The local film industry is growing, with more INdonesian films being made every week adn audiences apparently keen to spend their leisure time and money at the cinema.
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Ki Balmanno
The Jakarta Post/ Jakarta
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Just how popular a film is remains a mystery, however, until box offices are required to publish their results. Until then industry insiders and consumers are left stumbling in the dark.
The box office indicates the local film market share and current audience trends, monitors admission prices and provides an overview of the industry, allowing transparency for healthy competition. It is used to market future films by referring to past achievements and shows Indonesia's place in the film world.
But "Indonesia's film industy is the industry of hush hush"says prominent film writer, director and producer Joko Anwar.
Box office reports, elsewhere are published in trade magazines and on the web. An analysis is made highlighting the structure adn key players in distribution adn exhibition, indicating current market conditios and distributor perceptions.
In Indonesia, it is difficult to obtain figures from the exhibitors and any analysis done is kept-in house at the exhibitor's head office.
This is because there is no industry regulation and no obligation for transparency," said Wendy Soeweno, director at Jive distributions, affiliated with Blitz Megaplex.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) a US owned distributor; supplies Hollywood films to SPE and Camila distributors, owned by 21 Group.
In indonesia, Group 21 is the exclusive distributor of AMPA films. The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), says this is a decision by MPAA to curb potential piracy.
In 2002, the KPPU found the 21 Group guilty of monopolizing the market in Surabaya, East Java. It was ordered to pay a fine of Rp. 1 billion or sell company shares in Inra Mandiri and Wedu Mitra, distributors within the 21 group. Although the shares were sold back into the 21 Group, the KPPU dropped further charges and closed the case against 21.
Between 2000 and 2002, Monopoly watch reported 19 movie theatres i seven cities closed down due to bankruptcy.
"The priority distribution of film is to 21, so the others wait until 21 rolls the movie, then they get second options.We call this discriminative behavior and it is in breach of the anti-monopoly law" said Girry Gemilang Sobar of business watchdog, Monopoly watch.
Industry newcomer since 2007, Blitz Megaplex bids for foreign films at festival screenings. The tendency therefore, is to screen less mainstream or blockbuster films.
Although Blitz is making its mark on the industry it will only be to a niche audience, their audience target is the A (exclusive) demographic.
"We need more people like Blitz for people of B and C class because they want to go to the cinema, it's just too expensive for them " said Nia Dinata.
If the industry was to be regulated and had consistent monitoring through box office analysis, competition in the film industry would be a lot healthier.
More competition would lead to a larger selection of films being shown and overall cheaper movie tickets. This would ultimately benefit the movie-going public.
A spokesperson from 21 group said: "It is an open market and anyone can import movies and build cinemas." They say "there are about 30 importers and distributors with vaious ownership who do business here", but Monopoly watch says the 21 Group owns the majority of them.
Statistics supplied by Monopoly watch suggest there is a 100% growth, with Cineplex 21 going from 102 screens in 2002 to 200 in 2006.
The association of Indonesian Cinema (GPBI) said in 2007, 21 Group owned 348 screens (84 cinemas) while non 21 Groups owned 333 screens (164 cinemas.) Giving the market share of over 60 percent to 21 Group.
In a written statement to The Jakarta Post, 21 Group said "In comparison to the population of 240 million, the Indonesian Cinema industry is still under screened"
MPX Group and Surya Group are small players compared to 21 Group and Blitz. They mostly import films from Korea, India, China and a splattering of European films.
As part of the distribution arrangement, MPAA demands weekly box office reports for their films. Wendy at Multiplex says the US is strongly against price wars at cinemas and the KPPU says the market regulates itself. IF that is the case then there should be no reason to not release box office figures.
By not publishing domestic and international numbers the health of the industry remains speculative. Film makers Joko and Paul Agusta both said producers were able to embellish numbers to attract more investment into an unhealthy industry.
"So many people are being lured into the business," said Joko. "Profiteers are getting into the industry.. when the film fails they feel deceived. To save face they lie and say the film is making a lot of money."
Possible tax avoidance is another reason cited by some in the industry for the silence. "Exhibitors get taxed one time and we pay half the tax with the exhibitor. I think that's why the exhibitor is not keen to show the box office," said indepenedent producer Nia Dinata.
"I dont know why there are no box office figures.. It's very helpful from the point of view of tax, from the point of view of us if the development is growing we are happy," said Djoko Slamet Surjoputro a director at the Directorate GEneral of Taxation, the Finance Ministry.
Nia says filmmakers are the ones in the industry who suffer from excessive taxation. "There is a tax for human resources, equipment rental and a tax on materials. There is also tax for post production .. there are six or seven stages of tax that filmmakers get, she said.
Editor of Katalog Film Indonesia 2008 J.B. Kristanto agrees the main reason box office figures are not published "has to do with the correlation of tax."
The (film) industry is considered small for the taxation office, who said it is focused on the higher revenue businesses first, such as mining, coal and oil, and then it will look into the taxation of smaller industries.
"There are hundreds of tax offices around the country, they focus on their own judgment of which one is booming," Djoko said. Audience numbers were regulated from the early 1980s until the 1990s by the department for the Distribution of Indonesian Film (Perfin.)
Figures were printed in Katalog Film Indonesia 2008 up until the organization colapsed said Kristanto. "At the same time, Network 21 grew very fast and other networks of theaters closed down" Kristanto said.
"In sonme cases, the govenment tried to make something like a regulation again, but there was no agreement with cinemas and producers" said Bakri, director of film development at the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
"We know there is a problem. We need to use something like Perfin" Bakri said. He says although there is no body to regulate box office figures anymore, the Film Law has not been evoked and remains as it was during the time of Perfin. In the country's current climate of reformation, film industry players are waiting restlessly for their turn.
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1 comment:
Well said.
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