Pic packs do well in Spain
Distribs need big titles to court sizable sales
Spain's volcanic indie distribbers took a huge 30% of total B.O., but local distributors complain, rightly, about a welter of theatrical releases.
"The indie market's becoming saturated: B.O. per title is dropping," says Alta Films acquisitions head Enrique Gonzalez Kuhn.
Yet, distribbers are hardly easing off the acquisition pedal. One reason: they need big titles to court sizable sales to free-to-air nets.
"It's almost impossible to sell to broadcasters. We have to go for tentpole movies and wrap packages around them," a distrib says.
However costly, output deals yielded the highest-grossing indie pics last year: Lauren's trio of Miramax pics, "The Cider House Rules," "Scary Movie" and "Scream 3" nabbed $5.8 million, $5.3 million and $5.0 million, respectively, while distribber brought in $5.5 million with Mandalay's "Sleepy Hollow.".
Having inked a 10-pic deal with Intermedia Films in 1999, which includes "The Wedding Planner," Filmax still maintains a close relation with the company.
Last year, Sogepaq signed an output deal with Escape Artists, while Alta Films took 15 pics from FilmFour, including Peter Cattaneo's "Lucky Break" and Mike Hodges' "Croupier."
Output deals leave less big movies on the open market and there are now more distributors competing for pics than ever. In 2000, both broadcaster Telecinco and Planeta 2010, the film and TV subsid of giant publisher Planeta, entered into the all-rights acquisitions arena. Francisco Ramos' production-distribution shingle, Alquimia Cinema, picked up five medium-budget titles from Alliance Atlantis.
The net effect is that prices are rising drastically.
"We used to pay 4.5% of a film's budget. Now the range is 4.5% to 7%, sometimes even higher," comments one distribber.
In such an environment, only the strong will survive, and one source of strength is conglom ownership.
Increasingly muscular, the Sogecable-owned Sogepaq picked up "Chicken Run" (B.O. gross: $4.5 million) through StudioCanal Spain, its joint venture with StudioCanal in France. It will open third party pickup, "What Women Want" in March.
Telefonica Media looks poised to take 60% in Manga Films, while rumors continue to build that an international company may bid for Tripictures, which is fortifying its acquisition assets.
