MUNICH -- Germany will see a double-digit drop in cinema ticket revenues this year, after hitting record highs in 2004, local distributors and theater owners said at a year-end press conference Tuesday in Berlin. They also predicted that 2006 should be a year of more growth. "We are confident that 2005 will end up being a year that is not among the best in history," said Johannes Klingsporn, managing director of the film distributors' association VDF, "but it will certainly not be among the worst." A lack of blockbusters from Hollywood as well as a year in which no local films broke the 3 million ticket mark, were among the factors cited by analysts for the dramatic decline in income. Last year, German films such as Dreamship Surprise and Downfall were among the nation's top grossers. But thanks to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, November 2005 outpaced the same month last year. Meanwhile, Chronicles of Narnia also had a huge first weekend and King Kong is set to premiere in Germany this weekend.
- 12/21/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MUNICH -- Germany will see a double-digit drop in cinema ticket revenues this year, after hitting record highs in 2004, local distributors and theater owners said at a year-end press conference Tuesday in Berlin. They also predicted that 2006 should be a year of more growth. "We are confident that 2005 will end up being a year that is not among the best in history," said Johannes Klingsporn, managing director of the film distributors' association VDF, "but it will certainly not be among the worst." A lack of blockbusters from Hollywood as well as a year in which no local films broke the 3 million ticket mark, were among the factors cited by Klingsporn for the dramatic decline in income. Last year, German films such as Dreamship Surprise and Downfall were among the nation's top grossers. But thanks to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, November 2005 outpaced the same month last year. Meanwhile, Chronicles of Narnia also had a huge first weekend and King Kong is set to premiere in Germany this weekend.
- 12/14/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- A weaker theatrical slate that lacked the boxoffice muscle of last year's hits Dreamship Surprise and Downfall affected third-quarter results at leading German independent film producer-distributor Constantin Group, the company said Thursday. Quarterly revenue fell to 49.7 million ($58 million) from a year-ago 76.5 million, with Constantin's profit plunging to 1.8 million ($2.1 million) from 5.9 million in the comparable period. Theatrical revenue fell to 8.1 million ($9.4 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with 38.9 million for the same period last year.
- 11/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- A weaker theatrical slate that lacked the boxoffice muscle of last year's hits Dreamship Surprise and Downfall affected third-quarter results at leading German independent film producer-distributor Constantin Group, the company said Thursday. Quarterly revenue fell to 49.7 million ($58 million) from a year-ago 76.5 million, with Constantin's profit plunging to 1.8 million ($2.1 million) from 5.9 million in the comparable period. Theatrical revenue fell to 8.1 million ($9.4 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with 38.9 million for the same period last year.
- 11/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- Independent German production and distribution giant Constantin Film said Thursday that it booked a profit of 1.8 million ($2.3 million) on revenue of 57.1 million ($73.2 million) in the first quarter, a slight drop from its results for the same period a year ago. The Munich-based group, which also announced it has sold U.S. and foreign rights to its upcoming werewolf feature Skinwalkers to Lions Gate, said it expects to book pretax profit of at least 9 million ($11.5 million) and revenue of 190 million ($243.5 million) for the full year. That would be well below the 246.9 million in sales and 14.8 million in pretax profit that Constantin made last year. However, the year ago strength came on the back of the phenomenal boxoffice performance of in-house productions Dreamship Surprise and Downfall, which were the first- and fourth-most successful films, respectively, last year in Germany. Not that Constantin's 2005 lineup is without promise. On July 17, the company will bow Tim Story's comic book adaptation Fantastic Four, which Constantin co-produced with 20th Century Fox and Marvel Enterprises. And July 21 sees the release of the fantasy film spoof Siegfried, featuring German comedy star Tom Gerhardt and director Sven Unterwaldt Jr., whose debut 7 Dwarfs was another breakout blockbuster, earning 38 million at the German boxoffice.
- 5/12/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- Independent German production and distribution giant Constantin Film said Thursday that it booked a profit of 1.8 million ($2.3 million) on revenue of 57.1 million ($73.2 million) in the first quarter, a slight drop from its results for the same period a year ago. The Munich-based group, which also announced it has sold U.S. and foreign rights to its upcoming werewolf feature Skinwalkers to Lions Gate, said it expects to book pretax profit of at least 9 million ($11.5 million) and revenue of 190 million ($243.5 million) for the full year. That would be well below the 246.9 million in sales and 14.8 million in pretax profit that Constantin made last year. However, the year ago strength came on the back of the phenomenal boxoffice performance of in-house productions Dreamship Surprise and Downfall, which were the first- and fourth-most successful films, respectively, last year in Germany. Not that Constantin's 2005 lineup is without promise. On July 17, the company will bow Tim Story's comic book adaptation Fantastic Four, which Constantin co-produced with 20th Century Fox and Marvel Enterprises. And July 21 sees the release of the fantasy film spoof Siegfried, featuring German comedy star Tom Gerhardt and director Sven Unterwaldt Jr., whose debut 7 Dwarfs was another breakout blockbuster, earning 38 million at the German boxoffice.
- 5/12/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE -- German indie producer-distributor Constantin Film said Wednesday that the boxoffice success of Oliver Hirschbiegel's Oscar-nominated war epic Downfall and Michael "Bully" Herbig's sci-fi spoof Dreamship Surprise helped it surpass its financial targets for 2004. The company generated revenue of 246.9 million ($318.8 million), more than twice the 114.3 million recorded in 2003, and booked a profit of 7 million ($9 million) after a 9.9 million loss a year ago. Dreamship, a parody of the Star Trek franchise featuring fey versions of Spock, Captain Kirk and Scotty, was the No. 1 film in Germany last year, taking in 51.3 million ($66.3 million).
- 3/30/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE -- David Groenewold's German Film Prods. has boarded the children's film Hui Buh -- Das Schlossgespenst (Hui Buh -- The Castle Ghost), which features local comedy star Michael "Bully" Herbig, Groenwold said Monday. Herbig, who directed and starred in the German boxoffice hits Dreamship Surprise and Manitou's Shoe, plays the title role of the clumsy ghost Hui Buh. The cast also features Heike Makatsch (Love, Actually) and German comedy star Christoph Maria Herbst. GFP will co-finance the film with producers Constantin Film and Christian Becker's Rat Pack Filmproduktion. GFP and Rat Pack previously teamed for last year's comedy spoof The Wanker, a surprise hit which took in more than $14 million at the German boxoffice. Sebastian Niemann, who helmed the German TV movie The Jesus Video for Rat Pack and GFP, will direct Hui Buh.
COLOGNE -- David Groenewold's German Film Productions has boarded the children's film Hui Buh - Das Schlossgespenst (Hui Buh -- The Castle Ghost), which features local comedy star and boxoffice champ Michael "Bully" Herbig, Groenwold said Monday. Herbig, who directed and starred in German comedy boxoffice hits' Dreamship Surprise and Manitou's Shoe, plays the title role of the clumsy ghost Hui Buh. The cast also features Heike Makatsch (Love, Actually) and German comedy star Christoph Maria Herbst. GFP will co-finance the film together with producers Constantin Film and Christian Becker's Rat Pack Filmproduktion. GFP and Rat Pack previously teamed for last year's comedy spoof The Wanker, which was a surprise hit, taking in more than $14 million at the German box office. Sebastian Niemann, who helmed German TV movie The Jesus Video for Rat Pack and GFP, will direct Hui Buh.
COLOGNE, Germany -- Downfall, Oliver Hirschbiegel's controversial depiction of Adolf Hitler's final days, has won the Bavarian Film Prize's audience award, one of Germany's top film honors, prize organizer Bayerische Fernsehen said Wednesday. Downfall beat out such lighter comedy fare as sci-fi spoof (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1, the Snow White parody 7 Dwarfs, lowbrow comedy The Wanker and children's animation film Laura's Star. The drama was chosen by viewers of Bayerische film magazine Kino Kino, listeners of radio station Bayern 3 and readers of regional newspaper the Abendzeitung. Hirschbiegel will receive the award Jan. 14 at a gala ceremony in Munich.
SYDNEY -- The surprise hit this weekend, Seven Dwarves (Sieben Zwerge -- Manner allein im Wald), a German family comedy that United International Pictures acquired for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, went off to work in those territories with a terrific opening weekend total of $12.5 million, according to estimates. In Germany, Seven Dwarves opened No. 1 with a 53% market share and a spectacular weekend gross of around $11.3 million at 752 dates. UIP says this is the third-biggest opening weekend of the year behind another local hit, (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1, with $15.4 million, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at $14.8 million. In Austria, the spoof of the Grimm Brothers' classic fairy tale was No. 1 with a 50% market share and a weekend estimate of $900,000 at 81 dates. Information from Germany-Switzerland is limited but the guesstimate is an "excellent" $250,000 at 39 dates, according to UIP.
- 10/31/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Bavaria Film International has reported sweet sales for Bombon -- El Perro, from Argentine director Carlos Sorin, and German sci-fi comedy (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1 at the Mifed film market in Milan, which wrapped Oct. 16. Bombon, the story of a mechanic in Patagonia who decides to change his life after his adopted mutt wins the local dog show, sold to several European territories, with Alamode Film taking the picture for Germany; Italian rights going to Mikado Film; and sales to Austria (Poly Film), Norway (Arthaus), Switzerland (Trigon Film), Turkey (Barbar) and the former Yugoslavia (Discovery). Best Hollywood picked up Bombon for distribution in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
- 10/26/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MUNICH -- Der Untergang (The Downfall), about Hitler's final days, continued at the No. 1 spot in German theaters for a fourth week in a row and broke through the 3 million-ticket barrier only 27 days after its release, distributors Constantin Film said Wednesday. So far this year, Untergang has been the second homegrown production to rise above the three million mark. The other movie, (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1, also a Constantin film, managed that feat just one weekend after its release in late July and has sold more than 9 million tickets since then. Last year, two homegrown productions sold more than 3 million tickets in Germany: Good bye, Lenin! which scored 6 million, and Das Wunder von Bern (The Miracle of Bern) with 3.1 million.
- 10/14/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MUNICH -- Producers of Germany's top two boxoffice hits last year said Wednesday that they're teaming up on a project that they believe will have the broad appeal of Shrek. Michael Bully Herbig, producer, director, co-writer and star of (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1, (Starship Surprise -- Period 1), which has sold more than 9 million tickets since its release in July, will star in Hui Buh -- Das Schlossgespenst (Hui Buh -- The Castle Ghost). Castle is being produced by Munich-based Rat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH, the Constantin Films subsidiary responsible for Edgar Wallace's summer sleeper hit detective spoof Der Wixxer. With about 2 million tickets sold, it came in a distant but respectable second to Starship.
- 10/7/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SYDNEY -- Buena Vista International proved they had nothing to be afraid of this weekend when The Village proved its global mettle. The M. Night Shyamalan thriller broke the suspense for BVI, opening No. 1 in the United Kingdom with an estimated $5.5 million, well ahead of its nearest competitor, The Bourne Supremacy. The Village also took $5.96 million in France, bumping the international cume to $11.9 million. Buena Vista's other major release, King Arthur, continues to surprise in international boxoffice terms, as it was once again the No. 1 picture internationally this weekend with an estimated $12.5 million and a cume of $92 million. The drama took about $3.8 million in its opening in Germany, the first to knock local favorite (T)Raumshciff Surprise from the top spot. King Arthur held the No. 1 position in Spain ($1.7 million, off 38%) and Argentina ($240,000, off 30%).
- 8/23/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SYDNEY -- Buena Vista International proved they had nothing to be afraid of this weekend when The Village proved its global mettle. The M. Night Shyamalan thriller broke the suspense for BVI, opening No. 1 in the United Kingdom with an estimated $5.5 million, well ahead of its nearest competitor, The Bourne Supremacy. The Village also took $5.96 million in France, bumping the international cume to $11.9 million. Buena Vista's other major release, King Arthur, continues to surprise in international boxoffice terms, as it was once again the No. 1 picture internationally this weekend with an estimated $12.5 million and a cume of $92 million. The drama took about $3.8 million in its opening in Germany, the first to knock local favorite (T)Raumshciff Surprise from the top spot. King Arthur held the No. 1 position in Spain ($1.7 million, off 38%) and Argentina ($240,000, off 30%).
- 8/22/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Germany's boxoffice regained some of its momentum in the first half of this year, with ticket revenue inching up 1.4% to 420 million ($517.7 million), according to official figures released Wednesday by the German Film Board. The official tally confirmed earlier estimates that more than 1 million more tickets were sold in the first six months of the year compared with the same period last year, representing a total of 72.3 million admissions. Leading the pack were The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as well as two Hollywood films by German directors: Wolfgang Petersen's Troy and Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow. There were no German films released in the first half of 2004 to match the success of last year's Good bye, Lenin! and the market share for German films slipped to 13.9% from a year-earlier 17.1%. But those figures don't take into account the astronomical business generated by Constantin Film's (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1 (Spaceship Surprise -- Period 1). The sci-fi spoof by Michael Bully Herbig regained the No. 1 spot in its fourth session last weekend, bringing its total earnings to 40.8 million ($50.3 million). Spaceship is already the year's No. 1 release, and if it continues its record-breaking pace, it could single-handedly push the market share for German films this year to something approaching 20%, industry observers said.
- 8/19/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- German sci-fi spoof (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1 continued its record-breaking run at the German boxoffice, selling more than 5 million tickets in its first 12 days of release, distributor Constantin Film said Wednesday. Surprise becomes the fastest film to cross the 5 million-ticket mark this year in Germany and ranks third overall in the territory. Only the second and third installments of The Lord of the Rings trilogy managed to cross the benchmark faster.
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo has found its German gigolo in the form of Til Schweiger. The Teutonic actor will play Heinz Hummer, a suave, cocky, high-ranking German gigolo whose life is threatened before the 73rd Annual Man Whore Awards. Rob Schneider and Eddie Griffin star in the Happy Madison sequel, which begins lensing this month in Amsterdam. Sony is financing and distributing. Schweiger is currently starring in the German Star Trek spoof (T)Raumschiff Surprise-Periode 1. Schweiger is represented by J.B. Roberts of Thruline Entertainment, and ICM.
Despite slips of 10%-50% at the boxoffice in many European territories, a number of key films continued to chalk up solid returns in the face of a period of especially pleasant outdoor weather. Twentieth Century Fox's I, Robot joined the blockbuster parade as summer tentpoles Spider-Man 2, King Arthur, Shrek 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban added to their overseas laurels. In addition, the documentary phenomenon Fahrenheit 9/11 and the German sci-fi spoof (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1 maintained a strong pace. Smaller pieces of the weekend boxoffice action went to Garfield, The Stepford Wives, Home on the Range and early dates of Catwoman.
With a batch of tentpole entries playing around the world, the summer boxoffice overseas continued to thrive despite a falloff in parts of Europe because of fine outdoor weather. Highlights of a busy weekend included the early foreign turnaround of Walt Disney Co. domestic disappointment King Arthur, the record-breaking top-of-the-market opening of Germany's homemade (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1 (Spaceship Surprise -- Period 1, the unofficial English translation), the offshore market's ongoing approval of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and the holdover power of Spider-Man 2, Shrek 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
- 7/27/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BERLIN -- German sci-fi spoof (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1 zoomed past the competition to go where no German film has gone before, earning 13.1 million ($15.9 million) on its first weekend, its distributor Constantin said Monday. The figure represents the best ever four-day take for a German film and the third-highest overall in the territory. The opening weekend of Surprise is the best so far this year, beating out the first weekend of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ($15 million), Spider-Man 2 ($9.2 million) and Shrek 2 ($8.8 million) in Germany.
- 7/27/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- To stir up blockbuster fever and entice local audiences away from the temptations of warm summer weather and televised sports, Austrian exhibitor Constantin Group has launched a plan to lock in customers for some of the summer's hottest studio movies, the distributor said Wednesday. Cineplex Unlimited, launched last month, offers cinemagoers blocks of 10 tickets for 25 ($30), a huge discount on the regular 7.5-8 ($9-$9.60) Austrians shell out for top movies. Nine of the tickets are for upcoming summer blockbusters, while buyers can choose one film themselves. The films included are Shrek 2, Troy, Spider-Man 2, The Day After Tomorrow, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Catwoman, I, Robot, Around the World in 80 Days and (T)Raumschiff Surprise -- Periode 1, the latest genre spoof from German director Michael Herbig, whose Manitou's Shoe was a huge hit in Austria.
- 6/17/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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