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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/lifestyle/entertainment/40023949

In The Same Dreams, Thai Movies Upside Down

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023

Sasawat Boonsri

One of the main controversies in the Thai entertainment industry in the past week has been the complaint from veteran film director Pairote Sangwaribut that his latest film – “Couples in Trouble” – is losing money due to a lack of ticket sales.

Pairote – who produced, directed and starred in the romantic-comedy – used numerous media channels to entreat theatre owners to increase prime time screenings of his 12th film.

His efforts, however, ignited widespread criticism from industry players, who suggested that the 69-year-old director chose the wrong time to make a movie. Others labeled his film too old fashioned for younger audiences.

Several critics agreed that “Couples in Trouble” was a poorly made film, and cited the commonplace refrain that “a high quality film will automatically attract viewers”.

“Couples in Trouble”, however, is not the first time a Thai film has failed to sell enough tickets to recoup its investment.

I am certain it will not be the last.

To accurately analyse the problem, however, we must first separate quality concerns from the number of theatres that screen a film.

Thai films receive far fewer slots at theaters than international films.

The superhero decade

The 2010s were the golden decade for American superhero movies. In the past 10 years, theatres earned massive revenues from such blockbusters. As a result, about 80% of show slots have been reserved for these movies during the weeks they premiere, while only one or two screens per multiplex show other films.

Smaller, local and international films have a better chance of being screened during weeks when there are no new superhero movies premiering. However, there are many smaller films waiting to be screened – sometimes seven or eight per week.

Consequently, moviegoers miss many excellent alternative movies. These films have limited runs then have to make way for new superhero films that take over the majority of screens in theatres as soon as they debut.

Theatre titans

Two titans run the majority of movie theatres in Thailand : Major Cineplex and SF Cinema. They have near absolute power to control which movies can be shown at how many theatres and for how long.

For films by local producers, these companies will also decide if the movies are worth showing based on the story, actors, and trailers, which must be appropriate in length and be interesting enough to attract viewers.

For these reasons, Thai movies have had difficulty securing suitable slots in theatres during the superhero decade. Those from reputable studios may have increased negotiating power to get more slots from theatres, while those from lesser known filmmakers might end up with as few as one or two screenings per day at unpopular times, such as 11am or after 8pm on weekdays.

Sent to the suburbs

Usually, new Thai films start showing on Thursdays, and if they do not gain enough viewers by the weekend, their screenings can be reduced to one per day. They also risk being pushed out of the theatres in cities to suburban areas.

I believe people who say “a high quality film will automatically attract viewers” probably are unaware of this fact.

Let’s say you are opening a restaurant in a market, but are given a plot in the back with little foot traffic. No matter how good of a cook you are, you will have a hard time gaining customers as most people would not be bothered walking too far for a restaurant they don’t know.

And without initial customers, you will not be able to get the word of mouth necessary to attract new ones.

Thai filmmakers have asked the two titans to increase screenings of Thai films to around five shows per day per theatre. They have also asked the duopoly not to reduce the number of screenings based simply on the number of viewers in the first three days. Lastly, they have said that if the first two requests are impossible, then at least screen Thai films during times when viewers go to theatres.

However, neither Major Cineplex nor SF Cinema have replied to these requests.

“Blue Again”

The notion that optimal show time and theatre location can make a difference in a movie’s revenue has been proven by the success of “Blue Again”.

The three-hour film by Thai director Thapanee Loosuwan debuted at the Pusan International Film in October last year before being shown in Thailand for the first time in December at the Bangkok International Film Festival.

After that, the director personally contacted three theatres in Bangkok to show the film. Two were SF Cinema (at CentralWorld and Central Rama IX), while the third was the smaller House Samyan theatre.

The film left SF theatres after only one week but continued being shown at House Samyan three times a day for three weeks, attracting 40-50 viewers per screening. From the fourth week, screenings were cut to one a day, at 4pm.

Now, during its 6th week at House Samyan, the film still gets 40 to 50 viewers per screening thanks to word of mouth and a show time that suits the urban lifestyle. The theatre is also conveniently located on Rama IV Road.

A few weeks after “Blue Again” left SF theatres in the city, the film was picked up by a suburban branch of SF – SF Cosmo Bazaar in Nonthaburi province – to be shown in tandem with the documentary “Scala” by Thai director Anatta Thitanat.

The two films were shown in succession twice daily and drew over 40 viewers per screening, mostly students from nearby Silpakorn University. This surprised SF Cinema as it didn’t expect that Thai films would be popular among students, let alone at a suburban theatre.

“Blue Again” has proven that Thai films only need a theatre and time slots that fit the lifestyles of their target audience. The size of the theatre and frequency of screenings is less relevant. Even in suburban areas, a film can be popular as long as the theatre it is shown at is not too far from its target audience. In the case of “Blue Again” the audience is university students.

I sincerely hope that the success of “Blue Again” will at least make the two theatre titans rethink their marketing strategies and start promoting Thai films.

Corporate indifference

Giant corporations need to survey their customers in both urban and suburban areas to ensure their selection of films is appropriate to their lifestyles. This way, they can expand their viewer base, instead of focusing on dedicating most of their screens to foreign superheroes. Those blockbusters have oversaturated the market anyway.

For over a year, the government has been convincing us that “soft power” will drive the country’s economy forward, while urging filmmakers to make movies that are more marketable.

However, they don’t seem to understand that filmmakers are suffering from limited opportunities and platforms to showcase their work due to the marketing strategy of the two main theater operators.

These operators are not just the middle men who show movies to make money. They are part of the National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Association. Its current president, Thanakorn Puriwekin, is also an executive of Major Cineplex.

It is time for the association – as a pillar of the Thai film industry – to help prolong the life of Thai films.

Sasawat Boonsri