Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1956)

THE OVERSEAS ATTENDANCE PICTURE In all but tiro or three countries of the world, total attendances at motion picture theatres are either increasing or holding at a steady level. The following figures are the most complete and recent tabulations available. The total 19o6 figures are, of course, estimated. COUNTRY 1954 1955 1956 Argentina (Buenos Aires) 53,258,166 (9 mos) 56,840,303 (9 mos) Brazil 250,000,000 300,000,000 Denmark 56,000,000 54,000,000 50,000,000 France 400,000,000 400,000,000 Germany (West) 780,000,000 820,000,000 Germany (East) 310,000,000 340,000,000 Holland 65,055,000 66,025,000 68,666,000 Ireland 25,662,000 (6 mos) 26,305,000 (6 mos) Israel 15,500,000 20,000,000 Italy 820,000,000 815,000,000 Japan 829,000,000 900,000,000 Mexico 173,897,454 180,000,000 New Zealand 37,368,000 39,000,000 Norway 33,845,344 33,178,694 Switzerland 35,000,000 36,000,000 Yugoslavia 68,125,000 (8 mos) THE OUTLOOK ( Continued from page 3) to the wide ratios and it is expected that greater calls will be made on the showmanship potential in the industry. TV may have plenty on the ball, but it is felt that the film industry has the longer and better experience in selling its product and that this experience will be brought more and more into play in the coming months. BELGIUM by MARC TURFKRUYER in Brussels The Belgian film trade has never had any serious cause for complaint concerning public interest in motion pictures, and there seems to be no reason for pessimism concerning the 1957 outlook. Although television is making steady progress here — the number of sets has risen from 50,000 last year to about 100,000 this year — it has not seriously affected motion picture attendance. German films are making enormous progress here, especially in the Flemish areas. Since last year, the number of German films released in Belgium has nearly trebled. There has been a slight decrease in the number of Italian films released here. British and American film companies face, in addition, stiff competition from producers in France, where production has reached its pre-war level. Film men here generally look forward to the new year with confidence. Upcoming product seems to be of such high quality that neither TV nor anything else will be able to match it. Ten new theatres were built here during the year. The total number of attendances, although they declined slightly in 1955 from 1954, should stay about the same this year as last. Total receipts, however, should be somewhat higher, due to the top films offered and to the increased prices which have been asked for them. BRAZIL by R. EKERMANN in Sao Paulo The production branch of the industry in Brazil seems to exist in permanent crisis. Exhibition, while not quite as chaotic, is not in a very much better position, due for the most part to the ceiling on admission prices which have not been changed for years. CinemaScope, Superscope and VistaVision films have special higher admission ceiling, but, unfortunately, the same does not hold true for stereophonic sound prints. The ceiling on admission prices, as well as other cost factors, have served to discourage any theatre construction except by the large circuits, who stand to acquire the best product and thus are insured of fairly good returns. As yet there are no attendance figures for the current year, but in 1955 they were up about 20 per cent over the totals of 1954, at which time 250,000,000 admissions brought a gross of 1,600,000,000 cruzeiros at the nation’s 3,500 theatres. Although 71 features were planned for production here this year and next, only 15 have been completed and it is not expected that more than 35 will have been made by the end of next year. The principal reason for the production decrease is that due to inflation, capital is attracted to other, more profitable sections of the economy. With such low admission prices (the average ticket costs the equivalent to about 20 minutes of work under the minimum wage), capital invested in film production is not quickly returned. Local producers are continuing their efforts to obtain laws aimed at protecting and regulating the local industry, and to spur local production. An official bank already is financing production, providing about 30 per cent of the average budget. CANADA by HARRY ALLEN, JR. in Toronto Motion picture business in Canada in 1957 has more signs of hope than of promise. Industry leaders are predicting that more than half of the theatres in Canada will be out of business within a decade. And if the preliminary figures for Canada’s 1955 theatre gross is any criterion, then a still further softening may be experienced by the industry in the next year. The 1955 gross showed a 10.5 per cent drop, less than the 14.6 per cent drop shown for 1954, but still an indication that business in 1956 will be down. Business in the bigger theatres has never been better. People still attend theatres, paying no attention to the price, but being concerned first with the quality of the film. The big pictures of 1956 are drawing them. The same films that are box office winners south of the border pull in the customers this side of the border. Native production is barely crawling. It is confined mainly to commercial production for industry, TV and the output of documentaries by the state-owned National Film Board. Most hopeful sign on the production horizon is the possibility that the two major TV film series being produced, with the co-sponsorship of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, may be used as the basis for features. This chance is remote. The only other major production was that by the Stratford Festival group of “Oedipus Rex” by Leonid Kipnis. Further productions are expected in this direction. As of November, 1956, there are 1,752 theatres operating. There have been 118 new theatres during 1956, with 305 others closed for economic and other reasons. Many of the closed theatres were twoand three-day houses, operating in town halls with small seating capacities, while most of the new theatres stayed open most or all of the week and their seating was uniformly larger. Of the total number of houses being operated, 235 are drive-ins. DENMARK by BORGE SLOT in Copenhagen The situation for Danish exhibitors is far from encouraging. Attendances, which declined from 56,000,000 in 1954 to 54,000,000 last year, are expected to drop still further to about 50,000,000 this year. In ( Continued on page 10) 6 WORLD MARKET T*< • <*