[KineJapan] 2015 Boxoffice

Wed Feb 17 23:20:02 EST 2016

Just to follow up on Markus's (and Stephen's) point about CJ Entertainment.
It'll be interesting to see what happens when its localized remake of "Miss
Granny" comes out in Japan in April. The Chinese and Vietnamese versions
did very well. (In Vietnam, it was the #1 film of 2015.) After that, come
the Thai and Indonesian versions, then maybe Germany and elsewhere.

Ken

On Thu, Feb 18, 2016 at 12:41 PM, <amnornes at umich.edu> wrote:

> That was an amazing post.
>
> It makes me curious about the degree to which Japanese cinema depends on
> foreign markets. That's a missing piece that feels obvious when you hear
> about CJ making Vietnamese films!
>
> Markus
>
> PS: the independent (ie., middle finger saluting the censors) crowd in
> China is being shit down at the center (Songzhuang, Kunming), but I'm also
> hearing word of a lively new film festival culture in the hinterlands where
> all those new theaters are sprouting up.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Feb 17, 2016, at 8:03 PM, Stephen Cremin <stephen at asianfilm.info>
> wrote:
>
> In Asia, there are several countries where changes in exhibition patterns
> have changed the kinds of films being made.
>
> In China, admissions have grown five-fold since 2010 from 250 million a
> year to 1.25 billion a year in 2015. This is in line with an almost
> five-fold increase in the number of cinema screens nationwide. Most of the
> growth is in smaller cities, which has bred a wave of less-sophisticated
> comedies (and an anti-vulgarity campaign by Xi Jinping).
>
> We saw this in Thailand a decade ago when some of the highest-grossing
> films were low-brow comedies aimed at audiences outside Bangkok, often
> financed and produced by Phranakorn Film. Sahamongkol (and briefly GTH)
> also released films for this market. This go-low approach has probably
> contributed to the current mistrust in local cinema.
>
> In Indonesia, the dominance of the Cinema 21 chain - which directly or
> through its subsidiaries - had locked down deals with all the American
> studios, meant that exhibitor Blitzmegaplex had to branch out and try new
> things. It's focus on Korean cinema, which Cinema 21 had largely
> overlooked, gave it a foothold. (It now has a Korean owner.)
>
> In Taiwan, local films could hardly get exhibition outside Taipei in the
> early 2000s. Or even much distribution in Taipei. When Warner pulled out,
> to focus on countries with faster-growing exhibition sectors, local films
> managed to get broader distribution, helped by the national roll-out of
> multiplexes. And Taiwan has its low-brow phase too.
>
> The Vietnam cinema market is growing at the same or at even a faster pace
> than the China market. As in China, it's a young audience, and local films
> are breaking box office records every year. The majority of cinemas in
> Vietnam are now owned by Korean conglomerates CJ and Lotte; the former is
> also producing local-language films of increasing quality.
>
> In the Philippines, about 15 years ago the most powerful exhibitor became
> a born-again Christian and blocked 18-rated films from his cinemas, which
> overnight decimated the local film industry, which was dominated by "bold"
> films. Film festivals have stepped in as an alternative distribution
> platform, majority-financing the local films that they screen.
>
> In his article, Jasper wonders about the state of home video and VOD in
> Japan.
>
> Compared to the rest of Asia, the home video market is relatively strong
> in Japan, even if it's not growing. There's no home video market in South
> Korea and China, East Asia's other two main film markets. Streaming is big
> in both, although it's become very regulated in China in the past year
> which has decimated the availability of non-US foreign content.
>
> It costs about US$3 a month in China to subscribe to Netflix-like services
> that have 1080p HD films about two months after their cinema release.
> iTunes China sells 1080p HD versions of local Chinese films for less than
> the price of the pirated DVD9, and usually less than that of a DVD5.
> There's no fear that such low prices will damage the theatrical box office.
>
> As a price comparison, the number one film on iTunes China right now is
> SPECTRE, which costs RMB18 (US$2.75) to buy in 1080p HD, compared to
> US$19.99 on iTunes US. On iTunes Japan, it's ¥2500 (US$21.90) on pre-order
> ahead of its 22 March release. The Japan version has burnt-in Japanese
> subtitles. In China, the subtitles can be turned off.
>
> (Cinema ticket prices in China are comparable to Japan. Three local films
> have made more than US$150 million in the past ten days; one of the three -
> Stephen Chow's MERMAID - has made US$345 million. Box office grew 48.6%
> last year to US$6.75 billion, with local films taking a 61.6% market share.
> 686 local films were produced, but just a fraction released.)
>
> I suspect that Japanese copyright owners are so concerned about damaging
> DVD income that they are not letting VOD take off. Japanese consumers are
> still waiting longer for an inferior product at a higher price. The number
> film in iTunes Japan now is THE INTERN which sells in dubbed and subtitled
> versions as separate ¥2500 purchases. Greedy double dipping.
>
> In Japan, nobody is really shaking the boat. I asked Tom Yoda at a group
> interview during the Tokyo IFF why Gaga doesn't try to lower cinema ticket
> prices, and he said he wants to but it's impossible to get the cooperation
> of the exhibitors. When tickets cost ¥1800, of course one goes to seen
> known properties: sequels, manga/novel/TV adaptations.
>
> In a seminar during the Shanghai IFF about three years ago, Bona's Yu Dong
> said that Chinese producers must let exhibitors have the power for a few
> more years so that they continue expanding the number of cinemas in China.
> And the government is keeping them in check, fining and suspending licenses
> for suspicious box office reporting, and holding back US films.
>
> Nobody is keeping the Japanese exhibitors in check. It's remarkable to me
> that box office information is much more transparent in China than anywhere
> else in Asia, including South Korea. I do have sympathy and respect for
> Kogyo Tsugin-sha, but the government should come in and license their data
> for the whole film industry.
>
> And Jasper is right that we need to have information on VOD
> sales/rentals/streams to best understand the market, but even in the US
> that data is not published by Netflix, etc. In China and Korea where 90% of
> a film's income is made in theatrical, it's not so much of an issue. But in
> Japan and the US it more often determines the viability of a film.
>
> Stephen
> _____________________________
> From: Jasper Sharp <jasper_sharp at hotmail.com>
> Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2016 4:43 AM
> Subject: Re: [KineJapan] 2015 Boxoffice
> To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <kinejapan at lists.osu.edu>
>
>
> Thanks for posting Markus.
> This is an extension of a broader interest of mine, about how local
> economics shape production and exhibition practices.I actually wrote this
> before the BFI released its own UK statistics for 2015, which bizarrely
> claimed the new Star Wars film as "British". But also, I would really love
> to pursue this kind of research further, on how newly built or newly
> refurbished flagship individual venues completely change the cinematic
> landscape and represent a definitive rupture in film history. In London in
> 2014, a swathe of independent exhibition venues closed down, while in 2015
> there were a number of quite significant destination venues opened up. It
> looks like a similar pattern in Japan, all due to the digitial
> revolution/transition/switchover, but the economics with regards to
> attracting audiences are very different. I know academics in the UK have
> very little interest in looking at this area from an international
> standpoint, but I think it's fascinating, and would really welcome any
> feedback on this - after all, Kinejapan has been a little quiet of late
> compared with the kind of discussions we used to have about ten years ago.
>
>
>
>
>
> *The 8th
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__asiahouse.org_events_category_asia-2Dhouse-2Dfilm-2Dfestival-2D2016_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=XwOkn8ViOFOPs1fVHEpV8hRmVVcUHq8iGIWVxXcXgJc&e= >* * Asia
> House Film Festival
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__asiahouse.org_events_category_asia-2Dhouse-2Dfilm-2Dfestival-2D2016_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=XwOkn8ViOFOPs1fVHEpV8hRmVVcUHq8iGIWVxXcXgJc&e= >** will
> take place from 22 February to 5 March 2016, with a line-up that includes
> 11 feature films, three documentaries and five short films coming from
> countries including Japan, China, Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Afghanistan.*
>
>
> *The Creeping Garden <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.creepinggarden.com_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=x3a0X497t_MVbPtXq2HqljptpYWqHnQC2grEkakjOQw&e= > - A Real-Life
> Science-Fiction Story about Slime Moulds and the People Who Work With
> them, **directed by Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp. *
>
>
>
>
> * The book, The Creeping Garden: Irrational Encounters with Plasmodial
> Slime Moulds out now from Alchimia Publishing
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.alchimiapublishing.com_creeping-2Dgarden_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=3Vc8EtxSGG94w1CaqG3BKYSAteGLJ2fx31gBcbSZE6k&e= >. “An improbably
> delightful documentary about slime molds.... good-humored but not campy in
> its regard of some genuinely fascinating research, and full of trippy
> visuals",  Dennis Harvey, Variety
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__variety.com_2015_film_reviews_film-2Dreview-2Dthe-2Dcreeping-2Dgarden-2D1201485006_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=TpsTQ02Topj6CpcNQTgwBTX8XtXci98ULh7gKWEqtKM&e= >
> "A surprising investigation of perception, thought and life itself",
> Nicholas Rapold, The New York Times
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_09_30_movies_review-2Dthe-2Dcreeping-2Dgarden-2Don-2Dthe-2Dwonders-2Dof-2Dthe-2Dslime-2Dmold.html&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=qfqLrlP1lOGoxloESz1M5D9h4pKI5BMawRUkyHc5wMI&e= >
> *
>
>
>
>
> > From: amnornes at umich.edu
> > Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2016 15:28:18 -0500
> > To: kinejapan at lists.service.ohio-state.edu
> > Subject: [KineJapan] 2015 Boxoffice
> >
> > Jasper's excellent analysis of the new Boxoffice figures released by
> Eiren.
> >
> > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__blog.alltheanime.com_japan-2Dbox-2Doffice-2Dreport-2D2015_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=0JcMyOOwP3D-r3QwmSzfbP4_juqnFGMjIy7OWSjFBD8&e= 
> >
> > Markus
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> > _______________________________________________
> > KineJapan mailing list
> > KineJapan at lists.osu.edu
> > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.osu.edu_mailman_listinfo_kinejapan&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=eZtOl9VCQ4dRcxl15mIoL4WHSnne9X0xcee7t9gyoL0&s=u4lLC0_SXj5iAMYM1Ku4yC_ildSChdCHqDo6TrMxT3E&e= 
>
>
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