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‘Spider-Man’
Gets New Rating, Second Release
British Board Intros ‘12A’
LONDON – The British Board of Film Classification
has introduced a new “12A” rating that allows
children under 12 years old to see films rated “12A”
if accompanied by an adult. The new rating replaces
the old “12” rating, which prevented young
children from seeing films such as “Spider-Man,”
“Titanic” and “The Mummy” due to
one swear word or martial arts violence. The new rating
brings Britain into step with the United States and
the rest of Europe.
Sony
Pictures jumped on the opportunity by rereleasing “Spider-Man”
in the U.K. on 200 screens (up from 60) and developing
a new TV and print marketing campaign aimed at a younger
audience.
British parents have been protesting the rating for
years, but controversy reached fever pitch last spring
when “Spider-Man” received the “12”
rating, barring under-12s from seeing the kid-friendly
pic because of the climactic fight scene between Spidey
and the Green Goblin.
“Spider-Man”
distributor Columbia TriStar Films welcomed the news,
stating that “disappointed parents and young cinemagoers”
[are no longer] “trapped in the ratings web.”
In
Moscow ‘Hypermarket’
1st Russian Imax
to Open This Fall
MOSCOW – Large-format exhibitor Imax announced
in August an autumn opening for Russia’s first
3D Imax site.
A
component of Moscow’s new Ramstore “hypermarket,”
the ampitheatre-style hall will seat between 300 and
600 moviegoers.
It’s
been a revolutionary year for Russian exhibition. Formula
Kino opened the nation’s first multiplex earlier
in the year. Massachusetts-based National Amusements
announced over the summer that it would have a 3,500-seat
11-plex up and running in Moscow by next spring.
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Hollywood
Films Reign in 2002
German Box Office
Climbs 7.8 Percent
COLOGNE, Germany – German box office for the first
half of 2002 was up 7.8 percent and admits were up 1.3
percent over the same period last year – due largely
to strong showings of Hollywood films.
Top
box office draws for German audiences were New Line’s
“Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring”
with $78.6 million, Warner Bros.’s “Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” with $74.6
million and Fox’s “Ice Age” with $37.4
million.
Admits
to local films accounted for 13.9 percent of tickets
sold in the first six months of 2002, up from 13 percent
during the same period in 2001.
Effort
To Combat Downturn
51 Hong Kong
Exhibs Slash Prices
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Theaters Association
(HKTA) announced that 51 cinemas would cut their admission
prices in half every Tuesday and Wednesday for two months
in an effort to curb plummeting box office receipts.
“We’re hoping that this would encourage more
people into the cinemas and it’s also our way of
making movies more affordable to audiences in this economical
downturn,” said HKTA chairman, Vicky Wong.
HKTA
aspires to repeat the success of similar campaigns run
by the UA and Broadway circuits, both of which saw attendance
increases of more than 200% over three-week promotional
periods.
Cinema
admission prices generally range from HK$50-HK$70 ($6.40-$9),
but will be cut to HK$25 ($3.20) for two days a week
during the campaign. The 51 theaters involved represent
about 93% of Hong Kong exhibitors. Only U.S.-run AMC
is not taking part in the marketing effort.
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