Film industry to post dip in revenue

However, the association forecasts that next year’s take will improve to Bt5 billion, driven by a line-up of Hollywood films.

NFTFA president Visoot Poolvaraluk said yesterday that there were fewer big blockbusters in the cinemas this year. This was also part of a global trend.

Local filmmakers also faced tough competition as new production houses and independent outfits flocked into the market. As a result, the number of local films rose sharply to 70, from 50 movies last year.

“However, Hollywood films still take the lion’s share of the market in terms of revenue, accounting for 74 per cent, while 25 per cent were local films. The rest were Japanese, South Korean, Chinese and Indian movies,” Visoot said.

He said Hollywood films would play an important role again in the coming year. There are more than 10 big blockbusters lined up for 2015, including “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, “Jurassic World”, “Terminator Genisys”, “Furious 7”, “Mission: Impossible 5”, “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens”, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”, “Spectre” (in the James Bond series), “Cinderella” and “The Divergent Series: Insurgent”.

Encouraged by those killer films, the industry is expected to grow next year to Bt5 billion, while local films will maintain their 25-per-cent market share.

Speaking as co-chief executive officer of filmmaker GMM Tai Hub (GTH), Visoot said his company was planning to produce three comedy movies for next year, on par with this year’s figure. Estimated investment for new projects in next year would be about Bt25 million to Bt30 million each.

GTH targets Bt600 million in revenue this year. Of total income, Bt470 million will come from three movies – “Teacher’s Diary” (Bt100 million), “The Swimmers” (Bt70 million) and “I Fine Thank You Love You” (Bt300 million). The rest will come from artist management, sponsorships and merchandise.