Indian filmmakers under-utilise digital revenue streams: Fox top man

“Each time there has been a doomsday threat to the entertainment business, it has become a great opportunity, and business has expanded not despite the threats, but because of them,” says Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO, Fox Filmed Entertainment.

He was speaking at ScreenSingapore, a film business event organised by the Media Development Authority of Singapore from June 5-12.

“When multi-channel TV came in the 1980s, it was seen as the big challenge to the film business,” he observed. “But both box office and TV channels grew, increasing studio revenue. Similarly today, there are low cost, digital entertainment alternatives to film, which mean lower margins. But the fact is, wherever you are, entertainment is within arm’s reach.”

Digital technology has brought a revolution in entertainment, he pointed out — in film production, information, and consumer access.

“In production, apart from making low budget (regular) films using digital cameras, you could produce entire films like Ice Age using digital technology. You could use multiple digital platforms to generate business, including imdb.com, Flixster, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Amazon. And you could digitally access entertainment through multiple digital platforms, including multi-channel video providers, video-on-demand, iTunes and Playstation,” he says.

Indian filmmakers currently under-utilise digital revenue streams, and Mr Gianopulos did some number crunching to buttress his point: Facebook has 662 million users and Twitter 253 million unique visitors. There are 500 million broadband users worldwide and 200 million iTune accounts. 18 million Tablets (a kind of personal computer) and 500 million smartphones were sold worldwide in 2010; 85 million HD TVs and 60 million Blu-ray players; 25 million X-box consoles and 30 million Playstation consoles.

“To give an example of how these can be exploited: the online trailer of X-Men: First Class got 4 million views in a single day,” Gianopulos said. “With greater choice and control, the consumer spends greater time and disposable income on entertainment across multiple devices, so its potential is astounding. Therefore, investment in infrastructure, and development of these ancillary industries, is critical for the growth of the entertainment industry,” Gianopulos emphasised.

Putting Indian and Asian film production in context, Gianopulos said that worldwide box office was $29 billion in 2009, of which $10 billion was from the US and $19 billion from international box office. In 2010, international box office was $21 billion, of which Asia contributed 42% or $8.8 billion, he pointed out. The Indian film box office was about $2 billion and China’s was about $1.5 billion in 2010. Fox Star Studios’ My Name is Khan made $47 million worldwide.

— Meenakshi Shedde is India Consultant to the Berlin, Locarno and Amsterdam Film Festivals and Curator to festivals worldwide.