Each year, the Marché du Film puts out a focus brochure on World Market Trends in the film industry. In light of the widely discussed world economic crisis, we thought this year's summary, although neither drastically different from previous years nor surprising, was nevertheless especially interesting. These trends will provide a context for understanding the environment of the Marché here in Cannes as the action heats-up throughout the festival.
Despite the economic recession, U.S. cinema attendances increased by 5.6% and box office receipts by 8.8% in the first quarter of 2009. (Marché du Film: Focus, pg 9) Many analysts attribute the increase to the cinema's affordability relative to other forms of entertainment in addition to the industry's efforts to spread release dates more evenly throughout the year. In 2008 however, we actually saw a fall in U.S. box-office attendances while international box-office figures increased, due mainly to the weak dollar. In light of the 2009 first quarter results, some will be tempted to brand the film industry as impervious to economic decline, however these mixed findings show that exact conclusions can not be drawn in just a few months. We can say that the film industry will not sustain the kind of damage seen by other industries, such as the auto industry. We may see a downturn in production budget, particularly in the United States due to decreased funding availability and higher interest rates.
Home video markets throughout the world ranged in their performances. Overall, we saw DVD sales decline while Blu-Ray sales increased much slower. The industry is optimistic in terms of the potential for growth in both the 3D cinema and VOD markets.
For more information on market trends in the film industry see the full report at:
http://www.obs.coe.int/oea_publ/market/focus.html
-Your FilmFestivals.com Bloggers
Emily Walzer and J. Ross Van den Akker