CINEMA'S UNRELENTING COMPETITION, "FROZEN:TOPS BOXOFFICE

Netflix On A Roll

Netflix, the film and TV content streaming company, is producing a $170 million epic series on Queen Elizabeth's six decade reign of the British Empire.  Entitled, 'The Crown', the 20 part drama will have three separate actors portraying the Queen.

Following its huge success of the political drama series 'House of Cards' (which will return in 2016) and the 'Orange is the New Black' series, Netflix is flexing its monetary muscle in producing content to rival the best that Hollywood can produce.  'The Crown' production is being led by Left Bank Pictures, which is a subsidiary of Sony Pictures and the word is that the series will be as much about the history of the time and not just about the Queen.

Netflix has a rapidly expanding roster of excellent quality content which also includes the horror series 'Hemlock Grove' and the very popular sitcom 'Arrested Development'.  Netflix has over 46 million paying monthly subscribers of which 25% are outside the U.S. and this year plans to launch itself into six more European countries.  Not counting extra pay-per-view specials Netflix is grossing over $400 million per month in subscription fees alone.

This is relentless competition for the cinema so all exhibitors must be on their best game now and certainly into the future.

'FROZEN' Breaks Box Office Records

An unlikely movie to bust the box office, 'Frozen', Disney's animated tale of a young girl's quest to save her world from perpetual winter, is now the 5th highest grossing film of all time!  Released in 2013, 'Frozen' is still playing in movie theaters around the globe.  In Japan, 'Frozen', released with the title  'Anna to Yuki no Jou' or 'Anna The Snow Queen', has become the fourth biggest box office grosser in Japanese cinema history and may turn out to be number three following only 'Titanic' and the animated feature 'Spirited Away'.

'Frozen' won an Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and the Best Original Song for 'Let It Go' in 2013. In addition to its box office triumphs 'Frozen' as set records for DVD sales and video games sales and is the highest grossing animated feature of all time.