8 replies to this topic

[zencat]

Does anyone have any insight as to why DAD is being released so late in Japan (March 15)? I've always heard Japan is one of Bond's biggest markets...seems to me waiting so long just gives the bootleggers the time to flood the country with DAD DVD

[thanasis]

Good point Zencat... i recall that the last two bond movies were released that late in Japan, and if i remeber correctly maybe even the same weekend! My best bet is that it is to avoid all the competition and crowded marketplace that exists from November-January and then the oscar buzz. But this theory contrasts with the case of Twine that went head to head with TOY STORY2 and if i remember correctly was outgrossed in Japan (although it still did well)

A similar case exists in Greece, where i am from, with the 007 movie always being released the first weekend after new year. This was to avoid the festive period slump in tickets (fewer people watch films during christmas) and to catch the business once everybody was hungry for it straight after the festive period! People came to know that 007 films would come out in january

[zencat]

It's well known that TND underperformed in Asia (this was blamed on the '97 economic crisis)...not sure how TWINE did, but hearing it was beat by Toy Story 2 isn't encouraging. Maybe the tepid performance of the last two Bonds in Asia has to do with I'm talking about here. In the age of the internet and sat TV, I consider a widly staggered release to be a VERY old fashioned way of releasing a movie worldwide.

But, again, this isn't my area of expertise so maybe there

[doublenoughtspy]

I agree it is somewhat strange. I guess a few reasons might be:

Give marketing more time to prepare - see what worked in other countries and what didn't (although the Japanese poster kicks major *** over anything here)

Give people like Brosnan and Berry time to recover from the first round of publicity and marketing before they tackle the asian continent

Save some money by having the 35mm prints do first and second runs in US theatres before they get shipped to asia and subtitled or dubbed (this is a stab in the dark - I would think prints would be struck specifically for asia, but maybe not)

Just my 2 yen.

[doublenoughtspy]

Actually, a recently discovered production document, uncovered the real reason:


Memo
December 12, 1967
From: Cubby Broccoli
To: UA Distributors

As punishment for Japanese journalists following Sean Connery into the bathroom, from this day forward all James Bond films screened in Japan will be shown 3 months after the rest of the world.

[ray t]

[Blue Eyes]

The Japanese market is a complex one, and a difficult one to find the right release slot I would imagine.

Just take a look at Minority Report. It only premiered there a few weeks ago. Yet it's out on DVD in Australia and the US. But the film is doing strongly. Seemingly the pirate market doesn't have a huge influence.

There's something complex about that Japanese market, and I don't for a minute think I know what it is. But if they could have released it earlier they would have. Perhaps there's just a backlog of good films they dont' want to compete against?

[Loomis]

Originally posted by zencat
I think George Lucas has the right idea with EPISODE II; same day worldwide release. Seems to me this is the future and the only way to combat bootlegs. I fear the old fashioned thinking on the part of MGM distribution will cost DAD money in Japan. Or am I missing something?

Thoughts?

Having spent a few years in Japan, I've often noticed that some "surefire blockbusters" from Hollywood get Japanese cinema releases a while in advance of the UK (a recent example being SPIDER-MAN), while others seem to take forever (for instance, MINORITY REPORT, as Blue Eyes points out). I'm sure that the reasons for delays that seem baffling to us Westerners mostly have more to do with the idiosyncracies of the Japanese distribution network than with Hollywood studios deciding to hold films back.

BTW, following its release in the US and UK, EPISODE II took nearly two months to open in Japanese cinemas.

To pick up on another point by Blue Eyes, the pirate DVD and video market is tiny to nonexistent. The major reason for this is that virtually all American and well-known foreign films obtain legal distribution in Japan as quality-controlled products, if not always theatrical distribution, then on VHS and DVD (in terms of availability of titles, Japan is probably an even better place to be than the UK if you're a movie geek outside the US).

The situation in Japan is the polar opposite of that in mainland China, where you are forced to see almost any given title on bootleg DVD or VCD, or you go without (now China is one country where you can be sure pirate copies of DIE ANOTHER DAY are doing the rounds). For political and other reasons, official distribution is permitted for only a handful of foreign titles, paving the way for the People's Liberation Army to make a nice little earner knocking off copies of, well, everything else. There's also the fact that in China it's way, way cheaper to pick up a handful of bootleg discs than pay for a single cinema ticket.

I can imagine hardcore Japanese Bond fans being impatient to see DAD, but I reckon they'd have to hop on a flight out of Japan if they wanted to obtain a bootleg copy.

And I know this is a bit of a sweeping statement, but buying and sitting through dodgy DVDs and tapes that more often than not have poor sound and picture quality just isn't the Japanese way.

But DAD will do just fine in Japan. People will wait, then flock to see it. And when it comes out on Japanese home video it will do well again. Bootlegs are no threat to the film over there. Bond is always big in Japan.

BTW, I'm not surprised that THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH was outgrossed by TOY STORY 2 in Japan. Wasn't that the case everywhere?

[zencat]

Thank you for that Loomis. You've cleared up much for me.