News
Skyrocketing Film Count Rattles Hollywood
June 11, 2008 – There’s a bottleneck leading to the silver screen, according to the Los Angeles Times. With 517 theatrical releases 2007, there are on average of 10 new releases each weekend, which is up 49% from a decade ago.
“In order to break through the clutter, we all feel the pressure to spend more in marketing," the article quotes Warner Bros. President Alan Horn.
The article by Claudia Eller and Josh Friedman continues: “In the last three years, companies such as Overture Films (backed by John Malone's Liberty Media Corp.) and Summit Entertainment (bankrolled by Merrill Lynch & Co.) have entered the fray, along with Weinstein Co. and the revived Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc… Adding to their costs, movie companies spend huge sums to globally promote and release their films -- as much as $150 million for some big event pictures.”
In response, the major studios seem to be dialing back. Disney corporate chief Bob Iger told an investors conference that his studio will release 10-12 films a year, which is down about five titles from its average in the past few years (see Disney Chief Calls For Film Downsizing” June 7).
Time Warner Inc. corporate chief Jeff Bewkes said in a few years his Warner Bros. unit will release “at a title volume that is more like half what it was two years ago.” That wasn’t explained, and it’s not clear if that includes non-studio films from the recently downsized New Line Cinema, which was absorbed by Warners.
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www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-glut11-2008jun11,0,6219198.story