Industry representatives at the Zurich Film Festival say there are many signs that business is improving as moviegoers return to theaters and the international theatrical sector recovers from the effects of the pandemic and two Hollywood strikes. I am optimistic that there will be.
Discussing the disruption and current state of the industry at the Zurich Summit Industry Forum was Rebecca Keeley, head of international and business operations at Searchlight Pictures. Neon CEO Tom Quinn. Stephanie Farrion, Director of Distribution and Sales, Film4; and MK2 Chairman Nathanael Kermitz.
Keely said business may not be back to normal, but it is picking up and there are positive signs.
“The pressure is huge, has been huge, and will continue to be huge. But I think, as with all things, resilience and creativity will emerge through it.”
Movie buffs still go to theaters, she said. “It might take a little while to get some of it back, but I feel like I’m getting it back over time.”
The impact of the coronavirus crisis and subsequent strikes has left the industry in a bind, she added. But the situation was already starting to improve a year ago.
“Last fall, we thought our business was starting to pick up with all these incredible awards season movies coming out and really reaching audiences. So we’re coming out of this hole I feel like I may not have completely escaped, but I definitely plan on doing so.”
Mr Keeley also pointed to the differences between international audiences and noted that local films help sustain regional markets.
Quinn agreed. “The easiest way to explain that we are focusing solely on domestic box office revenue is to look at the average box office revenue per movie last year in 2023, which was $15 million per movie. The highest price in the past 24 years was $19. [million]“Box office receipts in other years were between $16 million and $17 million, he added.
He pointed out that the highest grossing amount during this period was in 2018, when it was about $11.8 billion for 993 films. Last year, just 591 films brought in $8.9 billion in box office revenue. “So even though the number of movies is down 41%, the total box office is only down 25%. So, to me, that’s actually very encouraging.”
Citing additional numbers, Quinn pointed to the strong performance of independent films this summer and argued that the market is indeed on the upswing. Sony Classics recorded its highest box office success since 2018 with “Wicked Little Letters.” Magnolia Pictures made Thelma the highest-grossing film since 2018 with $9 million. IFC Films scored its highest grossing film since 2014 with “Late Night With Devil,” which raked in $10 million.
“We had the biggest movie of all time with ‘Long Legs,’ which made $74 million, and we also had a huge success with ‘Immaculate,’ which made $15 million.”
Mr Fallion offered a British perspective and offered a similarly optimistic outlook. She pointed out that post-pandemic Britain seems to have had a bit of an easier time with award-winning films, with younger audiences coming to see them.
“For example, in The Zone of Interest, [people under 25] I was going to see the movie, and I was going to go to the Q and As. So the audience for these traditional adult specialty awards, whatever you want to call them, is changing and is being mixed with younger audiences who may or may not be coming back but are just discovering the joy of going to the movies. I think it is. ”
Mr Farrion pointed out that films such as ‘Aftersun’ and ‘Kneecap’ are both debut features and have done well at the UK box office. And I think Film4 definitely gives us some optimism. ”
Kermitz said the situation is a little tougher for MK2, a production and distribution company that also operates movie theaters in France and Spain.
“The last few years have been very difficult because it’s a fixed cost business, it’s an offer business, and there aren’t enough movies.”
However, he added that the company has different circumstances. “One is that independent movies, independent movie theaters are doing well. And we can see that the people, the regular movie audiences, are there and willing to come.”
At the same time, Kermitz explained that the theater industry is a global industry and the global theater industry faces a huge challenge to completely transform itself. “It’s the same thing every 20 years. From multiplex to multiplex to luxury movie theaters and extras.”
He said times of transformation, when the theater business requires huge investments, come with great hardship.
“So I think people are coming back here and movies are coming back and things are still not what they used to be but they’re coming back and there’s no doubt about it. And for the last 10 years all over the world Despite everything that has been said, we all see that there is a younger audience out there.”
He added that while there is a lot of interest from moviegoers, there is also a huge need for change and investment in theaters themselves, which is a challenge.
