{"id":19482,"date":"2017-04-04T10:28:55","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T15:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=19482"},"modified":"2017-04-04T10:28:55","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T15:28:55","slug":"iff-panama-central-american-box-office-grows-8-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/iff-panama-central-american-box-office-grows-8-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"IFF Panama: Central American Box-Office Grows by 8% in 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Entonces Nosotros\u2019 – which had its world premiere at IFF Panama in 2016 – was the region\u2019s highest-grossing local film<\/em><\/h5>\n
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Central America continued its sturdy box office growth in 2016, primarily driven by the opening of new multiplexes.<\/p>\n

Total box office for the region in 2016 was $140.5 million \u2013 8.3% higher than in 2015 and 46% higher than in 2012. New multiplexes generated $8.2 million in new revenues \u2013 76% of the year\u2019s total box office hike.<\/p>\n

According to Luis Vargas, comScore\u2019s managing director for Latin America, the fastest-growing market was Panama, with 16.2% box office growth and the slowest Nicaragua, with 4.4%.<\/p>\n

U.S. blockbusters dominated the region\u2019s box office. The top three titles were \u201cCaptain America: Civil War\u201d \u2013 with 1.3 million admissions and $ 7.7 million box-office \u2013 followed by \u201cBatman vs. Superman\u201d and \u201cFinding Dory.\u201d\u00a0 These three titles delivered over 10% of the region\u2019s total box office.<\/p>\n

IMAX films recorded lower box-office (-25.9%) and attendance (-29.4%) in 2016, with 29 titles released. By contrast, in 2015, IMAX films recorded 13.16% growth in box-office and 10.6% in attendance, driven by IMAX releases of \u201cFurious 7,\u201d \u201cAvengers \u2013 Age of Ultron,\u201d \u201cJurassic World\u201d, and \u201cStar Wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local films had more muted success than in 2015. The biggest local hit in admissions was Costa Rica\u2019s $400,000 romantic comedy \u201cEntonces Nosotros\u201d (About Us), directed by 35-year old Hern\u00e1n Jim\u00e9nez, starring Jim\u00e9nez himself and Argentine actress, Noelia Casta\u00f1o.<\/p>\n

After its world premiere at IFF Panama<\/a>, the pic bowed on 22 screens in Costa Rica on May 12, with 35,500 admissions on the day of its premiere. The pic went on to clock up over 115,000 admissions and was the country\u2019s 22nd<\/sup> highest-grossing film of the year. Jimenez\u2019s debut feature, \u201cEl Regresso,\u201d clocked up 135,000 admissions at the local box office.<\/p>\n

\u201cNosotros\u201d was written while Jimenez was studying scriptwriting at Columbia University in New York, where he also met the pic\u2019s producer Chris Cole who is specializing in micro-to-low budget films for the Latin American market.<\/p>\n

Costa Rican comedies have enjoyed success in their local market over recent years. 2015 hit \u201cMaikol Yordan: Traveling Lost,\u201d \u2013 about a farmer who travels to Europe to raise money to save his farm from foreclosure \u2013 was the highest-ever grossing Costa Rican pic and the country\u2019s third most popular film in 2015.<\/p>\n

Local films generally face an uphill struggle to get their films released. Five of the region\u2019s six territories only released three or fewer local films \u2013 fewer than in 2015.<\/p>\n

The only exception was Honduras \u2013 with seven local films released \u2013 where the highest-grossing local film was Joshe Villanueva\u2019s urban comedy, \u201cHistoria de Heroes\u201d \u2013 which ranked No. 17 at the local box office. Another Honduran film \u2013 Michael Bendeck\u2019s action comedy \u201cEl Paletero\u201d \u2013 came in at No. 28.<\/p>\n

Unlike some Latin American countries, such as Venezuela and Argentina where inflation is rampant, Central America maintains very low inflation rates. Notwithstanding numerous economic and political difficulties, the region has enjoyed rising prosperity, with an increasingly stable middle class, which has also fueled cinema-going habits.<\/p>\n

The continued growth of Central American box office provides the possibility for local films to make inroads into their domestic markets; but further progress in terms of training and financing structures is required before local films can fully capitalize on this potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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