Boxoffice-July.1995

SPECIAL REPORT: EUROPE
DOING THE CONTINENTAL
Major Moves Toward Overseas Multiplexing, Pan-European Distribution And
Across-The-Pond Co-Production Have The Industry Dancing Toward The Future
By Estep Nagy
New York Correspondent
It
goes back to that Costlier line in 'Field
of Dreams,'" says Michael Williams-
Jones, president and CEO of Londonbased
United International Pictures. "Build
the field and they will come. Well, tliis is the
field. It's being built." Hardly one to be
bullish on that most American of localesbaseball
diamonds— the head of the overseas
distribution concern for Paramount,
Universal and MGM/UA is talking about
what continues to be the watchword in European
exhibition; multiplex.
IF YOU BUILD IT: American multiplexing is
going Euro-style, as witti this Bhtisii site.
Or, in his excellent code phrase for multiplexing,
"the expansion of cinema infi-astructure."
Says Williams-Jones, "That is
the single biggest influential factor that
will determine the growth of distribution
in Europe. IVIultiplexes are being built everywhere,
and there is a real energy behind
the regeneration of cinema. It's
going to have a huge effect on both the
production and the distribution of films
from whatever source, whether it's Hollywood
or European."
Rick Sands, the new head of New Yorkbased
Miramax International, concurs. "I
see theatrical continuing its expansion. The
television market is expanding as well. HBO
is expanding into many areas, there are new
satellites going up, and this allows more
market viability for everybody's product."
Tklks with executives ft'om various sectors
of the international film trade yielded
similar comments. Indeed, the prospect of
multiplexes sweeping over the Old Country—thereby
gready expanding the number
of screens and launching their attendant
boxoffice—has overseas movie honchos on
the brink of euphoria. "I am exceptionally
optimistic about tlie future," Williams-Jones
says. "I think we're entering into a new
golden age of cinema."
The reasoning behind the optimistic outlook
is based in part on the widely reported
news fliat studio revenue from foreign distribution
now exceeds domestic tallies.
Hollywood's foreign rentals for last year
totaled $2,048 billion, against $2.04 billion
generated stateside. Although that margin
is slim, it's generally believed that Europe
and the rest of the world are underscreened.
If die take is this good vnth less relative
screen opportunity, rims the industry's conventional
wisdom, when multiplexing is
complete that revenue stream will look
more like a flood.
"Multiplexing really
took place in the United
Kingdom and has been
slower in other parts of
the world, " says Christopher
Borde, associate
analystatCarmel, Calif
based Paul Kagan Associates,
a noted industry
numbers-crunching
concern. "If the performance
of multiplexes there is any indication
of what they are capable of doing in
other European territories, I'm sure that
would be a large part ofgrowing the actual
revenue from boxoftice."
There's no question that exhibitore are
t;oming to the market with megascreens
in mind. "There's a market for at least 200
new multiplexes in the next five years,"
says Joost Bert, head of Decatron, the
Belgium-based company that owns the
mammoth Kiiiepolis. That 24-screen theatre
in Brussels accounts for .SO percent of
all
movie tickets bought in Belgium. Not
surprisingly, Bert says that "we want to
continue tobuildmultiplexes."
And he's pursuing tiiat desire with a vengeance.
"1 have to deliver, on a yearly basis,
three multiscreens. And big ones. LUle,
France, will be 24 screens, and in the Netherlands
there's one coming in Rotterdam
and one in Amsterdam."
Even so, UIP's WilliamsJones wants to
see tomorrow's reality today. "Although I'm
encouraged by what I see in the way of
development, we must accelerate the pace
of construction," he says.
"Countries like
Italy, Greece and Portugal, plus parts of
Scandinavia are still lagging way behind and
fliere are still many, many opportunities for
development in France, Germany, Spain
and even the U.K."
As the cradle of the multiplex concept,
the U.S. market continues to be the gold
standard abroad. "The faster we can get up
to the level of having a cinema infrastructure
analogous to that of tlie U.S.," WOliams-
Jones says, "the faster we can regenerate
CINEMA EXPO '95
EUROVIEW
tlie health of the industiy
in its entirety'."
Although supportive
of that position,
Bert sees one potential
downside to the current
wave. "The only
tiling I'm a little bit
afraid of is lliat we will
have tlie same problem
as do some places
in the States, where there is overscreening."
Shari Redstone, executive vice president
at DecUiam, Mass. -based National Amusements,
which operates tlie Showcase circuit
in the United Kingdom, shares Bert's concern.
"I woriT about that, too," she says, "but
look at tliat more iis inappropriate business
I
decisions," Still, no one yet seems to be
losing sleep over a possible screen glut, as
most eyes are focused on tlie profits to be
reapc^d from tli(^ growing (Economies ofsciU"
ratlKM- tliaii liie small tires that might have
to lie put out at >i liter date.
32 BOXOFUCK