BOX OFFICE
Gross box office in the European Union (EU) and the U.K. grew by 70% in 2022 compared with 2021 – from €3 billion ($3.27 billion) to €5.1 billion ($5.57 billion), down by 28% on pre-pandemic levels. The numbers were revealed in the 2023 edition of Focus – World Film Market Trends, a report which is prepared each year for the Cannes film market.
Three U.S. films, “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” topped the European charts in 2022, selling 34.4 million, 30.6 and 30.2 million tickets throughout the calendar year respectively. Cinema attendance in the EU and the U.K. increased by 63% from 403 million tickets sold in 2021 to an estimated 657 million in 2022, representing 67% of the average pre-pandemic admission level registered between 2017 and 2019.
European films also performed well and market share for European films increased year-on-year from 26.8% to 28.4% in 2022, the report recorded. It also notes that film production in the EU and the U.K. continued to grow and reached their second highest level in recent history.
The number of cinema screens continued to remain relatively stable, decreasing by some 300 screens from 32,833 screens in 2019, to 32,526 screens operational in the EU and the U.K. in 2022.
RENEWAL
BBC drama “SAS Rogue Heroes” is returning for a second season, with filming underway on the new episodes in the U.K. and Croatia. The hit show, created by Steven Knight and produced by Banijay U.K.‘s Kudos for the BBC and MGM+, is inspired by Ben Macintyre’s bestselling book of the same name. The first season premiered on BBC One and iPlayer in the fall of 2020 and garnered praise from both audiences and critics, attracting 9.4 million viewers.
The upcoming season will again explore the origins of special forces unit SAS. Set in spring 1943, the SAS must shift their focus from the conflict in North Africa to mainland Europe. However, their future is in doubt, as headquarters questions the regiment’s importance, and a new unit is created. Meanwhile, a surprise arrival makes things even more challenging for the men.
Returning for the second season are Jack O’Connell, Connor Swindells, Sofia Boutella and Dominic West. Dudley Clarke. The cast also includes Gwilym Lee and Con O’Neill. In addition, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Corin Silva, Jacob Ifan, Jacob McCarthy, Stuart Campbell, and Bobby Schofield will reprise their roles, while Mark Rowley and Jack Barton join the series as new SAS members.
“SAS Rogue Heroes” season 2 (6 x 60’) is created, written and executive produced by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) and is directed by Stephen Woolfenden (“Outlander”) with Stephen Smallwood (“The Serpent”) as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Emma Kingsman-Lloyd and Martin Haines for Kudos, and Nick Lambon for the BBC. It will air on BBC One and iPlayer in the U.K., MGM+ in the U.S. and is distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.
KILLER CONTENT
Prime Video has set June 1 as the upload date for “Cattleya Killer,”an Amazon exclusive crime-thriller series from The Philippines. The six-episode series is produced by ABS-CBN International Production and Nathan Studios and is adapted from 1990s Filipino film,“In My Own Hands” (aka “Sa Aking Mga Kamay”). It will play in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other selected territories.
Many years after an infamous serial killer episode, the man who cracked the case, Joven de la Rosa (Christopher de Leon, reprising his role from the film), is now an NBI deputy director. His youngest son Anton (Arjo Atayde) is one of his top agents, while his eldest son Benjie (Jake Cuenca) runs a foundation for traumatized women. Everybody has moved on from the tragic events of the past, but when a body is found bearing the telltale markings of the long-dead Cattleya Killer, the lives of the three men and everyone around them are thrown into turmoil.
Dan Villegas (“Exes Baggage,” “English Only, Please”) directs the series from a script by Dodo Dayao. Other cast include Zsa Zsa Padilla, Jane Oineza, Ria Atayde, Ricky Davao and Nonie Buencamino.
UNscriptED UPLOAD
Prime Video will next month begin airing “EXchange,” a Japanese reversioning of CJ ENM’s format “Love Transit” that originally played as “EXchange” in Korea on Tving. “Exchange” will be available from June 15.
The show features ex-couples living together in a house and sharing their daily lives while going through various dating missions to build new relationships with each other. The identities of each participant’s ex are concealed, and at the end of each day, anonymous messages revealing each person’s current love interest are delivered.
“EXchange” attracted high levels of fan following and audience engagement in Korea, with live theatrical screenings arranged for the final episode of season two. “Korean entertainment shows are the next big trend,” said Seo Jangho, SVP of content business at CJ ENM.
VIRTUAL VOICES
ITV Studios and The Virtual Brand Group have launched “The Voice Studios,” an immersive free virtual experience that takes fans on a musical journey to find their voice, just like the contestants on the Emmy-winning series “The Voice.” “The Voice Studios” will be available in 148 different versions around the world, offering fans a chance to create their own music, show off their dancing skills, compete in battle rounds, test their musical knowledge and audition for an upcoming season of the hit show.
In addition, fans can audition in an NBC metaverse fan zone, where they can win limited edition virtual clothing that is exactly like what celebrity coaches Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper, Niall Horan and Blake Shelton gift to their teams on the primetime show. The initiative is timed to debut in the final weeks of NBC’s 23rd season of “The Voice.”
CAR SHORT
BMW Films production “The Calm,” a short film starring Uma Thurman, Pom Klementieff and the BMW i7 M70 xDrive, will premiere on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival. Joseph Kosinski is the executive producer, Sam Hargrave the director, with a music score from Hans Zimmer.
Thurman and Klementieff play a pair of secret agents who have been summoned separately to a meet point in Cannes. But first, the duo have to fight off some mysterious adversaries. Klementieff narrowly escapes a hijacking after an action-packed tussle in the rear of the BMWi7M70xDrive. And later she discovers that Thurman has had a similar altercation (off-screen) in her hotel room, getting the better of two villains. The two protagonists duly come together in the Hotel Martinez to piece together the story behind their secret mission.
“The Calm”will be shown for the first time exclusively in the rear of the all-electric luxury sedan BMW i7 on May 17, on the BMW Theatre Screen. a 31.3″ panoramic display, which extends down from the headliner and spreads out horizontally across virtually the full width of the interior, and has an integrated Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system.
Watch the trailer here:
