|
||||
% of total box office
|
|
|
|
|
Belgium |
|
|
|
|
Denmark |
|
|
|
|
France |
|
|
|
|
Germany |
|
|
|
|
Greece |
|
|
|
|
Ireland |
|
|
|
|
Italy |
|
|
|
|
Netherlands |
|
|
|
|
Portugal |
|
|
|
|
Spain |
|
|
|
|
UK |
|
|
|
|
European total |
|
|
|
|
Source: MEDIA Salles/LE/BIPE Conseil |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
Belgium |
400,000
|
928
|
0
|
400,000
|
Denmark |
4,300,000
|
13,650
|
120,000
|
4,420,000
|
France |
34,400,000
|
7,814
|
5,550,000
|
39,950,000
|
Germany |
5,200,000
|
1,432
|
1,000,000
|
6,200,000
|
Greece |
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Ireland |
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Italy |
3,750,000
|
1,242
|
0
|
3,750,000
|
Portugal |
173,000
|
746
|
0
|
173,000
|
Spain |
2,180,000
|
1,206
|
na
|
2,180,000
|
Netherlands |
1,300,000
|
3,125
|
0
|
1,300,000
|
UK |
1,000,000
|
569
|
0
|
1,000,000
|
Total |
52,703,000
|
3,174
|
6,670,000
|
59,373,000
|
Source: BIPE Conseil/MEDIA Salles |
French films account for 18% of admissions in Belgium. In the country
with the most sophisticated exhibition sector, US films yield about 73%
of total admissions. The exhibition sector in Belgium is very concentrated,
with the largest 3 players owning 60% of the market, but there is very
little vertical integration between distribution and exhibition activities.
There are about 15 art-houses, which are the cinemas giving more space
to European films. The main distributor of European and art titles in Belgium,
Cinélibre, is the only one to be vertically integrated. When one
of its titles is also requested by the mainstream circuits, Cinélibre
usually gives preferential treatment to art-houses. Art-houses can get
public support if they offer a variety of cultural activities.
Denmark
In Denmark national films make up for 15% of total releases, while European
productions have slipped from one-third to one-fifth of the total. In terms
of share of box office, the decline of European films is even greater.
Public support in Denmark is the second highest in the Europe in terms
of public funding per screen (5,000 ECUs).
France
Very strong public support for production and exhibition in France may
partly explain the lower proportion of admissions to films produced by
the US. They account for only 58% of the total. In the exhibition sector,
public money helps cinemas to upgrade their facilities and to obtain a
greater number of prints for European films. Also, about a quarter of French
cinemas are owned and managed by the local authority and their financial
constraints are different from those facing the commercial sector. Art-houses,
usually located in large towns, form a healthy segment of the French exhibition
sector.
Germany
In Germany, art-houses show mainly first run films, as the repertory
material is increasingly supplied by television and videos. Art-houses
are defined as cinemas that show a varied selection of film types and publish
their programmes well in advance. The 500 screens responding to that definition
accounted for 16% of the national box office receipts in 1992. In addition,
about 20 small town local authorities run public cinemas, which show non-commercial
programmes. They are virtually the only ones to present films from small
countries or low budget productions. Public help is offered to acquire
additional prints (for cinemas in small towns) or for modernisation and
improvements. Also, the government rewards cinemas which offer outstanding
programmes.
Greece
There is no support of the cinema sector from the Greek government.
The exhibition sector is often sponsored by private multinational companies
to aid the modernisation process. Only the winter cinemas show new films
- 93% of which from the US - while the summer cinemas show second runs.
Summer cinemas are disappearing as the owners of the sites sell their estates
to create more lucrative tourist developments. The share of domestic films,
at 2%, is one of the lowest in Europe.
Ireland
European titles and art films are virtually absent from Irish cinemas,
except for a few art-houses in Dublin. There is a good turnover of such
films in the video rental sector, and more generally they are experiencing
a bit of a renaissance, confirmed by the upgrading of some independent
art-house cinemas in the capital. European films remain a niche market
as long as they are not perceived as commercial films: big European hits
have been played by mainstream cinemas. Beyond the public support of the
Irish Film Centre there are no subsidies for exhibitors of European films.
Italy
Art-houses in Italy are also experiencing growing success, particularly
among young audiences. This is interpreted as a reaction to the decrease
in standards of quality of television programmes. The number of art-houses
in Italy is not easily quantifiable, since the definition of art-house
for public support purposes also includes cinemas that program art films
only on some days of the week. Recent statistics(18)
show that art-houses account for 9.3% of the national screens. Private
capital is reportedly interested in investing in this segment of the exhibition
sector.
(18) from the 1993 edition of the
"European Cinema Yearbook", MEDIA Salles
Netherlands
Exhibition in the Netherlands is divided between a commercial and a
subsidised circuit. The commercial distributors only deal with commercial
exhibitors, but can deliver non-commercial films to the subsidised sector
and vice-versa. Distinctions between the two segments are increasingly
blurred, as some subsidised cinemas offer diversified, popular programming.
Art-houses in this broader sense are evenly split between the two segments
of the market. Their turnover totals 8 - 8.5 per cent of gross box office.
Portugal
The exhibition and distribution sectors in Portugal are dominated by
one national firm, Lusomundo, and its allied US company, Warner. Access
to screens is practically dictated by Lusomundo and there is no regulation
in sight to correct possible distortions. Only niche strategies are possible
for independents. They are confronted with a choice between second rate
US films or European productions. European films are virtually absent from
the scene. Atalanta is the most prominent distributor of European films,
and has successfully revived the niche market by alternating old classics
with contemporary quality films. The company's successful strategy is that
of renting or buying public and/or local small cinemas (16 screens at present)
that would have otherwise been lost, and show films from its distribution
company. Atalanta also enjoys public support and some aid for exhibiting
European films.
Spain
While other countries support European films via a system of subsidies
for the distribution of European films and subsidies to cinemas dedicated
to showing a large proportion of European films, Spain operates quotas
compelling the distribution of European films. It is the only country in
Europe where public intervention has not contributed to a separation of
commercial circuits, mainly showing US films, and art-houses, showing non-mainstream
quality films.
The Spanish quota system affects both distributors and exhibitors.
Under the old system, which ran until the end of 1993, distributors were
awarded a licence to dub a maximum of four non-European films for each
Spanish film they distributed. The exact number of foreign films for which
dubbing permission was granted depended on the box office receipts of the
national film: a dubbing licence for one film was ensured at the start
of the Spanish distribution contract, and up to three more were awarded
as soon as the (Spanish) film obtained 30, 60 and 100 million pesetas in
the box office. Between 1989 and 1993, each Spanish film on average generated
1.5 dubbed films.
Exhibitors had to alternate their programming of dubbed films with
a set number of days of European films, varying from one day of European
film for every 3 days of foreign films to one European day per foreign
film, depending on the characteristics of the European film programmed.
Both distributors and exhibitors complained that the quota system depressed
their revenues. However, the large distributors built up a stock of 179
dubbing licences to use, which suggests that the system did not hinder
their distribution strategy as much as they claim.
To beat a deadline associated with the General Agreement on Trade and
Tariffs (GATT), legislation was pushed through in December 1993 modifying
the quotas. Effectively the quotas were tightened up with the aim, inter
alia, of ending a practice where distributors acquired the rights to
a Spanish film only to grant it the most limited release and, nevertheless,
obtain a dubbing licence. Exhibitors responded with a one day strike.
This regulation has had the primary effect of ensuring that the mainstream
circuits show national (and now European) productions in their theatres.
Also, the combination of old fashioned strict rules on art-house programming
and the quota system has caused the art-houses to disappear and be substituted
by cinemas that show only subtitled films. These have created a niche market
which seems destined to grow as more Spanish people become familiar with
foreign languages. The quota system has resulted in 22% of total releases
originating from Europe, of which 9% are domestic productions. These figures
are among the highest ones in the European countries, where the share of
European films has been progressively eroded by US productions.
United Kingdom
The size of the art-house market in the UK is very small, and non-English
language films account for less than 2% of box office. This low figure
takes into account European films that are often part of the mainstream
programming in the continent. On the other hand, US films make up 62% of
releases and 86% of box office (over 90% if three UK-registered films produced
by US majors are included).
The UK exhibition sector is highly concentrated, with five companies
operating approximately 63% of the screens. Mainstream films are released
all over the country simultaneously, with a large number of prints. Since
about half of the British repertory and art-houses are located in London,
this is where non-commercial productions are first tested. Although the
mainstream cinemas do some repertory, most of it is confined to art-houses
and the Regional Film Theatres supported by the British Film Institute
(see Case Study 2 - chapter 3.5).
Large budget European films
According to EFDO, 80 per cent of feature films produced in Europe
have budgets less than 5 million ECUs. The preponderance of low-budget
films, tending to have comparably low marketing (prints and advertising)
budgets, goes a considerable way to explain the poor market position of
European films relative to US films. But what of the higher budget European
titles?
An analysis of 16 French films (including six co-productions) released
between 1986 and 1993 was undertaken in November 1993 on behalf of the
Atelier du Cinéma Européen (ACE).
The films in the sample were
· 1492 - Christopher Colombus
· Indochine
· Le château de ma mère
· Jean de Florette
· Cinema Paradiso
· La gloire de mon père
· Damage
· Le mari de la coiffeuse
· Delicatessen
· Manon des sources
· La double vie de Véronique
· Nikita
· Europa, Europa
· Toto le héros
· Tacones lejanos
· Subway
Results are set out in Table 38.
|
|||
Country |
|
|
|
Belgium |
356,702
|
89%
|
1.42
|
Denmark |
186,866
|
46%
|
0.74
|
Finland |
88,292
|
35%
|
0.35
|
France |
17,608,086
|
872%
|
70.15
|
Germany |
975,986
|
47%
|
3.89
|
Italy |
2,164,150
|
207%
|
8.62
|
Spain |
1,632,961
|
149%
|
6.51
|
Sweden |
393,950
|
59%
|
1.57
|
Switzerland |
647,376
|
235%
|
2.58
|
United Kingdom |
1,045,557
|
48%
|
4.17
|
Total |
25,099,926
|
n.a.
|
100.00
|
Source: London Economics' analysis of Unifrance, CNC, EDI and Variety data/MEDIA Salles |