FEATURE HONG KONG
BREAKINGNEWS For the latest film business news see
ScreenDaily.com
Step Up 3D was Hong Kong’s top independent foreign film in 2010
Japan’s Confessions was a hit in Hong Kong
Packed houses H
ong Kong, with its annual box office of around $172m, is dwarfed by the main- land China market, but it remains a ter- ritory where independent films can be
sold freely without import quotas or major cen- sorship concerns. It is also a vibrant market — in 2010 box office
grew by around 13%, in line with a growth tra- jectory stretching back four years. But as in many other Asian markets, the growth is mostly due to new multiplex openings and premium ticket prices for 3D movies. Local distributors say it has become tougher than ever to release independent foreign films. Their challenges range from local market
conditions to global issues such as a reduction in the volume of available product. “It’s becoming much more difficult to find good independent movies,” says Edko Films’ general manager of sales and acquisitions Audrey Lee. “The US stu- dios have cut back on production, so they’re buy- ing independent product to fill the pipeline.” Back in their home market, distributors strug-
gle to secure screens as exhibitors lean towards 3D tentpoles with higher ticket prices. Even dis- tributors affiliated to one of Hong Kong’s four major cinema chains find this a problem. “Six to eight pictures are opening each weekend so eve- ryone is struggling with the limited number of screens,” says Belinda Tang, head of Hong Kong operations for Orange Sky Golden Harvest. “Of course we can use our own theatres but we still need to book into other circuits.” Another common gripe is the sorry state of
ancillary markets: video is all but dead in Hong Kong, the territory only has one major free-to- air television buyer in TVB and pay-TV is also limited. “We can only get second window pay-
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Will pre-buying international projects become more popular with Hong Kong distributors as they fight for screens and good-quality product in a lively market? Liz Shackleton reports
TV from companies like Cable TV and [IPTV player] Now TV which is two and a half years after theatrical,” says Deltamac Hong Kong’s senior distribution and marketing manager Gilky Wan. “The first window is retained by regional broadcasters who prefer Asian or US studio films.” Meanwhile, marketing costs continue to rise
in this small but highly evolved media market. “Options are limited because there are no new outlets, but there’s a lot of media so you can’t just focus on one,” says Golden Scene managing director Winnie Tsang. Yet despite this catalogue of woes, there is
a surprisingly high number of distributors in Hong Kong and new players keep emerging. Last year, veteran producer and property devel- oper Hsu Feng launched Tomson International Entertainment Distribution, which aims to be involved in film financing, international sales and talent management, in addition to distribution. Such a competitive environment is naturally a
boon for international sales companies selling into Hong Kong — especially those with inde- pendent 3D product — and prices are going through the roof. Three of last year’s top 10 inde- pendent foreign films were 3D releases, includ- ing the top two: Step Up 3D and Resident Evil: Afterlife (see chart, right). However audiences are becoming more aware of the amount of 3D each film really contains and exhibitors have been reducing ticket prices for some releases. Outside the 3D craze, recognisable franchises,
such as the Twilight series, and big star vehicles continue to lead the way. Times are more diffi- cult than ever for arthouse or non English-lan- guage product, despite the fact Hong Kong has
n 32 Screen International at the Cannes Film Festival May 13, 2011
‘Everyone is struggling with the limited number of
historically had a discerning audience. The terri- tory now only has three cinemas which screen specialty product: Broadway’s Cinematheque and Palace IFC and the Grand, co-owned by MCL and Shaw Brothers. Even mainstream Japanese and Korean films,
screens’ Belinda Tang, Orange Sky Golden Harvest
once a mainstay of the Hong Kong box office, have recently not been performing well. Japan has a huge cultural influence on Hong Kong, which laps up the country’s fashion and pop cul- ture, but there are signs of audience fatigue with the wave of Japanese manga and TV series adaptations. Last year, the only Japanese live-action film
considered a hit was Tetsuya Nakashima’s drama, Confessions, released by UA Films. “It did well because of the strong story, and the
HONG KONG TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FOREIGN FILMS, 2010 FILM (ORIGIN)
DISTRIBUTOR 1 Step Up 3D (US)
2 Resident Evil: Afterlife (Ger-Fr UK) 3 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (US) 4 Aftershock (Ch) 5 Salt (US)
6 Confessions (Jap)
7 The Expendables (US) 8 True Legend (Ch) 9 Piranha 3D (US)
10 The Borrowers (Jap) Source: Motion Picture Industry Association
Golden Scene Edko Films
Golden Scene
Media Asia Distribution Anytime Pictures
Emperor & UA Films
RELEASE DATE
GROSS ($M)
Aug 12 $2.5m Sept 30 $2.4m June 30 $2m July 22 $1.95m July 22 $1.5m Oct 14 $1.4m
Panorama & Golden Scene Aug 26 $1.35m Edko Films
Feb 11 $1.3m
Sundream Motion Pictures Sept 9 $1.2m Intercontinental
Dec 25 $975,000
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100