Can’t afford to be complacent: Fox
Twentieth Century Fox CEO Marc Wooldridge believes the fact that less people are going to the cinema is never a good trend, and given the ever increasing competition for leisure time, neither the distribution nor exhibition sectors can be complacent.
Wooldridge also admits that Fox is not “as active as other studios” when it comes to distributing local product.
What were your strongest performing films of the 2009/2010 financial year?
Our top three was Avatar ($114.79M), Ice Age 3; Dawn Of The Dinosaurs ($29.8M) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel ($22.9M).
What titles didn’t necessarily meet your expectations?
I’ll never tell!
Were there any surprises, positive or negative?
Tooth Fairy – we released one week before the US, which for Fox is unusual, in order to capitalise on the strong family potential in January and grossed A$10.5M. This was the biggest box office result of any market outside of the US, which was very satisfying given the size of our population vs. the likes of UK, Spain, France and Germany.
With Avatar, expectations must have been high, but was Fox itself surprised at its performance? How would you describe its impact in the industry?
It demonstrated cinema audience’s ongoing appetite for innovation and great storytelling on a grand scale. James Cameron is a very unique and special film-maker – his last two films are the two biggest films of all-time and they couldn’t be more different. I hope Avatar will inspire studios and filmmakers to back big ideas and keep pushing the cinema experience forward so that the industry remains competitive and relevant.
How experimental are Fox’s plans in terms of distribution models?
Nothing in the immediate future, but we all have to keep an open mind.
Are you focusing your promotional efforts across a wider range of platforms?
Media inflation and media fragmentation is an ongoing challenge from a marketing perspective. Basically, you pay more for less in terms of TV advertising and you need to incorporate more media channels into your campaigns to get to the same number people.
What was your best campaign of the year?
Avatar, in terms of delivering on what was an ambitious plan, quality of the execution and ultimately the resulting box office, I was really proud of our campaign.
I also think we did some great thing with 500 Days Of Summer, Aliens In The Attic, My Life In Ruins and Fantastic Mr Fox. These mid-tier releases can be very risky financially, but I think our plans were really smart, really targeted and really well executed.
With an increasing number of 3D titles already competing for a limited number of screens, do you anticipate a saturation level where there are more films than screens?
That’s upon now, especially in December and January. It’s a big challenge for both exhibitors and distributors.
While 2009 registered a record box office intake, attendance was down a little. Can ticket premiums compensate for that decrease in attendance, in the long term?
Assuming filmmakers hold up their side of the equation and deliver films that people want to see, we all need to better understand and keep on top of consumer behaviour and trends, execute really effective campaigns that truly convert people to see a film on the big screen and keep the cinema going habit top of mind and a positive experience.
Will the performance of recent local hits increase distributors’ interest in local product? Distributors, including Fox, will always be interested in commercially viable movies. The movies that have been highlighted here pretty much all delivered against a well-defined audience and were very well marketed. This year has seen a positive trend and a good flow of local, commercial films with true break-out potential is of course positive for the industry.
How would you describe Fox’s past experience distributing Australian films?
It’s been a while since we released a local movie – I’m excluding Australia. On August 19 we release Nadia Tass and David Parker’s new film Matching Jack. We have a clear point of view in terms of how to sell this film and who to sell it to and we share with the filmmakers a common commercial imperative – which is really important. We’ve had great support from exhibition (185 prints), and the media and the critical response has been very positive. You do need to pedal a little harder with the local movies to get people’s attention, but it has also been very rewarding to create materials and drive a campaign from ground zero. Fingers crossed for the opening.
Do you think the $90m, three-year fund SPAA has proposed to stimulate distributor investment in mid-range features ($7-30m) would work?
A closer relationship between distributors and producers is great and a good step forward, but fundamentally, it all comes down to the movies that are being developed as to whether or not this will be successful.
Is there any audience knowledge that distributors have that is no reaching local producers/writers/directors?
This comes down to the individual filmmakers – some have very good knowledge and instincts in this area. I don’t believe you can make any sweeping statements here.
Compared to other international divisions, how does Fox Australia compare in terms of distribution/co-production of local projects?
Based on our recent history and our upcoming slate, it is fair to Fox is currently not as active as some of the others studios in this market.
What’s stopping Fox from making local films instead of just distributing them? What incentives are necessary to take that step?
It comes down to expertise and experience and playing to the company’s strength. Locally, we are not a production company, but we are very experienced in distribution.
What should they keep in mind when pitching a project – emphasis on the business side instead of just the storyline, perhaps?
For Fox, a marketable concept with a clearly defined audience, cast ideas, a proven director, a great finished script and finance in place – it all helps.
