Box office report and upcoming releases of French films.
Netflix takes over the lease of the Paris Theatre in New York and reveals its viewership figures for the first time.
The end of the Paramount Consent Decrees.
BOX OFFICE
After several relatively sluggish months for foreign films at the box office, there is a reason to celebrate: two subtitled films are doing very well. Pain and Glory (Sony Classics) has registered $3.35 million, but it is above all Parasite (Neon) which has encountered unprecedented success, with $16.5 million, reaching a far wider audience than the traditional one that turns out for foreign fare. In terms of French films, By the Grace of God received exceptional reviews (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), unfortunately not reflected in the moviegoers it attracted ($55,000 in box office revenues). As for Edmond, released by Roadside Attractions, it received lukewarm reviews and to date has tallied only $51,000 at the box office.
FRENCH FILMS RELEASING
Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma (Neon/Hulu) – December 6 (New York only) + 14 February 2020
Les Misérables by Ladj Ly (Amazon Studios) – 10 January 10, 2020
Zombi Child by Bertrand Bonnello (Film Movement) – January 24, 2020
NETFLIX
Netflix has taken over the lease of the Paris Theatre in New York. This single-screen arthouse theater had closed its doors in the summer of 2019 due to increased rent. Netflix will use it to screen its own films, beginning with Marriage Story by Noah Baumbach, which has been out for two weeks. Parallel to this, Netflix continues to give a 2-to-4 week theatrical window to its most prestitigious titles, such asThe Irishman, by arranging deals with independent theater operators (the AMC and Regal chains continue to refuse Netflix films).
For the first time, Netflix has revealed its viewership figures: Bird Box (starring Sandra Bullock) and the comedy Murder Mystery (starring Dany Boon!) are the two big winners, with respectively 80 and 73 million plays. In terms of series, Stranger Things far outstrips all the others.
STUDIOS
November was marked by the end of what is known in Hollywood as the Paramount Consent Decrees, which have existed since the 1940s: all the major American studios will now be able to again run movie theaters in the United States, something that was prohibited to most of them until now. Confronted by recent market shifts and, in particular, by the arrival of streaming giants, the Department of Justice's Makan Delrahim, who leads the department's antitrust division, has decided to review the regulations.