[Film Journal]

As an entertainment reporter, I am not usually in awe of the A-list talent and studio execs I encounter. Nor am I intimidated by world political figures I meet and interview. But when it came time to interview Dr. Man-Nang Chong, founder and CEO of GDC Technology, I almost completely blew it. Here was a man whose career I had followed from the turn of the 21st century. In Asia, he is known as a visionary, a father of the digital movement.

…

FJI: Is digital 3D a fad or here to stay?
Dr. Chong: 3D used in animation will stay around for the foreseeable future. For feature films other than animation, I’m not sure. 3D is good for the re-release of films. But, you know, 3D is not doing so well in some Asian countries—Korea, Japan and Singapore, for example.

As for China, while there were 500 digital systems in place in China before Avatar [2009], now there are around 10,000 screens, 9,000 all-digital with only 4,000 to 5,000 3D-enabled. That is somewhat encouraging—however, I’m not sure the Chinese understand the 3D economic model. Distributors there are very conservative. If box office is not met, the distributor has to pay. Exhibitors, of course, like that model and promote it—so why take a chance with 3D?

And by the way, GDC Tech maintains a 55% lead in the Chinese digital-cinema server market.

FJI: How do you define alternative content?
Alternative content is games, live events, etc. where full use is being made of an auditorium. Alternative presentations are the best way to utilize the advanced technology that one finds in theatres today. There has been great success in the U.S. and Europe with alternative-content events such as presentations of the Metropolitan Opera, but there is a need to make such events ongoing.

In Asia, there have been limited experiments with alternative content. As a matter of fact, T-Joy in Japan was a pioneer in the use of alternative content six to eight years ago [see FJI’s December 2011 profile] and the FIFA 2012 World Cup Games were a tremendous success in Korea.

FJI: What does the future hold for alternative content?
Dr. Chong: The first problem that needs to be dealt with is increasing spending on alternative-content marketing. While screening windows can be rescheduled, one-day events usually cannot and become very expensive to market. Consumer behavior is not ready to accept these one-day events. It is a challenging market.

As an individual and as CEO of the company, I need to make clear that we believe in alternative content. But there are business issues that must be dealt with. While theatres can handle live concerts now, there is more infrastructure that needs to be put in place, especially here in Asia where we are missing satellite dishes and hook-ups, for example. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation.

At GDC Tech, we are looking at problems that exist, especially with building infrastructure. We need a cost-effective way to deal with them.

The switch from analog to digital will create new opportunities and consumer interest with high rental returns for the industry. But we need to take a look at new technologies that will make it easier to broadcast by satellite games like Kino, video conferencing, sports events, etc.

FJI: I understand GDC Tech is going to be introducing a new piece of equipment at CinemaCon in April.
Dr. Chong: Yes, that’s right. We will be introducing our SX-3000 Standalone 
Integrated Media Block (IMB). But let’s wait until the show before I start pitching this new technology.

Since we were talking about 3D and alternative content here, I will tell you our full 
IMB family comes integrated with RealD Live and Sensio Hi-Fi 3D, which makes receiving high-quality 3D broadcasts possible. They also provide a built-in integrated 3D receiver-decoder to seamlessly support 3D live broadcasts without requiring an additional receiver-decoder.

See the full interview here: http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/features/technology/e3i96d4ad1238623894c26c327f86122b75

[Advanced TV / IndieWire / ZDNet]

Findings from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) show that global box office receipts for all films released around the world reached $32.6 billion, an increase of 3 per cent over 2010, stemming from ongoing growth of box office in international markets. Each international region experienced box office growth in 2011. Chinese box office grew by 35 per cent in 2011 alone, by far the largest growth in major markets. The figures are contained in the MPAA’s annual Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2011. …

The US/Canada box office market finished at $10.2 billion, down 4 per cent compared to 2010, but up 6 per cent from five years ago. 3D box office was down $400 million in 2011 in comparison to 2010, which the MPAA suggests is not surprising given that 2010 included Avatar’s record-breaking 3D box office performance. 2D box office remained consistent from 2010 to 2011. …

The number of digital screens in the US nearly doubled in 2011, now comprising 65 per cent of all US screens. …

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Needless to say, Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA, in a conference call, stressed the potential for more growth overseas, especially India and China. Most dramatic, China’s box office grew by 35% in 2011. Dodd called the U.S.’s new deal with China to loosen restrictions on foreign imports, allowing 14 films a year to play in China, “a done deal” that is “good news for us and good news for them as well. China is building 8 screens a day, 75 IMAX theaters this year alone. They’re excited about developing their own product as well as coproductions. They want to produce product for sale nationally and globally. It’s a great win for us, indies and studios, and foreign productions.” …

Dodd explained the 18% decline in the number of MPAA member films produced by noting: “The studios are making larger productions, not getting quantity but larger cost productions. 100 films produce 90% of revenues.” Fithian added that while “the studios are producing bigger and fewer films,” the bigger films make the best box office returns and the industry as a whole is growing more smaller films. Even exhibitors are getting in the act, with distributor Open Road, backed by theater chains Regal and AMC. And with Summit and Lionsgate’s merger, there’s a seventh major studio, Fithian suggested. “The studios give us our biggest hits, but we get lots of singles and doubles from others.” …

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Their annual review showed that global box office receipts for 2011 came to $32.6 billion. That’s a 3 percent increase from 2010.

Chris Dodd, former U.S. senator and now chairman and CEO of the MPAA, was quick to proclaim this as a victory: “The bottom line is clear: people in all countries still go to the movies and a trip to the local cinema remains one of the most affordable entertainment options.”

Statistically speaking he is correct. This is a success for the film industry, which every year faces more and more suggestions that traditional cinema is losing its appeal.

There have been many arguments that the ‘cinema experience’ is on its way out, mostly because of the continued growth of digital cinema, piracy and drastic improvements in how we watch movies in our own homes. …

The thing about this growth, however, is that most of it is happening in China. The international box office accounts for $22.4 billion of that $32.6 billion total. China’s box office grew by 35 percent last year alone, now standing at an estimated $2 billion.

That makes China the second biggest international market, and it trails just behind Japan, which has a market of $2.3 billion. On top of that, the number of 3D cinema screens in Asia nearly doubled last year. …

See the three source stories, in order, here: http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/03/23/rising-box-office-receipts-threatened-by-online-piracy/ and here: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/global-box-office-climb-continues-in-2011 and here: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/asia/china-and-japan-could-be-saving-the-global-box-office/1426