Cinemas in Poland: A growing market - but not for independent films

This month two giants in Poland's cinema market joined forces, as Multikino took over Silver Screen

The director of marketing at Silver Screen, Roman Jarosz, spoke with WBJ about how Poland's cinema market is developing, and what lies ahead for its film industry

Anna Kalembasiak: What are the dominant trends in Poland's cinema market?

Roman Jarosz: Above all infrastructure is developing. There is an increasing number of multiplexes and cinemas, which means more people have access to more high-profile films. In general, more movies are coming to Poland. Another trend affecting the market is the development of Polish society. It is said that Poles are earning more, so we have more money to spend on going to the cinema.

What about consolidation on Poland's cinema market? Is the merger of Multikino and Silver Screen an indication of a broader trend?

I would guess that our merger is the last step [for consolidation] on the Polish cinema market. Whoever wanted to consolidate has already done it. The merger between Multikino and Silver Screen has created a situation where there are only three main players on the market, with many other small, single cinemas around. There is no other significant player to be consolidated. This situation is good for the market's development, because there is still healthy competition between the players, while on the other hand these chains have their own loyal clientele, so they have a stable revenue. Every chain has its own idea for further development.

What is the market's potential for development?

I think the cinema market in Poland still has great potential. There are around 32 million tickets sold annually. Taking into account Poland's population of about 38 million, this comes to less than one ticket per Pole a year on average. In France for example, this number is much much higher. The key factor is the scope of multiplexes, where mainly high-profile movies are on screen. Now only 30-40 percent of society has access to such cinemas. The aim should be that every county capital has its own "miniplex" - a three- or four-screen cinema. I know that sometimes it is not profitable for a company to create such a cinema in a small city. That is why it would be good if local authorities would help investors to develop such projects. Modern mixed-use culture houses [domy kultury] could be created and movies could be played during the evenings. Then, the inhabitants of these towns could see the newest movies. Local governments are responsible for the cultural development of their communities.

What about the movies themselves? What is most profitable for cinemas?

There is strong polarization on the film market in Poland. The major part includes the most popular cinemas, playing international and domestic blockbusters, which are always successful. These films earn most of a cinema's money. I would estimate that about 20 percent of film titles account for 80 percent of cinemas' turnover. Attendance is always high for such movies.

Are these mainly Hollywood blockbusters? What about Polish productions?

Actually, there are more and more Polish movies with a [blockbuster] character. When we take into account the number of movies and revenues from tickets sales, Polish films' market share is rising. But the other face of the Polish film market is also important. These are the artistic, independent films. These movies are mainly for connoisseurs. In my opinion, they are underestimated. They could be more successful, but better distribution, placement and information is needed. The best places for such movies are arthouse cinemas - and these came about exactly to promote such independent movies.

So, is there a future for independent movies?

No. Unfortunately this sector of the film market is shrinking. This is what I am worried about. Viewers who want to see such films have little access to them. The number of prints is far too small. Promotion is bad, and if this continues, these films will disappear. If a film is not vulgar commerce, producers assume that there is no point putting any money into even a minor amount of promotion, because they reason that nobody will come to see such a movie and that there is no need to promote non-commercial films. This leads to the situation where such unpopular movies have an ever more limited release and an ever smaller number of people can see them. In my opinion, if producers of such movies are not able to spend zł.1 million on promotion, they should at least make sure a film has good publicity and is distributed to the proper cinemas, where people expect to see such movies.

Source: By Anna Kalembasiak, wbj.pl