Mexican govt, film distrib tries to clean up its act Argentina

90
Latin Survey-Film
Mexican govt, film distrib
tries to clean up its act
Amid charges of dirty
tricks and a steady loss
of markets, Pel-Mex looks
to bounce back
Alfonso Rosas Priego, director
of the National Producers Assn.,
even went so far as to urge the
privatization of Pel-Mex, explaining die sale would remove it from
the quirky mismanagement tied to
the government's "sexenio" sysMexico City Peliculas Mex- tem, where every six years the
icanas, the government firm company falls under a new addevoted to international distribUi. ministration's rules.
tion of Mexican films, has gone
"In the '50s and '60s, Pel-Mex
through a difficult decade, but was numero uno in Colombian disgeneral director Fernando Rodri- tribution," said Cine Banderas
guez Gonzalez says the company is chief Clemente Gomez Perez, Pelundergoing a major change.
Mex's Colombian affil. "But we
Known alternately as Pel-Mex have lost an important market and
or Pelimex, the 45-year-old firm over the past eight years we have
has been steadily losing important fallen to last place. Our biggest
U.S. and Latin American markets. problem is tJiat there is no product.
Affils claim they receive the same In die meantime, kung fufilmsand
old films again and again with lit- other action movies have filled die
tle new product. Producers charge space."
non-payment of royalties as well
Venezuelan Pel-Mex rep Enas double and triple-sale of film rique Basaguren Garcia, of Cinerights to international theatrical matografica Venezolana Pelimex,
and homevid markets.
echoes his Colombian counterpart.
Argentina s top grossing foreign films in '88
Buenos Aires The foreign films listed below were seen by the
largest numbers of spectators in Argentina in 1988. All films seen
by at least 100,000 spectators countrywide are listed. In Argentina,
because of high inflation rates, spectator figures are commonly given
rather than the dollar take, since the rate for calculating die latter
varies almost daily.
The column reading ' 'Screen Days" actually refers to screen days
multiplied by die number of screens showing the film; i.e., if a picture was shown for just one week, but at two cinemas simultaneously,
the number of "screen days" is not seven but 14.
Productions from years previous to 1988, if still in the running last
year, are included.
Title
Total Spectator s Screen Days
"Las aventuras de Chatran"
1,381,117
2,459
"Fatal Attraction"
1,319,274
3,057
"Rambo III"
659,196
1,733
"Mannequin"
631,889
1,619
"The Last Emperor"
598,274
1,549
"No Way Out"
555,096
1,482
"Moonstruck"
546,476
1,562
"Full Metal Jacket"
434,900
1,976
1,679
"Masters Of The Universe"
392,498
"Dirty Dancing"
383,682
1,132
"Dark Eyes"
352,961
792
"Superman IV"
345,372
1,385
"Wall Street"
335,479
1,159
"The Return Of The American Ninj a"
314,615
1,108
"No Retreat, No Surrender"
254,852
1,404
"Empire Of The Sun"
249,079
1,032
"Temple Of The Sun"
243,009
1,132
"Nightmare On Elm Street III"
224,227
961
"Jaws — The Revenge"
199,609
1,328
"Robocop"
196,942
1,394
"Crocodile Dundee II"
194,738
1,006
"Emmanuelle"
194,627
895
"Harry And The Hendersons"
1,221
194,402
"The Running Man"
180,185
995
"Police Academy V"
167,599
765
"Broadcast News"
165,199
675
"Three Men And A Baby"
153,567
768
"La iniciazione"
151,675
509
"Bagdad Cafe"
150,664
349
"Red Heat"
149,519
742
"Who's That Girt"
785
139,005
"El fierecillo domado II"
131,859
780
"Baby Boom"
640
131,678
"Bloodsport"
130,301
215
"Stakeout"
108,072
715
"Big"
449
103,781
"Innerspace"
100,103
713
March 22-28,1989
' 'We don't know where we're going, '' he said.' 'The main problem
is we can't get films. In 1988, we
only distributed about 45 Mexican
films, of which only 15 were new
and the rest were reissues. The last
good boxoffice film was 'La Nina
de la Mochila Azul,' which was
10 years ago. We haven't had one
success since."
Per Basaguren Garcia, die local
firm survives through its distribution of Venezuelan fare, which
does well nationally.
In the U.S., Michael Donnelly,
former chief of the English-language division of Pel-Mex' U.S.
distrib arm Azteca, notes tine of
the main problems witii Pel-Mex is
disorganization. "For a while the
company was replacing company
heads every couple of months, and
finally everything came to a standstill."
Argentina: top earning domestic pics in '88
Buenos Aires Listed below are the biggest-drawing Argentine films
at local cinemas in 1988. The figures are countrywide. All films seen
by at least 5,000 spectators are listed. Leftover releases from the
previous year are included.
The column reading "Screen Days" actually refers to screen days
multiplied by the number of screens showing the film; i.e., ifapicture was shown for just one week, but at two cinemas simultaneously,
the number of "screen days" is not seven but 14.
Spectators Screen Days
Title
"Sur"
"Expedition Atlantis"
"Petete y Trapito"
"Attracion peculiar"
"La deuda interna"
"Los extraterrestres no se rinden"
"Los pilotos mas locos del mundo"
"Las puertitas del Sr. Lopez"
"El profesor punk"
"Tres alegres fugitivos"
"Paraiso relax (Casa de masajes)"
"Lo que vendra"
"Extrahas salvajes"
"Permiso para pensar"
"Alguien te esta mirando"
"Los amores de Kafka"
"La clinica loca"
"Ico, el caballito valiente"
"Mama querida"
"El manosanta esta cargado"
"El amor es una mujer gorda"
"El camino de sur"
"Made In Argentina"
"Hombre mirando al sudeste"
"La clinica del doctor Cureta"
"Los matamonstruos/mansion del terror"
"Abierto de 18 a 24"
"Gracias pos los servicios"
"Tango, baile nuestro"
"Relacion prohibida"
"Rosa de lejos"
"Los baheros mas locos del mundo"
"Johnny Tolengo el majestuoso"
"El aho del conejo"
"Billetes, billetes..."
"Sin fin (La muerte/ninguna solution)"
"El color esconido"
"Galeria del terror"
'Egg on our face'
Per one Mexican producer,
' 'Pel-Mex sold a package of 20 of
our films in Brazil without telling
us. Later, when we found a buyer
and went to register die titles, we
found they were already registered. We were left with egg on
our face.'' Anodier producer notes
one of his products had been triplesold to U.S. homevid companies.
Ahhough he denies the second
allegation, Rodriguez Gonzalez
explained the Brazilian double-sale
was die result of "a crooked lawyer who never possessed the rights
to me films in the first place. The
lawyer is currently being sued by
Pel-Mex."
Rodriguez
Gonzalez
acknowledges there have been some
problems, but says Pel-Mex is
changing its ways and undergoing
major restructuring. One of die
few holdovers from the past administration, Rodriguez Gonzalez
was reappointed Pel-Mex chief in
based on selling nostalgia to unJanuary.
But past mistakes have reflected documented workers. Now we are
badly on Peliculas Mexicanas. The looking at two new target auproblem was compounded when diences: middle-class Spanishcurrency restrictions were estab- speakers and the U.S. public mat
lished in Mexico in 1983, and Pel- likes foreign films."
Mex was unable to make remitHe explains mat die U.S. martance payments to producers. ket, while important, has been a
Company was suddenly usurped in factor in the declining quality of
the important U.S. Spanish-lingo Mexican movies. "The sheer volmarket by two rivals, Mexcinema ume of films needed meant quanand American General, founded tity hurt quality. Since the films
by dissatisfied
independent were screened in double bills, this
producers who continue to with- meant our industry had to maintain
hold fresh product from Pel-Mex a steady supply — close to 100 per
markets. The two firms dominate year — to keep up with demand.''
the U.S. Mexican-film market.
Against the tide
For die past six years, Pel-Mex
To reverse this trend of industry
has continued as best it can, making no new advances while form- quickies, Rodriguez Gonzalez
er markets continue to slip from its notes the company will counter
grasp and competition grows competition widi quality product.
"We are currently revising our
stronger.
Helming die firm tiirough this stock, finding quality movies,
period, Rodriguez Gonzalez is fa- striking new prints, subtiding diem
miliar widi Pel-Mex' cloudy histo- in English and establishing relary. He readily admits to "terrible" tions widi U.S. exhibition chains
past mistakes, but says die compa- that cater to foreign films," he
ny has a new gameplan that in- said.
volves restructuring die firm and
Pel-Mex began by unveiling a 6reorienting its activities toward die film package at the Cinetex Fest in
U.S. English-lingo market, previ- Las Vegas last September under
ously ignored by die competition. the banner "The New Mexican
' 'We are developing otiier mar- Cinema." Package featured the
keting techniques," he said. "In following tides:' 'El Imperio de la
the past, our efforts have been Fortuna" (The Realm Of For-
649,984
514,118
401,287
395,380
372,031
303,933
299,773
277,623
260,259
228,499
147,557
120,430
61,445
46,645
43,713
40,708
37,299
26,496
23,765
19,985
17,518
16,342
14,346
12,892
12,146
10,063
9,829
9,252
8,238
7,588
7,575
6,734
6,510
6,412
5,951
5,940
5,254
5,055
1,721
2,163
1,332
1,889
1,279
1,166
1,622
1,300
1,174
1,103
1,067
641
570
30
239
163
507
272
125
269
87
98
137
157
173
134
66
90
35
115
7
58
60
81
94
24
46
76
tune); the Cuban-Mexican biopic
on the life of Benny More "El
Barbara del Ritmo" (Today Like
Yesterday); "Lo Que Importa Es
Vivir" (Living Is What Matters);
"Dias Dificiles" (Difficult Days);
"El Ultimo Tunel" (The Last
Tunnel); and "Mariana, Mariana."
Although this project is costly
and time-consuming, Rodriguez
Gonzalez claims Pel-Mex can
guarantee a 52-week package. It
will be handled tiirough a "newly
restructured" Azteca, which has
been all but paralyzed in recent
years.
In a late-February agreement
between die Mexican Film Institute and Mexico's Producers and
Distributors Assn., Azteca is
returning over 800 prints tiiat belong to private producers. Even
though Pel-Mex rights to these
prints had expired, producers had
been unable to retrieve diem during the past administration. This
had been anodier point of contention between die state and die private sector.
According to Rodriguez Gonzalez, anotiier new Pel-Mex policy
will be to distributefilmsfrom odier LatAm countries. "We can do
this," he explained, "because we
have die infrastructure already in
place."