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
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