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09
Opinion:
Following the end of censorship in the about art-house films. These are seen as a in 2004, was the first Russian blockbuster and The audience is also growing accustomed
cinema in the late 1980s, Russia’s system product for export, an aesthetic and political the industry drew many conclusions from its to novel genres, from comedy to horror,
of film making, production and distribution bow to foreign tastes. Abroad, box-office success. Patriotism clearly played a key role. and the country is again taking part in film
A taste for
collapsed. Everything had to be rebuilt from receipts from Alexander Sokurov’s Russian Ark In a Russian-made film, both public and critics festivals at Cannes, Berlin and Venice. About
scratch. – famous for being the world’s first unedited have been willing to overlook shortcomings a third of all new motion pictures are made
home movies
For the outside world, Russia remained a feature film – topped $6m, while in Russia they they would not tolerate in a foreign picture. by first-time directors. Along with inheriting
country of great film makers, but the choice amounted to a several hundred thousand at Television has played an important part. The the techniques of Soviet art-house films
of names seemed to be chosen at random. most. Andrei Zvyagintsev’s The Banishment big channels produced and promoted Night (Alexei German Jr and Ilya Khrzhanovsky),
Pavel Lungin received laurels (Best Director caused turmoil in Europe but was heavily Watch and other blockbusters including The these young cineastes (Boris Khlebkinov and
at Cannes, 1990) while popular crime thriller criticized at home. Turkish Gambit, The State Counselor and The Alexei Popogrebsky) are learning from their
ANTON DOLIN maker Alexei Balabanov was neglected; Russia’s main national priority has been to Ninth Company. These blockbusters are like European colleagues
FILM CRITIC
Alexander Sokurov was hailed as the new produce commercial films. Hollywood is dinosaurs – enormous, awkward creatures. In all likelihood, in around 10 years, the ice will
Tarkovsky but Kira Muratova, 2007 winner of viewed as an example and a rival; making a But an Ice Age is beginning and they are have melted, and Russian cinema will for the
the Best Film, was largely ignored. blockbuster is seen as attaining perfection. becoming extinct, superseded by low-budget first time gain equal footing with Europe and the
On the whole Russians could not care less Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Watch, released movies for the masses. rest of the world.
Box-office receipts are set to hit a $1 billion in 2011, 25pc of it going to local film-makers
Cinemania
Admissions
(incl.Ukraine)
107 m.
In 2007,
numbers of cinema visitors
exceed 100 mln
Russian movies are stealing
98.9 m.
In 2006,
number of tickets sold
continues to rise
market share from Hollywood
91.8 m.
In 2005,
cinema tickets were selling
reasonably well
THE NINTH COMPANY THE WOLFHOUND ISLAND
This year, box office receipts in
Russian cinemas are expected
The most lucrative films
to total around $560 million.
The best Russian producers talk
At this rate of growth, in
Film Distributor Year $US, mln
2011–12, they will pass
1. Day Watch (RUS) Gemini 2006 34.02
$1 billion. At least a quarter
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: BVSPR 2007 34.01
about the future of Russian movies
of this will be coming from
At World’s End
locally-made movies.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Cascade 2006 30.65
But big budget movies rare- let alone marketing.There is a of the country’s stunning eco-
ALEXANDER SEMENOV
Dead Man’s Chest
ly recoup their investments. In similar misunderstanding on the nomic growth. By the end of this
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
4. The 9th Company (RUS) Gemini 2005 25.61
case of success, we can get our issue of box-office returns. Upon year their the number of modern
‘RUSSIAN FILM BUSINESS TODAY’
5. Shrek The Third UPI 2007 25.30
money back. If a movie is me- learning of films raking in tens of movie theatres will reach some
JULIA MAIOROVA_RG diocre, not to mention bad, you millions of dollars—a fortune in 1,800–2,000. A substantial
Three years ago Russian films
6. The Wolfhound (RUS) Central Partnership 2007 20.81
are bound to lose. Russia—industry newcomers’ portion of financial investments
accounted for just three for five 7. Turkish Gambit Gemini 2005 19.25 heads start swimming. The fact currently made around Russia
percent of the home market.
8. Ice Age: The Meltdown Gemini 2006 19.10
that this income has to be div- ends up in the film sector.
But now they have reached
SERGEI SELYANOV
vied up among quite a few peo- As a result, several trends di-
nearly 25 percent and they are
9. Zhara/The Heat (RUS) Gemini 2007 16.73
PRODUCER ple and just a fraction is actual- rect the market’s development.
likely to continue increasing. 10. Night Watch (RUS) Gemini 2004 16.03 ly theirs evades them. Finally, Firstly, a contradiction exists be-
About 150 films are produced
"KINOBIZNESS" MAGAZINE
In 1992, Sergei Selyanov founded the
STV film-production company. He has
good films are rare. But inspite tween the traditional percep-
in Russia annually. Almost a
since produced more than 50 movies,
CENTRAL PARTNERSHIP
of all this difficulties, investors tion of Russian movies as an
third head straight for the video
documentaries, and animated motion
are offering more money that esoteric kind of art-house cin-
market, bypassing cinemas, cash as Hollywood blockbust- Not especially popular in Eu-
pictures, include "Cargo 200".
the Russian film industry can ef- ema, and the expectations of a
another third goes out on lim- ers. Russian titles such as rope and America, some Rus- fectively spent. young audience brought up on
ited release and the remainder Night Watch, Day Watch, The sian films have nevertheless A decade ago, distribution of
RUBEN DISHDISHYAN
Hollywood blockbusters. Sec-
is distributed on a large scale. Ninth Company, The Wolf- managed to bring in hand- Russian films was nearly non- PRODUCER ondly, television channels are
Many of these big movies res- hound and The Turkish Gam- some returns from abroad. existent. By 2003, I realized that
Ruben Dishdishyan graduated from
filling in for nonexistent large
onate with the local audience bit have enjoyed unprecedent- Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Russian movies had discov-
the Yerevan Polytechnic University in
film producers. Being the stron-
and make almost as much ed success. Watch has grossed $17.9 mil- ered their own niche at home. Armenia. He is the CEO and founder of gest media market players, they
Another film with high expec- lion in foreign receipts, Nikita We discussed with Goskino (the
Central Partnership, a television distri-
are capable of conducting cre-
tations is the sequel to The Mi khal kov’s The Barber of Si- Russian State Cinema Commit-
bution company. Central Partnership
is currently Russia’s largest filmmaker
ative marketing campaigns on
Rising box-offi ce
Irony of Fate, due to be broad- beria $7 million, Alexander tee) the need to promote Rus-
and distributor. He was also a producer
a grand scale. Lastly, the gov-
cast next year by its makers, Sokurov’s Russian Ark $6.8 sian movies to theatre owners of Wolfhound. ALEXANDER KUROV_ITAR-TASS ernment support system for
Channel 1, the most popular million, Andrei Zvyagintsev’s who weren’t interested in any- the domestic film industry has
Box-office receipts are rising television network in Russia The Return $6.2 and the Rus- thing but Hollywood. We told Russian cinema is undergo-
ALEXANDER RODNYANSKY
much room for improvement.
yearly by around 30 percent. and a leading film maker. sian-French co-production them that in 2004 there would be ing an upsurge. More films are PRODUCER Half of all proceeds go to movie
In 2003 the figure was $190 The original Irony of Fate, shot East-West, directed by Regis six or seven majors Americans being made, and people outside
Alexander Rodnyansky graduated from
theatres, and state financial as-
million, in 2004 $268 million, in 1975 by Eldar Ryazanov, Wargnier, accounts for some films, and Russia would produce the industry are willing to invest, the film department of the Kiev Theatre sistance is minimal. In the end,
in 2005 $349 million, and last has been shown every New $6 million. the eight. That year saw the re- now that movies have proved
Art Institute in the Ukraine. In 2002, he
high quality Russian films are
year it reached $455 million. Year’s Eve for the past 30 Russian film-makers are earn- lease of "Night Watch" making it profitable. New investors, how-
was named the general director of the
STS channel. He has 17 national film
confined to a narrow distribution
years, and still draws millions ing larger income domestical- a crucial year in Russian film his- ever, are yet to fully understand
awards. Rodnyaynsky was a producer
and modest sums of profit.
of viewers. Many of them ly (see below left) with Day tory. Russian films have man- what the movie business is of "The Ninth Company". In my opinion, high quality will
would like to see a follow-up, Watch leading the pack, mak- aged to make their way onto the all about. They don’t compre- allow Russians films to retain a
and the makers expect an in- ing $34.02 billion in the home big screen and production and hend the difference between, In the last few years, our cinema decent market share in a range
in millions dollars
come of no less than $40 mil- market.
-
promotion costs have grown. say, shooting and editing costs, industry has followed the path of 25–35%.
-
lion — a record in Russia.
Even though six out of the top
10 films shown are home-
grown, three-quarters of annu- From “Day Watch” to “Island”: films that launched a nation of cinema lovers
al box-office receipts are now
brought in by foreign movies,
"KINOBIZNESS" MAGAZINE
primarily those made in Holly-
TITLE TITLE TITLE TITLE TITLE
DAY WATCH THE WOLFHOUND THE NINTH CARGO 200 ISLAND
wood. European films also at-
DIRECTOR DIRECTOR COMPANY DIRECTOR DIRECTOR
tract significantly large audienc-
TIMUR NIKOLAI LEBEDEV DIRECTOR ALEXEI PAVEL LUNGIN
es in Russia.
BEKMAMBETOV RELEASE FEDOR BALABANOV RELEASE
RELEASE 2007 BONDARCHYUK RELEASE 2006
2006 RELEASE 2007
2005
“Day Watch” was the most prof- “The Wolfhound” is based on This movie resembles Ameri- Balabanov’s film is a peculiar re- In this film, Lungin, who has
itable movie in the entire history the bestselling novel of the can films of the 1970s and ’80s sponse to “The Ninth Company”, won two awards at the Cannes
of Russian film. It is the sequel same name. In this fantasy- about the Vietnam War. Its so- “Cargo 200” is a military term film festival, depicts the grow-
of the first modern Russian hit, thriller by Maria Semyonova, cial context is also similar. “The for the coffins in which dead So- ing reach of the Russian Ortho-
“Night Watch” (2004). West- an ancient Slavic bodyguard Ninth Company” deals with a viet soldiers were shipped home dox faith and the revival of mor-
ern critics compared it to B-rated battles pagan shamans. An ep- subject previously taboo in Rus- from the war in Afghanistan. This al values. Made and released
genre movies such as “Under- ic saga about the struggle be- sia, for both cinema and society: provocative and shockingly vi- with the help of state-owned
world” or “Blade”. In Russia, this tween good and evil, the film the Soviet war in Afghanistan. olent picture about the Soviet TV-channel Rossiya, it was de-
thriller about vampires and magi- bears a semblance to “The Lord Its heroic thrust and impressive Union in 1984 was the subject of clared the best motion picture
cians has come to symbolize the of the Rings” and did well at the visual effects are the big attrac- heated debate and is not recom- of the year by three Russian film
revival of domestic filmmaking. box office. tions. mended for showing on TV. societies.
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