Many are wondering about the state of the special theatrical movie market and how to save it. Talk to people in the industry and you’ll hear the same issues: too few new movies, little market research data, and theatrical windows so short that when indies reach many art houses, they’ll be released on PVOD, undercutting a publisher. Long-running independent film chain Landmark Theaters has a new idea for how to spice things up: top-naked male dancers!
How could Landmark top this? A cocaine bear in “Cocaine Bear?” Why, yes – on February 18, 24 and 25 in Westwood and Pasadena, California, patrons took selfies with the titular bear and ate the “dusty” donuts he raves about. Whether or not exhibitors resort to actual strippers and cocaine in the future, it’s clear that there are signs of life, good ideas and ways to improve things that can be implemented right now.
Two of the biggest areas showing promise are event presentations and international cinema. “The pandemic hit the industry hard reset,” says Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “The disruption of the release calendar and production delays created a unique opportunity for international and event cinema to move higher on the box-office chart. Ironically, streaming may have played a role in this. Small screen viewership has increased during the pandemic, exposing viewers to a wider range of films, including religious and international films.”
In the first few weeks of 2023, a higher than usual number of foreign language films and event releases occupied the special box office. Rounding out the top five from February 27 are Yash Raj Films USA’s Indian spy thriller ‘Pathaan’ ($16.9 million), Trafalgar’s K-pop concert ‘BTS: Yet to Come to Cinemas’ ($8 million); Fathom Events’ biblical drama “The Chosen Season 3 Finale” ($5.5 million, 26% 18-34 viewers, 74% 35+ based on ticket sales on Fathom’s website), Neon thriller “Infinity Pool” ($5 million, 71% 18-34, 26% 35+ based on Comscore data) and Well Go USA Entertainment’s Chinese sci-fi actioner “The Wandering Earth II” ($4.9 million).
In the five years since “Parasite” won the Oscar for best picture, the specialty field has been bolstered by foreign-language films, some of which have fared better than many recent English-language specialty films. The two biggest surprise hits were from India, both fueled by anticipation for big stars built up after several pandemic delays, with fans traditionally prioritizing opening weekend screenings. Sarigama Cinemas’ SS Rajamouli action extravaganza “RRR” ($14.9M), starring NT Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, was the sixth biggest indie hit released last year.
Studio CEO Chandra Narisetty scouted the top markets for previous Telugu hits in Texas, New York, Virginia, California and the Atlanta and Seattle area, organized LED truck campaigns and held out for Dolby Vision screens , charging up to $40 a seat. According to EntTelligence chief strategist Steve Buck, “RRR’s” average general admission price was $24.76, more than double the 2022 national average of $11.75.
“As we saw shows filling up [to] 70% [capacity], we alerted the circuits to add more” before it opened in 1,200 theatres, says Narisetty. It enlisted Variance Films and Dylan Marchetti’s Potentate for an “encoRRRe” summer run, adding $300,000 at the box office and making it an awards favorite. Although the film was not India’s entry into the international film race, it garnered a song name for “Naatu Naatu”. And his journey is far from over. On March 1, Ram Charan and the filmmakers will perform at the world’s largest “RRR” screening, RRR Fan CelebRRRation Live, at the Theater at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, followed by a “re-release” on March 3 at more than 200 theaters across the country.
Hindi film buffs have been waiting for the much-delayed fourth installment of YRF’s (Yash Raj Films) Spy Universe franchise, ‘Pathaan’. Nelson D’Souza, YRF’s vice president of international distribution, says, “The strategy was simple: hold back as much as possible so that there [was] A frenzy to watch the biggest superstar in the overseas market, Shah Rukh Khan, in — and as — Pathaan, in theaters. We moved away from interviews, tours and fan engagement activities so that if people wanted to get a piece of Shah Rukh Khan, it had to be in theatres.”
The strategy worked: crossing 695 screens with an average ticket price of $13.82, the film has grossed $16.9 million as of January 25.
Another interesting foreign language film, Thanks in part to its nine Oscar nominations, it’s Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front.” The Netflix film has been playing in limited release in theaters and on the streamer since October, but because it’s a “four-wall” release, there are no official box office figures.
But even without international superstars or award recognition, there’s more that can be done to help specialty film coffers.
Where directors and stars aren’t available for promotional appearances, for example, Film at Lincoln Center Vice President of Operations & Production Matt Bolish says his organization makes New York Film Festival talent Q&As available at theaters around the country. country. Mark Fishkin, who runs the California Film Institute’s Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California, believes his educational programs will help cultivate younger moviegoers and may encourage them to bring their parents to screenings as paying customers. And as 35mm projectors crumble, Art House Convergence board member Deirdre Haj says studios will have to work harder to digitize the catalog titles that help preserve cinemas like hers.
“One of the biggest problems is [the lack of] a system to let audiences know what’s playing in their city in real time,” says Sony Pictures Classics co-president Tom Bernard. “Theaters need to reach their customers in a way they’ve never done before, and that’s by upgrading their marketing engine, data and customer profiles. So if theaters say to any studio, “We have information about the type of movie you have for Minneapolis or our chain, we’re going to charge you X dollars to send a specific email to customers that we know will connect with your movie .” Theaters haven’t realized what data they own and haven’t monetized their data the way Live Nation or Ticketmaster do.” He points to some that do, such as Angelika Cinema Centers in New York and other cities. , the Manhattan Film Forum and the Coolidge Corner Theater in Boston, which offer subscriptions or newsletters.
His concerns are echoed by Haj, who runs the Ruth Sokolof and Dundee theaters in Omaha, Neb. through her non-profit organization Film Streams. While Haj doesn’t talk about Art House Convergence, she points to studios as the issue. “A distributor can call the reservation holder and say, ‘We’re going to give you this movie,’ and we have five days to find out we’re going to get it. So advertising is impossible,” he says.
SPC’s Bernard has a possible solution. “Now we’re meeting with the marketing departments of the small theaters about how we can work with them to build assets, maybe upgrade the marketing and put together a plan so we can work three or four weeks ahead of time.”
Another issue is studios favoring multiplexes, sending films to art houses late at a reduced ticket price or not at all. “A distributor who had a real art house title made the decision not to give the film to art houses,” Haj and another exhibitor say. “They said to our booker, ‘I’m not interested in cashing all these little checks from all over the country.’ He adds that it’s usually more profitable to run revival series.
“The big exhibitors don’t have as much product as they used to, so they can be more aggressive for niche products,” says Smith Rafael Film Center’s Fishkin. “This adds up to art houses not having films that might resonate with an audience that hasn’t been to the theaters for two or
three years.”
Demographic information that might help art houses target audiences for the films they receive is often not available for limited releases. Comscore/Screen Engine ASI’s PostTrak audience survey, for the first time, studies only movies that have played in more than 800 theaters for two consecutive weeks. Many industry insiders, from Variance Films’ Marchetti to FLC’s Bolish to producer and marketing consultant Ira Deutchman, all say younger audiences are going to arthouse movies, something vital to the future of indie cinema, but there’s little evidence to support it. But PostTrak’s surveys of the biggest special hits released in 2022 show it’s likely to be true. At press time, they are: A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” ($73 million, 69% 18-34, 27% 35+), Focus’s “Downton Abbey: A New Era” ($44.1 million dollars, 22% 18-34, 76% 35+), Searchlight’s “The Menu” ($38.5 million, 63% 18-34, 33% 35+), Focus’s “The Northman” ($34.2 million $, 64% 18-34, 33% 35+ ) and A24’s “The Whale” ($16.7 million, 60% 18-34, 40% 35+).
And just as international films help to stimulate the market for specialty films, so we will know more about the audiences who enjoy them. “I dig a little deeper into who my members are, where they come from, and who I’m missing,” says Haj. “We have to think like the museum down the road and curate our communities, because all art is local.”
