WEEKLY CineBUZZ - 5 December 2011

BOX TOPS

Twilight, still strong

Traffic at cinemas normally slows down the weeks before Christmas and although there were 20 (by my count) new debuts this weekend, none had wide release, providing an opportunity for current marquee names. Hugo (Paramount) and Arthur Christmas (Sony), which didn't post very well on their openings last week were given a second chance.  However, it was not to be, as the weekend box office was a repeat of the last, as Twilight (Summit) took top honors for the 3rd week running with a gross of $16.9 million (it has now grossed over one-half billion worldwide) and The Muppets (Disney)  came in #2 for the 2nd week in a row with $11.2 million.

Rounding out the top five were: Hugo taking in $7.6 million, this movie has been a big disappoint, Arthur Christmas (Sony) at $7.4 million, and Happy Feet Two (Warners) at $6.0 million.  Besides, Twilight, the biggest grosser over the last month was Puss in Boots (Paramount) which came in 9th over the weekend. In its  6th week of release, Puss has raked in over $139 million domestically and $228 worldwide.

Even with the stellar performance of Twilight, November's box office was down year-over-year.  Total domestic gross was $863 million or about 4% below 2010's performance and 13% below 2009s level - this in light of much higher admission pricing.  It will become harder and harder in the U.S. to get consumers to the cinema and my rant continues regarding the re-scripting of the cinema business model.

One movie I wanted to comment on was Shame (Fox) which generated uber  buzz and kudos at film fests (Fox purchased it at the Telluride Fest) and got loads of critical acclaim.  Shame -  a 99 minute biopic written/directed by Steve McQueen (no relation to "the" Steve McQueen) - mustered a pretty respectable $362,000 in it debut release at 10 locations over the weekend. Really very good for an NC-17 rated pic.

McQueen - whose cinema forte includes holding ultra long camera shots, giving actors free-range, and using extreme closeups - is the " nouveau" filmmaker to some cine-aficionados.  Problems is, they are the only believers.  Trying to gain cine-cred as the new Fellini is fine but not by being touted as such by a cadre of entertainment rags, blogs, and websters. The film should speak for itself.  Showgirls, the all time high NC-17 grosser at $20.4 million, puts Shame to shame. Fact is, at its current pace Shame won't even make it into the NC-17 top 10.
Shame's premise centers around a thirty-something guy living in NYC who likes getting laid - Surprise! Yes, I know, he's suppose to be addicted to sex but that's pretty much it for the film. Anyone for The Muppets?

DISNEY BRAND NEEDS A REFRESH

Mouse Club No Longer Relevant

The Disney brand ain't what it use to be.  Boomers grew up with Disney from the weekly Disney TV show and The Mouseketeers to the opening of Disney Land and Disney World complete with futurist Epcot Center -  it was all part of greater America.  However, younger Americans don't have that affinity and view Disney as, well, old and stodgy.

Disneys' Aulani Resort, Oahu, Hawaii

Case in point: After five years of pushing its plan to develop a stand-alone hotel/resort and retail center Disney, last week, announced it has scrapped plans on the Disney-branded Potomac River complex near Washington, DC. This, coming on the heels of Disney's newly constructed hotel/timeshare in Oahu - The Aulani - which opened in August at a cost of $850 million and ran into some unintended financial miscalculations. It seems Disney management underestimated the operating costs of the resort and will now be forced to subsidize early time-share buyers for the next 50 years.

In addition to the Hawaiian fiasco, two new cruise ships and park expansions have ballooned Disney's capital budget to over $3 billion for 2012, so putting the kibosh on the Washington project was necessary.

Disney to build Avatar Lands

And other deals are coming up. The main one being the Shanghai - Disney Land project which carries a price tag of $4.4 billion. Also Disney recently acquired the theme park rights to the Avatar film franchise.  As party to that deal, Disney is required to build Avatar-themed "lands" at multiple parks around the world - beginning with a $500 million investment at the Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Florida.
Disney can no longer rely on it brand for instant success, especially as it expands away from its core businesses of movie making and theme parks. The Disney brand needs a refresh but that takes investment in innovative projects that were the initial spark that made Disney so special. Investing in commonplace upscale stand-alone resort hotels is not the answer and I think Disney management knows this - at least now they do.

FEDS BUST PIRATE WEBSITES

Millions of Chinese work in pirated media trade

On Cyber Monday, Federal ICE & FBI agents seized the domain names and shutdown 150  websites selling counterfeit products and pirated movies & TV shows. Although registered in the U.S. the bogus websites were being managed from abroad - primarily from China. Although impossible to prosecute most offenders, five people in Virginia were arrested and indicted.
Constant vigilance is required  as these bogus sites siphon off revenue and jobs from the movie industry.

Cheers and Happy Movie Going!
Jim Lavorato