Pokemon and Mononoke

[Jasper Sharp]

And significantly no release in Europe!

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	d-desser at uiuc.edu [mailto:d-desser at uiuc.edu]
		Sent:	vrijdag 12 november 1999 16:50
		To:	KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
		Subject:	Re: Pokemon and Mononoke

		It is my firm belief that Disney Studios is deliberately
mishandling the
		distribution of _Princess Mononoke_ to ensure that it does
NOT achieve its
		maximum potential box-office.  There is no reason to have
released it in
		such limited markets and on so few screens. Word-of-mouth
has been strong
		from some preview screenings (not to mention the Internet
buzz), but
		holding it back allows this momentum to dissipate. It would
have been
		better to release it wide in October to take advantage of
this good press
		and word of mouth, instead of holding it back.  If it goes
wide now or
		within the next month, it does so amidst a glut of films,
both children and
		family-oriented, and it goes up against the big Thanksgiving
and
		Christmas-time releases.  If it is held back until 2000, it
opens in the
		depths of the winter, the worst time for box-office.  Thus
it seems clear
		that the studio is doing everything it can to minimize the
impact of the
		film. Why?  Because the studio has only distribution rights
and there are
		no marketing tie-ins. (Perhaps there is some ego involved in
the Disney
		studios' jealousy over the film's artistry.)

		Alternately, the Pokemon film has been released in numerous
screens (1500 I
		think) and on the Wednesday before the Veterans Day holiday
(schools closed
		yesterday, Thursday) and has thus been rewarded with a
monstrous box-office
		take.

		David Desser

		At 7:46 PM 11/11/99, Aaron Gerow wrote:
		>The US news is reporting that _Pokemon: The First Movie_
made over $10
		>million on its first day, the fourth highest ever for a
mid-week release.
		> Analysts say the film is sure to break some records, the
easiest of
		>which will be the greatest grosses for a Japanese-made film
in the US.
		>
		>In the meantime, _Princess Mononoke_, on a limited release
with build-up,
		>is apparently doing better than expected with great reviews
supporting
		>the film.
		>
		>Any news on either phenomenon--the films, the reception,
etc.--from our
		>American colleagues?
		>
		>Aaron Gerow
		>Yokohama National University
		>KineJapan list owner
		>For list commands: send "information kinejapan" to
		>listserver at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
		>Kinema Club:
http://pears.lib.ohio-state.edu/Markus/Welcome.html