News in Brief

PRODUCTION NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Image: © HBO Max.

HBO Max has begun production on adult animation series Poor Devil, its first animation series commissioned in Spain. Produced by Buendía Estudios, the story centres around Stan, who is just an ordinary boy … except for the fact that he is the Antichrist and is just one month away from turning 666 months old.

ADvertisers reveAl globAl inClusion ChAllenges

The first ever global census of the marketing industry has identified key challenges around family status, age and gender as well as ethnicity and disability.

The World Federation of Advertisers’ DEI Census found that women and ethnic minorities in the marketing industry report poorer lived experiences than men and ethnic majorities, but concluded that marketing still outperforms many other industries globally.

The most common forms of discrimination identified by the survey globally were family status and age, with 27% agreeing that their company does not treat all employees fairly regardless of family status and 27% agreeing that their company does not treat all employees equally regardless of age.

36% of respondents agreed that age can hinder one’s career while 40% of women agreed that family status can hinder one’s career. There is also strong evidence of a gender pay gap in some markets. In the US and Canada, for example, the gap is worst among industry starters with a 13% gap in the US and a 20% gap in Canada.

There were similar findings for ethnic minorities, who score lower on key questions such as “feel like I belong at my company” than ethnic majority groups in nearly all markets.

In the US, 17% say they have faced discrimination based on their racial background. In a number of markets this is also reflected by a pay gap.

Stephan Loerke, CEO of the WFA, said: “There are significant minorities in all countries saying they witness negative behaviours and discrimination on account of their age, family status, gender, ethnicity, race, disability, mental health, sexuality… such that one in seven considers leaving the industry. No company or industry can ignore this.”

Disney+ greenlights 50 AsiAn-PACiFiC titles

The Walt Disney Company is undertaking a major expansion into Asian-Pacific content, with plans to greenlight more than 50 original titles from the region by 2023 for its Disney+ platform. Disney is commissioning new shows from South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Indonesia. Many of the programmes will be presented in local languages, from Bahasa Indonesia to Mandarin.

ChinA Proves A heADAChe For hollywooD

Hollywood has spent years cultivating China, but amid tightening censorship and unpredictable regulation, studios are finding it increasingly difficult to get their biggest blockbusters into the market.

Chinese movie-goers have not seen any Marvel film since Spider-Man: Far from Home in 2019. None of its recent big releases – Black Widow (pictured), Shang-Chiand the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals – have secured release dates in mainland China even though they have made splashes overseas.

Some suspect Eternals has faced difficulty securing a release date because its director, Oscar-winning China native Chloe Zhao, was criticised for making an unflattering comment about her homeland during an interview several years ago.

2021 is turning into a disappointment for movie companies in China, which passed the US last year to become the world’s largest film market.

US films have grabbed about 15% of the box office, on par with pandemic-impaired sales in 2020 and far less than the 32% they claimed in 2019.

Image: Black Widow © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Instead, Chinese movie-goers have flocked to see local releases. The result is that Chinese movies are now among the top five films at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo figures.

Battle at Lake Changjin, an epic film about the Chinese army in the Korean war, is the highest grossing film in the world so far this year, just above Hi, Mom, a heartwarming Chinese movie about a woman going back in time in an attempt to make her mother’s life better.

China allows 34 foreign films to be released in the mainland per year. Foreign films are also subject to blackout dates such as the National Day holiday week, when the authorities require that audiences be served only domestic productions.

Netflix has produced a Number of africaN movies such as SHADOW aNd QUEEN SONO, aNd had almost two millioN subscribers iN africa iN 2020, a Number expected to grow to 6.3 millioN by 2026.

box oFFiCe returns to liFe in 2021

The film industry is enjoying better than predicted takings at the box office as cinemagoers start to return to theatres around the world after pandemic lockdowns.

Film research firm Gower Street Analytics recently raised its end of year estimates for global box office in 2021. It has been revised up to USD21.6 billion, from a previous estimate of USD20.2 billion – and Gower Street thinks 2021 box office could even finish around USD22 billion globally.

The USD21.6 billion estimate would put the 2021 box office 80% ahead of 2020, but still 49% behind 2019's record global tally.

The upward revision comes in the wake of a bumper October, driven by the release of Chinese blockbuster The Battle Of Lake Changjin, James Bond title No Time To Die (pictured below) and Marvel anti-hero sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage which ramped up cinema-going around the world.

Image: No Time to Die © 2021 Danjaq, LLC & Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

Gower Street’s global estimate for October has risen nearly 30% to USD3.2 billion. This would put October business just 4% behind the average of the three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019) for the month. No previous month in 2021 had previously performed better than 40% behind the three-year average.

Gower Street thinks that Asia Pacific (APAC) will continue to expand its global box office market share from just over 50% in 2020 to 52.2% in 2021, with China driving the growth. EMEA drops from 23.1% to 21.6%, while the US and Canada are predicted to remain relatively unchanged at 21.6% as will Latin America at 4.6%.

ePiC mulls FORTNITE FeAture Film

Epic Games is reportedly considering making a Fortnite feature film as part of the company's plans to expand into wider media. Those talks have also reportedly formed part of a broader conversation at Epic about the possibility of "launching an entertainment division focused on scripted video programming" as a way to diversify the studio's brands. Three former Lucasfilm employees have joined Epic Games this year.

FreelAnCer wellbeing hub lAunChes

As part of its Let’s Reset campaign to improve the mental health and wellbeing of people working in the industry, The Film and TV Charity has launched a new digital initiative. The Freelancer Wellbeing Hub houses a range of bespoke educational tools and resources including a 1-minute Wellbeing Check-In quiz to spot signs of stress and identify relevant support and a directory of common industry risk factors for freelancers.

netFlix lAunChes gAmes PlAtForm

Netflix has rolled out its previously-announced mobile gaming platform for subscribers globally, allowing Android device users with an active Netflix subscription to play a selection of mobile games, including two Stranger Things titles. The service will be used to develop games based on existing Netflix show IP and is also aimed at retaining viewers on-platform; Netflix has previously stated that it competes for attention with gaming services and platforms as much as it does with other video services (please see our feature, page 80).

Investors spot potential in Africa’s film industry

African producers are attracting the interest of new, non-historical partners such as the USA and China, according to a major UNESCO report.

The report, The African Film Industry: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Growth, is billed as the first complete mapping of Africa’s film and audiovisual industries, which currently employs an estimated 5 million people and accounts for USD5 billion in GDP. It says the sector has the potential to create over 20 million jobs and contribute USD20 billion to the continent’s GDP.

Currently, France, the UK, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and the EU remain important stakeholders in African auteur cinema, funding development initiatives such as film labs, workshops and festivals.

However, recent years have seen growing interest from the USA and China, in particular from private companies with a decidedly commercial approach.

Netflix has produced a number of African movies such as Shadow and Queen Sono (pictured below), and had almost two million subscribers in Africa in 2020, a number expected to grow to 6.3 million by 2026. Launching in Africa in 2022, Disney+ is predicted to sign up 3.1 million subscribers by 2026.

Walt Disney Studios is also financing Greek Freak – a feature film by Nigerian director Akin Omotoso. In Nigeria, EbonyLife Studios has projects underway with Netflix, Sony Pictures Television, AMC and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios.

Meanwhile, China has also been making inroads into the continent. Chinese media giant Huahua Media has a deal with Nigerian studio FilmOne Entertainment to co-produce the first major China-Nigeria film. Other major investments in the media space by StarTimes and CCTV Africa point to growing Chinese interest in African content.

“the report says the sector has the poteNtial to create over 20 millioN jobs aNd coNtribute usd20 billioN to the coNtiNeNt’s gdp.”

Image: Queen Sono © Netflix.