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Like many who work in and around the cinema industry, I am currently in the middle of my summer holiday. More specifically, I am on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, known as the “Garden Island.”
It certainly couldn’t be called the cinema island, as the last full time movie theatre on Kaua’i closed in March of 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The historic Waimea Theater on Kaua’i’s west side is now the only working cinema on the island, though it also hosts live theatre and community events. At one point, the island was home to 12 movie theatres.
Despite being in what might be mistaken for a “cinema desert,” the influence of the art form can be found everywhere. Take a tour of the Kipu Ranch and at some point you’ll be taken up to the Honopu Ridge to a very secure fence with lots of closed circuit cameras. You’ll be commended by your guide for being the only person in his seven year tenure to look down the long valley on Kipu Kai Beach far below with Kawelikoa Point hovering high above and instantly, without hesitation, ask, “Is this the land George Clooney’s family owned in ‘The Descendants’?” You’ll also go on to learn that “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “King Kong,” and “Jurassic Park,” among many others, were also filmed on the ranch.
At that point your guide will probably ask you if you have visited, Manawaiopuna Falls, known as Jurassic Park Falls, due to their memorable appearance in the film. Like Kipu Kai Beach, the falls are on private land, only accessible to visitors through a private helicopter tour. “Jurassic Park,” comes up a lot when visiting Kaua’i since so much of the film and its sequels have been filmed on the island.
But so do plenty of other movies. As we picnicked after tubing down the Hanama’ulu Ditch on the Lihue Plantation, our guide called out to a beautiful cattle egret, by the name Kevin, that promptly ran up alongside him for a piece of cheese. I asked our native Hawaiian guides if they had really named the heron Kevin and the response was, “Yes, doesn’t he remind you of the bird from ‘Up?’ He’s just as crazy and he totally rocks that same kind of feather mullet.”
Yesterday however, on a catamaran cruise to the remote (and spectacularly beautiful) Na’pali coast, I had an opportunity to do a little unscientific cinematic market research. There were 50 passengers and three crew members on the sunset tour and as we pulled out of Port Allen into the Pacific Ocean the captain started playing music through some overhead speakers. Within a few measures of the first song all 50 passengers onboard began spontaneously singing, “We read the wind and the sky when the sun is high / We sail the length of the seas on the ocean breeze….”
I was really surprised so many knew the lyrics to the Polynesian portions of the song, “We Know the Way,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa’i.
It was the adults who first piped in, giving permission to everyone else, from the oldest grandparent to the youngest child, to sing at the top of their lungs as we bounced into the waves as if we were Moana herself; each person trying to out-sing those closest to them. “Aue, aue / We set a course to find/ A brand new island everywhere we roam…. ” Have you even lived if you haven’t stood on a sail boat with 50 people screaming the lyrics to a Hawaiian themed Disney song?
Rather than ask that question I set about answering a few others that immediately sprung to mind; How did everyone know that song? Did they know where the song came from? Had they seen the movie, and if so, when and where?” My fellow passengers came from New York City, Japan, Colorado, France, California, Washington, Florida, Australia and many other locations far and wide. I made the bold move to ask them, one by one, these very questions. Every single person, including the three crew members, named “Moana” as the source and all but two had seen the film when it was first in theatres. Indeed, once one person volunteered the name of the cinema where they saw the movie, almost everyone else after that did too.
On board the sail boat we were all so close together I was even able to do a follow up survey. Could anyone name a popular song from a Disney movie after “Moana?” Now that everyone was playing my “name that Disney movie” game they began to answer as a group. There was a long silence and lots of quizzical looks before someone asked, “When was ‘Frozen?’ Because I was going to say ‘Let It Be’.” Someone else quickly made the correction telling everyone the song was, “Let It Go,” and that “Frozen” had been released before “Moana.” There were long silences in between lots of questions about when “Wreck It Ralph” was released, if “Coco” had songs anyone could remember and if there were two or three sequels to “Cars.” With no cellular signal offshore, Google couldn’t come to the rescue.
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” a voice suddenly piped in from on high. It was the captain, one of the two who hadn’t seen “Moana,” answering from his position at the helm. “I haven’t seen that one either,” he added. Someone then asked, “What movie was that in?” There was a pause before one of my children, realizing nobody else was going to answer, exclaimed, “Encanto.”
After a collective, “Oh…. yeah…. that’s right” I asked 50 people and three crew members who had seen “Encanto.” “Was that the one on Netflix?” “No, it’s on Disney+, but I didn’t watch it yet.” “Oh, well maybe that’s why, I don’t have Disney+ anymore.” Only 14 adults had seen the film and five children; 19 out of 50. That is lower than those who had heard the chart topping “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” (42 out of 50), which was also written by Miranda.
You could argue that “Moana” has been available to the public for far longer than “Encanto” allowing more people to see it. You could also argue that one was released during a global pandemic. I would argue that the marketing campaign behind a popular theatrical release, like “Moana,” and its subsequent awards push worked far better than the campaign utilized for a title released directly to a streaming service amidst a glut of streaming content.
I had to end my survey at that point as I could tell the captain was getting annoyed with my impromptu focus group. Instead, he wanted to show everyone Honopu Beach where one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies was filmed.
As the Kalalau Valley came into view, adjacent to the enormous picturesque cliffs known as The Cathedrals, the captain queued up the theme to “Jurassic Park” which prominently featured the same perspective of the Na’pali coastline. While my mind should have been focused on prehistoric dinosaurs, it finally hit me; all those little kids who I’d seen over the past two weeks chasing around the more than 500,000 wild chickens that live on Kaua’i weren’t trying to catch and eat them. They humorously kept calling each one of them “Drumstick” as they chased them through parking lots or beaches. Some shouted after the suddenly speedy foul, “Hey hey!” or so I thought.
In fact, these pre-and-elementary schoolers were calling the chickens “Heihei,” the name of the chicken in “Moana,” nicknamed Drumstick by Maui, the character voiced by Dwayne Johnson.
Now, let me tell you about the story behind the Kaua’i beach where “Six Days Seven Nights” was filmed…
Distributors
India Doubles Theatrical Exclusivity Window
Indian cinemas and distributors have agreed a deal that doubles the length of the theatrical exclusivity window to eight weeks. During the pandemic the window between cinema release and streaming (OTT) was cut to just four weeks, which cinema operators have been fighting to reverse. The change will mean a longer cinema run for several major Bollywood (Hindi-language films) releasing in August and September.
The deal between distributor and the Multiplex Association of India came into force on 1 August. It means that “Shamshera” and “Ek Villain Returns” are the last films that will be made available on internet platforms less than a month after they opened in cinemas. New releases that will be covered by the agreement include Aamir Khan’s much anticipated “Forrest Gump” remake “Laal Singh Chaddha”, as well as “Raksha Bandhan” (both releasing 11 August), “Liger” (25 August), “Brahmastra” (9 September), “Vikram Vedha” and “Ponniyan Selvan I” (both releasing on 30 September). The news was widely wlecomed in the Indian cinema industry.
Taran Adars, Trade Analysit:
“I think it’s a fantastic decision. I’ve always told producers that there has to be an eight-week window. It shrunk to four weeks owing to the pandemic, and this was only killing the business, because people thought, ‘Why should we pay ?400-500 for a movie ticket if after four weeks, the movie will be available on OTT?’.”
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures:
“The theatrical business has started looking up. Eight weeks is a fair window. It will help not just exhibitors, but also producers, distributors and even the streaming platforms.”
Girish Johar, film producer and business expert:
“If you see the macro trends, things are coming back to normalcy. The South film industries took a similar decision a couple of weeks ago. Now, the Hindi film fraternity has also taken a similar decision. So basically, the fraternity is saying we want to monetise all possible rights available, give due weightage to each and that’s the reason they have gone back to the eight-week window.”
Devang Sampat, CEO, Cinepolis India:
“The eight-week window provides time for patrons to enjoy a movie in theatres before they’re available on OTT platforms. It also provides everyone in the value chain, from producers to distributors and OTT platforms, a more viable commercial proposition.”
India has recently been enjoying one of the strongest cinema recoveries anywhere in the world, with box office back to over 90% of pre-pandemic levels. Some have called for the window to be made even longer. Around a decade ago a film that played well in cinemas might not appear on satellite pay-per-view (in pre-streaming days) for several months after the cinema premiere, while a box office failure might be sold off to satellite platforms for direct-to-consumer distribution just 10 days after the cinema opening.
Source: Hindustan Times
Piracy
Russian Cinema Chain Backs Away From Piracy
Russian cinemas have taken a financial hit since Hollywood studios halted the release of new films, following Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine on 24th of February this year. Over 70% of the cinema box office in Russia has historically depended on Hollywood titles.
Now, Russia’s largest multiplex operator has abandoned plans to show Hollywood films by utilising a loophole of dubious copyright legality. United chain Kino Park and Formula Kino was getting ready to screen Universal Picture and Illumination’s “Minions: the Rise of Gru” as a “cinema product.” However, the plan was abandoned at the last minute at the behest of the company’s board.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
Exhibitors
Kinoplex Doubles Up On Its Latest Promotion
Kinoplex, one of the largest cinema chains in Brazil, is launching a new promotion starting 4 August that allows customers to get one free movie ticket for every regular priced ticket they purchase. The company has dubbed the promotion Dobradinha Kinoplex (Double Kinopolex) and it will run across the entire circuit, save for three locations; UCI Kinopolex, Kinoplex Shopping Leblon and Leblon Globoplay Cinemas.
The 2-for-1 program looks to boost weekday attendance, running only Monday through Friday. As well, the free ticket must be for the same screening as the full price ticket.
To sweeten the deal, Kinoplex is extending the program to the concession stand where anyone purchasing a Combo Super will automatically be upgraded to a mega popcorn.
Source: Exibidor
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