Hollywood Looks to Tap Asian Growth1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhen “Thor,” the Marvel superhero action film directed by Kenneth Branagh, opened in theaters in North America on May 6, the $150 million, 3D film had already made more than $130 million at the international box office.
More and more Hollywood films are opening outside the United States, a reflection of the growing importance of the international market to the world’s major studios. The Motion Picture Association of America says 67 percent of box office revenue comes from overseas.
A new film trade event, ScreenSingapore, scheduled for June 5 through June 12, is intended to capitalize on the trend.
“The idea of opening a film internationally ahead of the US only three, four years ago would have been unthinkable,” said Sanford Panitch, president of Fox International Productions.
The Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2010-14 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers said that the filmed entertainment market would grow 5 percent a year, reaching $1.7 trillion by 2014. The fastest-growing region in the period is expected to be Latin America, which is expected to grow 8.8 percent a year to $77 billion; Asia-Pacific is next, growing at 6.4 percent to $475 billion.
