Studios Unload a Plethora of Lackluster Films
Posted on Friday February 20, 2004
Filed under
TheatricalI checked out the Weekend Warrior's predictions and comments regarding this weekend's releases, and I have to agree with his assertion this is the season where the "studios turn the weekend into a crap-filled dumping yard." With all the attention on the Oscars, it's a perfect time for the studios to quietly shed some dead weight while nobody's watching. I'm surprised that Miramax didn't dump Prozac Nation, which has been in the can gathering dust for what seems like eons.
I've just recently been turned on to the WW, so I don't know how well his numbers jive, but he truly has the best free analysis and comparables out there, and I've found more than a few good marketing insights.
Related Links:
The Weekend Warrior: Preview and Projections for the Weekend of February 20th, 2004
Digital Cinema Transition Going Much Slower Than Expected
Posted on Thursday February 19, 2004
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TheatricalWith Texas Instrument's DLP systems, digital cinema looks like it's ready for prime time. However, the dispute over who's going to pick up the technology tab is having a damper on adoption rates:
Some people thought about 2,000 of the new high-tech projectors would be in theaters by the end of 2002. Instead, 155 theaters worldwide, about one-tenth of 1% of all theaters, have them. And none of the top U.S. theater chains plan to add more digital projectors until they can work out better business terms with Hollywood studios.
With exhibitor's margins already razor thin on big studio films, I doubt that they're willing to fork over even a few cents per ticket to any of these tech companies. And I don't see Hollywood budging anytime soon, either.
Related Links:
Lights, Camera, Where's the Digital Action? (Investor's Business Daily)
Glossy Movie Books as $29 Press Kits
I can't resist picking up those over-stuffed, puff-piece laden "film companion books" whenever I'm in Borders. Some have been quite well done (like some of the Tarantino books). But most radiate a level of slickness that's just plain off-putting. Now I've seen glossy, four-color press kits in the past that were just as laughably wasteful given the piss-poor quality of the films, but I never thought about theatrical publicity departments sending these babies out. The cost alone makes it a playground purely for the big boys, and even then, probably just as an award season deal-breaker. The article below hints at some of these books making their way into the hands of academy and guild voters.
Related links:
Variety -- Pix write in new chapter on marketing
Nollywood: a Peek at a Booming Film Industry
With all of the hype surrounding the Indian film Industry, I thought it would be interesting to take a peek at another high-growth film market -- Nigeria, otherwise known as "Nollywood." According to AFP, Nollywood is a high growth industry controlled by cutthroat moguls who would give Weinstein a run for his money. Rapidly growing throughout the nineties, Nollywood is now doing anywhere between $100-600 million dollars in business a year. With more than 2,500 films produced annually, Nigerian film companies release their films in scatter-shot fashion -- a rough mix of makeshift screening rooms and cheap, mass produced copies. Apparently, sales of 100,000 copies of a popular new release is par for the course in this country of 124 million.
This got me to thinking about the industry here in the good ol' USA. With the proliferation of high-quality prosumer cameras and cheap, full-featured desktop editing systems, are we in for the same kind of "content glut" as Nigeria? I think that Indie filmmakers here at home probably churn out at least as many films, and as the quality continues to increase, they're gonna go somewhere....
Related links:
Nollywood.com
Nollywood or bust Lock, Stock star
AFP Article on Nollywood's "Dwarf Movie" sub-genre
2002 Article from the New York Times
Catchy title or piggyback Marketing?
Posted on Saturday February 7, 2004
Filed under
TheatricalFox Searchlight's upcoming horror romp 'Club Dread' is under fire from the folks at Club Med, who are seeking an injunction to block release of the film and the destruction of all prints & advertising materials. According to the Miami-Herald:
The resort folks say they think people will be confused by the similarity and don't want their name to be "tarnished" by the film's "disparaging association" with blood, death and murder.
Fox is promoting its low-brow take on a booze-soaked party island that "takes a turn for the weird when dead bodies start turning up faster than you could drink a rum punch."
Club Med is in a tricky legal position because trademark holders are required to defend their names or risk losing their trademark rights. But courts set a high standard when satire is in play.
Related links:
Club Med
'Club Dread' Official Movie Site
Miami Herald.com: Club Med suing over 'Club Dread' movie title
MGM may revive Orion as Genre Label
Looks like the success of genre titles may prompt new specialty labels. With UA now an "independent/specialty" arm, it doesn't make sense for them to release teen and horror flicks under that banner anymore. For the longest time, studio brands (with the exception of Disney) have been mostly inconsequential in the marketing of films to consumers. Look for this to change in the coming year. Now if only Fox Searchlight would think about a genre label...
Yahoo! News - MGM Ponders Reviving Orion Label
The Ultimate Focus Group?
Professor Stephen Quartz and an unnamed "marketing company" are using MRI technology to test the effectiveness of movie trailers. Is this what we can expect for the future of movie marketing, or is it merely a rehash of the 1950s subliminal advertising phenom?
sacbee.com -- Business -- Marketers see riches in brain data
