SAG reaches an agreement
The biggest story of the week is of course the culmination of 118 days of SAG AFTRA’s marathon strike which essentially brought to a halt production and promotion of TV and films. Films with release dates over the past 118 days had to release without main cast promotions, appearances or interviews and that absence was keenly felt. It’s back to business technically, but the knock on impacts of this strike will be felt for many months down the road.
Release of the Week – So This is Christmas
The release of the week is the much-anticipated documentary So This is Christmas, set to release to Irish audiences this Friday 17th November. Ken Wardrop’s latest creative documentary is set to call into question the true meaning of Christmas, as the expectations (and disappointments) of the day are illuminated through Wardrop’s keen eye and beautiful colour palette. Break Out Pictures distributes in Ireland.
Releasing this Friday 17th November – watch the trailer here
Swift Segues into Self Distribution
Taylor Swift is the industry’s newest distribution company, with the release of her self-distributed concert movie, ‘The Eras Tour’ earning close to a quarter of a billion US dollars at the box office. Swift’s team allegedly approached multiple distributors who would take their hefty cut and promised to get this out to audiences by 2025. That wasn’t on Swift’s agenda, with the Eras tour in full swing having just completed its North American tour, she wanted momentum to continue and for fans to relive the concert experience at the same time as the concert. This left Swift with no choice but to self distribute, something indie filmmakers could only dream of. Her team approached the AMC theatres group with a proposition, to distribute exclusively to AMC theatres. This came with its drawbacks, specifically with a lack of marketing budget, in that there was none. Swift relied exclusively on a few tweets and instagram posts and marketing managers everywhere were left envious of her ease of reach. With such frenzied demand for real life tangible Eras tour concert tickets, this documentary film in which Swifties could relive or experience on a budget, it seemed like a necessary salve for the performer whose fan base simply keeps growing. While Taylor Swift and AMC are the winners pocketing the phenomenal cash, it has placed AMC between a rock and a hard place as distributors have been quietly turning on the cinema chain for ‘playing in their territory.’
The Box Office Never Lies
‘The Marvels’ opened to disappointing box office figures this weekend, taking in $47 million at the North American box office. $47 million isn’t any kind of figure to sniff at – but it is the inflated expectations that the Marvel universe has become accustomed to in recent years that makes this an anomaly, as the lowest recorded opening weekend for a Marvel film. It was always a ticking time bomb, something studio executives (like their financial counterparts in 2008) had wished would last forever. A new phenomenon is badly needed, and everyone knows it.
FILM FOR THOUGHT 