Sunday, June 29, 2008

Does the movie match the audience?

Three compound words that are widely used to describe various types of wholesome movies, but lacking clear definitions are, “faith-based,” “faith-friendly,” and “family-friendly.” Distinguishing one category from another is not easy, in that there are gray areas between them. I’ve used movie titles to help define each category. (Continue here)

Monday, June 23, 2008

Speaking of 3-D...

I just read the following summary report from Nielson Research about consumer reactions to 3-D movies. The sales increases may help boost sales for "Journey to the Center of the Earth," given the fact that there are fewer screens equipped with 3-D which limits the size of the release.

NIELSEN FINDS STRONG CONSUMER APPETITE FOR 3-D FILMS BUT WEAK AWARENESS
Amsterdam, NL (June 23, 2008) - The Nielsen Company today reported that there is strong consumer appetite for 3-D films, based on a detailed analysis, that showed a 65% sales increase in theatres using 3-D technology to exhibit their moviesThe analysis, which was unveiled today by Nielsen PreView at the Cine Expo conference in The Netherlands, compared the film's performance in comparable theatres with a proven track record in the action/adventure genre. This like-to-like comparison provides a more sophisticated understanding on the impact of 3-D than other studies that simply looked at the performance of the movie in 3-D and 2-D theatres regardless of their historical ability to attract action/adventure movies."With all the upcoming hype around 3-D, we wanted to take a hard look and see if there is truly a consumer appetite for 3-D." says Ann Marie Dumais, SVP, Nielsen PreView . "Our new research approach contrasted theatres in such a way to demonstrate consumers, when given a choice, will choose 3-D."Nielsen PreView's 3-D study analyzed over 4,000 theatres in the United States. The research found theatres with at least one screen exhibiting in 3-D had a 65% increase in box office sales compared to their 2-D counterparts. Further, those theatres that chose to exhibit in 3-D on more than one screen saw their sales climb yet even higher to 100% versus what was expected, indicating that one 3-D screen per theatre may not be enough to satisfy consumer demand.While consumers have an appetite for 3-D films, they often lack awareness and education around what 3-D is and where to find it. In a recent Nielsen survey, 48% were unaware that their movie choices were even available in 3-D. The numbers cited in this study are likely to go even higher for the industry with increased marketing support and consumer education.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Journey 3-D - a summer movie worth seeing.

Walden Media and New Line Cinema (now folded into parent company, Warner Bros.) is about to release "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in the new digital 3D format.

According to portfolio.com, Cary Granat, the CEO of Walden Media, is living his own three-dimensional nail-biter. "Journey to the Center of the Earth" will be the first major live-action, digital 3D release when it comes out July 11. It's a huge gamble this early in the gestation of 3D cinema. The movie's story is basically Indiana Jones Goes Spelunking. Its big selling point is its 3D visuals. "We created a 3D map (of the story) and hired writers to write to the map," says Granat, best known for making the Narnia movies. He initially hoped to open Journey in 1,700 theaters equipped for 3D. About 1,000 are ready. Granat, though, sounds confident. "I believe in 3D greatly," he pledges.

I've seen the film and I loved it! Here is an excerpt of my email to Walden Media president, Micheal Flaherty.
Great job!!! We had a blast watching this wild ride of an adventure film! The story could be subtitled, "'Temple of Doom' meets 'National Treasure.'" It's smart, thrilling, funny, spine-tingling without being dark or grotesque. The cast is well balanced and credible as their on-screen characters. Brandon Fraser is perfectly suited for his character. He's a favorite actor of mine, especially his charmingly naive, but brave character in "Blast form the Past." This one should do very well at the b.o. unless "Hellboy" or "Meet Dave" get any traction.

The Dove Foundation review can be found at http://www.dove.org/reviewpopup.asp?Unique_ID=7273

There is a shortage of high quality family adventure movies. When one comes out we need to get behind it as a message of encouragement to the industry, "give us more!"