Cinema and Film Industry Qs

Q1. In the UK film market, an increase in the number of screens available to show films has not led to an increase in the number of films being shown. Why?

·         All films in cinemas are loaned by film companies for a specific and secure amount of time so there aren’t a pile up of films in cinemas

·         Popular films are ‘heldover’ and are shown a number of times a day and so there isn’t enough room at cinemas to show lots of films when there are a number of popular releases at once

·         Even though certain cinemas aren’t still owned by Hollywood companies, they still prioritise Hollywood hits which makes it hard for any other films to match the attention the huge releases gain.

Q2. In your opinion what might account for the fact that cinema attendances have fluctuated between 139 million and 176 million between 1999 and 2008?

·         One of the main reasons to why cinema attendance has fluctuated may be because of the success and marketing of major Hollywood hits throughout the years. For example, in 2002, which gained the highest number of people attending cinemas (176 million), the top releases were a number of films that were sequels or films in a series. For example, the top two films that grossed the most amount of money were ‘The Lord of the Rings; Two Towers’ and ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ as well as other popular sequels such as ‘Stuart Little 2’, ‘Star Wars – Episode II’, ‘Men in Black II’ and ‘the Santa Clause 2.’ As well as already having two very popular prequels, both ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Harry Potter’ are very famous books which would also have encouraged huge attendance – this was also similar to the release of ‘Spiderman’, a hugely popular comic. However, in years such as 2006 where the cinema attendance was 157 million, although there are a number of releases that were sequels to previous films, the top releases tended to be completely new releases such as ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Borat’ and ‘Night at the Museum.’

·         Another reason to why cinema attendance may have decreased over the years could be because of the advances in recording technology and popularity of online streaming/downloading websites. For most people, for films that aren’t a particular priority but are of interest, it is more likely that they will be inclined to watch an alright copy of the film online rather than pay to see the real thing at the cinema.

Q3. In 2011, UK film distributors invested £330 million in advertising their new releases and on 35mm film prints. If around 450 new films receive a theatrical release in the UK every year, how much, on average, do distributors spend distributing a film in the UK?

330 million spent across roughly 450 films – 330 000 000/450 =

Approx. £730,000

Q4. This spending stirred up enormous demand – 171.5 million cinema tickets were bought in UK in 2011. This is great news for cinemas – what’s the downside of all this excitement generated and consumer demand for film producers in the UK?

·         For smaller companies, producers have a much bigger problem in balancing advertising and making profits than bigger companies. When distributing films, companies have to pay for each separate print of the film for each cinema. This means that bigger companies can pay for a lot more prints to be produced and so therefore a lot more can be produced and yet they can still make back their profit through audiences. This means that for smaller companies, they are less likely to make back their profit if they spend money producing lots of prints for cinemas. Therefore, if a small company’s film gets a lot of demand from consumers, it will be less likely that they will be able to afford distributing the film everywhere whereas big companies are much more likely to be able to do this.

Q5. In 2004 the average cost of releasing a US film domestically was $39 million, in addition to the average production cost of $63.8m, making an overall average production/distribution cost per film of $102.8m. What effect might this have on Hollywood production and distribution if these increases have continued?

·         If production and distribution expenses have continued to increase, it most likely means that to continue to make profits and make money to keep companies running, films need to be receiving more and more money from consumers and audiences. I think, due to the increase of online users of streaming websites, it is unlikely that cinema attendance will rise which means that if production cost continue to rise, companies will be unlikely to make profits. To make a profit, companies will have to make two and a half times its production cost of $102.8m, so to keep companies alive by making profits, it would be necessary to reinvent and encourage to people to return to cinema.

Q6. Why are more ‘middle-aged’ people going to the cinema in 2011? Who, in your opinion, are the current most bankable leading actors for the ‘youth’ market in the UK?

·         I think that a possible reason why more 'middle aged' people are going to the cinema is because the films that are being released may contain actors that are more appealing to older viewers. For example, in a recent release called, 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' which was mainly aimed at older audiences, it contained many older actors such as Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy which could be a main factor to why it did so well. Another reason may be because more films have been released that have intriguing plot lines for older audiences. For example, films such as 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' and 'The Kids Are Alright' that generally focus on ways of life rather than having a particular plot line tend to be main attractions to 'middle aged' audiences. 

·     I think that the most popular stars at the moment who tend to attract younger audiences are people who have appeared in our generation. For example, I really like watching films with actors such as Keira Knightly, Aaron Johnson and Chloe Morettz who people my age, have watched appear and grow but are still considered young, for example the arrival of Keira Knightly in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and Chloe Moretts in ‘Kick Ass’ and ‘Let Me In.’ Having said this, I also think that the ultimate ‘superstars’ such as Angeline Jolie, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp etc. will never go out of date for us as they carry on doing completely new and different films.

Q7. Which top 10 films in the US last year made two-and-a-half times their budget?

Top 10 films: 1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, 2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 3. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, 4. Hangover II, 5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, 6. Fast Five, 7. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, 8. Cars 2, 9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, 10. Thor

Out of all of these films only two made profit: ‘Twilight’ and ‘Hangover II’

Q8. Look up the companies:

(a)    Fox Searchlight

(b)   Paramount Vantage

(c)    Sony Pictures Classics

(d)   Focus Features

Find some recent ‘Indiewood’ type films – ones associated with a certain ‘Art House’ feel yet connected to a big Hollywood studio – that these companies have produced. Who are their films aimed at?

·       Fox Searchlight:  ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’: I think this film is mainly aimed at people who are into visual filmography and characters rather than plotline. I would say the main audience response would be from people in late 20s up to ‘middle aged.’
      ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’: I think this is an obvious example of ‘Indiewood’ as it is quite a famous story but the artwork of the film is very different and original – however it has a huge influence of Hollywood with actors such as George Clooney and Meryl Streep. I think this is aimed at all ages as its cartoon nature would obviously attract children but its original artwork and famous stars would also attract older parents etc. 

·         Paramount Vantage: 'Son of Rambow': This film is obviously targeted at younger audiences but I think is also an example of 'Indiewood.' I think it has quite a similar feel to Moonrise Kingdom due to the style and colour of the filming but also the characters and plot lines. However, I think it is more obviously aimed at younger audiences since the actors are quite young and there is a stronger structure to the story unlike Anderson's films.

·       Sony Pictures Classics: Sony seems to be releasing a lot of new foreign 'Indiewood' films recently such as 'Chicken with Plums': Just looking at the trailer for this, I think it is obviously 'Indiewood' due to the shots, credits and music of the film as it looks very different and quite strange and dreamlike. I think this would mainly be aimed at older audiences as I think it seems to be mainly focussed on style rather than plot. Another film that is similar to this I think, but is aimed at a younger audience is 'Rust and Bone.' This also has quite an 'Indiewood' tone but also I think it has a clearer plot line so is probably more attractive to viewers in their 20s etc. 

·      Focus Features: Moonrise Kingdom (and other Wes Anderson films): Anderson uses a very specific style and tone which is kind of realistic but then also so structured with colour that it becomes quite odd and dreamy. I think generally his films are considered to be targeted at older audiences as the plots within his films aren't very clear and so wouldn't appeal to younger audiences (such as children).

Q9. Jerry Bruckheimer - is he still a 'high concept' producer? 

Michael Bay - does he deserve his reputation for films that are high on effects and low on narrative?

• Following the idea of 'look, the hook and the book' I think that Bruckheimer is definitely still a 'high concept' producer. His most famous, recent releases such as 'Pirates of the Caribbean' (all 4) and both 'National Treasure' films obviously show 'the look' and 'the hook' as both have very Hollywood style plots of action and romance and also have that specific Hollywood, glossy and sharp cutting of shots. 
• I think that Bay does deserve the reputation that he has. His most recent and most famous releases are all of the 'Transformer' films, 'I am Number Four' and 'The Island.' From the trailers of these films, none of them seem to have a particularly strong plot line other than that they are obviously action films. However, within all of these films, they seem to use loads of effects to show the fast paced plot of an action film.