Wow! What a change! in the number of years that I have been working in the entertainment business, the international box office has grown from 40% of the total worldwide box office gross to approximately 65% of the total worldwide box office gross. And the Chinese Box Office has moved from “who cares!” to the #2 Movie market in the World behind the U.S.!
That is an amazing change!
And because of these two factors, 20th Century Fox recently removed its top U.S. marketing executives and has made its two top international theatrical executives, the new worldwide heads in both marketing and distribution. This is a first.
What about the other studios: Warner Bros. has a worldwide head of theatrical marketing, who came from international but not in distribution. Sony Pictures’ new head of worldwide theatrical marketing comes from the digital arena. Interesting choice and can’t wait to see how it works. But international and domestic are separate. Universal Pictures – separate. Walt Disney Pictures — worldwide in marketing and distribution but both executives come from domestic side. Paramount Pictures – separate. So 20th Century Fox is truly breaking new ground.
And guess what? Fox is right!
The U.S. movie market — which has been the #1 movie market in the world since the invention of the movie — will become the #2 market BEHIND China within the next 5 years or so. This is a game changer! And therefore, America will be just another market — yes a BIG one — but just another market and not the end all, be all, that it has been treated as for so long.
And as such the international theatrical executives will become more and more needed as their slice of the overall worldwide box office gets bigger and the U.S. box office gets smaller.
U.S. box office could have grown, but alas, that is for another blog.
This is getting good. Where is the popcorn!
entertainmentology 