Buena Vista Intl. tops $1 bln overseas for 11th straight year!
11-16-05, 05:33 PM
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Buena Vista Intl. tops $1 bln overseas for 11th straight year!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051116/.../buenavista_dc
By Hy Hollinger
Wed Nov 16, 2:36 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Buena Vista International, the foreign distribution arm of the Walt Disney Co., reached $1 billion in overseas boxoffice revenue Tuesday, stretching a remarkable industry record that has seen the company hit that mark for 11 consecutive years.
BVI became the third major studio to surpass $1 billion this year, an achievement that some see as a sign that the international business might be recovering from the decline of the first half of the year.
20th Century Fox International reached the $1 billion benchmark at the end of June, marking the fifth time the company has hit the mark. It had only two consecutive years, 1998 and 1999.
Warner Bros. Pictures' overseas unit, which achieved $1 billion at the end of August, is BVI's closest competitor, having hit $1 billion eight times, five times in row since 2001.
BVI's run started in 1995, two years after the international division was established with Mark Zoradi as president, a post he continues to hold in addition to heading Buena Vista Home Entertainment International.
This year might have been BVI's toughest in reaching the $1 billion apex, because it lacked a formidable summer blockbuster and was without a traditional animated offering for the season.
"This was a challenging year for us," said Zoradi, who nevertheless called 2005 "very rewarding," noting that the company's four top-grossing movies were Disney-branded -- "National Treasure," "The Incredibles," "The Pacifier" and "Herbie: Fully Loaded."
"The strategic shift to Disney-branded films has become very important in our product lineup," he added. The company's other film brands are Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films.
BVI has released 32 films so far this year, with 10 percent of the boxoffice revenue coming from the production or acquisition of local-language pictures. About $10 million or more was provided by each of 26 films.
As of now, two BVI entries have topped $100 million this year -- "National Treasure" and "The Incredibles."
Zoradi, who feels strongly that this year's October-December period will track better for the industry than the comparable frame of 2004, is confident that BVI will add three more $100 million-plus achievers to its 2005 roster -- "Flightplan," "Chicken Little" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Considering how we (Disney) have sucked so much, domestically this year, this is a pretty big achievement. So far this year, only The Pacifier has surpassed the $100M mark this year, which is pretty pathetic by Disney standards. And it looks like only 2 more, maybe 3 'Buena Vista' movies will surpass $100M at the domestic box office, which equals a bad year for Disney.
So this overseas talley of at least $1B box office, is pretty remarkable.
Chris
By Hy Hollinger
Wed Nov 16, 2:36 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Buena Vista International, the foreign distribution arm of the Walt Disney Co., reached $1 billion in overseas boxoffice revenue Tuesday, stretching a remarkable industry record that has seen the company hit that mark for 11 consecutive years.
BVI became the third major studio to surpass $1 billion this year, an achievement that some see as a sign that the international business might be recovering from the decline of the first half of the year.
20th Century Fox International reached the $1 billion benchmark at the end of June, marking the fifth time the company has hit the mark. It had only two consecutive years, 1998 and 1999.
Warner Bros. Pictures' overseas unit, which achieved $1 billion at the end of August, is BVI's closest competitor, having hit $1 billion eight times, five times in row since 2001.
BVI's run started in 1995, two years after the international division was established with Mark Zoradi as president, a post he continues to hold in addition to heading Buena Vista Home Entertainment International.
This year might have been BVI's toughest in reaching the $1 billion apex, because it lacked a formidable summer blockbuster and was without a traditional animated offering for the season.
"This was a challenging year for us," said Zoradi, who nevertheless called 2005 "very rewarding," noting that the company's four top-grossing movies were Disney-branded -- "National Treasure," "The Incredibles," "The Pacifier" and "Herbie: Fully Loaded."
"The strategic shift to Disney-branded films has become very important in our product lineup," he added. The company's other film brands are Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films.
BVI has released 32 films so far this year, with 10 percent of the boxoffice revenue coming from the production or acquisition of local-language pictures. About $10 million or more was provided by each of 26 films.
As of now, two BVI entries have topped $100 million this year -- "National Treasure" and "The Incredibles."
Zoradi, who feels strongly that this year's October-December period will track better for the industry than the comparable frame of 2004, is confident that BVI will add three more $100 million-plus achievers to its 2005 roster -- "Flightplan," "Chicken Little" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Considering how we (Disney) have sucked so much, domestically this year, this is a pretty big achievement. So far this year, only The Pacifier has surpassed the $100M mark this year, which is pretty pathetic by Disney standards. And it looks like only 2 more, maybe 3 'Buena Vista' movies will surpass $100M at the domestic box office, which equals a bad year for Disney.
So this overseas talley of at least $1B box office, is pretty remarkable.
Chris
