in the territory is that it
specialises not only in the distribution of highly publicised
blockbusters, but also in films, that while not initially
necessarily associated with big profits, go on to exceed
original expectations. One such example is District 9, whose
box office in Russia and CIS exceeded $9.4m (RUB 293.1m).
Contact details
(7) 495 995 38 05
www.wdsspr.ru
Caro Premier, established in August 1999, specialises in the
distribution of Warner Brothers and, more recently, New Line
Cinema movies in Russia and the CIS countries. The company
works with leading Moscow and regional cinema chains,
providing films for more than 700 cinemas in Russia and CIS
countries. In the past two years, it has become one of the top
four film distribution companies in Russia.
9
20th Century Fox CIS
Between 1994 and 2006, 20th Century Fox’s movies were
distributed in Russia by Gemini Film International Company.
In 2006, Gemini Film International ceased to exist, and in May
that year two independent companies – 20th Century Fox CIS
and Gemini Entertainment were formed. Following a
reorganisation of both companies in 2007, 20th Century Fox
CIS became the legal successor of Gemini Entertainment.
Key executives Hans Bodo Mueller, managing director.
Key releases Vampires Suck, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
What the critics say A strong player in the Russia market.
Contact details
(7) 495 257 87 97
www.foxrussia.com
The average number of screens continues to grow and the
current estimate is 2.3 screens per cinema. Between 1999 and
2003, Russia’s cinemas enjoyed a period of construction, as
well the upgrading of old Soviet-constructed cinemas.
One of the major features of the current Russian cinema
exhibition market is high concentration, where the top three
players (Karo Film Network, Cinema Park and Kinomaks)
account for more than 25% of the market, with many small
chains forced out of the market.
According to Nevafilm Research, Russia’s analytical film
business agency, on 1 July 2010, the number of cinemas in
Russia reached 829, with a total of 2,246 screens – an
increase of 7.5% and 14% respectively on the same period for
the previous year. At present, 53% of Russian cinema screens
are located in retail centres (1,186 screens in 216 cinemas).
Karo Film Network, which owns 7.3% of the modern screens
in Russia, remains the leader of the Russian cinema
exhibition market. It is followed by the Cinema Park network,
just ahead of its primary competitor, Kinomax.
Xenia Leontieva, a Nevafilm Research analyst, predicts that
by the end of the year the total number of modern cinemas in
the country will reach 2500, with annual growth in the number
of cinemas about 20%.
Digital projection technology is also gaining popularity in
the market. By July 2010, 1,525 digital screens (almost all of
them equipped for 3D) in 375 cinemas had opened —
representing 23% of modern screens and nearly half of all
cinemas (45%) according to Nevafilm Research.
Universal Pictures International (UPI) was the first foreign
distribution company to enter the Russian market in 1989. At
that time it had one of its most successful releases – Gone
With The Wind, which later helped UPI work with Russian EastWest company, headed by Eugene Beginin. In March 2004,
UIP announced it was setting up a subsidiary with East-West.
In 2007, the Russian branch of United International Pictures
changed its name to Universal Pictures International Russia.
Key executives Vadim Ivanov, general director.
Key releases Heartbreaker, Scott Pilgrim vs The World
What the critics say 2008 was the most successful year for
UPI in Russia, due to the distribution of movies such as
Madagascar 2, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,
Wanted, Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom
Of The Crystal Skull. As a result, UPI won the prestigious
Distributor of the Year in the Blockbuster Annual Industry
Awards. However, UPI’s interest in distributing Russian
movies remains low. The only Russian film included in the
company’s distribution package in 2009 was Timur
Bekmambetov’s Black Lightning.
Contacts www.start.universalpictures.ru
Karo Film Network is Russia’s largest cinema chain, and
was founded in July 1997. At present, Karo Film comprises
35 cinemas, located in Moscow and Moscow region,
St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Kaliningrad and
Samara. Its total number of screens is estimated at 169,
consisting of 29,991 seats. It employs more than 3000 people.
Karo accounts for 8% of the Russian cinema exhibition
market. It focuses on investing in 3D cinemas and updating
its projectors and other equipment. In 2005, its subsidiary,
Karo Prokat, was founded, specialising in film production.
Key executives Igor Ilchuk, general director.
What the critics say Karo Film has traditionally focused on
developing integrated multiplexes with a large number of
screens. The company’s strategy is to open new cinemas in
Exhibition
The Russian cinema exhibition market is steadily
developing, recovering and rebuilding its infrastructure,
destroyed during the 1990s. In 1999, there were only 100
screens with modernfilm-processing equipment in Russia;
however, by early 2010 the number had increased to 2,000.
10
the best locations in major Russian cities. This allows Karo to
consistently increase its audience and remain market leader.
Contact details
(7) 495 545 05 05
[email protected]
www.karofilm.ru
and north-west region. It is also one of the top four largest
exhibitors in Russia and CIS. The company is part of Eurasia
Cinemas BV (the leading and fastest-growing cinema operator
in Russia-Ukraine and Turkey region) and includes 16 cinemas
in Russia and one in Ukraine. The company operates in
Russia’s largest cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg,
Novosibirsk, Kharkov, Magnitogorsk, Murmansk.
Key executives Eduard Pichugin, founder.
What the critics say The company’s market share is
estimated at 4.8%, with the total number of screens about
100. It holds leadership in several cities in Russia, in
particular in St. Petersburg.
Contact details
(7) 812 448 90 01
[email protected]
www.kronverkcinema.ru
Cinema Park is a national film network owned by ProfMedia
Group, Russia’s largest media holding and part of Interros.
The company was founded in 2002. Cinema Park operates 16
modern cinemas (with 133 auditoria, 24,125 seats) located
across Russia. It has sites in all major Russian cities. Cinema
Park is the leader in the digital market, with more than 50 3D
screens. It has about 6% of the market in terms of screens.
Key executives Sergei Kitin, general director.
What the critics say Cinema Park is one of ProfMedia’s most
valuable assets. Further developing it, and the Central
Partnership Company, is expected to be one of the priorities
for Prof-Media in the near future.
Contact details
(7) 495 933 28 41
[email protected]
www.cinemapark.ru
Kinostar de Lux film network was established in 2002 by
Rising Star Media Company. Rising Star was launched in
Moscow by American entrepreneur Paul Heth and is a joint
venture between National Amusements (75% share) and
Soquel Ventures (25%).
Kinostar grew rapidly and it soon became one of the largest
cinema chains. Its movie theatres generate annual revenues
of almost $50m (RUB 1.6bn). The chain is valued at about
$30m (RUB 935.3m).
In January 2010, Russian private equity firm UFG Private
Equity, together with Shari Redstone (daughter of media
magnate Sumner Redstone, and president and owner of 20%
of National Amusements shares) bought Rising Star Media
from National Amusements and Soquel Ventures.
Key executives Shari Redstone, head of the company.
What the critics say Rising Star operates eight deluxe
multiplex theatre complexes under the Kinostar Delux brand,
all of them in prime locations in Moscow and St Petersburg.
In addition, all of its venues are equipped with 3D technology,
and it also operates two IMAX cinemas. Unlike its
competitors’ sites, where the number of screens don’t usually
exceed two or three, KinoStar cinemas can reach up to 13-14
screens. It accounts for about 3.8% market share.
Contact details
(+7) 495 775 44 77
s
www.kinostardelux.ru n
Kinomax cinema chain was founded in 1996. Today, it is the
largest regional cinema operator in Russia, with 24 cinemas
and 100 screens. Kinomax cinemas operate under a single
brand and are located in more than 19 Russian cities
including Moscow and Moscow region, St. Petersburg,
Vladimir and Voronezh.
Key executives Boris Asriev, president.
Key releases The Karate Kid, Piranha 3D, The Last Airbender,
The Devil’s Flower, The Edge
What the critics say One of the distinctive features of
Kinomax is that it has developed its own catering facilities in
its cinemas, where guests are offered a varied menu. Kinomax
has a 5.1% share of the market.
Contacts details
(7) 495 221 52 21; (8) 800 555 54 66
www.kinomax.ru
Kronverk Cinema is based in St. Petersburg and is the
leading player in the exhibition market in the St. Petersburg
11
DATA
Top-grossing films in Russia for the past five years
Top-grossing films in Russia in 2009
Film (year)
Box office
1.
Avatar (2009)
$117.7m (RUB 3.7bn)
2.
Shrek: The Final Chapter (2010)
$51.4m (RUB 1.6bn)
3.
Irony of Fate: Sequel (2007)
$49.9m (RUB 1.6bn)
4.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
5.
Film (year)
Box office
1.
Avatar
$117.7m (RUB 3.7bn)
2.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
$44.6m (RUB 1.4bn)
3.
2012
$36.6m (RUB 1.1bn)
$44.6m (RUB 1.4bn)
4.
Inhabited Island
$21.8m (RUB 679.6m)
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
$42.1m (RUB 1.3bn)
5.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
$18.7m (RUB 582.9m)
6.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
$40.7m (RUB 1.3bn)
6.
The Twilight Saga: New moon
$18.6m (RUB 579.8m)
7.
2012 (2009)
$36.6m (RUB 1.1bn)
7.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
$18.2m (RUB 567.5m)
8.
Admiral (2008)
$34.5m (RUB 1.1bn)
8.
High security vacations
$17.5m (RUB 545.6m)
9.
Day Watch (2005)
$32.0m (RUB 1.0bn)
9.
Taras Bulba
$17.0m (RUB 531.3m)
10.
Pirates Of The Caribeean: At World’s End (2007)
$30.9m (RUB 1.0bn)
10.
Terminator Salvation
$14.5m (RUB 451.7m)
Source: Arendator.ru
Top-grossing Russian films for the past five years
Top-grossing Russian films for 2009
Film
Box office
1.
Irony of Fate. Sequel
$55.6m (RUB 1.7bn)
2.
Day watch . (2006)
$38.8m (RUB 1.2bn)
3.
Admiral (2008)
$38.1m (RUB 1.2bn)
3.
4.
Night watch(2004)
$33.9m (RUB 1.1bn)
5.
The best film (2008)
$30.5m (RUB 951.7m)
6.
Mongol (2007)
$26.7m (RUB 833.2m)
7.
Company 9 (2006)
$25.6m (RUB 799.0m)
8.
Inhabited island (2009)
$23.5m (RUB 733.5m)
9.
Wolfhound (2006)
$21.0m (RUB 655.4m)
10.
Love-Carrot-2 (2009)
$19.2m (RUB 599.0m)
Film
Box office
1.
Inhabited island
$23.5m (RUB 733.2m)
2.
Love-Carrot-2
$19.2m (RUB 599.0m)
High security vacations
$17.5m (RUB 546.0m)
4.
Taras Bulba
$17.04m (RUB 530.3m)
5.
The Book of Masters
$11.0m (RUB 343.2m)
Cinema visit numbers/ticket price per capita
Ticket price
Visitor number
Source: Nevafilmresearch
Number of screens in biggest Russian cities (including 3D)
2008
2009
2010
All
3D
All
3D
All
3D
Moscow
400
16
466
85
485
366
St. Petersburg
182
6
194
27
199
156
Yekaterinburg
54
8
65
14
69
15
Source: Nevafilmresearch
12
2008
2009
2010 (the first half of
the year)
$6.12 (RUB 191.0)
$5.6 (RUB 174.8)
$6.1 (RUB 190.4)
127m
135m
86m
DATA
Top 10 films June to September 2010
Rank
Title
Distributor
Release Date
Date Range * Gross BO
Cumulative Gross BO
Date Range Admissions
1
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
West Film Group
30/06/2010
$26.9m (RUB 840.9m)
$27.5m (RUB 859.7m)
5,039,997
2
Inception
Warner Bros International
22/07/2010
$21.4m (RUB 669.0m)
$21.1m (RUB 659.6m)
3,398,643
3
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Sony International
10/09/2010
$19.6m (RUB 612.8m)
$20.5m (RUB 640.9 m)
2,514,389
4
The Last Airbender
Paramount International
08/07/2010
$18.2m (RUB 569.0m)
$18.4m (RUB 575.2 m)
2,687,042
5
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Walt Disney International
15/07/2010
$13.7m (RUB 428.4m)
$14.0m (RUB 437.5m)
2,510,684
6
The Expendables
Central Partnership
11/08/2010
$13.5m (RUB 422.1m)
$13.8m (RUB 431.4m)
2,351,259
7
Step Up 3D
West Film Group
12/08/2010
$11.8m (RUB 368.9m)
$11.9m (RUB 372.0 m)
1,816,004
8
Despicable Me
Universal International
08/07/2010
$11.3m (RUB 353.3m)
$11.6m (RUB 362.6m)
1,878,565
9
Salt
Sony International
29/07/2010
$10.8m (RUB 337.7m)
$10.8m (RUB 337.6m)
1,775,370
10
Piranha 3D
Central Partnership
26/08/2010
$9.5m (RUB 297.0m)
$9.5m (RUB 297.0m)
1,155,235
Source: Rentrak ; * Date range: 25.06.10 to 30.09.10
most popular cinema genres in Russia in Jan-sept 2010
Genre
most popular movies in Russia jan-sept 2010 in terms of producer
country
SHARE
Fantasy
31.2%
Action
17.1%
Comedy
15.1%
Animation
15.0%
Country
Source: Polit.ru
USA
78.8%
Russia
16.6%
Europe
4.0%
Other
0.5%
Source: Polit.ru
Top 10 public organisations in Russian cinematography
Name
Number of
Individual
members
Number of
affiliated
organisations
Trade Union of Cinema and Theatre Actors
230
–
Union of Stuntman
186
–
Club of Young Producers
7
–
National Association of Cinemas
–
10
176
11
Guild of Documentary Film
Confederation of Union of Cinematographers
–
15
Association of Dvd Publishers
–
16
112
17
Russian Guild of Producers
Alliance of Independent Film Distribution Organisation
–
22
Russian Anti-Piracy Organisation
–
33
Cinematographers’ Union
4945
–
Total
5656
124
Source: Polit.ru
13
SHARE
deals
The alliance was kicked off with one of the major summer
releases – the Expendables movie.
According to Mark Lolo, CEO of Central Partnership Sales
House, Ukraine is the biggest film market in the former Soviet
Union, and the deal is expected to help CP strengthen its
positions in this market.
n Walt Disney Company CIS inks licensing deal The Walt
Disney Company CIS has signed a licensing agreement with
VimpelCom, one of Russia’s largest mobile phone service
providers, to allow VimpelCom’s subscribers to watch all the
Disney movie premieres simultaneously with their DVD
release.
In addition, VimpelCom has access to a catalogue of the 60
most popular Disney movies, including WALL-E, The Chronicles
Of Narnia and Pirates Of The Caribbean.
Disney movies will appear in the video-on-demand services
of Beeline TV (VimpelCom’s flagship brand) in HD-quality.
Prices of the new releases of Disney films for Beeline TV users
will be $2.40 (RUB 75), while the movies from the library will
be $1.60 (RUB 50).
VimpelCom has not ruled out the possibility of signing a
similar contract with Universal.
n AFK Sistema invests in new studio All-Russian State
Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (ARSTRB) and
AFK Sistema, one of Russia’s largest financial conglomerates,
headed by a Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, are
considering investing up to $150m in the construction of a
new film studio in St. Petersburg. It would be part of Russian
World Studios, one of the largest film and television
production companies in Russia.
The total area of the new studio is expected to reach
70,000sq m . In addition to a new studio, a new hotel, an
office centre and a concert hall will be also built. Most of the
funds for the project are expected to be borrowed from banks.
Russian World Studios already has a film studio with a total
area of 11,000sq m, which was officially opened in 2008 and
includes four production sites with the area of 750sq m, as
well as two other 350sq m sites. The investments in its
construction amounted to about $10m (RUB 313.7m).
n Cinema Park in IMAX tie-up Cinema Park, one of Russia’s
largest cinema chains, owned by ProfMedia, has signed an
exclusive contract with the IMAX Corporation for the
construction of 14 cinemas in IMAX 3D format across Russia.
The total investment is estimated to be $20m-$30m (RUB
627m-RUB 941m). Three IMAX halls are expected to be open
in Saratov, Voronezh and Novosibirsk by the end of the year,
with seven more by the end of 2012. The remaining four IMAX
screens will open in Cinema Park cinemas.
According to IMAX, this contract is the largest deal it has
done in Europe in its 45-year history.
The Russian expansion is a result of the profitability of IMAX
in the Russian market. At present, the average box office from
a single IMAX screen in Russia is among the highest in the
world. Overall, by the end of 2012, 32 IMAX screens are
expected to launch in Russia. According to Richard Gelfond,
managing director of IMAX, Russia has the potential for 65
IMAX screens.
n IMAX finalises Karo Film Network deal IMAX Corporation
and Karo Film Network have signed an agreement to supply
IMAX equipment for Karo’s three cinemas in Moscow and
St. Petersburg.
Under the terms of the agreement, new IMAX systems are
expected to appear in Moscow’s October cinema in January
2011 and then in April 2011 at the St. Petersburg Karo Film
on Baykonurskoy.
In addition, there is the option for another IMAX screen to
be installed in one of Karo Film’s cinemas in either Moscow
or St. Petersburg.
The launch of the IMAX screens will make Russia and the
CIS region the world’s third largest market for IMAX after the
US and China in terms of the number of screens, with 32
IMAX-screens scheduled to open by 2012.
For the nine months of the current year, seven existing
IMAX cinemas in Russia have brought an average of $2.3m
(RUB 72.1m) per screen.
n Inter-Film in exclusive Central Partnership link
Central Partnership, one of Russia’s largest film distribution
and production companies, and Inter-Film, the Ukrainian
distributor, have established a strategic alliance under which
Inter-Film becomes an exclusive distributor of Central
Partnership films in Ukraine under the CP brand.
14
n October Cinema stake up for sale The Moscow
government has put its 40% stake in October Cinema up for
sale. This is the main site of the Moscow International Film
Festival and one of the biggest cinemas in Russia and the CIS.
Its starting price is $23.4m (RUB 703m).
October Cinema is located in one of the most prestigious
areas of Moscow – Novy Arbat – and has an area of about
18,000sq m. It houses 11 screens, which can seat 3,000
people; Italian and Japanese restaurants; a French café; a VIP
bar; and a further two bars and two cafes. Its equipped with
state-of-the-art projection equipment.
At present, 60% of October is owned by Gazprom-Media,
Russia’s largest media holding founded in 1998 as a
subsidiary of Gazprom, and it is the main bidder for the
remaining stake.
n Russian World Studios sets production target Russian
World Studios (RWS), one of Russia’s largest film and
television production companies, owned by AFK Sistema
company, plans to increase the production of content by
67%, to 500 hours.
The company is going to increase the production of TV
series, as well as produce three to five feature films a year. By
2014, RWS plans to more than double the value of its back
catalogue to $150m (RUB 4.7bn) (compared with its current
$60m). By 2013, the total volume of RWS’s library is expected
to reach 2,500 hours (compared with a current 1,000 hours).
Between 2011 and 2013 the company plans to produce at least
s
500 hours of content every year. n
15
digest
Exhibition
n The Russian government has finally approved an ambitious
project for the construction of 253 new cinemas in the
country’s regions by 2029. The project was initiated by
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and is expected
to be implemented in conjunction with some leading
Russian film producers.
Most of the cinemas will be built in small Russian cities with
a population of less than 400,000. The level of investments
has not yet been disclosed, but according to a source close to
the project, it may exceed $274m (RUB 8.6bn).
Most of the funds will be provided by state banks in the
form of loans for seven to 10 years.
Production
n The Russian government is planning to invest $20m
(RUB500m) in the production of socially significant movies.
These non-profit, patriotic films will be chosen by the expert
board of the Russian Patriotic Cinema Support Foundation,
headed by Boris Lyubimov, the rector of M.S. Schepkin Higher
Theatre School.
The long-list currently consists of more than 20 movies.
Among the most likely candidates to receive the grants are
Svyatitel Aleksiy, as well as Gagarin. First in Space, an epic
film, directed by Alexei Uchitel.
n A group of Russian film producers has filed a complaint to
the State Federal Anti-monopoly Service about the existing
scheme of Russian cinema financing.
According to the group, eight Russian film studios, which
received state grants in the region of $8.3m (RUB 260.3m)
each, were improperly selected by the state film fund — using
the wrong selection criteria and failing to take account of the
views of other Russian producers. They want the current
scheme of development grants to be revised. The date for the
official hearings of the case has not been disclosed
n IMAX Corporation and Formula Kino, one of Russia’s
leading exhibition chains, has signed an agreement to
install two digital IMAX theatre systems in Russia before the
end of 2010.
Under the terms of the deal, Formula Kino will install an
IMAX system at the new Galleria Mall in St. Petersburg, as well
as a system in the Mall of Russia, in the heart of Moscow. The
first system is scheduled to be installed in time for the IMAX
release of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in
November, with the second system to follow shortly after.
n The Russian government plans to tighten the control of
profits of local cinemas with the introduction of a centralised
system to keep a record of the movies exhibited in all the
country’s cinemas.
Those behind the system say it will help deal with those
cinemas providing inaccurate data on their box-office takings.
At present, some Russian cinemas conceal up to 30-50% of
their total box office takings, damaging income for distributors
and producers.
According to the state’s bill, all Russian film exhibitors will
be required to provide information for all tickets sold every
hour. The data will be posted on a special public website
s
controlled by the Russian Ministry of Culture. n
Distribution
n Freestyle Releasing Company and Cinemarket Films has
acquired the rights for the distribution of Andrei Konchalovsky’s
Nutcracker And The Rat King musical in the US. The official
release of the film is scheduled for 23 November, while in
Russia and the CIS it is due out on 23 December. The budget
of the film – which will also be released in 3D – is $90m
(RUB2.8bn) . It stars Elle Fanning as Mary, Nathan Lane as
Uncle Albert and John Turturro as the Rat King.
n After 10 years of litigation, Soyuzmultfilm, one of Russia’s
largest animation studios, has regained the rights for the
foreign distribution of more than 500 Soviet cartoons.
The Moscow Arbitration Court declared invalid a contract
between Soyuzmultfilm and the US company Films by Jove
(FBJ), which in 1992 acquired the rights for the foreign
distribution of 1,500 of the best Soviet cartoons and later
returned rights for part of the collection in exchange for an
extension of the contract. Soyuzmultfilm plans to sell the
rights abroad, mainly in Eastern Europe, with an expected
annual profit of up to $100,000.
16
In Focus
from a lack of strong supporting cast and insufficient training
in many departments of the All-Russia State Institute of
Cinematography. For instance, most soundmen still learn by
using textbooks published in the 1970s, while cameraman
are relying on books from as far back as the 1960s.
The new union will be headed by Russian producer Boris
Khlebnikov, and experts hope it will speed up badly needed
reforms in the Russian film industry. Since the beginning of
the year, the share of local films in the total box office dropped
to 16% compared with last year’s 27%.
In addition, the losses from piracy are steadily increasing
and have already reached the $1bn mark, which is the
equivalent to the value of the present Russian distribution
market. However, there are no reliable statistics on the size of
the audience. These are all areas the new union is likely to
focus on.
Vitaly Mansky, one of the founders of KinoSoyuz, says: “The
Russian Cinematographers’ Union is in deep crisis. The main
difference between it and the alternative union is that the
latter is comprised of people who want to make movies in
Russia. We are ready to participate in making major decisions
in the Russian film industry.”
The split in the Russian cinema industry has been brewing
for a long time. In late 2008, the Congress of
Cinematographers’ Union elected Marlene Khutsiev (a
Georgian-born Soviet film-maker best known for his cult films
from the 1960s) as the new chairman of the Russian
Cinematographers’ Union instead of Mikhalkov. However,
Mikhalkov, with the help of a judicial procedure, challenged
the decision and during the next Congress in March 2009 was
re-elected as chairman.
This move was much criticised by a number of Russian
Russian film industry rivals go head to head
The Russian film industry is on the verge of a split. In
September a group of well-known Russian film directors and
producers founded KinoSoyuz, a rival to the alreadyestablished Russian Cinematographers’ Union, which is
headed by Nikita Mikhalkov, the renowned Soviet and
Russian film-maker.
Among the founders of the KinoSoyuz, (which is registered
in the Russian Ministry of Justice and has gained legal status),
are directors Eldar Ryazanov, Alex Herman Sr, Yuri Norstein,
Alexander Sokurov and others.
They were spurred into setting up KinoSoyuz after
disagreements over the policy direction of the current the
Russion Cinematographers’ Union and the monopolisation by
Mikhalkov, who is also one of the organisers of the Russian
‘Golden Eagle’ award and head of the Moscow International
Film Festival.
Founders of the new union claim it will better protect
the interests of Russian film-makers and the local
cinematography industry.
Alexey Herman Jr, another of the alternative union’s
founders, says the new organisation is planning to work with
local film-makers following a US-style model. There, filmmakers have long been united in guilds, similar to labour
unions, defending the rights of their members.
According to Herman, the current structure of the Russian
film industry is outdated and does not meet modern
cinematography standards. “We hope we can create a new
way of developing the Russian film industry, using the US
experience,” says Herman.
KinoSoyuz believes the Russian film industry still suffers
Make-up of russia’s rival film industry unions
Russian Cinematographers’ Union
KinoSoyuz
Heads
Nikita Mikhalov
Boris Hlebnikov
Key members
Alexander Adabashyan, Vasily Livanov,
Konstantin Khabensky, Michael Porechenkov
Eldar Ryazanov, Aleksandr Sokurov, Otar Iosseliani,
Alex Herman, Sr, Alex Herman, Jr, Paul Bardeen,
Key areas of activities
• Protecting interests of Russian film-makers
• Creating conditions for creative work of its members
• Raising image of Russian cinema in the world arena
• Protecting interests of Russian film-makers
• Development of film guilds and associations in Russia under the US model
• Development of new technical standards of Russian film production
• Development of supporting institutions in Russian film
17
film-makers and producers, and sowed the seeds of the idea
of setting up a rival union.
However, Mikhalkov claims not to be concerned about the
rival group and its impact on the Russian film industry. “The
only thing they will achieve by this move is to deprive
themselves of the opportunity to fully participate in the
Russian film industry. They will not be able to use many
facilities and film centres, which are currently under the
jurisdiction of the Russian Cinematographers’ Union. So let’s
see how they can establish a powerful independent
organisation,” says Mikhalkov.
In response to Mikhalkov’s criticism, KinoSoyuz founders
claim they do not need to rely on Russian Cinematographers’
Union premises because a large number of business centres
in Moscow can offer the same facilities.
In contrast to some of Mikhalkov’s projects, KinoSoyuz has
no plans to spend millions of dollars on the promotion of
certain projects, although its founders have not ruled out the
possibility of applying for state support, due to its status as a
non-profit organisation.
The Russian government appears to have no objection to
the new Union and has already registered it as an
independent organisation.
Alexander Avdeev, Russia’s minister of culture, says:
“Russian film-makers have the right to express themselves
like this. The Ministry of Culture will have to deal with both
s
cinematographers’ unions.” n
18
In Focus
Alexander Akopov, head of Amedia, one of Russia’s leading
TV and film production companies, has already branded them
“allies of the pirates”. According to him, the problem of piracy
on the internet will only be solved when companies start
offering legal content for a reasonable price. But many in the
industry think this is self-defeating, because the sheer scale
of free movies on the internet means users will never start to
pay money for the same movies.
In the meantime, representatives of Russia’s largest
internet portals have brushed off the allegations of producers.
Maxim Bobin, Mail.ru’s vice-president for legal affairs,
says: “We are not spreading illegal content, this is done by
our users who violate our terms of use. It is a good idea to
create a legal register but it is practically impossible to
determine whether a video is legal or not based on its title.
What is needed is to create a special archive with legitimate
digital copies.”
A spokesperson for Yandex, a Russian IT company which
operates the largest search engine in Russia, said in an
interview with Russian business paper Vedomosti that the
producers’ proposal will be difficult to implement in practice,
and that copyright holders should find a more constructive
way of dealing with internet companies.
However, the proposal might be supported by the Russian
State Duma, which is planning to consider several
amendments, designed to tighten responsibility for internet
users who download or watch illegal films – even if they are
unaware that the copy is illegal.
Russia declares war on piracy
Leading Russian film companies and politicians have
declared war on internet piracy. They have called for a register
of legal internet videos as the first stage in combating piracy.
In addition, Russian officials want to introduce fines for all
Russian internet users who watch pirated movies.
An initiative to create a register of legal internet videos was
recently started by the Sistema Mass Media Company, a
subsidiary of Russian financial conglomerate AFK Sistema,
which owns Russian World Studios, one of the largest film
and television production companies in the country. The
proposal has already been supported by several other
Russian film producers such as Amedia, ArtPictures and
Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Where internet video is concerned, the film studios are
going to require internet companies to spread their content
only in accordance with the preliminary lists of films
registered for legal internet downloading. In order to maintain
control of these lists, a new governmental body is expected to
be set up. This proposal has already been submitted to the
State Duma (Russian Parliament).
The Russian film industry loses between $1.1bn (RUB 34.5bn)
and $1.3bn (RUB40.8m) every year because of internet piracy,
according to industry experts. The five largest Russian
websites offering illegal content – among them are the Russia
web servers and networks Mail.ru and Vkontakte.ru – have
combined visitors in the region of 3 million a day.
top illegally downloaded films in russia 2008-2010
Rank
2008
2009
2010 (1H)
1
The Dark Night
Star Trek
Iron Man 2
2
Hulk
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
Knight & Day
3
The Bank Job
Rock ’n’ Rolla
The Expendables
4
You Don’t Mess With The Zohan
The Hangover
Robin Hood
5
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Twilight
Frozen
6
Juno
District 9
Sex And The City 2
7
Tropic Thunder
Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince
Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time
8
I Am Legend
The State Play
Mr. Nobody
9
In Flight
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Leaving Las Vegas
10
Horton
Knowing
Source: Filmreserach
19
At present, only people who download unlicensed films
with the deliberate intent to sell them on, face prosecution.
But Alexandr Milyavsky, a member of Moscow City Hall and
one of the people behind this proposal, says there is a need
to impose fines for all internet users who download piracy
movies. The fine is expected to be in the range of $60-$200
(RUB 2,000-5000).
This proposal was initially put forward more than two years
ago, but it was rejected following strong opposition from the
Russian internet companies.
However, with Russia’s forthcoming accession to the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) , these amendments might be
adopted after all, as one of the conditions of Russia’s
integration into the global community.
In the meantime, many Russian analysts believe that the
imposition of such strict rules in favour of WTO’s accession
makes no sense, because many of the current WTO members
have different internet piracy legislation anyway.
For instance, Sweden has a rather relaxed attitude towards
pirates, while French legislation is some of the strictest in the
world – French users can lose their access to the internet
altogether if found to be downloading pirated movies.
In addition, the Russian Service for Cultural Preservation
says there are still no basic principles for regulating internet
activities in Russia, so it’s too soon to implement the
proposed measures.
“We hope that these amendments will not be adopted
because we cannot adopt laws whose meaning can neither
be explained nor understood,” says Anton Nosik, deputy
general director of United Media, one of Russia’s largest
media holdings.
Meanwhile, several online services providing access
to legal videos have been launched in Russia. In February,
the portal www.ivi.ru, with free access to a catalogue of
s
feature films, was launched. n
20
the audience
“Hollywood film directors are always able
to offer something new and entertaining
for viewers. Unlike Russian films, viewers
are never indifferent to a Hollywood
blockbuster.”
Hollywood the main draw
Despite the ever-increasing popularity of cinema in Russia,
the maximum local audience in the country is estimated
at 10 million people, with only 4 million (out of a total
population of 140 million) regularly visiting the cinema
(at least once a month).
The vast majority of Russian cinema-goers (85%) are
young people under the age of 30, of which 28% are
university students.
Valeri Todorovski, a Russian film director, says the Russian
cinema audience is too narrow. “We have to work with the
audience aged from about 14 to 21 years,” he says.
Vladislav V, 19, from Moscow
are doomed to failure simply because the low budgets and
corresponding poor quality do not appeal to local audiences
who can opt for mega-budget Hollywood films instead.
The Russian film industry is facing an upward battle to
attract older audiences. Part of the problem is the lack of films
aimed at older viewers and limited promotion of those few
films that do cater to this demographic. In recent years only
two movies, Admiral and Mamma Mia!, were able to attract a
s
more senior audience. n
“Compared with Soviet times, there is
much less Russian cinema. The majority of
the films are produced in haste, hoping
for quick profits, but most don’t make any
money. The quality of acting among
Russian actors also leaves much to be
desired. So I don’t attend even the most
high-profile Russian releases”
“Russian cinema can’t compete with
Hollywood films in terms of quality of
directing, acting and script. Also high
ticket prices, as well as the lack of
high-quality cinemas, especially in the
province, stops me from regularly
visiting the cinema”
Evgeniy G, 27, from Voronezh, a provincial town
Most Russian cinemagoers are big fans of Hollywood
blockbusters. People usually go to the movies to relax, and
they enjoy watching highly publicised movies with famous
actors. Other Western delights such as popcorn and coca-cola
remain essential parts of the Russian cinema-going
experience. Up to 80% of viewers buy these products
during a cinema visit.
But the demand for Russian films remains low among this
audience. Where Russian-made movies are concerned, the
most popular genre is comedy, especially romantic, such as
the recently released The Irony of Fate 2, The Best Film,
Nasha Russia: The Fate Of Eggs, Love-Carrot 2, Security
Vacation and ZhaRa.
Russian comedies are almost the only category of local films
that can turn in a profit. Russian movies of any other genres
Valeria V, 44, from Moscow
21
audience data
Number of cinemas and screens
2500
2500
n Screens
n Cinema
n Digital screens
2000
2000
1500
1500
1000
1000
500
500
00
2500
2002
2002
2003
2003
2004
2004
2000
Source: Polit.ru * estimate
2005
2005
2006
2006
2007
2007
2008
2008
2009*
2009*
1500
Audience by age in 2009-2010 (1H)
1000
3535
500
30
30
0
2525
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009*
20
20
1515
35
1010
30
25
55
20
00 15 and younger
15 and younger
15
16-2010
16-20
21-25
21-25
26-30
26-30
31-35
31-35
36-40
36-40
45 and
and older
older
45
5
Source: Polit.ru
0
15 and younger
Audience attitude towards local films
16-20
21-25
26-30
Never watches Russian movies
Prefer foreign movies
Don’t mind
Prefer local movies
Only local movies
0%
0%
10%
10%
20%
20%
0%
30%
30%
Source: Polit.ru
10%
20%
40%
40%
30%
50%
50%
22
40%
50%
31-35
36-40
45 and older
and cinematography. So, despite a huge budget (by Russian
standards), and Michalkov’s personality, Burnt By The
Sun: Prestanding was unable to repeat the success of the
original movie.
Key learnings The film was slammed by the critics and war
veterans. Most of them were unhappy with the bad acting,
poor script, excessive violence, as well the historical
inaccuracies and the image it portrayed of the Soviet Army
and Stalin. Mikhalkov’s response was that his film showed
the truth about war, which in the days of the USSR was a
forbidden topic.
It was a massive production, with thousands of extras
necessary for the crowd scenes, which meant costs soared.
Most of the battle scenes were produced with the help of
Russia’s Ministry of Defence and part of the movie was filmed
in Germany, with the German actors, as well as German
military equipment and costumes.
Although the next instalment, Burnt By The Sun: The
Citadel, was initially planned to be released on 4 November
2010, because the first part flopped, the producers have
decided to postpone the release .
Burnt By The Sun 2: most expensive and most failed film in Russian cinema history
case studies
Burnt By The Sun struggles to shine
Company Trite Studio, Golden Eagle company
Aim To produce a film, dedicated to the events of World War II,
which could be considered a worthy sequel to the 1994 hit
Burnt By The Sun.
What they did Nikita Mikhalkov, head of Trite and the Russian
Cinematographers’ Union, completed production of a sequel
to the Russian film drama Burnt By The Sun (1994) in April
2010. The original won the Grand Prize at the 1994 Cannes
Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign
Language Film, among many other honours.
Burnt By The Sun 2 is a two-parter, comprising two
independent feature films: Burnt By The Sun: Prestanding and
Burnt by the Sun: The Citadel.
Budget $55m (RUB 1.7bn)
Measuring success With a budget of $55m, Burnt By The
Sun 2 became the most expensive, and at the same time the
most failed film, in the history of the Russian cinema. The film
did not recoup even a quarter of its budget, despite more
than 1,000 copies of the film being distributed – more than
any other film at that time. The film was screened at the 2010
Cannes Film Festival, but received no awards.
Tips for working in the territory World War II, and Stalin’s
role in the victory, still remain controversial in Russian society
Rentrak gains cinema data task
Company Rentrak Corporation
Client Ministry of Culture of Russia
Aim Rentrak Corporation is expanding its presence in the
Russian film market through an agreement with the Russian
Ministry of Culture, allowing it to collect data from cinema
chains. Alexander Babichev, director general of Rentrak
Russia, says the company hopes to increase its Russian
coverage and presence.
In May, new legislation came into effect in Russia
stipulating that each Russian cinema must send details
of all tickets sold to a single data centre, based at the
ministry of culture. The report will include information
on the name of the cinema, date, time, title of the film,
distribution certificate number, seat numbers, ticket price
and other details.
Budget The amount of investment in the project has not been
disclosed, however, industry experts predict the installation
of all the necessary equipment and its maintenance will cost
Rentrak up to $6,500 (RUB200,000) per cash desk.
What they did The company has already reached a
23
preliminary agreement with the ministry of culture, and is
ready to implement the project.
Measuring success Most of the Russian cinema chains and
producers have already expressed an interest in working with
Rentrak, due to the efficiency of its system and the company’s
high reputation.
Rentrak already works with 99% of the Russian cinemas,
including Cinema Park, Kinostar, Kronverk and Formula Kino,
collecting data either electronically or via a call-centre.
Tips for working in the territory Russian analysts believe that
Rentrack will find it very difficult to finally gain a legal foothold
in Russia, because some Russian officials (in particular the
Russian Ministry of Finance) are reluctant to allow third
parties to collect cinema data.
Key learnings Co-operation with such a well-known and
established company as Rentrak Corporation could be
beneficial for most of the Russian film chains and should help
to create an effective system between the state and local
cinemas.
success was that it was based on a genuine Russian folk tale
combined with Hollywood shooting technologies. A similar
strategy was used by the company when casting by inviting
young Russian actors and recognised Soviet masters to be
involved.
Key learnings According to Disney Russia, The Book Of
Masters became the most successful locally made film in
Disney history. Moreover, in the case of Russia, the release of
the film contributed to the further development of a fairytales
film segment in Russia, which had previously been
undeveloped. Disney plans to produce two to three movies in
Russia every year. Its next two projects are a modern musical
s
comedy for the youth audience and an adventure film. n
Disney takes on Russian fairytale project
Company Disney
Aim To produce the first Russian Disney movie, based on
Russian fairytales, with classical characters such as Baba
Yaga the witch, Kashchey the Deathless and Rusalka
(mermaid), all played by famous Russian actors.
Budget: $8m (RUB 251.1m)
What they did The Book Of Masters is the first full-featured
Russian film from Disney and was released during the school
holidays in Russia. Although based on Russian fairytales and
shot in Russia, the film had Hollywood-quality production and
with distinctive Hollywood special effects. The film received
significant advertising support from Disney.
Measuring success The Book Of Masters was released in 29
October 2009, and during the first two weekends of its
distribution held the first place in the Russian box office.
Overall, it made $10.8 million (RUB 316.5m). The film received
seven prizes at various film festivals: two in Russia, one in
Germany, one in Belgium and one in Los Angeles. However,
the movie received rather low scores among the Russian
audience. Some critics slammed its script and the
performance of the young actors.
Tips for working in the territory A key aspect of the film
24
in production
The Best Movie 3D
Monumental Pictures, the Russian motion picture company
formed in 2006 as a joint venture between Sony Pictures
Entertainment and Patton Media Group, and Comedy Club
Production, a well-known Russian film studio, have started
production of the third part of popular parody film, The Best
Movie 3D. This is the first Russian feature film, which will be
fully produced in 3D.
The movie is scheduled to be released on 20 January 2011,
while its official distributor will be Walt Disney Studios
Sony Pictures Releasing (WDSSPR). Among the cast are
Russian actors Alexander Baluev, Alexander Semchev,
Mikhail Efremov and Nina Ruslanova. Kirill Kuzin, who
also directed the first Best Film in 2008, is expected to
direct the new 3D version. The original was released in
January 2008 and made a record box office in Russia of
$16.4m. It became one of the most successful in Russia
since 1990s and is the 11th top grossing film in Russian
cinema history.
Contact Comedy Club Production,
((495) 543-88-88
[email protected]
www.comedyclub.ru
Contact Monumental Pictures, Paul Hat
(7) 495 926 27 92
[email protected]
www.monumentalpictures.com
Prison Break
Channel One, Russia’s most widely distributed TV channel,
and 20th Century Fox Television Distribution have agreed to
launch a Russian version of the TV series Prison Break.
Konstantin Ernst, general director of the channel, and
film director Denis Evstigneev are to be executive producers
of the project.
Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
Shooting of the TV series, expected to have 22 episodes, will
start before the end of the year.
Contact Larisa Krymova, PR director of Channel One
Tel (7) 495 617-73-87
www.1tv.ru
Emir Kusturica film project
Serbian film-maker Emir Kusturica has announced plans to
shoot a movie about Russia. Work on the film is already under
way, with production scheduled for the middle of 2011, and
filming is expected to take place in several Russian cities.
Although the name and budget of the film have not been
released, two of Russia’s top actors, Ingeborga Dapkunaite
and Konstansin Khabensky, are expected to play leading roles.
Contact Emir Kusturica Rasta International
(381) 11 24 31 505
Cosmonaut
Spanish film director Nicholas Alcala is planning to shoot a
movie in Russia,called Cosmonaut. The film is expected to be
financed by the crowd funding method, where the film’s
budget is met by membership fees of internet users.
The minimum contribution is €2, and in return the investor
will receive a producer credit, as well as the opportunity to
send the studio their own suggestions for the plot. Alcala and
his partners will then choose the best one for the final version
of the film. The rush prints will be posted on the internet, so
investors can make their own movie shorts to put on the
project’s website. Production support will be provided by
Russia and the US aerospace agencies.
Contact Nicholas Alcala, Riot cinema,
(34) 91 523 2366
www. riotcinema.com
[email protected]
$40m historical movie
Nikita Mikhalkov is planning to start production of an
historical movie dedicated to Russian playwright, poet,
composer and diplomat Alexander Griboyedov.
The budget for the project, which will be divided into two
parts, is estimated at $40m (RUB 1.3bn).
Production is expected to start by the end of the year and
will take place in Russia, Iran, the Caucasus and Turkey.
The plot is partially based on archival documents, and the
script runs to 800 pages. Oleg Menshikov is pencilled to take
the leading role of Griboyedov.
Contact Nikita Mikhalkov, Trite Studio
(7) 495 933 60 37
[email protected]
http://www.trite.ru
25
Stalingrad
Art Pictures, one of Russia’s largest film studios founded by
Fyodor Bondarchuk, plans to start production of an epic film
called Stalingrad.
The new film will be produced in 3D format and will cover
the Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943. The picture is expected to
be released just before the 70th anniversary of the Battle,
in 2012.
The script was written by Russian writer Ilya Tilkin. Art
Pictures is also hoping to get Vince Pace, one of the leading
specialists in 3D-technology (who took part in the production
of Avatar), as well as composer Angelo Badalamenti on board.
Actors being linked to the project include Daniel Kozlovsky,
Sergei Garmash and German actor Til Schweiger. The total
budget is estimated at $28-$30m. At present, Bondarchuk is
going through archive material and building sets.
Contact Fyodor Bondarchuk
(7) 499 143 49 04
[email protected]
www.art-pictures.ru
Kvartal 95 have started production of only the second
3D film in the history of Russian cinema, called Rzhevskii
Against Napoleon.
The new comedy has a budget of $5m (RUB 156.9m) and its
official release is scheduled for summer 2011. Most of the
filming takes place in the Ukrainian Crimea resort, with some
scenes shot in local palace interiors.
The film will be directed by Marius Weisberg, and among
the Russian actors in the movie are Paul Derevianko, Vladimir
Zelenski, Mikhail Efremov, Marat Basharov Svetlana
Khodchenkova and Michael Galustyan.
Jean Claude Van Damme is set to be a special guest star in
the film.
Contact Leopolis
(495) 646-98-60
[email protected]
Contact Studio Kvartal
(44) 529 31 59, (44) 529 53 43
[email protected]
Faust adaptation
Alexander Sokurov is completing an adaptation of Goethe’s
Faust novel, which has been filmed in Europe, particularly in
the Czech Republic and Iceland, as well as at the Proline Film
St. Petersburg studio.
With a budget of about $12m (RUB 376m), Sokurov has also
been endorsed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to
produce the project. Filming is scheduled to be completed by
the end of December, and the official release will probably be
next year, initially in Europe.
(812) 233-10-51
[email protected]
[email protected]
Arthouse investment
Eight leading Russian film companies that have received
$8.33m (RUB 250m) from the state film fund for the
production of films of which up to $1m (RUB 30m) is to
spend on arthouse film production.
According to the head of the fund Sergei Tolstikov, the fund
is necessary to help develop Russian arthouse cinema
because its popularity in Russia is extremely low. It is 42
times less popular in Russia than in Spain, 30 times less than
in Norway and up to six times less than in the US, according to
Svobodanews, Russia’s business paper.
Among those to have received funding are Central
Partnership, Art Pictures, Bazelevs, Rekun and Profit Future
but details of their art house releases have not been
disclosed.
Contact Sergey Tolstikov, The Russian Federal Fund to Support
National Cinematography
[email protected]
www.fond-kino.ru
The House on the Sidelines
Russian World Studios Company (RWS) and Nikita
Mikhalkov’s TRITE Studio have started shooting a large-format
feature film called The House On The Sidelines.
The budget for the film has not been disclosed. It is a
drama focusing on the theme of love in modern Russian
society and will star Andrei Merzlikin, Christina Kuzmina and
Tatiana Cherkasova. Production has begun in the St.
Petersburg region.
Rzhevskii Against Napoleon
The Russian Leopolis film studio and the Ukrainian Studio
26
The official release of the film is scheduled for the second
half of 2011. With Mikhalkov’s involvement there are high
hopes it will pull in a large box office.
Contact Trite
(7) 495 933 60 37
[email protected]
Contact Russian World Studios
(7) 495 229 63 63
s
[email protected] n
27
A look ahead
Russian Academy of Cinema
Nikita Mikhalkov plans to set up the Academy of Cinema in
Russia and, according to some Russian media reports, it may
be up and running by the end of the year.
Mikhalkov, who will head the Academy, hopes that by
setting this up it will help relieve the shortage of professionals
in the industry, such as first assistant directors. “These won’t
be the courses specifically for writers and directors, but rather
courses for the creation of film crews,” says Mikhalkov.
He first thought of the idea of an Academy in 2002, and has
been holding talks with the Russian Ministry of Culture ever
since about the project.
Contact Nikita Mikhalkov, Russian Cinematographers’ Union
(7) 495 933 60 37
[email protected]
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Russian film director Timur Bekmambetov, together with Tim
Burton are planning to shoot a 3D film, based on Seth
Grahame-Smith’s novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter at
20th Century Fox studio.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is one of the hottest
projects in Hollywood, with all the US majors showing an
interest. Paramount, Universal and Summit had long talks
with Bekmambetov and Burton, before they decided on
20th Century Fox.
The estimated budget is $69m (RUB 2.2bn), and its official
release is scheduled for 2012.
It will be the second joint project between Burton and
Bekmambetov after 9, the cartoon for which Bekmambetov
won producer of the year in the Best Animated Film of 2010
category by the Producers Guild of America.
Contact Timur Bekmambetov
7 (495) 223-04-00
[email protected]
www.bazelevs.com
Vasilisa Kozhina
Russian World Studios (RWS), one Russia’s largest film
studios, is planning to shoot a Russian-French historical film
called Vasilisa Kozhina.
The film will focus on the events of the French invasion of
Russia of 1812, and the unfolding romance between a Russian
partisan, Vasilisa Kozhina, and French officer Blier. It will draw
on memoirs, documentary evidence, portraits and
biographical information on the war of 1812.
Both Russian and French actors will be used in the movie
and filming will take place in both countries.
Dmitry Meshiev will direct the film, while Jean de Gliniasty,
the French Ambassador in Russia, is expected to be a
consultant.
7 (495) 229 63 63
s
[email protected] n
The 8th Of August
Glavkino, the film studio set up by Fyodor Bondarchuk, and
Konstantin Ernst, general director of Channel One, are
beginning production of a film dedicated to the 2008
Russian-Georgian military conflict.
The new film will be called The 8th Of August, and its
director will be Janic Fayziev, who previously produced The
Admiral, one of the highest grossing movies in the Russian
cinema.Some financing for the film is expected to come from
the state although its budget has not been released.
The 8th of August is an epic, global project based on real
events, according to Ilya Bachurin, CEO of Glavkino.
Contact Konstantin Ernst, Channel One
(+7) 495 617-73-87
www.1tv.ru/
Contact Fyodor Bondarchuk,
(+7) 499 143-49-04
[email protected]
www.art-pictures.ru
28
TERRITORY FOCUS: UK AND IRELAND
Toy Story 3: summer blockbuster took more than $112m at the box office
market update
However, the UK’s major studios remained busy with a
number of high-profile US films shooting in the UK, among
them X-Men: First Class, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger
Tides and Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger.
In Ireland in mid-September, Screen Producers Ireland
(SPI) and SIPTU (the union for film technicians) struck a
groundbreaking agreement, whereby minimum rates
of pay for crew positions have been set, as well as new
arrangements for overtime, night shoots and the like. The
unions will now accept different rate levels depending on
the size of a film or TV production’s budget. Local producers
acknowledge that Ireland has sometimes suffered from the
perception that industrial relations are unstable, but it is
hoped this will now change. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Section 481
tax incentive is proving popular with international producers.
Locals say that the downturn in the economy (Ireland’s new
age of austerity) has had at least one positive side-effect for
the film industry — prices have come down for everything
from production services to living expenses.
It has been a contradictory quarter in the UK. The shock late July
decision to axe the UK Film Council left the local industry reeling.
However, after arguably the most successful ever Toronto
International Film Festival for British films in September, and
the news in mid-October that Channel 4 was increasing the
budget for film financing division Film4 to $24.1m (£15m) for the
next five years, the mood improved markedly.
In the summer, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS) moved quickly to reassure the industry that the
UK tax credit would remain, as would the lottery money
investment in UK film (worth around $47m/£29.4m a year),
which would increase in 2012.
The British Film Institute (BFI) was in a position to pick
up some of the Film Council’s activities, but still faced
a 15% cut in grant aid as part of the UK government’s
spending review. It also emerged that film sector funding
outside the lottery money and the BFI would be cut by
more than 50%.
29
SPECIAL FOCUS: UK AND IRELAND
In July, it was confirmed that Simon Perry will be leaving his
job at the helm of Irish Film Board and a new
CEO will be appointed early next year. During his five-year
stint, Perry has championed co-production and taken a
determinedly international approach. It remains to be seen
whether his successor will continue to pursue this policy.
After a severe dip in cinema-going during the FIFA World
Cup, UK distributors reported robust business in the late
summer and early autumn. As in other European territories,
DVD remained in decline and video-on-demand didn’t make
up for the shortfall.
“July and August were really strong months. They bounced
back after a very soft June,” says Film Distributors’ Association
CEO Mark Batey. There were 40.5 million admissions during
July and August, up on 35.5 million for the same period in
2009. The stand-out success of the summer was Toy Story 3,
which took more than $112.4m (£70m) at the box office. The
talk among the independents was of Vertigo’s extraordinary
success with StreetDance 3D (in the first half of 2010, the
film grossed $18.6m (£11.6m), 95% of that on 3D).
UK MARKET SHARE FOR JANuary TO JUNE 2010
n Independent UK films’ market share for the first half of 2010 was 6.2%,
while UK-qualifying studio-backed titles (financed by US studios but passing
the UK cultural test and featuring UK cast, crew, locations, facilities,
post-production and often UK source material) shared 20.2% of the box
office. Therefore, total UK share of the UK theatrical market in
the first half of 2010 was 26.4%.
Source: Source UK Film Council Research And Statistics Unit
independent activity than there was three or four
years ago,” he adds.
British films were conspicuous in their almost complete
absence in Venice. Apart from Patrick Keiller’s Robinson In
Ruins, the Lido was a Brit-free zone. However, in Toronto,
there were 32 British films, 13 of them backed by the UK Film
Council. Among the most feted was Tom Hooper’s The King’s
Speech, which won the audience prize and is now being
tipped as a potential awards winner in Oscar season.
“Everyone you speak to will tell you that Toronto is the
first market in five years that has seen a positive and
quantifiable uplift,” says Paul Brett, director of Prescience
Film Finance, who helped finance The King’s Speech through
its Aegis Film Fund.
British distributors were also very active in Toronto, with
Optimum, Artificial Eye and Soda picking up multiple titles.
There were pre-buys and bidding wars. However, it was also
apparent that the UK distributors and sellers were struggling
to come up with a business model for a post-DVD world.
The optimism in Toronto was an antidote to the backbiting
and uncertainty in all areas of the British film industry caused
by the axing of the UK Film Council, although there was plenty
of gloating from opponents at its imminent demise.
Noting that 46,000 people signed up to a Facebook page to
save the UK Film Council (considerably more than the 33,000
who signed the Save The Arts petition on the same site),
culture minister Ed Vaizey observed that “some people
compared the abolition of the UK Film Council to the closure
s
of the NHS”. n
TV threat
The UK is on track for 180 million cinema admissions this
year, up on the 173.5 million admissions in the UK last year,
according to the Cinema Advertising Association.
But Batey has warned that the industry faces a new threat:
blockbuster Saturday night TV shows. Early in its autumn run,
The X Factor on ITV was posting audiences of more than 12
million and, in Batey’s opinion, keeping people away from
cinemas in the process.
During the summer, as the 3D boom continued, the UK
reached the threshold of 1,000 digital screens – a symbolic
landmark; more than 20% of British screens are now
3D-enabled. However, some industry experts are warning that
3D, while clearly here to stay, will now decline in impact.
Meanwhile, independent British producers continued to
struggle to draw their financing together. In terms of the
independent sector, it remains tough,” notes UK tax expert
John Graydon, of Tenon Media. “That part of the sector, reliant
on inward investment, is probably finding things quite
buoyant at the moment... There is a lot of inward investment
film activity in the UK at the moment. The amount of tax equity
has reduced over the years... It feels like there is less
30
Data
Box office results for top 20 films released in the UK, January-June 2010
Rank
Title
Country of origin
box office Gross
Opening cinemas
Opening weekend
Distributor
1
Alice In Wonderland
US
$68.6m (£42.5m)
533
$17.1m (£10.6m)
Disney
2
Sex And The City 2*
US
$34.8m (£21.6m)
530
$9.8m (£6.1m)
Warner Bros
3
Iron Man 2*
US
$34.1m (£21.2m)
521
$12.4m (£7.7m)
Paramount
4
Clash Of The Titans
US-UK
$32.6m (£20.2m)
446
$10.0m (£5.7m)
Warner Bros
5
How To Train Your Dragon*
US
$27.7m (£17.2m)
471
$7.9m (£4.9m)
Paramount
6
Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang*
US-UK
$26.5m (£16.4m)
512
$4.2m (£2.6m)
Universal
7
Robin Hood*
US-UK
$24.8m (£15.4m)
537
$9.4m (£5.8m)
Universal
8
StreetDance 3D*
UK
$18.7m (£11.6m)
412
$4.0m (£2.5m)
Vertigo
9
Kick-Ass
US-UK
$18.7m (£11.6m)
402
$6.3m (£3.9m)
Universal
10
The Princess And The Frog
US
$17.9m (£11.1m)
1
$0.03m (£0.02m)
Disney
11
Shutter Island
US
$17.4m (£10.8m)
416
$3.7m (£2.3m)
Paramount
12
Valentine's Day
US
$16.5m (£10.2m)
432
$6.0m (£3.7m)
Warner Bros
13
It's Complicated
US
$15.0m (£9.3m)
434
$1.8m (£1.1m)
Universal
14
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time*
US-UK
$14.2m (£8.8m)
468
$2.3m (£1.4m)
Disney
15
Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief
US
$12.1m (£7.5m)
454
$2.4m (£1.5m)
20th Century Fox
16
Get Him To The Greek*
US
$11.0m (£6.8m)
389
$2.6m (£1.6m)
Universal
17
Up In The Air
US
$10.5m (£6.5m)
325
$2.1m (£1.3m)
Paramount
18
The Lovely Bones
US
$10.3m (£6.4m)
420
$2.6m (£1.6m)
Paramount
19
The Blind Side
US
$10.0m (£6.2m)
371
$2.1m (£1.3m)
Warner Bros
20
The Bounty Hunter
US
$10.0m (£6.2m)
394
$3.4m (£2.1m)
Sony Pictures
Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis
Gross box office = cumulative total up to 25 July 2010/* films were still being exhibited on 25 July 2010
feature films broadcast on
terrestrial television, 1H 2010
Channel
Number of
films
broadcast
Number of UK
films
broadcast
UK film as %
of total
Number of
recent* UK
films
broadcast
Recent* UK as
% of total
film slots
BBC1
113
14
12%
7
6.2%
BBC2
167
59
35%
21
12.6%
ITV1
203
49
24%
23
11.3%
Channel 4
245
42
17%
15
6.1%
Five
228
28
12%
5
2.2%
Total
956
192
20%
71
7.4%
Source: Attentional, UK Film Council RSU analysis.
* A recent film is one that has been theatrically released, or intended for theatrical release, in the UK since 2002.
31
Data
Top UK films released in UK and Republic of Ireland, January-june 2010
Rank
Title
Country of origin
Gross box office
Opening cinemas
Distributor
1
Clash Of The Titans
US
$32.6m (£20.2m)
446
Warner Bros
2
Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang*
US-UK
$26.5m (£16.4m)
512
Universal
3
Robin Hood*
US
$24.8m (£15.4m)
537
Universal
4
StreetDance 3D*
UK
$18.7m (£11.6m)
412
Vertigo
5
Kick-Ass
US-UK
$18.7m (£11.6m)
402
Universal
6
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time*
US
$14.1m (£8.8m)
468
Disney
7
Green Zone
US-UK
$9.2m (£5.7m)
419
Universal
8
The Wolfman
US
$8.1m (£5.0m)
404
Universal
9
The Ghost Writer (aka The Ghost)
Fr-Ger-UK
$6.6m (£4.1m)
332
Optimum
10
Four Lions*
UK
$4.7m (£2.9m)
115
Optimum
11
Cemetery Junction
UK
$2.3m (£1.4m)
330
Sony Pictures
12
It’s A Wonderful Afterlife
UK
$1.6m (£1.0m)
294
Icon
13
4.3.2.1*
UK
$1.6m (£1.0m)
260
The Works
14
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
UK
$1.5m (£0.9m)
131
Entertainment
15
Wild Target*
UK
$1.3m (£0.8m)
388
Entertainment
16
The Infidel
UK
$1.0m (£0.6m)
29
Revolver
17
Shank
UK
$1.0m (£0.6m)
86
Revolver
18
44 Inch Chest
UK
$0.6m (£0.4m)
75
Momentum
19
The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
UK
$0.6m (£0.4m)
67
CinemaNX
20
Perrier’s Bounty
UK-Ir
$0.5m (£0.3m)
90
Optimum
Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis
Gross box office = cumulative total up to 25 July 2010 / * films were still being exhibited on 25 July 2010
Theatrical market share of UK film by studio
and independent titles, 2001-2010 H1
Year
H1 Market share of UK
films produced with US
studio backing )
Market share of UK
independent films
Total UK film
market share
2001
21.2%
3.8%
25.0%
2002
16.1%
6.5%
22.6%
2003
12.5%
3.4%
15.9%
2004
19.5%
3.9%
23.4%
2005
26.2%
6.9%
33.1%
2006
14.4%
4.7%
19.1%
2007
21.8%
6.8%
28.6%
2008
25.4%
5.7%
31.1%
2009
8.5%
8.2%
16.7%
2010
20.2%
6.2%
26.4%
Source: UK Film Council
2010 market share calculation based on grosses up to and including 25 July 2010
32
Data
Top films at UK Box office 2010 year to date
Rank
Film Title
Distributor
Box office Gross To Date
Opening Date
Director
1
Toy Story 3
Walt Disney Studios International
$117.6m (£72.9m)
23/07/2010
Lee Unkrich
2
Alice In Wonderland
$68.6m (£42.5m)
05/03/2010
Tim Burton
3
Inception
Warner Bros
$57.2m (£35.5m)
16/07/2010
Christopher Nolan
4
Shrek Forever After
Paramount
$52.0m (£32.2m)
02/07/2010
Mike Mitchell
5
eOne Films
$48.0m (£29.7m)
09/07/2010
David Slade
6
Sex And The City 2
Warner Bros
$34.9m (£21.6m)
28/05/2010
Michael Patrick King
7
Iron Man 2
Paramount
$34.2m (£21.2m)
30/04/2010
Jon Favreau
8
Clash Of The Titans
Warner Bros
$32.6m (£20.2m)
02/04/2010
Louis Leterrier
9
How To Train Your Dragon
Paramount
$28.0m (£17.3m)
02/04/2010
Christopher Sanders, Dean DeBlois
10
Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang
Universal Pictures
$26.6m (£16.5m)
26/03/2010
Susanna White
11
Robin Hood
Universal Pictures
$24.8m (£15.4m)
14/05/2010
Ridley Scott
12
The Karate Kid
Sony Pictures International
$20.2m (£12.5m)
30/07/2010
Harald Zwart
13
StreetDance 3D
Vertigo Films
$18.7m (£11.6m)
21/05/2010
Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini
14
Kick-Ass
Universal Pictures
$18.7m (£11.6m)
02/04/2010
Matthew Vaughn
15
$17.9m (£11.1m)
29/01/2010
Ron Clements, John Musker
16
Shutter Island
Paramount
$17.3m (£10.7m)
12/03/2010
Martin Scorsese
17
The A-Team
20th Century Fox
$16.6m (£10.3m)
30/07/2010
Joe Carnahan
18
Valentine’s Day
Warner Bros
$16.5m (£10.2m)
12/02/2010
Garry Marshall
19
The Expendables
Lionsgate UK
$16.1m (£10.0m)
20/08/2010
Sylvester Stallone
20
Knight And Day
20th Century Fox
$15.6m (£9.7m)
06/08/2010
James Mangold
Source: UKFC research and statistics
Films released 1 January 2010 to 1 October 2010; box office gross to date is to 3 October
NUMBER OF FEATURES PRODUCED IN THE UK
CO-PRODUCTIONS
2007 Q1-Q3
2008 Q1-Q3
2009 Q1-Q3
2010 Q1-Q3
22
20
12
10
UK DOMESTIC FEATURES
53
62
69
55
INWARD INVESTMENT FEATURE FILMS
26
24
30
23
TOTAL
101
106
111
88
Data for films with budgets more than/equal to £500k. “Q1-Q3” means films commencing principal photography between 1 January and 30 September in each year. Data IS rounded to the nearest £0.1m so may not sum exactly to the totals shown
NUMBER OF FEATURES PRODUCED IN THE UK
2007 Q1-Q3
2008 Q1-Q3
2009 Q1-Q3
2010 Q1-Q3
CO-PRODUCTIONS
54.7
46.4
17.1
25.7
UK DOMESTIC FEATURES
126.5
185.5
177.2
130.3
INWARD INVESTMENT FEATURE FILMS
592.0
301.5
788.9
780.1
TOTAL
773.2
533.4
938.2
936.1
Data for films with budgets more than/equal to £500k. “Q1-Q3” means films commencing principal photography between 1 January and 30 September in each year. Data is rounded to the nearest £0.1m so may not sum exactly to the totals shown
33
deals
n EOne strikes Sky deal Quietly and discreetly, eOne
struck a package deal with Sky over the summer. No formal
announcement was made by either party, but an eOne source
confirmed the deal had been done. It was clearly driven by
the phenomenal success the company has enjoyed as UK
distributor for the Twilight movies in its output deal with
Summit Entertainment. The tie-up’s significance lies in the
fact that BSkyB hardly ever strikes output or package deals
with independent UK distributors. The broadcaster holds the
pre-eminent role in the pay-TV market and the other
independents have been grumbling about how hard it is to
get their wares onto Sky’s movie channels.
n Goldcrest backs Heights The goldrush days of film
financing in the UK are over. Since the end of Section 48 tax
breaks and the establishment of the UK Film Tax Credit in
2006, there has been a slow puncturing of the film financing
balloon. Some equity financiers are still active, however.
Goldcrest Capital has raised $30.5m (£19m) in equity for
£3m-£8m ($4.8m-$12.8m)-budget British films through its
structure Goldcrest Film Production. One of the first films it
has backed is Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights (produced
by Ecosse and sold by HanWay). Goldcrest aims to supply
around 20% of the budget and is also ready to cash-flow the
tax credit and offer post-production facilities.
Twilight: output deal with Summit has been a success for eOne
Melancholia, which has been purchased at script stage. Other
acquisitions are Kaboom, 13 Assassins, Silent Souls,
Attenberg, Gorbaciof, Archipelago, The Tree and Vallanzasca –
Gli Angeli Del Male.
n Entertainment top picks Entertainment Film Distributors
has been the leading UK indie for several years. In 2009, it
had an 8.56% market share, almost twice as much as that
of its nearest competitor. Some speculate that it may be
outstripped this year by eOne. However, Entertainment
owners, the Green brothers (Nigel and Trevor), remain the
doyens of the sector. They picked up a lifetime achievement
award at Screen’s inaugural Marketing and Distribution
Awards in October. Shortly thereafter, they revealed they
had pre-bought some of the most sought-after films in the
marketplace, among them Martin Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret,
s
the new Freddie Mercury biopic and DNA Films’Dredd. n
n Soda sets up film fund In the spring, London-based
distributor Soda set up a new $3.2m (£2m) distribution fund
called the Soda Film Fund to bolster its acquisitions and
optimise release campaigns. By the autumn markets, it was
clear that Soda was buying more and bigger films. Its autumn
market acquisitions included Tran Anh Hung’s Norwegian
Wood and Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff.
n Artificial Eye’s haul of 11 The UK distribution market is
crowded at every level. This quarter has seen the competition
in the arthouse sector heat up further. The increasingly
ambitious Artificial Eye, which has access to cinemas through
its hook-up with parent company Curzon, announced an
11-picture haul in late September. The new additions include
Ken Loach’s Route Irish, Jerzy Skolimowski’s Venice Special
Grand Jury prize winner Essential Killing and Lars Von Trier’s
34
digest
Production
n Giving the London Film Festival Keynote Industry Address
in October, film-maker Ken Loach launched a fierce attack on
the “lunacy” of current working and commissioning practices
in the UK TV industry. “I think we now can say that television
has become the enemy of creativity,” he commented.
Loach showed no sympathy for top BBC executives, who
recently learned they are losing their jobs as part of costcutting measures. “I’m pleased to see – I guess we all are –
that one or two top-ranking BBC people are going to lose their
jobs. It takes a million quid to get them out of the door and a
handshake. Nevertheless, they’re on their way. Great. Good
riddance. Maybe a few more will join them.”
n Speaking at Screen’s Film Summit 2010 in October, culture
minister Ed Vaizey called on broadcaster Sky to get behind the
UK film industry. “It would be fantastic if an organisation like
Sky, one of our most successful British broadcasters, could
consider if it could start its own film production fund.” This
chimed with remarks made by British producers. “To have
such a major film platform in this country and not to invest in
indigenous film seems to me just wrong,” producer Rebecca
O’Brien of Sixteen Films stated bluntly of Sky’s perceived
indifference toward the local production sector.
n On the opening day of the London Film Festival (13
October), Channel 4 announced that it was increasing the
budget of its film financing division, Film4, to £15m per
annum for the next five years. The new budget, effective from
2011, represents a 50% increase on Film4’s current spend on
film development and financing.
Slumdog Millionaire: Toronto launchpad
screens, it was on course to become the largest cinema
circuit entirely equipped with Sony 4K digital technology”.
n Often festival awards have no bearing whatsoever on a
film’s commercial prospects. The Toronto audience award is
different. Slumdog Millionaire made more than $375m
(£236m) worldwide, and the Toronto audience award is
credited with giving Danny Boyle’s crowd-pleaser its initial liftoff. The UK industry will be hoping that the Toronto effect also
works for Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech.
Distribution
n UK distributor Revolver Entertainment has acquired Srdjan
Spasovic’s A Serbian Film, the hugely controversial Serbian
horror film that was pulled from London’s Frightfest in the
summer when Westminster Council refused to allow it to be
shown in an uncut version. The British Board of Film
Classification has demanded more than four minutes of cuts
to the film for an 18 rating.
Revolver is planning a release in December. “As a leading
genre distributor we’re geared to offer innovative solutions
when we release often challenging, controversial films,” says
Revolver CEO Justin Marciano. “Because of this, we’ve
established tried-and-tested audiences for a number of genre
pictures over the past few years, bringing titles such as A
Serbian Film directly to their core audiences – intelligent fans
s
of horror.” n
Exhibition
n Throughout the summer and early autumn, the UK
financial press has been charting the bidding for Vue
Cinemas. OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement
System), Doughty Hanson and BC Partners are all contenders
to buy the chain with a second round of bidding due to begin
in November.
n In late August, Vue (one of UK exhibition’s ‘big three’
along with Odeon and Cineworld) announced it had struck a
deal with Sony Europe to install 4K digital cinema projection
systems across its circuit. Vue boasted that with “more than
36 million customers every year at its 68 sites and 657
35
in focus
UK film council funding
What does UKFC axe spell for the industry?
Sustainability has long been the holy grail for British film
production. Governments and industry bodies have often
talked about the importance of creating commercially
sustainable UK film production companies. The decision
to abolish the UK Film Council (UKFC) brings this quest back
into focus.
Two very different perspectives have emerged on what the
axing of the Film Council will mean for producers and for the
prospects of achieving sustainability.“What has happened,
unfortunately, is that they [the government] have opened up
factionalism again. There are a lot of oppositional voices all
squabbling over not very much money,” says Iain Smith
(producer of The A-Team). “One thing the Film Council did was
to unite the two hemispheres – what I would call the Soho/
Pinewood divide between culture and commerce. For 10
years, even though people did not know it, the industry was
actually working in a coherent way.”
n Since 2000 the UK Film Council has invested £160m of lottery funding into
more than 900 films, features and shorts. These films have won more than
300 awards, entertained 200 million-plus people and helped to generate more
than £700m at the box office worldwide, generating £5 for every £1 the UKFC
has invested.
Breaking that production investment figure down, the UKFC has funded 206
feature films. This includes both titles that are going to be released in the next
few months such as The King’s Speech, Attack The Block and Brighton Rock,
as well as franchises that were in the pipeline at the time the council was
launched in 2000.
Source Film Council
“The producer needs some ability not to be a pauper,”
Thomas said. He was critical about of the harsh terms on
which Film Council funding was made available to producers
and called for “a kinder” approach from public financiers
toward producers. “When you look at fee structures and what
is allowed by UK funders [for producers], they are very, very
modest. That doesn’t really sustain a film production
company. It sustains someone in the back room of their house
with a phone,” Thomas suggested.
Broadcasters and financiers remain resistant to the
proposals by producers’ organisation Pact for producers to
have a far stronger recoupment position from public funding.
The debate over producers’ terms of trade is bound to
continue. In the current fiscal environment, there is little
chance that public money will be thrown at film producers.
What Thomas made clear, though, is that producers’
grievances aren’t just to do with their cash-flow struggles.
Another deep-lying problem is the way they feel they are
perceived. “It’s just the way the film business is structured [in
the UK]. The producers don’t have any recognition on a film,”
Thomas said. His inference was clear: the UK will have little
chance of creating sustainable film companies unless the
attitude toward producers changes. “There is this strange
idea that a film producer is just like a service guy. He is not.
He is an entrepreneur. He needs to be encouraged to be an
entrepreneur. That is what nobody has understood.”
The relationship between producers and the UKFC was, in
some cases, antagonistic and dysfunctional. It’s fanciful in
the extreme to imagine that producers’ lives will become
easier now UKFC is being dismantled. What they expect is a
“plurality of gatekeepers” – a number of different sources
from broadcasters to lottery funders they can approach for
s
backing. And what they hope for is a little n
Beyond the UKFC
John Woodward, the Film Council’s CEO, warns that the UKFC
had served “as a lightning rod for everybody’s discontent”. In
its absence, that discontent is bound to be directed
elsewhere, he predicts. Producers who have their
applications for funding turned down will now have to find
someone else to blame. Woodward himself announced he
would be standing down in November 2010. He has signed
up to a new role, as managing director of Arts Alliance, the
European media venture capital company. Woodward is
heavily critical of the lack of “a wind-down” strategy for the
UKFC, which will officially close its doors in 2012.
However, with the dismantling of the UKFC, others have
seen an opportunity to transform the way that public funders
and producers interact. Jeremy Thomas’s Recorded Picture
Company, founded in 1974, is one of the few British
production outfits that retains its independence and makes
high-profile and challenging films (from Bernardo Bertolucci’s
Oscar-winning The Last Emperor to David Cronenberg’s
forthcoming A Dangerous Method). What was startling about
a keynote address that Thomas gave to the Film London
Production Finance Market in October was the low esteem in
which he believes producers are held in the UK.
36
In Production
handles this foray into Emily Bronte territory. Sales agent
Hanway has already secured numerous pre-sales on the
project from Ecosse Films, which has been shooting in
Yorkshire.
International sales Hanway
[email protected]
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
There is high anticipation for Working Title’s big-screen
adaptation of John Le Carre’s classic espionage novel, which
went into production in late September. Gary Oldman is on
board as George Smiley (the MI6 intelligence officer pitted
against Soviet spies and moles, who was played brilliantly by
Alec Guinness in a TV version of the novel). Tomas Alfredson,
fresh from his success with cult Swedish vampire film Let The
Right One In, is directing. The producers are Tim Bevan, Eric
Fellner and Robyn Slovo. StudioCanal is backing the film,
which will be released by Optimum in the UK and by Kinowelt
in France and Germany.
Production company Working Title
International sales StudioCanal
[email protected]
My Week With Marilyn
Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe in Simon Curtis’s
drama, which began shooting at Pinewood Studios in early
October. The film chronicles one week in her life during the
mid-1950s, when she was in Britain, working on The Prince
And The Showgirl. The then 23-year-old Colin Clark was an
assistant on the film and spent a week with Monroe as she
tried to escape the shackles of her Hollywood career and
embrace British life. The film is produced by Trademark Films
and is financed and distributed by The Weinstein Company.
BBC Films and Lipsync Productions are also financing the
picture. It was developed in association with the UK Film
Council and BBC Films.
International sales The Weinstein Company
s
[email protected] n
Hugo Cabret
It’s a matter of some pride in the UK industry that Martin
Scorsese’s first 3D film has been shooting over the summer
in England, at Shepperton Studios. Scorsese’s production
designer, Dante Feretti, reportedly built a full-scale model of
the 1930s Gare Du Nord at the studios. Sony will be releasing
the film in time for Christmas 2011.
Production company GK Films, Infinitum Nihil, Warner Bros
[email protected]
Hunky Dory
Jon Finn, one of the producers behind Billy Elliot, is also
producing this Swansea-set, mid-1970s drama about an
idealistic drama teacher who puts on an end-of-year show
– a rock ’n’ roll version of The Tempest, featuring the kids’
favourite music of the era. Minnie Driver headlines the cast.
Marc Evans (My Little Eye) directs from a script by Laurence
Coriat (Genova, Wonderland). Producing alongside Finn is
Dan Lupovitz. The film has just finished shooting in Wales.
International sales Independent
[email protected]
Wuthering Heights
Andrea Arnold has won a host of awards for her first two
features, Fish Tank and Red Road, both set in contemporary
urban Britain. Distributors will be very curious to see how she
37
A look ahead
Franchises on screen
UK exhibitors are primed for a pre-Christmas bonanza with
the latest episodes from two huge franchises due for release
in November and December. Harry Potter And The Deathly
Hallows: Part 1 goes out first and there is a three-week interval
until The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn
Treader is released.
Release date 19 November and 9 December
www.launchingfilms.com
Brighton Rock
Optimum Releasing is reportedly planning a big seaside
premiere for Rowan Joffe’s new, 1960s-set version of
Brighton Rock.
Release date 4 February
www.optimumreleasing.com
Film funding deadline
“The end of the year” is the absolute deadline the new
coalition government has given itself for firming up its plans
for public film policy. Sometime in the next quarter, it will
become clear who will be in charge of the UK National Lottery
production funds for film. What kind of cuts the British Film
Institute will endure, as well as the fate of the regional screen
agencies, will also be announced as part of the public
spending review.
[email protected]
Ballyhenry Film Studios
A brand new facility, Ballyhenry Film Studios, is almost
completed and should be ready early next year. Located 37km
south of Dublin in County Wicklow, the largest of the facility’s
three stages is 28,400 sq ft, with the other two measuring
13,500 sq ft each.
Contact Louise Ryan
(353) 91 561 398
s
www.irishfilmboard.ie n
38
TERRITORY FOCUS: FRANCE
Of Gods And Men: scored 467,950 admissions in its first week
market update
World Cup; there were fewer strong releases than usual; and
the fact that most of the youth who used to attend the event
now own film cards, allowing them to watch as many films as
they wish throughout the year for a monthly subscription fee.
After the festival, there were 18.4 million admissions to
French cinemas in July, according to the CNC, which
represents a 12.1% loss compared with the same month in
2009, when 20.9 millions tickets were sold.
However, with some stronger releases such as Toy Story 3,
Eclipse, Inception and Knight And Day followed by Salt, The
Expendables, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Karate Kid,
the end of summer proved more successful, with a 16.3%
increase in admissions in August. This represents a jump
from 15.1 million tickets sold in 2009 to 17.5 million in 2010.
Successful French films making an impact on the summer
charts were thin on the ground this year. But among those
that did draw in audiences were L’Italien, a comedy starring
Kad Merad, which attracted 1.1 million people, and Mathieu
Amalric’s Cannes entry, On Tour, which achieved more than
With more than 200 million admissions last year (January –
December 2009), France remains a strong territory, where the
local industry still resists US blockbuster domination. This is
mainly thanks to a wide range of state grants and subsidies
for homegrown cinema, a successful business model that
other countries wanting to maintain a strong local focus
would do well to replicate.
The July to September period 2010 has been one of mixed
fortunes, in terms of attendance at least. This year the annual
Cinema Feast, which took place from 26 June to 2 July, was
extended to one week instead of its usual three days. No
longer the sole preserve of dedicated film buffs, 3.2 million
people visited a French cinema during the festival week. But
this was a significant drop in attendance on 2009 – 30%
down on the 4.6 million people who attended last year,
despite the extension.
There are several possible explanations for the decrease in
visitor numbers: the Cinema Feast coincided with the FIFA
39
500,000 admissions. Provocative cult director Bertrand
Blier made a successful comeback on 25 August with The
Clink Of Ice, which won the Europa Cinema Award at the
Venice International Film Festival and should reach
700,000 admissions.
A surprise hit came from one of the French entries at the
Cannes International Film Festival: Xavier Beauvois’ Of Gods
And Men (released on 8 September). In the first week, 467,950
people went to see it, a further 480,944 the next week and
some 456,929 in the third week, meaning it has already
trumped last year’s hit, A Prophet (1.3 million admissions). As
a result, Mars Distribution increased its prints from 252 to 424
and then to 442. Critical acclaim and word of mouth has had a
significant impact on attendance figures.
Meanwhile, the film has been selected as the French entry
for the foreign-language Oscar category. Neither Claude
Lelouch’s 50th anniversary film Ces Amours-là (released on 15
September) nor Rachid Bouchareb’s Outside The Law
(released on 22 September) got that opportunity. Last but not
least, another French winner is 32-year-old director Alexandre
Aja, who notched up his third hit in Hollywood with Piranha,
following his 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes and Mirrors
in 2008. He embodies a new kind of French film-maker, who
prefers the lure of Hollywood to staying put in France making
s
films for French audiences. n
Cinema attendance in France 2000-2009
Year
Population
Filmgoers
proportion of population who go
to cinemas
Admissions
Admissions per Filmgoer
2000
54.4m
31.8m
58.4%
165.8m
5.2
2001
54.4m
33.4m
61.4%
187.5m
5.6
2002
54.6m
33.3m
61.0%
184.4m
5.5
2003
54.9m
32.4m
59.0%
173.5m
5.4
2004
55.5m
33.1m
59.6%
195.5m
5.9
2005
55.5m
33.2m
59.6%
175.4m
5.3
2006
56.4m
34.8m
61.8%
188.8m
5.4
2007
56.7m
34.6m
61.1%
177.9m
5.1
2008
57.2m
36.4m
63.7%
190.1m
5.2
2009
57.4m
36.2m
63.1%
200.9m
5.5
Source:CNC & Médiamétrie, six years and over
40
Data
French admissions
top 20 films at the box office September 2010
Rank
Title
Distributor
Month
Admissions
2010
2009
Change
2009-2010
1
Inception
Warner Bros
4,745,170
January
18.8m
15.3m
(+) 22.6%
2
Shrek Forever After
Paramount Pictures France
4,532,056
February
20.5m
19.1m
(+) 7.5%
3
Alice In Wonderland
Walt Disney Studios
4,526,481
March
18.7m
17.8m
(+) 5.2%
4
Toy Story 3
Walt Disney Studios
4,086,440
April
18.6m
17.4m
(+) 6.8%
5
Camping 2
Pathé Distribution
3,967,885
May
15.9m
14.9m
(+) 6.6%
6
Eclipse
SND Films
3,930,577
June
10.9m
11.2m
(-) 3.1%
7
Walt Disney Studios
3,839,308
July
18.4m
20.9m
(-) 11.9%
8
Heartbreaker
Universal Pictures France
3,735,621
August
17.5m
15.1m
(+) 16.3%
9
Invictus
Warner Bros
3,109,002
September
10.7m
10.5m
(+) 1.7%
10
Shutter Island
3,061,692
Jan-Sept
149.8m
142.0m
(+) 5.5%
11
Oceans
Pathé Distribution
2 858 192
12
The Round Up
Gaumont
2,851,891
13
Iron Man 2
2,559,297
14
Robin Hood
2,337,160
15
2,245,058
16
Prince Of Persia : The Sands Of Time
Walt Disney Studios
2,166,769
17
Sherlock Holmes
Warner Bros
2,143,123
18
Clash Of The Titans
Warner Bros
1,876,528
19
Knight And Day
20th Century Fox
1,755,397
20
The Expendables
Metropolitan Filmexport
1,632,522
Source : CNC
top 10 french distributors september 2010
Rank
Source : Ciné Chiffres
top 10 french films at the box office September 2010
Rank
Title
Camping 2
1
Distributor
Pathé Distribution
Admissions
Heartbreaker
3,735,621
3
Oceans
Pathé Distribution
2,858,192
4
The Round Up
Gaumont
2,851,891
5
...Adèle Blanc-Sec
EuropaCorp Distribution
1,613,180
6
Le Mac
ARP Sélection
1,481,014
7
Tout Ce Qui Brille
Pathé Distribution
1,416,611
8
Of Gods And Men
Mars Distribution
1,405,823
9
My Afternoons with Marguerite
StudioCanal
1,210,513
10
Fatal
1,196,899
Films
1
Warner Bros
11
16,932,919
11.9%
2
Walt Disney Studios
5
16,022,702
11.3%
3
20th Century Fox
11
15,831,422
11.2%
4
8
14,578,920
10.3%
41
Market
Share
5
Pathé Distribution
11
11,805,326
8.3%
Universal Pictures International
10
10,218,260
7.2%
7
Metropolitan Filmexport
23
7,547,817
5.3%
8
StudioCanal
16
7,241,740
5.1%
9
SND Films
7
5,216,349
3.7%
Sony Pictures
11
5,070,757
3.6%
Source : Le Film Français
Source : Ciné Chiffres
Admissions
6
10
3,967,885
2
Distributors
Data
Market share 2010
Digital penetration
Number of Screens
number of sites
13.5%
December 2009
894
253
September 2010
1,387
435
Change
(+) 55.1%
(+) 71.9%
33%
53.5%
Source : Manice, Cinego and Côté Cinémas
French production January 2009-September 2010
2009
2010
change
Number of Films
118
131
(+) 11%
Total investment
$977.8m (€719.8m)
$991.5m (€729.7m)
(+) 1%
n French Films
n US Films
n Other films
Figures for January-August 2010
Source : Ficam
Source : CNC
French films overseas July-August 2010
Rank
Title
Admissions
Gross box office
Prints
territories
Cumulative box
office
1
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec
172,041
$1.5m (€1.1m)
412
3
$3.0m (€2.2m)
2
Oceans
151,890
$0.8m (€0.6m)
180
4
$8.8m (€6.5m)
3
The Concert
105, 212
$0.9m (€0.7m)
191
7
$2.4m (€1.8m)
4
Heartbreaker
95, 123
$0.6m (€0.4m)
87
3
$0.8m (€0.6m)
5
The Secret Of Moonacre
90,152
$0.3m (€0.2m)
126
1
$1.3m (€1.0m)
6
The Ghost Writer (aka The Ghost)
88,423
$0.4m (€0.3m)
106
5
$8.6m (€6.4m)
7
Little Nicholas
86,751
$0.7m (€0.5m)
155
2
$2.6m (€1.9m)
8
Mammuth
76,811
$0.7m (€0.5m)
66
1
$0.1m (€0.1m)
9
Of Gods And Men
69,301
$0.6m (€0.4m)
32
2
$0.09m (€0.07m)
10
My Afternoons With Marguerite
57,283
$0.5m (€0.4m)
71
3
$0.2m (€0.2m)
Source : Unifrance Film International
42
Data
Age of French filmgoers
Year
6-14 years
15-19 years
20-24 years
25-34 years
35-49 years
50 years and over
2000
11.70%
13.00%
17.40%
18.20%
20.10%
19.60%
2001
12.20%
12.00%
15.10%
16.70%
20.40%
23.60%
2002
13.50%
11.50%
14.00%
16.40%
20.60%
23.90%
2003
11.50%
15.10%
14.20%
16.50%
20.50%
22.20%
2004
12.10%
13.20%
13.60%
14.70%
20.10%
26.30%
2005
10.90%
13.10%
14.50%
15.00%
19.10%
27.40%
2006
12.80%
11.80%
11.90%
13.90%
22.00%
27.60%
2007
12.50%
12.70%
14.20%
12.30%
20.00%
28.30%
2008
11.30%
11.90%
13.10%
14.00%
19.30%
30.30%
2009
12.90%
12.70%
12.70%
12.50%
18.20%
31.10%
Source : CNC & Médiamétrie, six years and over
video sales – film market share January-June 2010
DVD sales january-June) 2010
Turnover
Market Share
French Films
$111.7m (€81.1m)
20.3%
US Films
$375.6m (€272.6m)
68.4%
Other Films
$62.1m (€45.1m)
11.3%
Total Films
$549.3m (€398.7m)
63.1%
Non Films
$293.8m (€213.3m)
33.7%
Promotion Offers
$27.8m (€20.2m)
3.2%
Total
$870.8m (€632.2m)
100%
units
Change
Turnover
Change
DVD
59.0m
(+) 1.3%
$767.1m (€557.0m)
(+) 1.5%
Blu-ray
3.9m
(+) 99.1%
$103.5m (€75.2m)
(+) 75.3%
Total
63.0m
(+) 4.5%
$870.7m (€632.2m)
(+) 6.9%
Source : CNC/GFK
Source : CNC/GFK
43
Deals
n French films gain US distribution Two of this year’s main
French film productions have found US distributors. The first,
François Ozon’s Potiche, co-starring Catherine Deneuve and
Gérard Depardieu, will be released by Music Box in a deal
signed on 12 September with Wild Bunch. The second is Gilles
Paquet-Brenner’s Elle S’appelait Sarah, from Tatiana de
Rosnay’s best-selling novel, which sold 2 million copies
worldwide and has been translated into 15 languages and
published in 22 countries. The film, starring Kristin ScottThomas, was sold to the Weinstein Company on 10
September by Kinology.
n Artists gain YouTube payment In September, Sacem, the
French professional artists’ association, signed a deal with
YouTube so that authors, composers and publishers
belonging to the association will be paid when their work is
used on the website. Meanwhile, YouTube agreed a new
partnership with Arte, the European culture channel. From
November, the website will have free showings of selected
programmes from the channel in catch-up TV both in French
and in German.
Sammy’s Adventure: The Secret Passage: exclusive rights in Germany
existing relationships in the marketplace”. It will also
give RTL Television access to a film library including more
than 5,000 French, British, Italian, German and American
s
classics. n
n EuropaCorp in exclusive Universum deal On 27
September, EuropaCorp signed a three-year deal with German
company Universum Film, giving the distributor the exclusive
rights to its next 23 productions in Germany, Austria,
Liechtenstein, Luxemburg and German-speaking Switzerland.
The deal with the Bertelsmann subsidiary company will
guarantee a release in these countries, and those benefiting
will include Luc Besson’s Arthur 3: The War Of The Two Worlds
and Bibo Bergeron’s next animated movie, A Monster In Paris.
n StudioCanal signs RTL output deal On 8 September,
StudioCanal and RTL Television signed an output deal due to
start in January 2011. The deal gives the main German private
network the exclusive rights in Germany to international
projects such as 3D animated feature Sammy’s Adventures:
The Secret Passage and Paul Haggis’s thriller The Next Three
Days starring Russell Crowe as well as to remakes such as
Escape From New York and Cliffhanger. According to
StudioCanal chairman and CEO Olivier Courson, this new
partnership “will serve to further solidify StudioCanal’s
44
Digest
Production
n The CNC has published a new list of projects that will be
awarded state subsidies. The first commission granted four
first films: 17 Octobre 1961 by Yasmina Adi, De L’Usage Du
Sex-toy En Temps De Crise by Eric Pittard, La Papesse Jeanne
by Jean Breschand and Sans Toi, Sans Ton Amour, Sans Ton
Corps, Sans Ton Sexe by Abdellah Taia. The second
commission granted seven projects: Immigrés De Force by
Lam Lê, S’enfuir Avec Toi by Gaël Morel, Cabbale by Charles
Najman, Un Amour (Ensemble) by Richard Copans, À Moi
Seule by Frédéric Videau, Délivrez-moi by Luc and Jean-Pierre
Dardenne, Vous N’Avez Encore Rien Vu by Alain Resnais.
n Arte France Cinema’s list of co-productions will include
Syngué Sabour by Atiq Rahimi, from his own book, which was
awarded the Goncourt Prize in 2008; Captured by Brillante
Mendoza (Serbis), starring Isabelle Huppert; Eleven Flowers by
Wang Xiaoshuai (In Love We Trust); Michael Kohlhaas by
Arnaud des Pallières from the Heinrich von Kleist novel
already made for the screen in 1937 and 1969; and La Pasión
De Michelangelo by Esteban Larraín (Alicia In The Land).
17 Octobre 1961: film will be awarded a state subsidy
that will help low-budget (less than $5.4m/€4m) films
released with less than 100 copies in France by first-, secondor third-time directors whose previous films did not gross
more than 300,000 tickets. In a show of solidarity and
recognition between film-makers, every month several
experienced directors will cho0se one film by one of their
younger colleagues to receive this label and help them to
s
reach a wider audience. n
Exhibition
n On 10 July, one third of the French theatres owned by UGC
went on strike to protest against a redundancy plan affecting
95 projectionists. The redundancies are a result of the
installation of digital equipment that started on 1 September
and will roll out over the next two years.
n During the 65th French Exhibitors Congress in Deauville
(20-23 September) the Minister of Culture, Frédéric
Mitterrand, announced that the state will provide a $107m
(€125m) grant to help around 1,000 French film theatres
equip themselves with digital technology during the next
three years, covering about 90% of their technical expenses. A
further 500 itinerant and part-time cinemas should soon be
included too. On 30 September, an official law was published
supporting this change.
Distribution
n UGC and Canal+ have joined forces for an original initiative,
due to start in January 2011, that highlights the importance of
film-makers to the French audience. They have created a new
label called Cinéastes de demain/Film-Makers of the Future
45
In Focus
(Memento) and Maggie Grace (Lost) to be co-directed by
Stephen St Leger and James Mather, who previously worked
together on the short film Prey Alone in 2005.
EuropaCorp is also investing in 3D animation, with two
major projects already in production: Un Monstre à Paris by
French director Bibo Bergeron (Shark Tale) and La Mécanique
Du Cœur, inspired by a concept album by pop group Dionysos.
Its lead singer, Mathias Malzieu, will direct, along with
director Stéphane Berla, who has previously worked
with the band.
With a catalogue valued at an estimated $128m (€95m),
EuropaCorp’s expansion also includes the local market. That
is why the company’s autumn releases include auteur films
such as Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies, Eric Lartigau’s The
Big Picture – from Douglas Kennedy’s novel – and Nicole
Garcia’s A View Of Love. And before the end of 2010, Luc
Besson will start his latest film as a director, a mysterious
$22m (€16.2m) project, following international hits such as
the Arthur trilogy and The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adèle
Blanc-Sec, which has already gained $12m (€8.8m)
s
worldwide, including China. n
EuropaCorp invests in the future
Founded in September 2000 by film-maker Luc Besson and
Gaumont producer Pierre-Ange le Pogam, EuropaCorp made
significant changes in its organisation on the eve of its 10th
birthday. On 7 July, Christophe Lambert – not to be confused
with his namesake and Greystoke actor – replaced Jean-Julien
Baronnet as EuropaCorp CEO. Lambert was already in charge
of Frontline, the holding company of Luc Besson’s group, and
had been dealing with Cinema City, the single-site studio,
production offices and post-production facilities Luc Besson
has been planning for several years, and in which his
company is investing $8.3m (€6m) for a 2012 opening.
Once open, EuropaCorp will benefit from the new
independence and studio facilities that Cinema City will give
it. But this is just part of the changes afoot at the company.
As well as Lambert’s appointment, other personnel changes
have helped ensure EuropaCorp will be a serious player on
the international stage.
The arrival of Jean de Rivières in April as its new head of the
film department, the acquisition of TV producer Cipango and
the promotion of Baronnet to CEO of the company has set
the tone for a new era for this mini studio, whose 93 French
releases attracted 55 million admissions in 10 years.
EuropaCorp has always had ambitious plans, and it has
achieved many successes outside of France, including Taken,
which recorded a worldwide box office of $221.1m (€162.6m).
The company line-up for 2011 includes Colombiana, a $40m
(€30m) English-language film starring Zoe Saldana (Avatar)
and Lock Out, a $30m (€22m) film starring Guy Pearce
EuropaCorp consolidated revenue
Revenue stream
April-June 2009
April-June 2009 (share)
April-June 2010
April-June 2010 (Share)
Change
International sales
$4.3m (€3.2m)
15.2%
$6.6m (€4.9m)
20.8%
(+) 54.8%
Cinemas, France
$2.1m (€1.5m)
7.4%
$7.7m (€5.7m)
24.1%
(+) 273.3%
Video, France
$8.5m (€6.2m)
30.4%
$3.9m (€2.9m)
12.3%
(-) 54.8%
Television, France
$8.3m (€6.1m)
29.5%
$5.2m (€3.8m)
16.6%
(-) 36.7%
Subsidies
$1.5m (€1.1m)
5.4%
$1.8m (€1.3m)
5.6%
(-) 18.2%
TV Series
–
–
$5.0m (€3.7m)
15.6%
N/A
Other Activities
$3.3m (€2.4m)
11.8%
$1.7m (€1.3m)
5.1%
(-) 50%
Total
$28.1m (€20.7m)
100%
$31.6m (€23.2m)
100%
(+) 12.7%
Source : EuropaCorp (unaudited)
46
in production
The Fairy (Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy and
Philippe Martz)
Shooting began on 2 August for 12 weeks in Le Havre. Both
behind and in front of the camera, the Iceberg and Rumba
directors, Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy, tell
a love story between a fairy and a night watchman. It should
be ready for Cannes in 2011.
Co-production partners Courage Mon Amour, MK2 Prod
International Sales MK2
(33) 1 44 67 30 00
s
[email protected] n
Vous N’Avez Encore Rien Vu
The 88-year-old veteran film-maker Alain Renais is now
working on the adaptation of Eurydice, a play written by Jean
Anouilh in 1942, together with director Laurent Herbiet, who
previously worked with him as his co-writer for Wild Grass.
Co-production partners F Comme Film
(33) 1 40 73 84 20
[email protected]
L’Ordre Et La Morale
Back from Hollywood after Gothika and Babylon A.D., Mathieu
Kassovitz, director of La Haine, tells the story of the dramatic
hostage-taking by Kanak separatists in New Caledonia in the
spring of 1988. Shooting started on 29 August for
10 weeks on three French Polynesian islands: Moorea,
Tahiti and Anaa.
French release 21 September 2011
Co-production partners Nord-Ouest Films, UGC Images,
Studio 37, France 2 Cinéma.
International Sales Kinology, Studio 37, UGC Images
Nord-Ouest: (33) 1 53 20 47 20
Switch
Novelist Jean-Christophe Grangé wrote the original script of
this thriller by Frédéric Schoendoerffer, the director of Crime
Scenes and Secret Agents. Shooting started on 2 August in
Paris and Montreal, starring Eric Cantona.
Co-production partners Carcharodon, L&G, France 2 Cinéma,
Jouror, Tercera, with Canal+ CinéCinéma, Pathé, Banque
Populaire Image 11, Cofinova 7.
International sales: Pathé.
(33) 1 71 72 30 00
[email protected]
Mon Père Est Femme De Ménage
The first film made from a bestseller written by the film-maker
herself, Saphia Azzedine. Shooting started on 12 July for four
weeks in Paris, starring François Cluzet.
Co-production partners La Petite Reine, ARP.
International sales ARP Sélection
(33) 1 56 69 26 00 / (33) 1 44 90 73 90
47
A Look Ahead
Release date 15 December
(33) 1 53 83 03 03
[email protected]
32nd Festival of 3 Continents in Nantes
Twenty feature films receiving their French premiere
take part in both the Competition and Official selection.
The festival includes a workshop focusing on the outline
and structure of film co-production within the industry. There
will be tributes to Chinese independent contemporary
cinema, including 15 features and documentaries, and to
Senegalese director Djibril Diop-Mambéty.
Date 23-30 November
(33) 2 40 69 74 14
[email protected]
Les Émotifs Anonymes
Five years after their first meeting in Anne Fontaine’s Entre Ses
Mains, Isabelle Carré and Benoît Poelvoorde meet again in a
new comedy by Jean-Pierre Améris (Bad Company) about a
romance between two shy people crazy about chocolate.
International sales StudioCanal
s
(33) 1 71 35 10 19 n
Point Blank
A man who was wounded while witnessing a murder
escapes from the hospital with another man whose pregnant
wife has been kidnapped by his accomplice. Gilles Lellouche
(Little White Lies) and Roschdy Zem (Outside The Law) co-star
in this thriller by director Fred Cavayé, whose first film,
Anything For Her, inspired the Paul Haggis remake The
Next Three Days.
International sales Gaumont
(33) 1 46 43 20 35
[email protected]
Full Treatment
International French star of The Da Vinci Code Audrey
Tautou is back to light comedy and romance in this film
co-starring Nathalie Baye (Catch Me If You Can) and
Sami Bouajila (Outside The Law). Director Pierre
Salvadori has already worked with Tautou in his previous
film, Priceless.
International sales Wild Bunch
(33) 1 53 01 50 20 / (33) 1 53 01 50 36
A View Of Love
This is a new film by Nicole Garcia starring Jean Dujardin,
Marie-Josée Croze and Claudia Cardinale. A man and a
woman who used to live in the same neighbourhood during
the war in Algeria try to rebuild their love.
International sales EuropaCorp
48
TERRITORY FOCUS: ITALY
The Karate Kid: remake could have performed well as a summer release
market update
Exhibitors are feeling pretty good in Italy – and it’s been
a long road – almost 15 years since the first multiplexes
were built in the territory. Gino Zaggari, director of Italy’s
Multiplex association, ANEM, says multiplexes are “going
strong”. In fact, the leading circuits, The Space Cinema and
UCI Italia, say that growth is on the agenda.
That said, expansion currently tends to focus on buying up
existing structures, creating new alliances or upgrading the
technology, rather than investing in new-builds.
The Space Cinema, for example, was formed this year when
Warner Village cinemas and Medusa Multisala structures
were bought by clothing manufacturer Benetton and Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset group. In October,
the group purchased sites from The Planet circuit and now
has 27 locations, with a total of 268 screens, of which
approximately 100 are 3D-capable.
While it has been a good year so far, The Space Cinema CEO
Giuseppe Corrado says: “Distributors have to believe [even
more] in our summer market, while exhibitors must work to
reinforce the habit of summer movie-going.” And although
summer saw a stream of programming, even in July and
August, he says “the critical mass still can’t fill the seats
in the [biggest] structures”.
Even the biggest audiences don't fill to capacity the biggest
cinemas in the country.
CEO of UCI Andrea Stratta says that, product-wise,
distributors would do well to consider more summer
release dates as “some distributors don’t take advantage
of this time of year”. Stratta cites The Karate Kid and
Medusa’s local title, Sharm El Sheik – Un’estate
indimenticabile, as films that could have performed very
well with summer releases.
In fact, the 30% year-on-year rise in attendance in August
should show distributors the potential there is for growth
during this period. While the scale is different, this is the
same increase, year on year, that Avatar created in Italy in
49
DISTRIBUTION
February, and shows that July and August are ripe for these
much higher growth spurts.
3D is also creating a more secure environment for
investment. In Italy, 3D accounted for 18% of admissions for
the period 1 January to 30 September. At UCI, that number
was even stronger. Stratta says 20% of UCI’s admissions
came from 3D titles – and the results have attracted the
attention of the circuit’s shareholders, who now see Italy as a
solid territory. “Italy also has strong local films. Other
territories don’t have this,” he says.
Currently, UCI is expanding its technical capabilities with
plans in place to digitise 100% of its screens in 2011. Of these,
50% will be 3D-equipped. UCI will have 96 3D-ready screens
by the end of November 2010.
While 3D certainly provides fuel for expansion – Corrado
likens 3D to technical advancements such as the change from
silent films to talkies, as well as the emergence of technicolor
and surround sound, but says that, as always, it’s the film
that counts.
“3D gives vitality to the business but it isn’t a solution for
cinema. A good film in 2D will make more than an average
film in 3D. Avatar and Alice In Wonderland allowed us to test
this technical advancement, but those films are good in 2D
s
as well,” adds Corrado. n
2009
2008
CHANGE
TOTAL BOX OFFICE
$ 848.0m (€622.7m)
$808.5m (€593.7m)
+4.9%
TOTAL AUDIENCE
98.9m
99.3m
-0.4%
TOTAL NUMBER OF FILMS
DISTRIBUTED
857
845
+1.4%
SOURCE: Anica
50
Data
top 20 films july-september 2010
rank
tite
distributor
country of
origin
release date
Box office
admissions
1
Eclipse
Eagle Pictures
US
30/06/2010
$18.1m (€13.3m)
2,127,378
2
Shrek Forever After 3D
Universal
US
25/08/2010
$14.5m (€10.6m)
1,180,626
3
Toy Story 3 3D
Walt Disney Italia
US
07/07/2010
$14.3m (€10.5m)
1,171,741
4
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Walt Disney Italia
US
18/08/2010
$9.7m (€7 .1m)
1,210,725
5
Shrek Forever After
Universal
US
25/08/2010
$8.3m (€6.1m)
972,535
6
Law Abiding Citizen
Moviemax
US
25/08/2010
$6.4m (€4.7m)
779,079
7
Inception
Warner Bros Italia
US
24/09/2010
$5.6m (€4.1m)
649,446
8
Vampires Suck
20th Century Fox Italia
US
17/09/2010
$5.0m (€3.7m)
585,610
9
Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D
Sony Pictures Italia
US
10/09/2010
$4.8m (€3.5m)
371,315
10
The Solitude Of Prime Numbers
Medusa Film
IT
10/09/2010
$4.2m (€3.1m)
535,926
11
Toy Story 3
Walt Disney Italia
US
07/07/2010
$4.2m (€3.1m)
507,256
12
Eat, Pray, Love
US
17/09/2010
$ 4.1m (€3.0m)
504,822
13
The Expendables
01 Distribution
US
01/09/2010
$4.1m (€3.0m)
482,944
14
Sharm El Sheik – Un'estate Indimenticabile
Medusa Film
IT
17/09/2010
$3.7m (€2.7m)
445,786
15
The Last Airbender
Universal
US
24/09/2010
$3.5m (€2.6m)
284,982
16
The Karate Kid
US
03/09/2010
$2.7m (€2.0m)
337,230
17
Solomon Kane
Eagle Pictures
UK
14/07/2010
$2.7m (€2.0m)
322,513
18
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Warner Bros Italia
US
25/08/2010
$2.7m (€2.0m)
310,434
19
Marmaduke
20th Century Fox Italia
US
13/08/2010
$2.6m (€1.9m)
337,774
20
Somewhere
Medusa Film
US
03/09/2010
$2.6m (€1.9m)
317,140
SOURCE:CINETEL
top 20 LOCAL films july-september 2010
rank
tite
distributor
country of
origin
release date
Box Office
admissions
1
The Solitude Of Prime Numbers
Medusa Film
IT
10/09/2010
$4.2m (€3.1m)
535,926
2
Sharm El Sheik – Un'estate Indimenticabile
Medusa Film
IT
17/09/2010
$3.7m (€2.7m)
445,786
3
The Passion
01 Distribution
IT
24/09/2010
$1.6m (€1.2m)
199,439
4
Niente Paura
BIM Distribution
IT
17/09/2010
$0.5m (€0.4m)
69,562
5
Basilicata Coast To Coast
Eagle Pictures
IT
09/04/2010
$0.5m (€0.4m)
73,048
6
Miral
Eagle Pictures
COP
03/09/2010
$0.3m (€0.2m)
32,614
7
Venti Sigarette
Cinecitta' Luce
IT
08/09/2010
$0.3m (€0.2m)
31,082
8
L'imbroglio Nel Lenzuolo
01 Distribution
COP
18/06/2010
$0.3m (€0.2m)
27,677
9
La Nostra Vita
01 Distribution
IT
21/05/2010
$0.1m (€0.1m)
24,749
10
The Concert
BIM Distribution
COP
05/02/2010
$0.1m (€0.1m)
22,992
SOURCE: CINETEL
51
Data
CO-PRODUCTION INVESTMENT
IMPORTED FILMS
2009
2008
2007
$104.9m
(€77.1m)
$104.5m
(€76.8m)
$124.3m
(€91.4m)
FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CO-PROS
$195.1m
(€143.5m)
$142.4m
(€104.7m)
$282.2m
(€207.5m)
TOTAL INVESTMENT IN CO-PROS
$300.0m
(€220.6m)
$246.8m
(€181.5m)
$406.6m
(€298.9m)
ITALIAN INVESTMENT IN CO-PROS
2009
2008
CHANGE
2008-2009
2007
ALL EUROPEAN FILMS
72
72
–
93
FILMS (NOT EU OR US)
21
30
-9
35
US FILMS
163
194
-31
167
TOTAL
256
296
-40
295
SOURCE: ANICA
SOURCE: ANICA
Films that have recieved assistance from the state
NUMBER OF FILMS
2009
NUMBER OF FILMS
2009
NUMBER OF FILMS
2007
CONTRIBUTION 2009
CONTRIBUTION 2008
CONTRIBUTION 2007
27
25
27
$33.9m (€24.9m)
$41.6m (€30.6m)
$46.9m (€34.5m)
FILMS OF CULTURAL INTEREST
1ST & 2ND WORKS
27
22
26
$13.1m (€9.6m)
$14.7m (€10.8m)
$16.3m (€12.0m)
SHORTS OF CULTURAL INTEREST
24
30
27
$1.4m (€1.0m)
$1.6m (€1.2m)
$1.5m (€1.1m)
SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT
20
20
20
$1.0m (€0.7m)
$1.0m (€0.7m)
$1.0m (€0.7m)
TOTAL
98
97
100
$49.3m (€36.2m)
$58.9m (€43.3m)
$65.7m (€48.3m)
SOURCE: ANICA
SITES 2009 VS 2008
2009
SHARE
2008
SHARE
CHANGE
SINGLE SCREEN
582
52.7%
612
54.2%
(-) 4.9%
2-4 SCREENS
312
28.3%
324
28.7%
(-) 3.7%
5-7 SCREENS
91
8.2%
80
7.1%
(+) 13.8%
MORE THAN 7
119
10.8%
113
10.0%
(+) 5.3%
TOTAL
1,104
100%
1,129
100%
(-) 2.2%
SOURCE: ANICA
52
Data
DVD SALES
DVD RENTALS
FORMAT
2006
2007
2008
2009
FORMAT
2006
2007
2008
2009
DVD
753
773
655
544
DVD
260
218
160
114
BLU-RAY DISC
–
3
10
21
BLU-RAY DISC
–
0
0.2
0.5
OTHER*
12
4
2
0.3
OTHER*
12
0.2
0.2
–
TOTAL SALES
765
780
666
565
TOTAL RENTALS
272
218
161
115
SOURCE: Univideo * VHS, UMD, HD-DVD
SOURCE: Univideo * VHS, UMD, HD-DVD
DVD SALES BY TYPE 2009
Arts spending 2009
3%
5.8%
6%
9%
19%
25.8%
12%
55.5%
3.7%
1.4%
28%
8%
7.7%
n Promo
n Film
n TV series
n Music
n Special
n Animation
Source: Univideo
16%
n Cinema
n Theatre
n Concert
n Sports activities
n Dancing
n Travelling shows
n Arts exhibitions
n Other
Source: Univideo
53
deals
n RAI Cinema ties with Disney RAI Cinema signed a multiyear, multi-genre deal with The Walt Disney Company at
Mipcom in October, covering feature films Prince Of Persia:
The Sands Of Time, Alice In Wonderland and animations
Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up and Toy Story 3. The deal also includes
animation classics Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs,
Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, which will be made available
free for the first time to TV audiences.
n Sky Italia teams with Mediaset Rupert Murdock’s Sky
Italia signed a volume deal with Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset
in July that includes 40% of US fare from Medusa’s 2009-2012
film slate and 60% Italian product .
n Mediaset signs Mipcom deals Mediaset has announced
several Mipcom deals, including the acquisition of PPV/VOD,
pay and free rights to titles from the Universal Theatrical slate
2010 such as The Wolfman, The American, Robin Hood and
Despicable Me, as well as from the Warner Bros theatrical
slate – Clash Of The Titans, Sex And The City 2, Inception,
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – and the
TV-mini series The Pillars Of The Earth, based on the Ken
Follett novel.
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time: RAI has picked up a number of films from Disney
n Sequel in the pipeline The success of Benvenuti Al Sud,
a Medusa-Cattleya co-production remake of the French hit
Welcome To The Sticks has prompted Medusa to announce
s
an immediate sequel: Benvenuti Al Nord. n
n Cinecittà Studios upgrade In September, Cinecittà
Studios’ board of directors approved a development plan for
the studios. The first phase will include a new sound stage
equipped for digital and 3D shoots. A new restaurant space, a
hotel and a fitness area to help cater for foreign productions,
will also be added in the new design.
n Medusa links with Brizzi Medusa has signed writer and
director Fausto Brizzi to a four-film deal. Meanwhile, Brizzi
has completed two films that were in production throughout
the summer: Maschi Contro Femmine and Femmine Contro
Maschi, valued at a combined budget of $25m (¤18m). The
films have split distribution deals, one via 01 Distribution and
one via Medusa. The first in the Brizzi/Medusa production
deal quartet will be Sex In 3D, for which cameras are set to roll
in spring 2011.
54
digest
ticket compiler, which covers 85% of the market. Arthouse or
non-multiplex screens numbered 879.
Production
n Italy and Russia have signed a pact aimed at increasing
co-productions between the two countries. The pact was
signed between Cinecitta Luce and Russia’s state film fund,
the Russian Federal Fund to Support National Cinema, which
is making available $2.8m (€2m) for Italian-Russian coproductions. The deal follows on the heels of the travelling
film festival of Venice films, Venice to Moscow. It featured
several Russian-themed titles including debut film-maker
Valerio Mieli’s Ten Winters – the first Italy-Russia
co- production. The fund kicks off in 2011, which is also the
year of Italian culture in Russia, as well as the year of Russian
culture in Italy.
n Production is picking up pace at Rome’s Cinecittà
Studios, which announced two feature shoots in August and
September. One is French director Philippe Garrel’s Un Été
Brûlant, starring Monica Bellucci. Meanwhile, Aurelio De
Laurentiis’s Filmauro is shooting the third instalment of local
blockbuster franchise Manuale D’Amore by Giovanni
Veronesi, which will feature a performance from Robert
De Niro.
n Prominent independent distributor Eagle Pictures is
currently shooting Mozzarella Stories, a gangster-inspired
comedy, in co-production with Germany’s Bavaria films.
It’s the second local film since Quinta Communications’
Tarak Ben Ammar took over the company. The first film,
the low- budget Basilicata Coast To Coast exceeded Eagle
Pictures’ expectations, raking in $4.7m (€3.4m) in cinemas
this summer.
Distribution
n A sluggish box office in June was perked up by solid
releases throughout the summer – the box office registered a
rise of 3.31% over 2009 for the June-August period, with July
up 12% and August up 30%.
n The summer of 2010, despite being a World Cup year in
football-crazy Italy, will go down as the year Italy finally offered
more than the occasional blockbuster during July and August.
A range of films – from family, horror, comedies, local and
auteur-driven – were distributed in July and August, including
(among other titles) Toy Story 3 3D from Warner Bros and The
Adjustment Bureau from Universal. Others included
Independent distributor Lucky Red’s Danish gay drama
Brotherhood, the Cameron Diaz film The Box, and Eagle
s
Pictures’ The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (on June 30). n
Exhibition
n National Association of Exhibitors president
Paolo Protti has lobbied culture minister Sandro Bondi about
further expected cuts to Italy’s single arts fund/fondo unico
spettacolo (FUS) as fears mount that the fund will be cut to
$369m (€262m) for 2011 across all the arts. Protti said the
cuts represented “the lowest level the funds have reached
in the past 20 years, which will directly result in the loss of
thousands of jobs, as well as closing many businesses”.
n The number of digital screens in the country went up from
50 to 400 in 2009. In October, Italy reached 576 3D screens
(out of the 3,000 screens), according to Cinetel, the Italian
55
In Focus
Brizzi’s Wilder productions. “It’s a change in mentality,” says
Gianani of the new funding approach.
Italian producers have been able – for the past three years
– to recoup 15% of their own production costs via a clause
aimed at Italian productions in the tax credit law. For
co-productions, only the Italian portion of the spend can be
considered for the tax credit. But right now the entire film
industry is on hold as the renewal of Italy’s tax credit is
pending government approval.
Tax credit law opens funding door
Italian producers have long bemoaned government funding
cuts to the arts sector and a sluggish TV sales market –
making it increasingly difficult to produce films. Now, with the
single arts fund (FUS) looking to hit its lowest level of funding
in 20 years in 2011, very few films can expect to obtain
government support, which goes almost exclusively to
first and second works.
The good news is Italians can now reap the benefits of a
“freer” market approach – and the tax credit law passed in
2008 has opened new doors to producers. Producer Riccardo
Tozzi of Cattleya, who is also president of the producer’s
section of Anica, the Italian motion pictures organisation,
says producers used to have two funding sources — Mibac
[Italian culture ministry] and broadcasters Rai or Mediaset.
Now, that is all changing.
Producers now need to put together “five or six” sources
of funding, he says. This can include product placement
or finding non-cinema-oriented companies as investors.
The first major investment from Italy’s top banking
institution, Banca Intesa, to the tune of $3.28m (€2.5m) went
to Paolo Sorrentino’s English-language project This Must Be
The Place, starring Sean Penn. The specific clause in the
national tax credit law allows non-businesses to invest in
films for the first time. The problem is that not all producers
have the pedigree of Sorrentino, Medusa Film, Lucky Red and
Indigo Film, the team on this film.
So what are the smaller producers doing to avoid being
seen as too big a risk by investors? Tozzi asserts that
producers and directors are hooking up to strengthen their
position in the eyes of investors – a practice in which he
expects more producers to engage. He cites Fausto Brizzi,
one of Italy’s most commercially successful directors, whose
popular films make money in the local market and sell well
abroad, partnering up with arthouse-oriented producer Mario
Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli, a successful television producer.
Gianani’s films with directors such as Saverio Costanzo and
Marco Bellocchio offer the prestige/art element that attracts
financers who want to see their investments exhibited in
major festivals. This ensemble covers all three markets –
mainstream, prestige and TV markets. The trio have set up
Wild Side, a combination of Gianani’s Offside and Fausto
PRODUCTION INVESTMENT
2009
2008
INVESTMENT IN 100% ITALIAN FILMS
$297.5m (€218.9m)
$344.2m (€253.3m)
STATE CONTRIBUTION
$33.3m (€24.5m)
$67.0m (€49.3m)
PRIVATE INVESTMENT
$264.4m (€194.5m)
$277.3m (€204.0m)
INVESTMENT IN ITALIAN CO-PROS
$104.8m (€77.1m)
$104.4m (€76.8m)
STATE CONTRIBUTION
$18.5m (€13.6m)
$29.5m (€21.7m)
PRIVATE INVESTMENT
$86.4m (€63.5m)
$75.0m (€55.1m)
TOTAL ITALIAN INVESTMENT
$402.6m (€296.0m)
$449.1m (€330.1m)
Source: ANICA
56
in production
The Imperfectionists
Brad Pitt’s Plan B has optioned Tom Rachman’s wacky,
irreverent newsroom epitaph, The Imperfectionists, about
reporters behind a dying English-language newspaper in
the eternal city, Rome.
Contact Plan B Entertainment
(1) 310 275 6135
This Must Be The Place
Paolo Sorrentino’s debut $28m (¤20m) English-language
project starring Sean Penn and Frances McDormand has
wrapped up principle US shooting in Michigan, New York and
New Mexico. Produced by Indigo Film with Lucky Red, with
international sales handled by Pathé, the picture focuses on
an ageing rock star who decides to hunt down the Nazi
criminal who ordered his father’s execution.
Contact Pathé
(33) 1 71 72 33 05 (Paris) or
(44) 20 7462 4427 (London)
Angel Face: The True Story Of Student Killer Amanda Knox
Michael Winterbottom is in pre-production for Barbie Latza
Nadeau’s true-life crime story Angel Face: The True Story Of
Student Killer Amanda Knox. Actor Colin Firth is lined up to
play a British reporter covering the polarising case about the
murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher for
which American exchange student Amanda Knox and her
Italian boyfriend have been found guilty and await appeal. A
third man, originally from Ivory Coast, has also been found
guilty. The trial became a media circus, adding to the already
blurred lines of the case. Winterbottom has said the film will
focus on the reporters who covered the case – not on guilt or
innocence.
Contact Revolution Films
(44) 20 7566 0700
s
[email protected] n
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You
Elda Ferri of Jean Vigo Italia (Life Is Beautiful) has just finished
principal photography for the entirely New York-shot Englishlanguage project Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You,
directed by Roberto Faenza and starring Ellen Burstyn and
Marcia Gay Harden. Based on Cameron Mitchell’s novel,
co-producers are Allen Bain for 7th Floor and John
Heyman for the World Film Group in collaboration with
Rai Cinema.
Contact Jean Vigo Italia
(39) 066 780 003
[email protected]
The Rite
The New Line/Warner Bros production of The Rite, based on
Matt Baglio’s eponymous book about an American priest
training as an exorcist, has wrapped the Italian portion of
principal photography, which took place mostly in Budapest
as well as Chicago and stayed in Italy for only five days.
Nonetheless, the film is eligible for the Italian tax credit for
foreign productions, which it accessed through Gianpaolo
Varani’s executive production service, Mouse Films.
Contact Catherine Nam
[email protected]
57
The Look ahead
Turin Film Festival
As the Italian film industry waits to hear if the Italian tax credit
for the industry will be given the government’s green light for
three additional years, festivals are high on the agenda as the
year winds down. The 28th edition of the Turin film festival,
which focuses on cutting-edge films, runs from
26 November to 4 December. Film-maker Marco Bellocchio
will preside over the jury. A festival highlight includes a
complete Claude Chabrol retrospective in honour of the
late French film-maker.
Date 26 November-4 December
[email protected]
www.torinofilmfest.org
The Cormayeur Noir Infestival
The Cormayeur Noir Infestival, which focuses on the noir
genre, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Nestled in the
ski resort under Monte Bianco, Italy’s highest peak, the
festival also celebrates noir literature and has announced the
winner of its Raymond Chandler Award, which will go to
American writer Michael Connelly. For the occasion, Clint
Eastwood’s 2002 film Blood Work, inspired by Terry McCaleb,
a Connelly-invented character, will be screened.
Date 7-13 December
Contact Giovanni Marco Piemontese
[email protected]
The Capri Hollywood festival
The elegant island festival will bring the year to a close and
will open with a screening of Oscar-winning director Danny
Boyle’s 127 Hours, starring James Franco.
Date 27 December-2 January
[email protected]
s
www.caprihollywood.com n
58
TERRITORY FOCUS: EASTERN & SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
Whatever Works: producers objected to a digital release of Woody Allen’s film
market update
The VPF model works for multiplexes, which rely heavily on
major-studio content, but it’s a non-starter for small
exhibitors and arthouse distributors. “[The VPF] would be
around $1,095 (€800) for one week for each print,” says
Premysl Martinek, director of Czech distributor ArtCam, which,
despite numerous attempts, has yet to distribute a digital
print. ArtCam finds it more cost-effective to stick
with 35mm. “If you pay €1,000 [$1,400] for one 35mm
print, you have it for 20 years or as long as you want,”
Martinek adds.
Arthouse cinemas rely on national and European plans to
help meet the costs of conversion. The European Commission,
which estimates the cost of a new digital projector and server
at around $104,763 (€75,000), has provided $34.9m (€25m)
in support of digital cinema initiatives since 2007. Brussels is
planning to launch a scheme at the end of 2010 that will
contribute a further $5.6m (€4m) for digitisation, aimed at
cinemas that screen mostly European films.
National plans – and their success – vary from territory to
The roll-out of digital screens in Eastern Europe is proceeding
at a rapid pace, but not without a few bumps and stumbles
along the way.
Multiplexes are leading the way with high-end technology
as well as breaking ground in previously under-served
markets. International chains, with deeper pockets, are
installing new sites with the latest technology from the outset,
saving themselves the cost and trouble of converting later on.
Eastern Europe lags behind Western Europe. There were
more than 4,500 digital screens in Europe in 2009, but fewer
than 800 of those were in Eastern Europe, according to
Screen Digest.
Palace Cinemas, a multiplex chain operating in the Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, began in 2009 to roll out 170
digital screens across its network, with XDC providing the
integration, co-financed by virtual print fees (VPF). XDC
services more than 3,000 screens across Europe, including
90 in Poland, 84 in Hungary and 10 in Romania.
59
territory, but most have strict guidelines intended to promote
European film.
Exhibitors in the Czech Republic enjoy robust state support
for digitisation. At present there are 99 digital screens in the
territory. The Czech Ministry of Culture has spent $79.4m
(CZK58m) on digitisation since 2009. In the first phase, $1.4m
(€1m) in state aid helped 21 cinemas make the transition. The
state money covers half the cost of conversion and has
relatively few strings attached in terms of programming
requirements.
But the Czech government has not yet announced any
support for digitisation in 2011. Likewise, Hungarian
exhibitors have appealed to the state for $7.5m (€5.4m) for
digitisation over the next three years, but no support has
materialised yet, despite informal assurances.
DIGITAL SCREENS IN EASTERN EUROPE
Territory
Number of screens
total state funding
Poland
176
$3.5m* (PLN 10.3m)
Slovakia
31
$0.2m (SKK 5.3m)
Czech Republic
100
$3.4m (CZK 62.0m)
Slovenia
16
$1.4m (€1.0m)
SOURCE: Polish Film Institute, Slovak Film Institute, Czech Union of Film Distributors, Slovenian Ministry of Culture
*pending
multiplex screens were already filled with blockbusters and
few arthouses had converted at that time. Plans for a digital
release of Woody Allen’s Whatever Works, meanwhile, were
scuppered by objections from the producer.
Ales Uhan runs the Kinodvor arthouse cinema in Slovenia
and leads a project to lobby the government to support
digitisation. Like other operators across the region, he
acknowledges that where multiplexes go, all exhibitors must
follow. “When all the multiplexes go digital, distributors won’t
import 35mm copies anymore because it won’t make sense to
s
do so for just 10% of the market,” he says. n
Digital investment
The Slovenian Ministry of Culture, meanwhile, has drawn up a
€1m plan to support digitisation of small cinemas. The
national subsidy would cover half the cost of conversion,
while the remainder would come from local or EU sources. The
ministry has set aside $349,210 (€250,000) for the first year
— enough for four or five screens.
European programming is also an important criterion of a
$3.5m (€2.5m) national digitisation programme in Poland
and a $237,463 (€170,000) plan in Slovakia.
Barbora Drobna is director of Slovak distributor Continental
Film, which handles programming for the Cinemax cinema
chain. Drobna favours state support for digitisation but sees
pitfalls in the many small Slovak cinemas that have long
suffered from a lack of investment and have structural
problems. “A cinema that is not working properly now and
has no audience will not be saved by a digital projector,”
she says.
As yet, digitisation in Eastern Europe has not delivered on
its promise of lower costs — tickets to digital screenings cost
as much as (or more than, in the case of 3D) admissions to a
35mm show. It does present exhibitors in the region with
more freedom in programming but not wider variety – little
arthouse content is available on digital copies.
Arthouse distributors have little incentive to distribute
digital copies when few of their clients have converted.
Artcam had planned to release Antichrist digitally, but
60
DATA: czech republic
exhibition
production
2008
2009
2010
2008
2009
2010
26
35
28
–
–
Number of screens
788
796
n/a
Number of digital screens
1
28
99
Number of majority co-productions
7
8
Number of cinemas
610
617
n/a
Number of minority co-productions
2
8
Number of multiplexes (4+ screens)
23
24
26
Number of screens in multiplexes
188
196
206
Market share of multiplexes
77%
80%
n/a
Number of local features produced
Source: Czech Film Centre
top 10 films 2009
Source: Czech Union of Film Distributors (UFD)
Leading distributors market share
distributor
2008
2009
Rank
title
admissions
gross box office
1
You Kiss Like God
904,589
$5.1m (CZK 92.3m)
2
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs 3D
852,067
$5.5m (CZK 99.6m)
3
684,247
$4.0m (CZK 72.4m)
375,733
$3.1m (CZK 56.1m)
Bontonfilm
44.4%
34.5%
4
Avatar 3D
Falcon
25.6%
31.5%
5
2 Bobule
357,373
$2.0m (CZK 36.2m)
Warner Bros
7.2%
10.3%
6
Angels & Demons
308,144
$1.9m (CZK 34.4m)
Bioscop/Magic Box
7.2%
8.4%
box office
2010
7
Michael Jackson’s This Is It
291,505
$1.9m (CZK 34.4m)
8
Peklo s Princeznou
269,593
$1.2m (CZK 21.7m)
9
2012
260,202
$1.5m (CZK 27.2m)
10
Inglorius Basterds
247,017
$1.4m (CZK25.4m)
2008
2009
Total admissions
12.9m
12.5m
6.6m (1H only)
Total sales
$68.1m
(CZK 1.2bn)
$73.8m
(CZK1.3bn)
$42.4m (1H only)
(CZK 766m)
Average ticket price
$5.37
(CZK 97.10)
$5.70
(CZK 103.2)
$5.60 (1H only)
(CZK 101.4)
2
2 Bobule
357,373
$2.0m (CZK 36.2)
Total films released
200
253
236*
3
Peklo s Princeznou
269,593
$1.2m (CZK 21.7m)
Local films released
38
44
12*
4
Sneženky A Machri Po 25 Letech
246,153
$1.3m (CZK 23.6m)
Local films market share
40.6%
23.3%
n/a
5
Jánošík: A True Story
95,191
$0.5m (CZK 9.1m)
6
At Žijí Rytíri
89,006
$0.4m (CZK 7.2m)
7
Protektor
88,097
$0.4m (CZK 7.2m)
8
Veni, Vidi, Vici
84,934
$0.5m (CZK 9.1m)
9
Catch The Billionaire
81,507
$0.5m (CZK 9.1m)
10
Three Seasons In Hell
81,031
$0.4m (CZK 7.2m)
top 10 local films
* scheduled for release
2008
2009
Bontonfilm
44.4%
34.5%
Falcon
25.6%
31.5%
Warner Bros
7.2%
10.3%
Bioscop/Magic Box
7.2%
8.4%
Rank
title
admissions
grossbox office
1
You Kiss Like God
904,589
$5.1m (CZK 92.3m)
Funding*
Source: Czech Film Centre
Film Industry Support Programme
2008
$12.9m (CZK233.6m)
2008
2009
$9.4m (CZK170.2m)
2009
0
1H 2010
CZK 5.1m
2010
$8.5m (CZK 153.9m)
2011
$22.7m (CZK 411.1m)
Source: Czech Ministry of Culture
*Czech State Fund for the Support and Development of Czech
Cinematograph
61
0
Source: Czech Ministry of Culture
DATA: Slovakia
top 10 films January-September 2010
top 10 films 2009
Rank
title
admissions
gross BOx Office
Rank
title
admissions
gross BOx Office
1
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs
399,454
$0.8m (€0.6m)
1
Avatar
242,243
$0.6m (€0.4m)
2
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince)
205,564
$0.4m (€0.3m)
2
Shrek Forever After
224,800
$0.6m (€0.4m)
3
Jánošík: A True Story
151,845
$0.3m (€0.2m)
3
Alice In Wonderland
121,623
$0.3m (€0.2m)
116,690
$0.2m (€0.1m)
4
Angels And Demons
131,942
$0.3m (€0.2)
4
5
Soul At Peace
116,800
$0.2m (€0.1m)
5
Inception
103,944
$0.2m (€0.1m)
6
Avatar
109,584
$0.3m (€0.2)
6
Clash Of The Titans
81,791
$0.2m (€0.1m)
7
Fly Me To The Moon 3D
107,679
$0.2m (€0.1m)
7
Sex And The City 2
77,227
$0.2m (€0.1m)
73,108
$0.2m (€0.1m)
8
Shameless
93,470
$0.2m (€0.1m)
8
9
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
88,534
$0.2m (€0.1m)
9
Sherlock Holmes
65,764
$0.1m (€0.07m)
10
Twilight
87,331
$0.2m (€0.1m)
10
Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time
63,914
$0.1m (€0.07m)
Source: Slovak Union of Film Distributors (UFD)
top local films January-september 2010
Rank
title
admissions
gross BOx Office
1
The Legend Of The Flying Cyprian
50,741
$9,239 (€6,803)
2
3 Seasons In Hell
5,407
$929 (€683)
3
Veni Vidi Vici
3,682
$600 (€441)
4
Erotic Nation
3,183
$610 (€449)
5
Foxes
2,822
$379 (€279)
6
Broken Promise
2,291
$169 (€125)
7
Mongolia: In The Shadow Of Genghis Khan
1,864
$338 (€249)
8
Cooking History
777
$72 (€53)
9
Bratislavafilm
585
$40 (€29)
62
DATA: romania
funding*
exhibition
2008
2009
Number of screens
75
182
Number of cinemas
75
74
14
19
75
n/a
2009
$10.3m (RON 32.6m)
2008
$14.2m (RON 44.9m
2007
$12.9m (RON 40.8m)
2006
$11.5m (RON 36.4m)
2005
$8.3m (RON 26.3m)
2004
$6.4m (RON 20.3m)
Source: Romanian National Film Centre
Source: Romanian National Film Centre revenues
distributor
2008
2009
top 10 local films 2009
Rank
title
admissions
En-Image 2000
18.1%
21.3%
Intercom Film
17.6%
18.0%
1
Tales From The Golden Age 1
28,105
MediaPro Distribution
12.1%
10.4%
2
Ho Ho Ho
20,998
Clorofilm
3.0%
9.5%
3
Tales From The Golden Age 2
17,365
Odeon Cineplex
10.6%
8.5%
4
Francesca
13,033
5
Police, Adjective
12,064
6
Weekend With My Mother
4,574
7
Angling
3,357
8
The Happiest Girl In The World
2,796
9
Gruber’s Journey
2,071
10
Crossing Dates
1,993
top 10 films 2009
Rank
title
admissions
1
Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs
334,217
2
2012
288,991
3
Avatar
255,590
4
134,340
5
A Christmas Carol
120,397
6
The Final Destination: Death Trip
115,830
7
The Hangover
107,537
8
The Proposal
101,796
9
Angels And Demons
97,515
10
Inglorious Basterds
96,017
Source: Romanian Union of Film Distributors (UFD)
top 10 local films 1997-2009
Production
2008
2009
Rank
title
year of
release
admissions
1
Garcea Si Oltenii
2002
289,830
2
Asphalt Tango
1997
126,897
3
Philanthropy
2002
113,302
4
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
2007
89,339
5
Furia
2002
61,356
6
Occident
2002
53,225
7
Orient Express
2004
51,719
8
The Man Of The Day
1997
45,265
1999
35,160
1999
34,370
Number of local features produced
8
18
9
Veriga Salbatica
Number of majority co-productions
2
3
10
Triunghiul Mortii
Number of minority co-productions
0
4
63
DATA: poland
exhibition
Production
2007
2008
2009
Number of screens
1,008
1,043
n/a
Number of digital screens
8
53
176
59
68
77
526
587
648
76.7%
80.8%
81.6%
Multiplex operators
4
4
3
2007
2008
2009
Number of local/national films produced
39
40
60
Number of co-productions
23
39
28
funding*
Source: Polish Film Institute
2007
$26.2m (PLN 76.4m)
2008
$33.9m (PLN 98.8m)
2009
$24.8m (PLN 72.3m)
box office
2007
2008
2009
Total admissions
32.6m
33.8m
39.2m
Total sales
$169.1m
(PLN 492.2m)
$177.3m
(PLN 516.2m)
$239.2m
(PLN 696.4m)
$5.18 (PLN 15.1)
$5.69 (PLN 16.6)
$6.11 (PLN 17.08)
Admissions per capita
0.86
0.89
1.03
272
260
264
25
35
35
Local films’ market share
41.2%
44.4%
30.5%
64
DATA: hungary
exhibition
2008
2009
Distributor
2008
2009
1H 2010
Number of screens
416
417
Intercom
31.6%
51.4%
34.3%
Number of cinemas
187
181
UIP-Dunafilm
35.8%
17.5%
38.7%
28
27
Fórum-Hungary
12.8%
21.8%
21.6%
Budapestfilm
9.1%
4.7%
3.9%
219
220
87%
88%
Source: Motion Picture Public Foundation Hungary
top 10 films
box office
Rank
title
admissions
Box office
2008
2009
1H 2010
1
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs
652,823
$3.9m (HUF 798.8m)
Total admissions
9.4m
9.2m
5.5m
2
491,597
$2.7m (HUF 553.0m)
3
Avatar
369,962
$2.6m (HUF 535.5m)
Total sales
$46.8m
(HUF 9.6bn)
$50.0m
(HUF 10.2bn)
$37.3m
(HUF 7.6bn)
4
The Hangover
318,719
$1.7m (HUF 348.1m)
$4.98 (HUF 1,018)
$5.43 (HUF 1,112)
$6.81 (HUF 1,395)
5
Angels And Demons
286,973
$1.5m (HUF 307.1m)
0.94
0.92
0.55
6
277,543
$1.5m (HUF 307.1m)
206
192
117
25
13
5%
1%
7
The Proposal
270,628
$1.5m (HUF 307.1m)
25
8
Up
205,642
$1.3m (HUF 266.5m)
Local films’ market share
16%
9
2012
222,774
$1.3m (HUF 266.5m)
10
Inglorious Basterds
244,288
$1.2m (HUF 246.0m)
top 10 films 1h 2010
Rank
title
admissions
Box office
1
Robin Hood
109,425
$5.7m (HUF 1.2bn)
2
Shrek Forever After
494,111
$3.3m (HUF 675.3m)
3
Inception
339,645
$2.0m (HUF 409.2m)
4
Alice In Wonderland
260,097
$1.8m (HUF 386.2m)
5
258,939
$1.4m (HUF 286.4m)
6
Sex And The City 2
244,551
$1.4m (HUF 286.4m)
7
Sherlock Holmes
226,980
$1.3m (HUF 266.5m)
8
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
237,629
$1.3m (HUF 266.5m)
9
201,306
$1.3m (HUF 266.5m)
10
Toy Story 3
176,244
$1.1m (HUF 225.0m)
65
DATA: hungary
top 10 local films 2009
Top 10 local films 1H 2010
Rank
title
admissions
Box office
Rank
title
admissions
Box office
1
Made in Hungary
224,941
$1.1m (HUF 225.8m)
1
Igazából Apa
25,594
$130,132 (HUF 26.m)
2
Poligamy
90,959
$0.5m (HUF 102.7m)
2
Bibliotheque Pascal
20,734
$86,846 (HUF 17.8m)
3
Papírkutyák
78,221
$0.3m (HUF 61.6m)
3
Death Waltz
7,996
$28,530 (HUF5.9m)
4
Dream Well
54,076
$0.2m (HUF 41.1m)
4
Czukor Show
6,028
$18,534 (HUF 3.8m)
5
Csiribiri
23,589
$0.7m (HUF 143.7m)
5
Szélcsend
3,773
$11,138 (HUF 2.3m)
6
The Secret of Moonacre
16,717
$0.7m (HUF 143.7m)
6
As You Are
4,113
$10,995 (HUF 2.3m)
7
The Last Report On Anna
22,354
$0.7m (HUF 143.7m)
7
Látogatás
3,362
$8,789 (HUF 1.8m)
8
The Real Puskas
24,084
$0.5m (HUF 102.7m)
8
Lost Persons Area
3,197
$8,089 (HUF 1.6m)
9
Intimate Headshot
15,101
$0.4m (HUF 82.2m)
9
A Nibelung-lakópark
2,233
$7,982 (HUF 1.6m)
10
Szíven Szúrt Ország
12,449
$0.3m (HUF 61.6m)
10
Hét Perc A Mennyországban
1,535
$5,251 (HUF 1.1m)
DATA: croatia
top 10 films to october 2010
Rank
title
local distributor
cumulative box office
cumulative admission
1
Shrek Forever After
Blitz
$0.7m (HRK 3.8m)
133,482
2
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Blitz
$0.5m (HRK 2.7m)
110,111
3
Inception
Blitz
$0.5m (HRK 2.5m)
97,768
4
Step Up 3D
Blitz
$0.3m (HRK 1.6m)
49,766
5
Despicable Me
Blitz
$0.2m (HRK 1.2m)
51,991
6
Piranha 3D
Duplicato
$0.2m (HRK 1.0)
28,671
7
Switch
Duplicato
$0.2m (HRK 0.9m)
36,083
8
The Last Airbender 3D
Blitz
$0.1m (HRK 0.7m)
24,738
9
Toy Story 3
CF
$0.1m (HRK 0.6m)
29,414
10
Resident Evil:Afterlife
CF
$0.1m (HRK 0.6m)
22,128
Source: Continental Film
66
DATA: serbia & montenegro
top 20 films july-september 2010
Rank
title
distributor
number of prints
number of weeks
gross box office
admissions
1
Inception
Warner Bros
6
13
$0.2m (RSD 13.4m)
45,892
2
The Expendables
Independent
5
8
$0.1m (RSD 9.5m)
31,614
3
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Independent
5
16
$0.1m (RSD 7.9m)
28,715
4
The Woman With A Broken Nose ( Ser)
Independent
6
7
$0.1m (RSD 7.7m)
24,943
5
Killers
Independent
3
15
$0.08m (RSD 6.6m)
22,350
6
Salt
Sony
7
11
$0.07m (RSD 6.0m)
21,296
7
Grown Ups
Sony
7
6
$0.06m (RSD 4.9m)
16,463
8
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Sony
9
4
$0.06m (RSD 4.2m)
13,365
9
The Last Airbender
United International Pictures
6
9
$0.05m (RSD 4.0m)
13,697
10
Despicable Me
6
6
$0.03m (RSD 2.8m)
9,583
11
Cats And Dogs: Revenge Of Kitty Galore
Warner Brothers
9
11
$0.03m (RSD 2.6m)
10,239
12
The Karate Kid
SONY
7
7
$0.03m (RSD 2.6m)
9,399
13
Predators
Fox
7
10
$0.03m (RSD 2.5m)
9,195
14
Going The Distance
Warner Bros
6
3
$0.03m (RSD 2.3m)
7,181
15
Letters To Juliet
Independent
4
9
$0.03m (RSD 2.0m)
6,764
16
Machete
Independent
3
5
$0.03m (RSD 2.0m)
6,661
17
Charlie St Cloud
5
5
$0.01m (RSD 0.9m)
2,905
18
When You Are Strange
Independent
1
12
$0.01m (RSD 0.9m)
3,162
19
Step Up 3D
Independent
3
3
$0.01m (RSD 0.7m)
2,532
20
The Killer Inside Me
Independent
1
5
$0.01m (RSD 0.7m)
2,187
Source: Tuck Vision
DATA: bosnia & Herzegovina
top 10 films to october 2010
Rank
title
distributor
number of weeks number of screens
cumulative box office
cumulative admissions
1
Salt
Sony
10
3
$23,558 (BAM 34,153)
6,908
2
Grown Ups
Sony
7
2
$14,842 (BAM 21,507)
4,272
3
The Expendables
Independent
9
4
Despicable Me
5
1
14,790 (BAM 21,429)
4,269
2
$10,353(BAM 15,000)
3,103
5
The Switch
Independent
5
1
$9,418 (BAM 13,646)
2,735
6
The Karate Kid
Fox
6
2
$7,377 (BAM 10,689)
2,209
7
Predators
Sony
10
2
$5,408 (BAM 7,837)
1,734
8
Piranha 3D
Independent
4
1
$4.902 (BAM 7,104)
1,107
9
Charlie St Cloud
4
3
$4,477 (BAM 6,488)
1,433
10
Marmaduke
Fox
4
1
$3,801 (BAM 5,508)
1,258
Source: Blitz Film
67
DATA
south-east europe: an overview
country
population
admissions
screens
digital screens
% screens in
multiplexes
average ticket
price
Albania
3.6m
n/a
12
0
n/a
$4.0 (€3.0)
Austria
8.4m
18,400,000
577
239
60%
$9.0 (€6.67)
Bosnia and Herzegovina **
4.6m
445,977
40
2
42.5%
$3.4 (€2.5)
Bulgaria
7.6m
2,986,611
122
35
62%
$5.4 (€4.0)
Croatia
4.5m
3,290,108
117
8
35.8%
$5.4 (€4.0)
Cyprus
0.8m
869,084
36
6
62.8%
$4.7 (€3.5)
Greece
11.3m
13,500,000
384
n/a
40%
$10.1 (€7.5)
Hungary
10.0m
10,600
415
31
n/a%
$5.7 (€4.2)
Macedonia
2.1m
n/a
19
0
0%
$2.0 (€1.5)
Montenegro
0.7m
300,000
15
0
40%
$3.4 (€2.5)
Romania
21.5m
5,300,000
182
40
n/a%
$5.5 (€4.1)
Serbia
7.3m
1,713,663
125
5
13.6%
$3.4 (€2.5)
Slovenia
2.1m
2,793,227
103
9
54.37%
$5.7 (€4.2)
Turkey
70.4m
36,900,000
1,575
62
24.8%
$5.8 (€4.3)
UNMI Kosovo
1.8m
n/a
2
0
0
$4.0 (€3.0)
Sources: IMF, RS, National Film Centers, various sources
**sites equiped with 3 or more screens are considered multiplexes
advent of digital cinema
country
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Albania
0
0
0
0
0
0
Austria
n/a
18
35
84
239
239
Bosnia and Herzegovina **
0
0
0
0
0
1
Bulgaria
0
4
4
8
17
35
Croatia
0
0
0
7
7
8
Cyprus
0
0
0
0
6
6
Greece
n/a
n/a
4
6
31
n/a
Hungary
0
1
2
7
31
n/a
Macedonia
0
0
0
0
0
0
Montenegro
–
–
0
0
0
0
Romania
0
0
0
14
40
40
Serbia
0
0
0
0
0
5
Slovenia
1
2
3
9
9
9
Turkey
0
0
1
20
62
n/a
UNMI Kosovo
0
0
0
0
0
0
Sources: National film centres, OBS, various
*As Montenegro declared independence from State Union of Serbia and Montenegro on May 21 2006, data for Montenegro is calculated from year 2007
68
deals
n FilmBox In August, the leading independent Serbian
distributor Megacom Film bought the rights to Greek
company Audio Visual Enterprises (formerly Prooptiki) films
for DVD, TV and VoD distribution in former Yugoslavia. Of
the 200 titles included in the purchase are: 2046, Ashes
Of Time, Bandidas, The Lives Of Others, The Downfall, The
Diving Bell And The Butterfly, The Descent, The Banishment,
Assassination Of Richard Nixon and The Girl With A Pearl
Earring. The sale signifies Audio Visual Enterprises’ exit
s
from the Serbian market. n
n NonStop picks up Little Knights’ Tale NonStop Sales has
acquired family adventure Little Knights’ Tale, from Czech
director Karel Janak. The medieval adventure tells the story of
group of children who must save their father’s land from a
vicious warlord. Little Knights’ Tale is produced by Ceska
televize and Three Brothers. NonStop presented the film at
the American Film Market and will offer it at the European Film
Market 2011.
n Agora acquires stake in Helios Media group Agora has
purchased an 84% stake in Polish cinema operator Helios for
$36.6m (€26.2m). Agora president Piotr Niemczycki said the
purchase was part of Agora’s long-term strategy to diversify its
revenue sources and expand its activities in developing
media sectors. The group is seeking to reduce its dependence
on the advertising sector, Niemczycki says. Helios is the thirdlargest exhibitor in Poland with a 24% market share. With
daughter company Kinoplex, Helios sold 7.7 million tickets in
2009. Agora is aiming to completely digitise the Helios
network by the end of 2011.
n FilmBox enters Romania
SPI International has signed an agreement with Romania’s
largest telecommunications company to gain access to
the local TV market. Romtelecom will broadcast movie
channels FilmBox and FilmBox HD and fashion channel
FashionBox HD on DTH platform and IPTV service. FilmBox
channels are also broadcast in the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland and Slovakia.
n Polish Alvernia invests in Vamps
Warsaw-based Alvernia Production has signed up to Vamps, a
romantic vampire comedy written and directed by Amy
Heckerling (Clueless, Look Who’s Talking). Vamps is produced
by Red Hour Films (Tropic Thunder, Blades Of Glory) and Lucky
Monkey Pictures (City Island) and stars Alicia Silverstone,
Krysten Ritter and Sigourney Weaver. Alvernia has invested an
unstated sum in the production, while affiliate Alvernia
Studios is handling special effects. Alvernia Productions is
also teaming up with Warner Bros for the production of
upcoming Polish release How To Get Rid Of Cellulite.
69
digest
Production
n Fifteen projects have been approved to receive more than
$10m (CZK180.8m) in support through the Czech Republic’s
new 20% rebate. Paramount’s Mission: Impossible IV is set to
receive $3.2m (CZK57.8) through the programme, while the
Canal+ 12-part series Borgia is accessing $1.8m (CZK35.5m).
The rebate was not enough to induce Paramount to shoot The
Return Of Xander Cage in the Czech Republic, however. The
production is set to shoot in Hungary, despite qualifying for
$1.1m ($19.9m) in Czech support.
n Budapest continues to be a hot destination for productions
willing to travel to far-flung locations for better shooting
conditions this year. Local industry insiders report that US
independent The Raven, directed by James McTeigue and
starring John Cusack, is lining up for a winter production,
as is Universal’s 47 Ronin, rumoured to star Keanu Reeves.
The projects come hot on the heels of Angelina Jolie’s
Untitled Bosnia War Love Story, which was in production in
Budapest in October.
n CW Television Networks People’s Choice Award-winning
series The Vampire Diaries has been on location in Bulgaria
“The episode is set around 1490 and in Bulgaria,” producer
Julie Plec said at New York Comic Con. It explores the backstory of the show’s character, Katherine Pierce, played by Nina
Dobrev, who was born in Bulgaria.
n Romanian director-producer Bobby Paunescu (Francesca,
Aurora) will co-produce Itaker with Italian screenwriter-director
Toni Trupia. The majority of filming will take place in Romania,
with pre-production planned for spring 2011. The story
concerns Italian immigrants to Germany in the 1960s.
n Danijel Kusan’s Koko And The Ghosts started shooting in
Zagreb in October. Based on the children’s bestseller by the
director’s father Ivan, who also co-wrote the screenplay, it was
the first Croatian film to receive support from the MEDIA
programme in 2007. It is co-produced by Kinorama and
Croatian National Television.
n Period piece The Scent Of The Rain In The Balkans,
directed by Ljubisa Samardzic (Sky Hook) and written by
Djordje Milosavljevic and Nebojsa Romcevic, has wrapped
post-production in Belgrade. The story about a Jewish
Sephardic family in Sarajevo starts at the beginning of the
World War I and spans the period until World War II. Shot in
Avatar: a total of 1 million ticket sales helped Hungary record first half year-on-year growth
Belgrade, Sarajevo and Dubrovnik, it is based on the
bestseller by Gordana Kuic. Release is scheduled for
March 2011.
Exhibition
n Cinema City International has opened its eighth multiplex
in Romania. The 10-screen multiplex in Arad offers 1,622
seats and five digital projectors. Cinema City operates 82
screens – 26 of them digital – in seven cities in Romania.
CCI’s revenues from Romania amounted to $12.6m in the
first half of 2010.
n Year-on-year growth at the Hungarian box office was
modest in the first half of 2010. Admissions inched up 0.02%
to 3.96 million (with Avatar accounting for more than 1 million
tickets), while sales climbed almost 20% to $17.4m
(CZK314.4m). Local films’ market share dropped to 6%, with
only one film, Dénes Orosz’s Polygamy, exceeding 100,000
admissions.
n Eurimages’ Theatres Working Group has signed a deal with
XDC that will see the Europa Cinema/Eurimages network
member cinemas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia,
Macedonia and Turkey acquire digital equipment. Eurimages
plans to contribute $24,184 (CZK 437,101) per screen making
the digital switch, while public authorities in all five territories
pledged to match the Eurimages funding, leaving the
remaining financing to exhibitors.
70
n Sarajevo’s five-screen Cinema City has introduced a 3D
screen and is planning to build three more screens. There are
also 3D screens in two more cities, Zenica and Banja Luka.
n The first IMAX theatre in former Yugoslavia is currently
being built in Zagreb. It will be a part of the new 10-screen
Cinestar Arena, from distributor-exhibitor Blitz Cinestar, and
should be finished by the end of the year.
Distribution
n Olive Films will distribute Hungarian director Benedek
Fliegauf’s Toronto title Womb in North America. Camino
Filmverleih holds German rights to the film, produced by
Razor Films (Germany) with Inforg Studios (Hungary), Boje
Buck Produktion (Germany), ARTE France Cinema and ZDF
(Germany). The Match Factory handles international sales.
n Continental Films is distributing two films in Serbia
produced by Kinorama. Ivan-Goran Vitez’s comedy thriller
Forest Creatures played in competition at the Zagreb Film
Festival and opened theatrically on 11 November. Dalibor
Matanic’s drama, Mother Of Asphalt, opens on 12 December.
n Vlado Skafar’s Venice Critics Week entry Dad opens in
Slovenia on 22 November, distributed by Gustav Film.
The intimate father and son story is Skafar’s follow-up
to his 2009 documentary Letters To A Child, which premiered
s
at Rotterdam. n
71
In Focus
romanian box office
Multiplexes lead Romanian revival
The Romanian market has exploded in recent years, thanks
largely to the rapid growth of new screens feeding audience
demand for Hollywood blockbusters.
Compared with larger territories, sales in Romania are low,
but growth has been astronomic. Local cinemas sold just over
3 million tickets in the first half of 2010, a 59% year-on-year
increase. Sales were up 72% year on year to $13.2m
(RON41.7m). Admissions for 2010 are expected to pass 7
million. One fourth of the year’s admissions so far are the
result of Avatar, released in December 2009. The top local
film, Florin Serban’s Berlinale title If I Want To Whistle I
Whistle, has drawn more than 52,000 admissions.
Romania has an estimated 200 functioning screens at
present, roughly half of them built in the past five years. The
territory’s leading exhibitor is Cinema City, whose network
includes 71 multiplexes across Central and Eastern Europe
and Israel. Cinema City Romania operates 57 screens in six
sites across the country. In 2009, Cinema City’s box-office
gross in Romania was $7.7m (RON 24.1m).
“Romania is a country of cinema fans,” says Cinema
City deputy CFO Nisan Cohen. “Every Cinema City opened
in Romania is enjoying a very warm welcome. We see
that people generally like to see films in our cinemas,
and the 3D films are very popular, as we have seen in
other countries.”
Although Cinema City had the highest admissions of any
exhibitor in Romania, its sales were slightly outpaced by
Hollywood Multiplex Operations, operated by the Media
Pro Group. Hollywood Multiplex has only 16 screens on three
sites but it nonetheless earned $7.9m (RON 24.9m) on 1.4
million admissions in 2009.
In the first half of 2010, Romania accounted for 7.9% of
Cinema City’s 1H total revenue ($162.6m/RON 513.1m), up
from 3.2% in 1H 2009 ($112.3m/RON 354.2m). Admissions
for the period January to June were 1.5 million – 10% of all
tickets sold in the Cinema City network, and a year-on-year
increase of 189.4% – making Romania the company’s
fastest-growing territory.
Cinema City ticket prices in Romania averaged $5.09
(€3.65), the cheapest in the CCI network. The average ticket
price in Romania is RON 15.17, about $4.93.
2008
2009
1H 2010
Total admissions
3.8m
5.3m
3.2m
Total sales (Gross box office)
$17.2m
(RON88.6m)
$28.1m
(RON88.6m)
$13.6m
(RON42.8m)
$4.52 (RON14.2)
$5.33 (RON16.8)
n/a
0.18
0.24
n/a
199
211
n/a
15
19
n/a
Local films market share
7.5%
9.0%
n/a
Major exhibitors in Romania 2009
exhibitor
sites
screens admissions
gross box office
Cinema City Romania
6
57
1.5m
$7.8m (RON 24.6m)
Hollywood Multiplex Operations
3
16
1.4m
$7.9m (RON 24.9m)
Movieplex Cinema
1
11
978,187
$6.8m (RON 21.4m)
City Cinema Management
3
11
325,417
$1.2m (RON 3.9m)
Light Cinema Bucuresti
1
7
282,446
$1.7m (RON 5.4m)
Odeon Cineplex
1
8
219,889
$1.1m (RON 3.5m)
Radef Romaniafilm
37
39
209,199
$0.4m (RON 1.3m)
Starplex
1
9
124,392
$0.6m (RON 1.9m)
Chicago Tour
4
4
98,274
$0.2m (RON 0.6m)
Cinema City is committed to expanding operations in
Romania, which will soon become the company’s secondlargest territory in terms of number of screens, exceeded
only by Poland.
“Our operations will be growing in the coming years as we
still have 27 lease agreements signed, with openings planned
between 2010 and 2013,” Cohen says. The company
concedes, however, that opening dates are hard to pin down
as construction in Romania runs perpetually behind
s
schedule. n
72
in production
(36) 302 700 270
[email protected]
Sponsoring
Following the success of 33 Scenes From Life, Polish director
Małgorzata Szumowska casts Juliette Binoche as the lead in
her film, Sponsoring, about a journalist researching university
students in Paris who work as prostitutes. An international
co-production from Zentropa International Poland, Zentropa
International Köln and French firm Slot Machine, the film is
scheduled for a December release in Poland.
International sales Memento Films International
Contact Tanja Meissner
(33) 1 5334 9020
[email protected]
The House
Slovak director Zuzana Liova won the ScriptEast Krzysztof
Kieslowski award in 2007 for her script about a daughter
who does not want the house her father is building for her.
The producers are aiming to have post-production
completed by January.
International sales Film Europe
Contact Marta Lamperova
(420) 739 592 040
[email protected]
The Door
Oscar-winning Hungarian director Istvan Szabo returns with
an intimate story about the relationship between a writer and
her housekeeper. The $7.5m English-language production
stars Helen Mirren. Production continues this winter with a
scheduled release in May.
International sales Bankside Films
Contact Stephen Kelliher
(44) 20 7734 3566
[email protected]
Circles
Circles, by Srdan Golubovic (The Trap), a co-production
between Serbia’s Bas Celik, Germany’s Neue Mediopolis and
Slovenia’s Vertigo, starts shooting in December. Budgeted at
$2.4m, the war drama received $348,104 from Eurimages,
won Excellence Award at Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink
and Best Project at Cannes L’Atelier.
Production company Bas Celik
Contact Jelena Mitrovic
(381) 303 4441
[email protected]
Slavic Epopee
Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko is filming his historical epic
across seven territories. The $17m production ups the ante on
his $13.5m Bathory, which became the highest-grossing film
in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2008.
Producer Jakubisko Film
Contact Deana Jakubisková
(420) 296 236 353
[email protected]
Lock Out
EuropaCorp’s Lock Out started filming in Pink Film
International studios in Belgrade in October. The $30m sci-fi
thriller is directed by James Mather (Adam And Paul) and
Stephen St. Leger, and stars Guy Pearce, Peter Stormare and
Maggie Grace.
(33) 303 4441
s
[email protected] n
Mirage
Hungarian director Szabolcs Hajdu’s new production focuses
on an African footballer who must go on the run after he is
suspected of throwing a match. Hajdu’s previous film,
Bibliothèque Pascal, screened in the Berlinale Forum
competition last year.
Producer Filmpartners Kft
Contact Andrea Taschler
73
The Look ahead
Hungarian Film Week
This annual showcase of Hungarian film typically presents the
latest local films to festival programmers and sales agents.
Titles anticipated at this year’s event include the latest
offerings from Istvan Szabo, Gyorgy Palffi and Szabolcs Hajdu.
Date 1-8 February, 2011
Contact Éva Vezér
(36) 1351 7760
[email protected]
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
Part 3 of the Narnia series opens in the Czech market on
9 December, the same date it is released in Hungary and
Russia. Bontonfilm hopes a 32-copy release before Christmas
will push the film beyond the earnings of the summer release
Prince Caspian ($1.2m) and January release The Lion, The
Witch And The Wardrobe ($1.5m).
Premiere 9 December
Contact Aleš Danielis, Bontonfilm director of film distribution
(420) 257 415 111
[email protected]
White White World
Oleg Novkovic’s Serbia-Germany-Sweden co-production White
White World, winner of Art Cinema Award and best actress for
Jasna Djuricic in Locarno, will open the Belgrade Festival of
Auteur Film (30 November-7 December). Prior to that,
Megacom Film will release it in “reversed distribution”: it will
open in nine Serbian cities starting, before going to key city
Belgrade.
Contact Megacom Film, Igor Stankovic,
(+381) 11 3821 113
[email protected]
International sales Films Boutique
(49) 30 695 378 50
[email protected]
s
www.filmsboutique.com n
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
The event features the Baltic Event co-production market
(1-3 December) and the Black Market industry screenings and
literary rights market (1-4 December). The festival coincides
with the European Film Awards in Tallinn on 4 December.
Date 19 November – 5 December
Contact Tiina Lokk, Black Nights and Black Market
(372) 631 4640
[email protected]
ScriptEast at EFM
The ScripEast training programme brings scriptwriters from
Eastern Europe to EFM, where they will have one-to-one
meetings with heads of studies Christian Routh and Tom
Abrams. Previous projects include Benedek Fliegauf’s Womb
and Borislav Chouchkov and Dimitar Kotzev’s Tilt.
Date 10-18 February 2011
(48) 22 851 84 40
[email protected]
The Little Gypsy Witch
Tomislav Zaja’s The Little Gypsy Witch, budgeted at $1.8m,
starts principal photography on 2 December. The children’s
film is a co-production between Croatia’s Formula Film,
Austria’s Knut Ogris Films and Macedonia’s Geyzer Film
Production, and received Eurimages support of $252,846.
Production company Formula Film
Producer Boris Dmitrovic
(385) 98 458 917
[email protected]
74
TERRITORY FOCUS: BENELUX
The Forgotten Space: won the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize in Venice
market update
Belgacom in Wallonia are beginning to generate revenues
through VoD. With public broadcasters not buying,
the emphasis is firmly on how films perform theatrically.
On the positive side, acquisition prices are coming down.
“Competition is less,” says Hermeling. “The sales agents
finally accepted that the MGs [minimum guarantees] had to
go down.” Print and advertising costs are also reducing.
Wilco Wolfers, CEO of A-Film Distribution, is upbeat about
how Dutch films have been performing in recent months.
“The Dutch theatrical market is still growing. We’re still ahead
of the same period last year,” he says. “The local chunk is a
big chunk of the box office as we speak.” Not even the
progress of the Dutch football team to the World Cup final in
July put too big a dent in the business. Family fare remains
popular and A-Film is giving a major release to kids movie
Saint, from director Dick Maas, in time for the St Nicholas
holiday on 6 December.
On the production front, the big news in Holland is that Paul
Verhoeven and producer San Fu Maltha are back in business
Budget cuts have been the talk of the industry in Benelux this
autumn. Following inconclusive summer elections, both
Holland and Belgium were without a new government (the
Netherlands eventually formed a minority government
supported by Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party in mid-October).
During the political limbo, both countries have been bracing
themselves for reductions in public funding of film.
In the Netherlands, cuts of up to 20% are anticipated in
culture budgets. This means that local producers, expecting
public funding to be reduced, are pushing hard for the country
to set up its own tax shelter system (see In Focus).
On the distribution front in Holland, DVD sales have
continued to fall. Pim Hermeling, boss of Wild Bunch Benelux,
estimates this sector has shrunk 30% in Benelux over the
course of 2010. Video-on-demand (VoD) platforms, meanwhile,
are not yet generating enough returns to make up for the
shortfall, although local distributors say that cable companies
such as UPC and Ziggo in Holland, Telenet in Flanders and
75
together. They are to make Hidden Force, a drama based on
the classic Dutch novel by Louis Couperus. Shooting is
expected to begin next year.
Holland has been enjoying a mini production boom. There
were 39 productions last year (including seven minority and
eight majority co-productions) and production has been brisk
this year too. Dutch movies achieved a 17.4% market share in
2009. The downside is that international profile remains
relatively low. Dutch films have been sparsely represented at
the big autumn festivals, although The Forgotten Space
won the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize in Venice, while Nanouk
Leopold’s Brownian Movement was warmly received in
Toronto.
In Flanders, the budget for public investment in films,
education and training through the Flemish Audiovisual Fund
(VAF) is expected to be down 10% in 2011.
Between September and December, 10 new Flemish films
are being released locally – an unprecedented number. Titles
such as Hans Van Nuffel’s Oxygen (a prize-winner in Montreal)
and Vanya D’Alcantara’s Beyond The Steppes (in official
selection in Locarno) have been winning plaudits on the
festival circuit. Most are being handled by Kinepolis, still
the major player in Flemish distribution. VTM, the commercial
TV channel, has also been active in supporting Flemish film
production, while local viewers are tuning in too.
When Christophe Van Rompaey’s crowd-pleaser Moscow,
Belgium (2008) premiered in October 2009, it posted viewing
figures that came close to toppling the all-time record set by
Titanic. On its first airing, viewing figures were 1.1 million (a
48.5% market share) – a huge number given that there are
only six million Flemish people. When the film screened again
this year, it attracted 438,274 viewers – still a sizeable number.
But the upsurge in Flemish production will be tough to
sustain. “There is too much emerging new talent for our
budget to support,” notes a VAF source. The VAF, which
underpins local film production, backs between eight and
10 feature films a year, but there is currently a talent pool of
30-35 directors. This means there is a bottleneck forming and
that film-makers will get a chance to make a new feature only
every three to four years.
Flemish producers have been hit by public broadcaster
VRT’s decision to reduce its commitment to the film arena.
Peter Bouckaert of Eyeworks refers to “the enormous drop in
Netherlands: Exhibition 2009-2010
Number of cinemas
242
Number of screens
751
Number of 1.4K digital screens
37
151
6
Number of 3D screens
150
Number of IMAX-screens
3
Number of seats
123,000
Number of admissions per capita
1.7
$10.10 (€7.40)
Netherlands: Exhibition 2009-2010
Total cinema admissions
Gross Box office
27.3m
$273.6m (€201m)
National share
National share
17.4%
16.3%
Source : Netherlands Film Fund
commissions” from the broadcaster, which has been suffering
its own cuts. Bouckaert, producer of recent Flemish hit Dossier
K, already accepts that Double Face, his next project based on
the crime novels by Jef Geeraerts (author of Dossier K and The
Alzheimer Case), will have to be done on a lower budget than
its predecessor
In Wallonia, new films are on the horizon from double
Palme D’Or winners the Dardennes brothers (Set Me Free,
with Cecile De France) and from Bouli Lanners (Les Géants).
In Belgium, the tax shelter system continues to flourish.
One continuing trend is the number of high-profile French
films shooting in Belgium to take advantage of the shelter.
Among them are Dany Boon’s Nothing To Declare, Virginie
Despentes’ Bye Bye Blondie and Francois Ozon’s Potiche.
Luxembourg, meanwhile, remains active as a co-production
partner. Nicolas Steil of Luxembourg-based Iris Productions
achieved an unlikely double coup in the autumn when two
films he produced were put forward as Oscar candidates by
different countries – Illegal from Belgium and La Petite
Chambre from Switzerland. Steil put together around 45%
s
of the financing for both projects. n
76
data
Netherlands box office 2010
The Netherlands: Television & video 2009
Number of public nationwide broadcasting channels
3
Number of commercial nationwide broadcasting channels
14
Number of public internet television channels
17
Source: NFV/NVPI as of 31.12.09
Share
TV
98%
Analog
60%
Digital
50.8%
DVD players
54.9%
Harddisc recorders
21.6%
Access to Internet
80%
WEB-TV (watching television on the internet)
34.9%
$179.8m (€131.9m)
$91.1m (€66.8m)
n Films from Netherlands
n Films from other countries
37
331
n Dutch market share in admissions 17.4%
The Netherlands: TV & Internet penetration of households
Medium
n Majors
n Independents Source: NFV/NVPI as of 31.12.09
new releases 2009*
admissions
gross box office
4.7m
37
$44.8m $45.9m
(€32.9m) (€33.7m)
4.8m
178
153
n Films from The Netherlands**
n Films from the US
Source: Netherlands Film Fund
17.8m
$183.2
€134.5m)
n Films from the US
n Films from the US
* releases from NVF members ** including co-productions
77
data
top 10 international films Belgium june-september 2010
Rank
title
distributor
release date
date range
gross box office
cumulative gross
box office
1
Inception
21/07/2010
$4.9m (€3.6m)
$6.2m (€4.6m)
2
Belga
30/06/2010
$4.5m (€3.3m)
$6.8m (€5.0m)
3
Toy Story 3
Walt Disney International
23/06/2010
$4.4m (€3.2m)
$5.5m (€4.0m)
4
Shrek Forever After
14/07/2010
$3.7m (€2.7m)
$5.0m (€3.7m)
5
The Last Airbender
28/07/2010
$2.9m (€2.1m)
$3.2m (€2.4m)
6
Step Up 3D
Belga
04/08/2010
$2.7m (€2.0m)
$3.6m (€2.6m)
7
The Karate Kid
Sony International
21/07/2010
$2.2m (€1.6m)
$2.5m (€1.8m)
8
Knight And Day
Fox International
28/07/2010
$2.1m (€1.5m)
$2.3m (€1.7m)
9
The Expendables
Benelux Film Distribution
18/08/2010
$1.7m (€1.2m)
$2.7m (€2.0m)
10
Salt
Sony International
04/08/2010
$1.4m (€1.0m)
$1.9m (€1.4m)
Source: Rentrak
Dutch top 20 films January-december 2009
Rank
title
distributor
release date
number of admissions
GROSS BO 2009
total prints
released
1
A Woman Goes To The Doctor
26/11/2009
922,000
$9.7m (€7.1m)
129
2
The Storm
17/9/2009
730,000
$6.4m (€4.7m)
123
3
The Dark House
eOne
29/10/2009
355 ,000
$3.7m (€2.7m)
90
4
Sinterklaas En De Verdwenen Pakjesboot
eOne
8/10/2009
284,000
$2.2m (€1.8m)
106
5
Spangas on Survival
Walt Disney Studios
1/10/2009
275,000
$2.2m (€1.8m)
117
6
Anubis En De Wraak Van Arghus
Independent Films
17/12/2009
255,000
$2.2m (€1.7m)
117
7
Lover Or Loser
eOne
24/9/2009
226,000
$1.9m (€1.4m)
101
8
Spy Of Orange
A-Film Distribution
5/2/2009
210,000
$2.2m (€1.6m)
110
9
Frogs & Toads
A-Film Distribution
12/2/2009
181,000
$1.5m (€1.1m)
107
10
The Hell of ’63
eOne
17/12/2009
127,000
$1.4m (€1.0m)
86
11
Suske En Wiske: De Texas Rakkers
eOne
23/7/2009
99,000
$0.8m (€0.6m)
89
12
Limo
Independent Films
9/4/2009
84,000
$0.7m (€0.5m)
110
13
The Misfortunates
Wild Bunch
8/10/2009
72,000
$0.7m (€0.5m)
16
14
Het Sinterklaasjournaal: De Meezing Moevie
Independent Films
15/10/2009
70,000
$0.5m (€0.4m)
83
15
The Indian
A-Film Distribution
9/8/2009
56,000
$0.4m (€0.3m)
71
16
The Last Days Of Emma Blank
A-Film Distribution
7/5/2009
48,000
$0.4m (€0.3m)
23
17
Zonder Pardon
Independent Films
12/11/2009
43,000
$0.4m (€0.3m)
33
18
My Dad’s A Detective
eOne
9/4/2009
28,000
$0.3m (€0.2m)
44
19
Nothing Personal
Cinema Delicatessen
10/12/2009
23,000
$0.2m (€0.1m)
28
20
Can Go Through Skin
A-Film Distribution
wk 43 2008
13,000
$0.1m (€0.08m)
8
78
data
top 20 films Netherlands july - September 2010
Rank
title
distributor
date range gross box office
date range admissions
1
Inception
$4.8m (€6.5m)
770,473
2
Shrek Forever After
$71.m (€5.2m)
596,803
3
Toy Story 3
Disney
$5.2m (€3.8m)
482,195
4
Step Up 3D
Independent Films
$4.8m (€3.5m)
393,934
5
The Karate Kid
Sony
$3.5m (€2.6m)
354,505
6
The Last Airbender
$3.5m (€2.6m)
296,077
7
Knight And Day
Fox International
$3.4m (€2.5m)
315,238
8
Independent Films
$3.3m (€2.4m)
311,167
9
Salt
Sony
$3.0m (€2.2m)
292,831
10
The Expendables
$2.4m (€1.8m)
247,500
11
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Disney
$1.9m (€1.4m)
181,388
12
Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage
$1.8m (€1.3m)
165,930
13
Marmaduke
Fox International
$1.6m (€1.2m)
185,487
14
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore
$1.4m (€1.0m)
138,957
15
Grown Ups
Sony
$1.4m (€1.0m)
150,809
16
Piranha 3D
A-Film Distribuition
$1.0m (€0.7m)
82,851
17
Dinner For Schmucks
$0.8m (€0.6m)
85,576
18
Machete
eOne
$0.8m (€0.6m)
82,131
19
Sex And The City 2
$0.8m (€0.6m)
66,601
20
Going The Distance
$0.7m (€0.5m)
84,897
Source: Rentrak
79
data
Number of admissions: distributor market share Netherlands 2008/2009 (majors)
majors
2008
share
2009
share
titles with most admissions 2009
Warner Bros Pictures International Holland BV
3,578,000
15.2%
6,857,000
25.1%
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Universal Pictures International Netherlands BV
6,361,000
27.1 %
4,627,000
16.9%
The Storm
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Netherlands
1,590,000
6.8%
3,148,000
11.5%
Up
Sony Pictures Releasing Holland BV
1,702,000
7.2 %
2,673,000
9.8%
Angels & Demons
20th Century Fox**
984,000
4.2%
–
–
–
2009
share (%)
titles with most admissions 2009
** Since last year, 20th Century Fox is part of Warner Brothers
Number of admissions: distributor market share Netherlands 2008/2009 (independents)
independents
2008
share (%)
A-Film Distribution BV
1,162,000
4.9%
1,183,000
4.3%
Spy Of Orange
eOne Entertainment Benelux BV
1,809,000
7.7%
2,510,000
9.2%
The Dark House
Independent Films BV
3,200,000
13.6%
1,556,000
5.7%
Paradiso Entertainment Nederland BV
666,000
2.8%
491,000
1.8%
He’s Just Not That Into You
Cinemien (ABC Theatrical Distribution BV)
252,000
1.1%
293,000
1.1%
Gomorrah
Filmmuseum Distributie
113,000
0.5%
–
–
–
Moonlight Films BV
125,000
0.5%
68,000
0.2%
Righteous Kill
Shooting Star Filmcompany
0
0.0%
1,000
0.0%
Salt Of This Sea
Benelux Film Distributors
1,339,000
5.7%
2,092,000
7.7%
A Woman Goes To The Doctor
Cinéart Nederland BV
285,000
1.2%
995,000
3.6%
Slumdog Millionaire
European Film Partners BV
16,000
0.1%
–
–
Amstelfilm BV
8,000
0.0%
23,000
0.1%
North
Twin Film
12,000
0.1%
27,000
0.1%
Kidz In Da Hood
Wild Bunch Benelux Distribution BV
–
–
249,000
0.9%
The Misfortunates
Eye Film Institute Distribution
–
–
122,000
0.4%
Modern Life
Cinema Delicatessen
–
–
43,000
0.2%
Nothing Personal
LOC Film Distribution
–
–
40,000
0.1%
Donkey Punch
80
data
dutch half-year entertainment results 2010
technology
2010
2009
change
2010 (units)
2009 (units)
change
DVD
$165.6m (€121.5m)
$177.9m (€130.7m)
(-)7.1%
11.4m
13.9m
(-)18.0%
Blu-Ray
$ 17.4m (€12.8m)
$10.2m (€7.49m)
(+) 71.4%
0.7m
0.3m
(+) 120.4%
Other
$0.01m (€0.01m)
$0.05m (€0.04m)
(-)65.6%
0
0
(-)54.7%
Total Video
$182.7m €134.3m
$188.2m (€138.2)
(-)2.8%
12.1m
14.2m
(-)15.1%
Source: NVPI
belgium half-year entertainment results 2010
technology
2010
2009
change
2010 (units)
2009 (units)
change
DVD
$120.9m (€88.9m)
$132.1m (€97.2m)
(-) 8.56%
7.4m
8.6m
(-)13.79%
Blu-Ray
$9.1m (€6.7m)
$6.0m (€4.4m)
(+) 55.20%
0.3m
0.2m
(+) 88.24%
Total Video Sales
$130.2m (€95.8m)
$138.2m (€101.7m)
(-) 5.78%
7.8m
8.8m
(-)11.82%
Source: Belgium Entertainment Association
81
DEALS
n Wild Bunch lands film rights In Toronto, Wild Bunch
Benelux picked up the Benelux rights to Mike Mills’ Beginners
and Abdellatif Kechiche’s Black Venus. As company boss
Pim Hermeling points out, Benelux asking prices used to be
between 1% and 2% of a film’s budget, but that price has
come down. Wild Bunch is focused on arthouse films that are
strongly marketing- and director-driven. These high-profile
films can still be successful even at a time when arthouse is
generally suffering in Benelux.
n Delphis in Turquaze deal Canadian sales outfit Delphis
Film has taken on international rights for Kadir Balci’s
Turquaze. Delphis has strong connections with the Benelux
industry, and with this deal the Canadian sales company
clearly believes there is an international market for Benelux
fare. This is interesting because one of the paradoxes about
Benelux is that the most successful local films, whether kids’
fare or drama, don’t travel well within the territory. Dutch
audiences don’t like Flemish movies – it was telling that
rather than acquire Flemish box-office hit Loft for Dutch
distribution, producer distributor Rachel Van Bommel
decided to remake it instead, arguing that this way she would
have a better chance of reaching a big audience.
Silent Souls: one of four titles picked up by Cineart
n A-Film puts focus on indie fare A-Film’s pick-ups include
Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, Gareth Edwards’ Monsters,
Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire and Tony Goldwyn’s Conviction.
A-Film, under Wilco Wolfers, focuses on both high-profile
independent English-language fare from the major markets
and on Dutch movies aimed at local audiences. But the Dutch
arthouse films are generally struggling for traction in the
Dutch market. Films such as Katia’s Sister, Calimucho, Can Go
Through Skin and Nothing Personal all had festival success in
2009-2010 but struggled to reach big audiences when
screened in Dutch cinemas. “The market is so jammed. There
is so much going on. It feels like the audience is looking at
only one or two films and they forget about the rest,” says
A-Film managing director Wilco Wolfers of the great divide
s
between Dutch arthouse and mainstream cinema. n
n Cineart takes four Independent arthouse distributor
Cineart has picked up four new titles. It acquired Venice
critics’ favourite Silent Souls from Memento and Dennis
Villeneuve’s Incendies (from eOne). The company also prebought Café De Flore from director Jean-Marc Vallee (starring
Vanessa Paradis) and Les Pauvres Gens (the new film from
Robert Guediguian.) Cineart is one of the blue-chip companies
in Benelux distribution and it has an extraordinarily diverse
catalogue. The company was one of the beneficiaries of
phenomenon that was The Lord Of The Rings, when it came in
early to pre-buy Peter Jackson’s epic films from New Line.
However, its slate also includes every new
film from the Dardenne Brothers.
n First Hand Films gains Paradox rights Swiss outfit
First Hand Films has taken international sales rights on
documentary feature Paradox, about maverick Dutch
film-maker Pim de la Para, from Fu Works.
82
DIGEST
financing from KBC, one of Belgium’s biggest banks, and is
now looking to buy bigger titles. The significance of this deal
(announced in July) is that it is an example of a bank investing
in the film industry in a period when big financial institutions
are generally giving the sector a wide berth. Sources refused
to reveal how much money KBC was providing but it is
understood the bank has taken a 20% stake in Lumiere,
which currently acquires 15-20 movies a year. “We won’t buy
more but we’ll buy bigger,” said Lumiere co-chairman Jan de
Clercq, commenting on how the bank investment will change
the business.
Production
n In Holland, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron has
acquired remake rights to Dutch psychological thriller Two
Eyes Staring by Dutch writer/director Elbert van Strien. The
remake will be made through Theron’s company, Denver &
Delilah, and the actress is expected to appear in the film.
The acquisition has been hailed as a big local success given
that the film does not yet have an international sales agent.
Producers Claudia Brandt and Van Strien have been handling
the film in the market and have closed deals to South Korea
(KT&G) and France (Zyko).
n Accento Films is in advanced development on two further
projects, both written by Elbert van Strien together with UK
writer Ben Hopkins (The Market, Simon Magus). The first,
supernatural thriller Marionette, is a remake of a short film by
Van Strien. The second is Out Of Mind, a psychological thriller.
n Brownian Movement (sold by Films Distribution) is looking
for a slot in the Berlinale in 2011 after being premiered in
Toronto in September but failing to receive a showing at this
year’s Dutch film festival in Utrecht. Director Nanouk Leopold
is a festival favourite whose work has screened in Cannes and
Berlin. He is a prime example of a Dutch director feted by
international festival programmers and widely admired
by critics, but whose work remains tough to sell in the
international marketplace.
n Dutch co-production Amphibious 3D (sold internationally
by Celsius) will premiere in Sitges prior to screening in the
market at the American Film Market (AFM). Celsius has
already closed a raft of deals on the film, a rare Dutch foray
into the monster genre. The Dutch-Belgian-Indonesian
co-production, directed by Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator 2), is
about a supernatural prehistoric creature that terrifies
members of a marine research expedition.
Exhibition
n After almost two years (since January 2009), the longrunning dispute between Belgian distributors and exhibitors
over how box-office figures are calculated is yet to be resolved.
The dispute began when leading exhibitor Kinepolis decided
not to make available figures about ticket sales to centralised
system IT Helps. Kinepolis sources claimed that these figures
were being leaked in advance to the press and that, as a
result, the company share price was suffering. Other
exhibitors soon followed suit. As yet, exhibitors have not
accepted the distributors’ attempts to set up a centralised
accounting system. The net result is that every Monday
morning it is unclear which films have done well and
distributors are still obliged to ring cinemas for box-office
information. They then provide their data to non-profit
industry body Service Professionel de Controle des Recettes,
which represents the interests of both distributors and
s
exhibitors and is able to provide accurate figures. n
Distribution
n September saw the launch of Starway, a distribution
company backed by Flemish media giant VMMA, the owner of
commercial TV station VTM. Starway will be handling eOne’s
films. If it moves into third-party distribution, some locals
predict Starway could challenge the dominant position that
Kinepolis currently holds.
n Brussels-based distributor Lumiere has secured extra
83
IN FOCUS
with foreign backers will give their work the leverage to reach
the international market. Even so, in recent years, some
outsiders have felt that Holland is not an easy co-production
partner. Its “matching fund” (through which producers with
two thirds of their financing in place and a guarantee of
distribution can apply for the final third of their backing from
the Dutch Film Fund) is hard for outsiders to access. Benelux
neighbours Belgium (with its tax shelter) and Luxembourg
(with CIAV, its audiovisual investment certificate programme
worth up to 30% of a budget to producers working in
Luxembourg) have incentive schemes that draw international
producers. The Dutch don’t.
Leading Dutch producer San Fu Maltha (Black Book) points
out that the post-production sector is already suffering
Why the Dutch need a tax shelter
Without a tax shelter, the Dutch are failing to attract
co-production partners. They may have a 17% market share
for their own films at the Dutch box office, but the local
industry is not attracting inward investment. Once
government cuts hit the Dutch Film Fund, there will be less
public funding for film production. The Dutch are a part of
Eurimages (the Council for Europe fund for co-production,
distribution and exhibition of cinematographic work) but
producers complain regularly that they aren’t happy with
what they get from the fund.
If they want to make films of a certain scale, Dutch filmmakers need international partners for financing, and working
feature film production 2010: dutch productions shot mainly or wholly in the netherlands
title
production companies
budget
start Date of shoot (2010)
Sint
TDMP/Parachute Pictures
$6.0m (€4.4m)
15 Februry
Heading West
KeyFilm
$1.1m (€0.8m)
8 March
Among Us
Lemming Film
$1.3m (€0.9m)
22 March
Het Geheim
IDTV Film
$1.9m (€1.4m)
3 April
Pizza Maffia
IDTV Film
$2.0m (€1.5m)
12 April
Ernst & Bobbie En ‘Het Geheim Van De Monta Rossa’
M4ALL
$2.2m (€1.6m)
16April
Alle Tijd
NL Film
$2.5m (€1.9m)
8 May
Me & Mr. Jones
Talent United
$0.7m (€0.5m)
5 June
Snuf De Hond En Het Spookslot
Steven de Jong
$1.4m (€1.0m)
6 June
Sinterklaas En Het Pakjes Mysterie
SRSP
$1.0m (€0.7m)
12 June
New Kidz Turbo
Eyeworks Film
$1.4m (€1.0m)
26 June
Dik Trom
Eyeworks Film
$2.9m (€2.2m)
6 July
170 Hz
Column Film
$1.1m (€0.8m)
08 6 July
Penny, De Film!
Penny’s Shadow filmfonds
$3.5m (€2.6m)
02 August
Lotus
IJswater Films / Revolver
$1.3m (€0.9m)
21 August
Gooische Vrouwen
Endemol Entertainment
$3.3m (€2.4m)
22 August
Stilettos
Nedfilm & Television
$2.2m (€1.6m)
21 August
Nick
IDTV Film/De Productie
$0.9m (€0.6m)
24 August
Summer
Circe Films
$1.4m (€1.0m)
12 August
feature film production 2010: dutch productions shot mainly or wholly abroad
title
budget
Majesty
Fu Works/IDTV Film
$2.7m (€2.0m)
29 March
Ataraxia – Poodle Shaving For The Blind
SeriousFilm/Poodle Shaving
$0.9m (€0.7m)
21 August
84
because of the lack of international activity in the
Netherlands. “In the future, there probably won’t be any
expertise available in Holland, which is really bad for us. To be
interesting co-production partners in the future, you need to
have post-production facilities. Also, a Dutch tax shelter will
be essential.”
The production community in Holland and in Europe
has reacted positively to the international perspective and
consensus-building of Doreen Boonekamp, who became
head of the Netherlands Film Fund last year. Local producers
compare the mood in the Dutch industry favourably with the
backbiting that existed during the reign of her predecessor,
Toine Berbers. Boonekamp is leading the lobbying for a
new incentive.
“Co-production is vital when you want to have a lively film
production [sector] in your own country,” she says. “Even
without the cuts, we need a tax scheme to keep the
industry healthy.”
The Film Fund’s budget is stable at $48.4m (€35.5m) a year
until 2012. By then, the hope in the Dutch film community is
s
that some form of tax incentive will be in place. n
feature film production 2010: Majority Dutch international co-productions shot mainly or wholly in The Netherlands
title
budget
Sonny Boy
Shooting Star Filmcompany
$7.0m (€5.12m)
15 February
De Eetclub
Infinity Film & TV/Rinkel Film & TV
$3.8m (€2.80m)
10 April
Lena
Isabella Films
$2.3m (€1.69m)
16 September
feature film production 2010: Majority Dutch international co-productions shot mainly or wholly abroad
title
budget
Black Butterflies
IDTV Film/Cool Beans/Riba Film
$6.2m (€4.52m)
8 March
Somewhere Tonight
Column Film
$1.4m (€1.00m)
22 March
Loft
Pupkin Film
$4.7m (€3.46m)
8 June
Isabelle
IDTV Film
$2.9m (€2.15m)
9 June
Tony Ten
Lemming Film
$5.2m (€3.83m)
5 July
Code Blue
IDTV Film
$1.9m (€1.40m)
17 Sepember
De President
Lemming Film
$3.7m (€2.75m)
22 September
Queleh
Flinck Film
$1.6m (€1.21m)
24 October
feature film production 2010: Minority Dutch international co-productions shot mainly or wholly abroad
title
budget
Oxygen
Lemming Film
$2.2m (€1.6m)
11 January
Sleeping Sickness
IDTV Film
$2.9m (€2.15m)
26 January
The Devil’s Double
Corrino Media Corporation
$20.4m (€15.0m)
6 February
Simon And The Oaks
Flinck Film
$7.6m (€5.6m)
–
Rundskop
Waterland Film & TV
$2.6m (€1.9m)
24 March
The Other Side Of Sleep
Rinkel Film
$1.9m (€1.4m)
29 March
Ausencias
Waterland Film & TV
$1.1m (€0.8m)
19 April
Istanbul
Phanta Vision
$1.9m (€1.4m)
12 July
Bringing Up Bobby
Rinkel Film
$1.6m (€1.2m)
19 July
Montana
Volya Films
$3.9m (€2.9m)
6 September
Source: all tables – Netherlands Film Fund
85
IN PRODUCTION
van Meurs of Pupkin Film, the Belgian outfit Woestijnvis in
association with Dutch broadcaster BNN. It’s about a group
of young married male friends who secretly hire an apartment
to entertain their mistresses without their wives finding out.
Their little scheme comes unstuck when a dead body turns
up in the apartment. In post-production.
Contact Eline de Boer
(31) 205 314 263
(31) 650 247 741
[email protected]
Suskind
Dutch director Rudolf Van Den Berg, whose feature Tirza is the
Dutch Oscar candidate, is to direct $6.1m (€4.5m) World War
II drama Süskind, about a German Jew who helped Jewish
children in Holland escape from the Nazis during the war. The
film is being produced by Fu Works and Cadenza. The
producers are Jeroen Koolbergen, San Fu Maltha and Reinier
Selen and it begins production next year.
Contact San Fu Maltha, Fu Works
(31) 205 307 110
[email protected]
Délivrez-Moi
Belgium’s Dardenne brothers have been shooting Déliverz
Moi, their new film with Cecile De France and Jeremie Renier.
Sold by Wild Bunch, the film is produced by Les Films Du
Fleuve, Archipel 35 and Lucky Red. Shooting finished in late
October, and the film is currently in post-production. The film
is likely to surface in Cannes, where the brothers are two-time
Palme D’Or winners.
International sales Wild Bunch
(33) 611 912 393
s
[email protected] n
Hasta La Vista!
Geoffrey Enthoven is embarking on his fifth feature, Hasta La
Vista! (produced by Fobic Films). Thanks to earlier films such
as Children Of Love and The Only One, Enthoven is one of
the most highly regarded directors in Flanders. Local hopes
are that Hasta La Vista! will prove to be his international
breakthrough. His new film stars French actress Yolande
Moreau and tells the story of three disabled friends who
share the same dream – to go on holiday to Spain to lose
their virginity while they’re still able. Due to start shooting
this autumn.
Contact Mariano Vanhoof
(32) 93 36 39 36
[email protected]
Madonna’s Pig
A tale about a sales agent of a computerised pig fertilisation
machine who gets stuck in Madonna, an isolated and scenic
village that is paralysed by a conflict over a new road. The
screenplay is by Frank Van Passel and Marc Didden, the
writer-director of Brussels By Night (1983), one of the key
Belgian films of the 1980s. Starts shooting this autumn.
Producer Caviar
(32) 24 23 20 26
[email protected]
Loft
Dutch remake of Erik Van Looys’ hit Belgian thriller of the
same name. The film is directed by Antoinette Beumer and
produced by Rachel Van Bommel of Millstreet Films, Sander
86
A look ahead
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
Despite competition from Sheffield and Hot docs, IDFA is still
the world’s pre-eminent documentary festival. Its forum is a
key event for commissioning editors, producers and financiers
to come together to finance new projects. This year’s festival is
to open with Stand Van De Sterren by Dutch-Indonesian
director Leonard Retel Helmrich, whose earlier documentary
Shape Of The Moon won the Grand Jury prize for world cinema
at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
Date 17-28 November
(31) 206 273 329
[email protected]
European Film Awards (EFA)
Even in advance of the main nominations for this, the 23rd
EFA, it was clear that Benelux talent was going to be well
represented in Tallinn, Estonia. Dutch director Urzula Antoniak
is in the running for the EFA Discovery Award for her highly
regarded debut feature Nothing Personal. Meanwhile, Belgian
animator Ben Stassen – one of Europe’s leading 3D pioneers
– has been nominated for the animated feature award for his
film, Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage. There are also
Benelux shorts up for awards, among them young Flemish
director Nathalie Teirlinck’s Venus vs Me
and, from the Netherlands, Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito’s
Stay, Away.
Date 4 December
Contact Marion Döring, director, European Film Academy
(49) 308 871 670
[email protected]
International Film Festival Rotterdam
The festival will be holding sidebars on ‘Red Westerns’ –
Soviet and Eastern European westerns from 1924 to 1980 –
and on ‘Out of Fashion’, which will explore the growing
interaction between the fashion industry and independent
film-making.
Date 26 January-6 February 2011
Contact Ert-Jan Zoetr
(31) 108 909 090
[email protected]
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com
87

local marketS report

Transcription

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