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Further
Loans Cancelled
Ufa Faces Insolvency,
May
Exit Exhibition
BERLIN – Despite closing 40 money-losing sites, German
exhibitor Ufa Theatre faces insolvency after creditor HypoVereinsbank
cancelled further loans to the group.
Ufa’s
recent restructuring managed to cut losses from 10.7 million
Euros ($9.6 million) in 2000 to $244,000 in 2001, but its
expected 2002 profit of $270,000 falls well below the estimated
$2.8 million the circuit needs to survive Germany’s traditionally
slow box office summer. 
100-screen
circuit by 2004
Inox Leisure Bows Four
Screens In Pune, India
PUNE, India – Inox Leisure opened on May 11 a 1,316-seat
4-plex in Pune, India, kicking off the Mumbai, India-based
company’s plans to operate a 100-screen circuit by the
end of 2004.
Inox first
plans to invest $30 million in the building and operation
of multis in India’s western region, with another $20
million attached for its expansion into the southern and eastern
regions of the country.
The planned
100-screen circuit would rival Priya, a 12-screen circuit
which has its own plans to expand to 80 screens in the next
three years.
Hollywood
Tops 1st Quarter
German B.O. Up 6.3%,
Admits Down 2.2%
BERLIN – The German Federal Film Board (FFA) announced
in May that German box office increased 6.3 percent to 271.4
million Euros in the first quarter of 2002 over the same period
in 2001, while attendance slipped 2.2 percent.
According
to the FFA, the discrepancy can be traced in part to the hugely
successful “Lord of the Rings,” which, due to its
running time, incurred a supplement to the normal entrance
fee.
Hollywood
fare such as “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Monsters
Inc.,” and “Ice Age” dominated the German market
for the first quarter as well.
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Live
Screenings
UCI and Odeon
Exhibit World Cup
LONDON – UCI announced on May 14 that screenings of all
English and Irish soccer matches will take place at 20 of
its 39 sites during the 2002 World Cup.
Odeon
Cinemas, following its deal with Hutchinson 3G, announced
that it will exhibit England’s qualifying matches in
five major cities in the United Kingdom; Odeon
sites in Leicester Square, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester
and Newcastle all boast newly installed digital equipment.
According
to Screen Daily, a spokesperson for Warner Village
said the circuit was exploring the possibility of showing
some of the matches.
European
Fare Up 5% in 2001
Europa Adds 171
Screens to Network
BERLIN — Europa Cinemas, the MEDIA Programme’s initiative
to support exhibitors that screen European films, announced
on May 16 the addition to its fold of 171 screens in 28 European
cities – broadening its network to 896 screens at 356
sites in 201 cities across 17 countries.
Europa
provides maximum grants of 30,000 Euros a year to exhibitors
that give over 50 percent of their screening slots to European
films. In 2001, Europa reported that 61 percent of screens
in its network were showing European fare, up from 56 percent
in 2000.
The MEDIA
Programme supports cinema networks that are involved in the
circulation of European films and provide support for programming
and promotion of European films in Europe.
Annex
to 1992 Film Law
Mexico Strengthens
Film Classification
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government unveiled on April
4 its annex to the 1992 film law which includes criteria for
film classification.
Mexico
now has six classifications – AA: children, A: general
audiences, B: teens (12 years +), B15: teens accompanied by
adults, and C and D: adults 18 and over – which will
allow exhibitors to display icons indicating the content of
particular films.
According
to Variety, Manuel Gomez Morin, head of the Interior
Ministry’s General Directorate of Radio, Television and
Cinema, said the priority for the classification is in protecting
children and informing the public.
Sex, violence,
explicit language and drug usage are the four main reasons
a film will be given a restricted rating.
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