The increase in the number of cinema screens has meant that, in order to maximise profit, cinemas choose to show major releases on more than one screen, rather than using the extra screens to show smaller budget or less anticipated films.
In your opinion what might account for the fact that cinema attendances have fluctuated between 139 million and 176 million between 1999 and 2008?
Fluctuation in cinema attendance may have been affected by an increase in audience awareness. The availability of opinions or reviews on films is more prevalent than ever, which means that consumers often make a judgement on a film before they go to see it. Another example of increased awareness is the use of large franchises, which mean that those who have read the source material or seen previous films are more likely to go and see the film. This is exemplified by the year 2002, which has the highest attendance numbers of this period and had a number of large franchise releases, such as 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers', 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', 'Spiderman', 'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones', and 'Men in Black II'. The reverse of this is 1999, which had low numbers of admissions for the period, and only had two notable franchise releases; 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace' and 'Toy Story 2', one of which was a badly received reboot and the other a children's film.
In 2011, UK film distributors invested £330 million in advertising their new releases and on 35mm film prints. If around 450 new films receive a theatrical release in the UK every year, how much, on average, do distributors spend distributing a film in the UK?
On average, around £730000 is spent distributing films in the UK per year.
This spending stirred up enormous demand - 171.5 million cinema tickets were bought UK in 2011. This is great news for cinemas - what's the downside of all this excitement generated and consumer demand for film producers in the UK?
Many British films are distributed by American companies or subsidiaries of them. This is due to the high price of launching a film, which makes it very hard for independent producers to get by, as the high price still only leaves them with limited outlets, as competitors own many of these. This means that the increase in demand for cinema tickets makes life more difficult for UK independent production companies, which must now pay high prices for distribution, in an American dominated industry.
In 2004 the average cost of releasing a US film domestically was $39 million, in addition to the average production cost of $63.8, making an overall average production/distribution cost per film of $102.8 million. What effect might this have on Hollywood production and distribution if these increases have continued?
The increases in production and distribution costs may result in fewer major releases per year from the large companies. More small budget films may be released by these companies in order to make better use of their money. The increases in cost may damage smaller production and distribution companies, especially independent ones.
Why are more 'middle aged' people going to the cinema in 2011? Who in your opinion, are the current most bankable leading actors in the UK 'youth' market?
2011 was a year in which many successful films that were directed at an older market were released. Examples of this are 'The Artist', 'The Descendants', and 'The Iron Lady', all of which are critically acclaimed films that are aimed at audiences older than the standard 16-25 market. To my mind, the most bankable actors for the 'youth' market are Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jennifer Lawrence, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Robert Downey Jr. There are many other actors that fit the description, but these are the ones that spring to mind.
Jerry Bruckheimer is still producing films today - is he still a 'high concept' producer? Does he deserve his reputation for films that are high on effects and low on narrative?
From looking at Bruckheimer's filmography, it is clear how he got his reputation, as he appears to have been responsible for many big budget high concept films, including many with Nicolas Cage in them. However films such as 'Confessions of a Shopaholic', and even the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies could be argued to have more narrative than a typical high concept film, so perhaps Bruckheimer's reputation is not wholly deserved.
Find some recent 'Indiewood' type films that have been produced by:
Fox Searchlight: Black Swan was aimed at typical film audiences, but maybe also slightly older cinema-goers. This is due to it's often surreal and and disturbing imagery. A perhaps less mainstream example is 'Sound of my Voice' which was aimed more at a middle aged audience.
Paramount Vantage: Films such as 'Like Crazy' and 'Into the Wild' are the sort of film that is aimed at teenage audiences, but may have broader viewing if it does well.
Sony Pictures Classics: More or less the entire filmography of the company fits the 'Indiewood' profile, with examples being 'Amour', 'Searching for Sugar Man', and 'The Skin I Live In'.
Focus Features: Focus Features have been behind more successful films such as 'Moonrise Kingdom' and 'Coraline', but also films like 'Pariah' and 'Sin Nombre' which were less successful but of a similar art house feel.
To what extent does Hollywood dominate the UK film
landscape? How has it managed to retain it’s stranglehold?
It is indisputable that Hollywood has a strong presence in the landscape of UK film, and although the use of the term 'dominate' is debatable, it is my opinion that it is here justified. American production and distribution companies or subsidiaries thereof are usually behind any large blockbuster releases in the UK. Large blockbuster American films remain popular in the UK, with films such as 'Avengers Assemble' and 'Hunger Games' bringing in huge cinema audiences. Large blockbusters such as these are extremely bankable, especially when part of a successful franchise, and hence they are always being made, as they pretty much guarantee large cinema audiences. Large American companies also use subsidiaries in order to retain their stranglehold on the industry; films targeted at the Arthouse audience are released by smaller companies such as Sony Pictures Classics and Focus Features. This is but an example of one area in which large film companies have spread themselves into, which has proved an effective way of monopolizing, or at least dominating, the industry, as it allows companies to ensure that they are involved in film making at every possible level, thus retaining their industry stranglehold. The increasing costs of both production and distribution of films has also contributed to the dominance of Hollywood, as it is now far more difficult for smaller or independent companies to release films, so often they need the help of a larger company, which in turn will cost them a large sum of money. Overall, Hollywood has a fairly strong grip on the UK film landscape, as the large companies have a very strong presence, and big budget American films are still very popular in UK cinemas.
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