Brazil’s Theatrical Market Gradually Recovers, but Still Way Below 2019

As someone who has been closely following the global film industry, particularly the Brazilian market, I find Hernan Viviano’s insightful comments truly inspiring. His extensive experience with Warner and Universal, two of the biggest names in Hollywood, provides a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities that the industry is currently facing.

Since the pandemic dip, Brazil’s theater market has been on a steady comeback starting from 2021. However, the speed of this recovery has slowed down this year due to the double impact of major Hollywood film releases in 2023.

2019 saw a whopping 173 million tickets sold nationwide, as reported by Brazil’s cinema agency Ancine. However, the following year in 2020, this figure plummeted drastically to only 39 million. Yet, starting from 2021, ticket sales began to climb back up noticeably and hit 114 million in 2023, suggesting that a return to the ticket sales levels before the pandemic might be imminent.

However, the absence of a consistent supply of American blockbusters, due to what’s known as the Hollywood double whammy, has slowed down the rate of growth. From January to September 25 this year, total ticket sales reached 91 million, which is only a 1.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024. In this time frame, the box office revenue amounted to 1.8 billion reais ($331 million), showing an increment of just 1.1% compared to last year.

Due to pandemic-related suspensions of filming, cinema closures, and calendar adjustments, the market had to reevaluate its stance upon reopening and adapt to win back Brazilian audiences. This remains a difficult task, but there’s clearly an intriguing recovery process underway. We are incredibly hopeful about the future of our industry in Brazil, according to Hernan Viviano, VP Latam at Warner and Universal, speaking with EbMaster.

Regarding the work stoppage from last year, there were some projects that got pushed back, however, we have an exciting lineup of much-anticipated premieres and a robust schedule planned for the upcoming months.

At Expocine 2024, our studio plans to exhibit a collection of films, including “The Room Next Door” by Pedro Almodovar, “Red One,” Bong Joon-ho’s “Mickey 17,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” the biopic on Michael Jackson titled “Michael,” and the eleventh and final installment of “The Fast and the Furious” series.

Marcelo Lima, CEO of Tonks and organizer of Expocine, anticipates that it could take between 2 to 3 years for the U.S. blockbuster influx to return to normal levels and for the Brazilian market to fully bounce back.

As a movie enthusiast, I’m excited to share that the highly anticipated film “Joker: Folie à Deux” is Warner Bros.’ big release this week in Brazil. This masterpiece, directed by Todd Phillips, stars the incredible talents of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Meanwhile, Sony has announced that they will be releasing “Venom: The Last Dance” on October 24, featuring the captivating performance of Tom Hardy.

In Lima’s opinion, three compelling factors could entice substantial numbers of cinema-goers in Brazil during November. These include the release of the Brazilian animated film “Noah’s Arc” on November 7th, the premiere of Ridley Scott’s sequel to “Gladiator,” titled “Gladiator 2,” on November 14th, and the screening of “Moana 2” by Disney on November 28th.

Starting in December, which coincides with Brazil’s summer break, Disney is set to debut “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Dec. 19), an impressively animated film using photo-realistic techniques. Furthermore, Brazilian production “A Dog’s Will 2” (“O Auto da Compadecida 2”), slated for release on Dec. 25 through H2O, is anticipated to perform exceptionally well towards the end of this year and into January 2025.

Lima contradicts the viewpoint of certain experts who suggest that streaming services are harming the movie theater industry in Brazil.

The gentleman stated that streaming services don’t pose a challenge to movie theaters, nor do traditional broadcasters, HVS, DVDs, Blu-rays, or pay-TV. The issue in Brazil and throughout South America is our heavy reliance on American content, which has led to a scarcity of blockbuster movies.

I’m convinced that the theatrical market will expand in Brazil and globally. Theatrical releases will remain the most prestigious platform, offering significant value to intellectual properties, and they will continue to be highly lucrative.

2024-10-04 15:47

Brazil’s Theatrical Market Gradually Recovers, but Still Way Below 2019

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