Oh, All the Places Films Go

Oh, All the Places Films Go

One hundred years ago, moving pictures were still a relatively new form of media that were just starting to catch on. However, the idea of sending a finished film from country to country for viewing was not encouraged. The film that cameras used is very fragile, easy to damage, and susceptible to burning. But today, releasing films internationally is very common. Almost every film made today is digital, therefore lessening the problems that actual film brought. There is no physical copy that can be damaged by being held improperly and they will not spontaneously combust. The real reason, though, for the increase in international releases has to do with the expensive budgets of today’s films. The average budget of a film is $70 million. This is why films are sent across the world: to make money.

The globalization of the film industry is a long process, and there are two reasons for why it was so important. First, film festivals and awards ceremonies began opening there competition to all film markets. For example, the Academy Awards (Oscars) did not feature an award for Best Foreign Language Film until 1956, at the 29^th Oscars. This development has mainly targeted the critical acclaim aspect of a film’s success. This development has also brought box office success, but it is not the driving force. Second, other countries wanted to see Hollywood films. This is where the full-blown money aspect comes from. Hollywood studios realized that this was a way for films to make an even bigger profit, leaving more money left over after the humongous budget was paid off.

As a comparison, here are two ways that globalization has affected the outcome of film’s success. The first example is Avatar (2009), an American film directed by James Cameron. This film is the highest grossing film of all time without adjusted inflation. It had (roughly) a $237 million budget. Worldwide, Avatar made over 10 times its budget, finishing its theatrical run with $2,787,965,087. It was shown on over 14,000 movie screens across the world. In the U.S. and Canada, is grossed a little over $760 million. However, the other $2 billion dollars in box office revenue came from international theatres.

The second example is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), a Taiwanese film directed by Ang Lee. Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director who has received widespread acclaim for many of his films, many of which were released in English, rather than his native language. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was also produced by China, Hong Kong, and the United States. Upon its release and in the following aftermath, Crouching Tiger achieved two things. First, the critical acclaim that was a desire first introduced in the mid-1900s. This film was a monumental success among critics. It won numerous awards and was placed in many critics Top 10 lists for films of 2000. At the Oscars, it won four awards: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score. It was even nominated for both Best Picture and Best Director (Ang Lee). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also accomplished the Hollywood section of globalization, box office success. The success of this film was not expected, especially the public reception in the United States. Crouching Tiger actually grossed more money in the North America than it did in all other international venues combined. The final statistics are $128,078,872 in North America and $85,446,864 internationally for a combined $213,525,736 box office catch.

Here are some articles on this information:

• http://criticstop10.com/best-of-2000/
• http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=foreign.htm
• http://www.economist.com/node/18178291
• http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/hollywood-era-globalization 

Here is a video that addresses Hollywood's attempts at garnering success in foreign markets:

(This video is most relevant from 1:00-1:30)