SOUTH AFRICA

Transcription

1 SOUTH AFRICA (1) BY THE NUMBERS (A) MARKET STATISTICS AVERAGE Screens Theatrical admissions (millions) Per capita attendance n/a Box office (EUR millions) Releases Domestic releases US releases German releases Domestic market share 11.3% 12.6% 11.5% 10.1% 6.1% 10.3% German market share 0.29% 0.95% 1.21% % 0.36% *Box office figures for major cities only. EUR equivalents are calculated throughout at the exchange rate for December 31 of the year in question. 1 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

2 Percentage of annual box office South Africa: Market Shares Domestic German South Africa : Theatrical Releases Average Total Domestic US German 2 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

3 (B) THEATRICAL RELEASES TITLE DISTRIBUTOR RELEASE DATE BOX OFFICE $US 2010 GERMAN FILMS (100% OR MAJORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS) THE LAST STATION (Ger/Rus/UK) Ster Kinekor ,078 DAS WEISSE BAND (Ger/Aut/It/Sp) UIP (South Africa) , GERMAN MINORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE (UK/Ger/US) Sony Pictures South Africa ,701 MÄN SOM HATAR KVINNOR (Swe/Ger/Nor) Nu Metro ,717 NINJA ASSASSIN (US/Ger) Nu Metro ,739 FLICKAN SOM LEKTE MED ELDEN (Swe/Fr/Ger) Nu Metro ,095 THE GHOST (Fr/Ger/UK) Nu Metro ,716 EYES WIDE OPEN (Isr/Fr/Ger) UIP (South Africa) ,933 LUFTSLOTTET SOM SPRÄNGDES (Swe/Fr/Ger) Nu Metro ,809 SÉRAPHINE (Fr/Bel/Ger) Ster Kinekor ,256 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (US/Aus/Ger) Nu Metro ,794 ANTICHRIST (Den/Fr/Ger/It/Swe) UIP (South Africa) ,201 FAUBOURG 36 (Fr/Ger/Cz) Ster Kinekor , GERMAN FILMS (100% OR MAJORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS) THE THREE MUSKETEERS (Ger/Fr/UK/US) Nu Metro ,619 KONFERENZ DER TIERE (Ger) Nu Metro ,026 3 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

4 2011 GERMAN MINORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS UNKNOWN (US/Ger/UK/Fr) Nu Metro ,313 HANNA (US/UK/Ger) Ster Kinekor ,528 ANONYMOUS (UK/Ger) Ster Kinekor ,968 BLACK BUTTERFLIES (NL/Ger/SA) Nu Metro ,640 CHALET GIRL (UK/Ger/Aut) UIP (South Africa) ,799 SKOONHEID (SA/Fr/Ger) Swift , GERMAN FILMS (100% OR MAJORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS) RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION (Ger/Can) Ster Kinekor ,060 CLOUD ATLAS (Ger/US) Ster Kinekor ,055 DER GANZ GROSSE TRAUM (Ger) Ster Kinekor n/a GOETHE! (Ger) Ster Kinekor n/a VINCENT WILL MEER (Ger) Ster Kinekor n/a 2012 GERMAN MINORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS THE VOW (US/Brz/Fr/Aus/UK/Ger) Ster Kinekor ,671 TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (UK/Fr/Ger) Nu Metro ,850 HYSTERIA (UK/Fr/Ger/Lux) Ster Kinekor ,297 CARNAGE (Fr/Ger/Pol) Ster Kinekor ,682 MELANCHOLIA (Den/Swe/Fr/Ger) Ster Kinekor n/a STREETDANCE 2 (UK/Ger/It) Ster Kinekor n/a 2013 GERMAN MINORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS (US/Ger) UIP (South Africa) ,836 THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES (Can/Ger) Nu Metro ,130 RUSH (US/UK/Ger) Nu Metro ,681 SONG FOR MARION (UK/Ger) UIP (South Africa) ,341 AMOUR (Fr/Ger/Aut) UIP (South Africa) n/a 4 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

5 2014 GERMAN FILMS (100% OR MAJORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS) TARZAN 3D (Ger) Times Media ,225 LOVE, ROSIE (Ger/UK) Times Media ,962 MR. MORGAN S LAST LOVE (Ger/Bel/Fr/US) Ster Kinekor n/a 2014 GERMAN MINORITY CO-PRODUCTIONS POMPEII (Can/Ger) Times Media ,152 THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (US/Ger) Times Media ,863 THE BOOK THIEF (US/Ger) Nu Metro ,776 THE MONUMENTS MEN (US/Ger) Nu Metro ,388 THIRD PERSON (US/UK/Ger/Bel) Cristal Brooke ,510 NYMPHOMANIAC: VOLUME 1 (Den/Ger/Fr/Swe/Bel) Cinema Nouveau n/a NYMPHOMANIAC: VOLUME 2 (Den/Ger/Fr/Swe/Bel) Cinema Nouveau n/a (C) TOP 8 GERMAN FILMS IN SOUTH AFRICA ADMISSIONS BOX OFFICE (EUR) THE THREE MUSKETEERS (2011) 215, ,422 RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION (2012) 153, ,729 CLOUD ATLAS (2012) 113, ,410 KONFERENZ DER TIERE (2011) 97, ,280 THE LAST STATION (2010) 72, ,726 TARZAN 3D (2014) 61, ,086 LOVE, ROSIE (2014) 40,558 81,743 DAS WEISSE BAND (2010) 21,630 34,297 No further information available. Average admissions for a German film in South Africa, : 64,773 Average box office for a German film in South Africa, : EUR 115,879 5 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

6 (2) DISTRIBUTORS OF GERMAN FILMS IN SOUTH AFRICA (A) STUDIO AFFILIATE UIP (South Africa) 2010 DAS WEISSE BAND (B) INDEPENDENTS 7 TITLES Ster Kinekor 2010 THE LAST STATION 2012 CLOUD ATLAS; DER GANZ GROSSE TRAUM; GOETHE!; RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION; VINCENT WILL MEER 2014 MR. MORGAN S LAST LOVE 2 TITLES Nu Metro 2011 KONFERENZ DER TIERE; THE THREE MUSKETEERS Times Media 2014 LOVE, ROSIE; TARZAN 3D 6 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

7 (3) VOD AND DVD IN SOUTH AFRICA Many of the general conclusions about the South African DVD and VOD business are similar if not identical to those concerning theatrical outlined in greater detail in Section (4) below: that the market is best understood as an offshore English-language market which is gradually evolving into something more uniquely suitable to the Rainbow Nation. In 2011, in the South African National Film & Video Federation 10-year report, 24 DVD distributors were registered in South Africa, but only seven responded to the SANFV s questionnaire, reporting total revenue of ZAR million ( 2.48 million) in annual sales. Any attempt to extrapolate overall revenue from so small a sample would be dangerous, but it seems fair to assume that overall video (DVD and Blu-Ray) turnover is between 60% and 80% of theatrical box office, putting it somewhere in the region of $30-40 million ( million). South Africa is not on the MPAA s piracy watch list (possibly because of lack of data), but local sources have calculated that piracy accounted for 60% of the market in the mid-2000s. Among the online video retailers checked for an earlier German Films report, the overwhelming majority offered mainly or exclusively films that were from the US. None that we found listed Foreign as a menu option. On kalahari.com, taken as typical, 83% of the titles were American, with the remainder made up mainly of UK (8%) and local South African (5%) titles. All of the remaining 4% were either English versions or dubbed into English. At that time (2013), the choice for those wanting to rent a foreign-language DVD from specialist store DVD Nouveau (slogan: Classic & Art Movies for Rent ) proved to be considerably better. Indeed, the choice of foreign movies on the site was wider than can usually be found in most territories outside Europe. This suggests that (in this case at least) a local entrepreneur has been assiduously importing foreign-language films since the heyday of the rental era and is still doing enough business to survive. This would seem to confirm the existence of a sophisticated (but quite small) middle-class eager to keep up with contemporary cinema. Particularly indicative of the site s diversity is the fact that other (see below) is almost the largest single category. 7 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

8 South Africa: Specialist DVD titles by country of origin France Japan Italy Germany Spain Other Europe Other Other Europe = Austria; Belgium; Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Sweden and UK. Other = Afghanistan; Argentina; Australia; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Cuba; Hong Kong; Iran; Israel; Korea; Mexico; Palestine; Russia; Senegal; Taiwan; Tajikistan; Thailand; Turkey; Uruguay; Venezuela and Vietnam. German titles = AGUIRRE DER ZORN GOTTES; AIMEE & JAGUAR; BELLA MARTHA; DIE BITTERE TRÄNEN DER PETRA VON KANT; DER BLAUE ENGEL; DIE BLECHTROMMEL; DAS BOOT; DIE BÜCHSE DER PANDORA; BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB; DAS CABINET DES DR. CALIGARI; CHRISTIANE F WIR KINDER VOM BAHNHOF ZOO; DIE EHE DER MARIA BRAUN; EUROPA, EUROPA; DAS EXPERIMENT; DIE FETTEN JAHRE SIND VORBEI; FITZCARRALDO; GOOD BYE, LENIN!; HEIMAT; HEIMAT 2; HÖSTSONATEN; HERZ AUS GLAS; DER HIMMEL ÜBER BERLIN; DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN; LOLA RENNT; LOLA UND BILIDIKID; STROSZEK; TATTOO; DER UNTERGANG; WAS TUN WENN S BRENNT; DAS WEISSE BAND; and DAS WUNDER VON BERN. Since that survey, VOD has taken firm root in South Africa, with the market lead by three main contenders: Netflix, which arrived in August 2015; and two local platforms which got in first by a few months. These were FrontRow, owned by mobile network provider MTN; and Vidi, owned by Times Media (which also recently launched a theatrical distribution subsidiary). FrontRow s content both its MTN Club and MTN Premiere options is analysed below. 8 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

9 South Africa: VOD titles on FrontRow by country of origin US UK Australia France Other Europe Other The result, not surprisingly, is a Hollywood-dominated site in terms of content, with more new titles than Netflix but the same limited diversity, offering some entertaining evenings in for South African viewers but little in the way of business opportunities for European producers. Other Europe = Denmark, Germany and Ireland. Other = Canada, China, Hong Kong and South Africa. One German title: THE THREE MUSKETEERS. (4) SOUTH AFRICA: COMMENTARY South Africa is a slightly curious market for a country with the highest level of economic development in Africa and with a well-established and extensively modernised infrastructure, at least in the major cities of Capetown, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria. But, with its limited number of non-mainstream releases and Hollywood domination, South Africa still looks like what it used to be: an offshore English-language market without the cultural dimensions of the film business that has transformed such other English-language markets as Australia, New Zealand and even Canada. Statistics also remain an issue. With Statistics South Africa understandably more concerned with water supplies and sanitation, and the South African National Film & Video Foundation focused on the support, production and export of South African movies, precise data about the theatrical, TV and ancillary distribution businesses in South Africa has traditionally been hard to come by, although the situation has improved considerably over the past couple of 9 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

10 years, thanks to the NFVF s annual box office report. However figures are not always consistent, and different sources sometimes offer radically different information. An examination of the basic statistics in 1 (a) carries more than a hint of estimate. There is clearly an educated middle-class audience that can be tapped into in the four major cities mentioned above, but they are not offered much in the way of foreign and/or arthouse sustenance. The classic vicious circle limited supply leads to limited demand and thus limited supply seems to rule. Without a theatrical engine to create a taste for arthouse films on TV, DVD or VOD, South Africa is living proof of the claim that these platforms binge-viewing Netflix miniseries notwithstanding need a period of theatrical visibility before they will be welcomed into homes. (5) GERMAN FILMS IN SOUTH AFRICA There is not a great deal to be said about German films in South Africa. Only 12 were released there in the five-year period surveyed. Of those 12, eight were English-speaking or (the children s films) dubbed. For the three German stories released (DER GANZ GROSSE TRAUM, GOETHE! and VINCENT WILL MEER), no admissions or box-office data is available. For the one German arthouse film, DAS WEISSE BAND, the admissions total was about average for that film s foreign career. But one thing worth remarking on here is that it was released by the South African branch of UIP, indicating not so much the major s openness to arthouse as the limited number of distributors active in South Africa. Indeed, before the advent of newcomers Times Media and Cinema Nouveau in 2014, the choice was basically between UIP, or exhibitors/distributors Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor. That is one of many things that still needs to change before the South African market can truly open up to a wider range of films, let alone German ones. As it is, with the theatrical market so limited, the chances of a more diverse ancillary market also remain slim. The charts below the second of which is tentative, since there is no box office or admissions data for four of the films show numbers of releases and box office revenue for the key groups identified in the introduction to this Report. 10 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films

11 South Africa: Titles released by category Festival & arthouse English-language Children's films German stories South Africa: Categories by box office Festival & arthouse English-language Children's films German stories (6) SOUTH AFRICA: SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XE Currency Converter, National Film & Video Foundation, South Africa Government Online, Statistics South Africa, Gauteng Film Commission, Box Office Mojo, MyBroadband.com, mtn.frontrow.com, Cinando. Special thanks to Jeremy Nathan. 11 Market Study South Africa , Oct 2015, by Split Screen for German Films