Film Marketing In Australia Essay, Research Paper
It seems Australia’s film success is not
determined by its quality but by its box office returns. The national identity
of Australia has become nothing but a market strategy. The future of the
Australian film industry seems doubtful, as it cannot command the crowds
necessary to sustain high enough box office dollars, or market films sufficiently
to attract local audiences.
Sustaining a productive innovative
film industry seems dependent on the complex process of acquiring film
funding, and the prospect of future funding bodies.
Distributors and Exhibitors seem
to add to the difficulties of getting local audiences to see Australian
films as the major players seem to control who sees what, when and where.
Independent distributors are constantly
confronted by tough competition from these major distributors and exhibitors
who lean toward the American more lucrative product. The glamorous packaging
and blockbuster build up is attractive to local audiences and many Australian
films, despite receiving award nominations from the A.F.I., do not achieve
the acclaim they deserve from their own local audiences.
The cultural American domination
is reflected in the high box office returns on American product in cinemas
everywhere.
Australian filmmakers think that
marketing and selling of a picture is a dirty exercise and that someone
else should do it. Researching target markets and market testing are foreign
and not preferred by Australian filmmakers yet this may be necessary in
order to achieve cinema attendance.
Some actors in Australia make it
clear from the beginning that they don’t do publicity, however some actors
say there isn’t enough publicity for actors involved in film. This site
looks at publicity as a potentially cost effective option for the low budget
Australian filmmaker and how publicity is handled in the American film
industry.
This site explores the successful
marketing of Dating the Enemy and how sometimes the competition is just
too great, when a film like Kiss or Kill opens on the same night as Men
in Black.
The prospect of marketing Australian
film overseas before bringing films to local screens may attract Australian
audiences, as they do not support local film culture easily. However, growing
recognition of the Australian film industry in America seems to have spurred
interested parties to search for Australian specialist films to fill a
niche market in the U.S.