On Thursday August 15th, the 2009 animated film Coraline was re-released across the world. With previews starting on Thursday, by the end of the four day weekend the 15 year old film raked in a strong $27.3m. For a film that is readily attainable and available to buy, rent or stream, there is something tangible driving people to part with their money and experience a film they have seen before in a cinema. This trend is what is driving many distributors and studios to re-release films more and more often.
So move over New Openers, what’s the deal with Old Openers? Well for a start it makes logical, economic sense. The film business is built on a foundational principle in that it relies almost exclusively on the magical world of intellectual property. Recognisable, identifiable IP is the holy grail and increasingly hard to come by, and as re-releases are just re-used IP they are an easy option. As a film has already embedded itself in the public consciousness (enough to warrant a re-release) then less marketing spend is needed to support it so makes for a very lucrative type of release for both distributors and cinemas. Everything from old school classics like Rear Window at 70 years to modern classics like Interstellar at just 10, are considered by distributors with vast back catalogues.
There’s also the very simple issue of supply and demand. People are quick to forget that the SAG AFTRA strike only officially ended in November last year, less than a year ago. With that came both an increase in industrial relations activity and a reduction in filmmaking, the lack of which has lead to a dearth of films ready to be released in this calendar year. Any films released this year were either completed before the strike, or they were well on their way and had to do minor re-shoots once the strike ended. The supply level is much lower this year, and re-releases are more common because of this, filling up one of the 52 weekly slots that distributors can pick in a given year.
Coraline (2009) which was turning 15 years old, to outsiders it seemed like a surprise re-release. The film on first release made $124.6m in total domestically and internationally, and even with such a short re-release window has made a significant dent in its lifetime earnings already. The Chief Marketing and Operations officer at Laika, the animation studio in question said that while the team were confident they ‘didn’t quite see this outcome.’ There was evidently an engagement with the audience for Coraline that Laika and Trafalgar had been aware of in the intervening years, and distributors would do well to identify those cult films that have gained a following and re release not just the blockbusters. Laika knew that the re-release needed a value-add, so they remastered the film in 3D and included a section at the end that went behind the scenes of the making of Coraline. They also included a sneak peak of Laika’s upcoming film, “Wildwood,” a smart move in using a direct link to a very receptive, overlapping audience.
Re-releasing classics and modern classics is a corner of theatrical distribution that has actually thrived in the wake of the pandemic. There is a sense of event that comes with a new release and people go to events rather than stay at home. Back catalogues are a benefit for studios, but they must be careful not to just blanket re-release films with no extra thought put in. There must be some kind of added value, whether that is Paramount releasing Pulp Fiction in 4K or a remastered Coraline that initiates that need to experience a beloved film in a place where they pay to go out to.
FILM FOR THOUGHT 