2009 Box Office Review - Spain - Part 2
Posted by Ethan on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 in 2009 Global Box Office • Europe • (0) Comments • Permalink •
DISTRIBUTION
Fox led Spanish distributors with a mighty 20.1% market share across 25 movies for a total tally of €135m at the box office improving on last year’s second place performance by 5% and 27 titles.
Sony had 31 releases for a €97m take and what was the next best market share at 14.4%. Both Fox and Sony controlled 13% theater share for the year with Fox just edging out Sony.
Titles including “Up” and “G-Force” (€8.8m) put Disney third with a 12.3% market share for 26 titles and €65.7m in earnings.
Each of Warners, Universal and Paramount were under 10% market shares with Warner at 9.7% and Universal at 9.2% and Paramount trailing with 7.5%. Universal fell from last year’s number one position with 50 releases and 22% market share to this year’s number five placement but still had the most releases of any of the studios at 36.
Spanish distributors followed the studios in terms of market share with seven local companies earning more than 1% and all releasing less than 20 titles. Aurum/Alliance was at the top of that list with a 5.9% market share across 19 films and revenues of €39.4m, followed by Deaplaneta with 16 releases and a 4.2% market share.
Tri Pictures had the fewest releases at 12 pictures and commanded 3.4% of the overall box office with a €28.2m haul while Flimax had a 3% market share for 19 releases on earnings of €20m.
Vertigo’s “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” earned an 18th place ranking of overall top performers with grosses of €9.3m for the local distributor and drove their 2.5% market share.
GENRE
As in most every territory of the world, the double punch of “Avatar” and “Harry Potter” makes the fantasy science fiction genre the most popular this year. Only in Spain, Roland Emmerich’s “2012” outperformed “Potter” (€15.2m) causing this genre to rake in €107m across just thirteen titles. Sony’s “District 9” (€4.9m) and Disney’s “Surrogates”(€4.2m) also contributed to the take.
Action adventure, the predictable genre leader most years, is led by a couple of local favorites this year, historical epic “Agora” and prison drama “Cell 211.” “Cell 211” (€11.3m) had the smallest release in this genre with just 220 screens. Universal’s “Inglorious Basterds” (€11.1m), Disney’s “G-Force” and Fox’s “X-Men Origins” (€8.5m) also added to the genre’s success. Ten action adventure films grossed more than €5m for a total of €127.6m across 34 releases.
With “Twilight New Moon” leading the dramas in performance across an extremely wide 634 screens for a €12.7k theater average, the genre performed quite well locally. Warner’s “Gran Torino” placed second in drama with €12.9m on 235 screens while Warner’s Brad Pitt starrer “Curious Case of Benjamin Button” finished third in the category at €12.2m cumulative box office. Filmax’s “Slumdog Millionaire” earned €10.5m beginning last February. Only six of 145 drama releases grossed more than €5m.
Animated 3D top performers “Up,” “Ice Age” and “Planet 51” were joined by 3D releases of “Monsters vs. Aliens” (€10m) and “A Christmas Carol” (€6m) to generate €75m of the genres’ €85m total across the 18 releases this year.
The comedy genre’s top three performers were a combination of a Hollywood production and two local favorites, all distributed locally by Fox. Popular kid’s favorite “Alvin and the Chipmunks” led the field with grosses of €9.2m, followed by “Spanish Movie”(€7.6m) and “Brain Drain” (€6.9m). Fox also had the widest release at 503 screens in this genre with “Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian,” though that came in at €6.2m for the year, placing sixth in terms of all the comedies released. Nine of 109 releases performed above the €5m mark.
Next: An analysis of local product and looking forward
Ellen Pittleman, http://hybridentus.com, is a veteran studio executive based in Los Angeles. Most recently, she served as SVP, International Co-Productions and Worldwide Acquisitions for Paramount Pictures. She also launched the DVD Premiere group there, with films including Jonathan Demme’s “Neil Young: Heart of Gold” and the sequel to the $100MM+ “Save the Last Dance.” Working from a marketing and distribution perspective, she consults on strategic planning, deal negotiation, acquisitions, film library valuation and feature development with clients from Rio to London to Beijing. She’s also currently developing a feature on George Foreman’s comeback years, among other projects.