48 LATIN AMERICA - FILMS tfiRjErr Wednesday, March 21, 1984

Latin Film Markets In Summary ARGENTINA

Population, 27,000,000. Capital city is Buenos Aires. The 40 firstrun B. A. locations account for 60% or more of all film gross­

es in the country. After going through a disastrous multi-year period of inflation, devaluations and political repression, there is now hope with the new Alfonsin government that the economic situation will improve in the course of this year and next. A new censorship, or "classification" board, has been set up and censorship considerably eased over the past year, though a considerable number of pics are still taboo. Barring un­foreseen political turmoil, it is expected that liberalization in sex and politics will continue throughout this year.

At presstime, firstrun B.A. tickets stood at 34 new pesos most of the week, and at about 29 pesos at three cutrate mid-week days (about $1.15 for former, $1 latter at official rate). Attendance had picked up at Ar­gentine theaters over the Christmas period and early months of year before the February-March summer vacation. Dollars are still at a premium, and must be applied for via the Central Bank, which is slow in approving remittances at the official rate. Some indies Operate via the "parallel" market, where dollars can be found at higher rates or, until recently, in government dollar bonds (Bonex), traded at about 30% discount before maturity.

No Quota; 434% Inflation No distrib or exhib quotas exist; 80% obligatory local printing re­

quired. Exhibition is controlled by three large circuits in B.A.: SAC, Lococo and Coll-Saragusti. Stiff competition continues among distribs, but less so than in previous years due to folding of many fly-by-night operators. Local production is about 15 features a year, ranging from sex comedies to artsy fare. Biggest producer-distrib-studio is Aries Cinematografica, maker of the Adolfo Aristarain prize-winners, the Olmedo-Porcel titillators and currently Iensing the fourth pic of a deal with Roger Corman. Inflation in 1983 was highest in the world, 433.7%. Foreign debt ran $45-billion.

BOLIVIA Population, about 6,000,000; capital, La Paz. Territory is usually bought in tandem with Peru and Ecuador. Cur­

rency is the Bolvian peso, which at press time stood at 500 to the dollar officially, and at 1,500 on the black market. Firstrun admish is 500 pe­sos. No foreign remittances since October 1982, though new democratically-elected prez Hernan Siles Zuazo promises coin will flow in future.

Inflation is around 150% per year. Censorship is more relaxed now, but there's no local production to speak of. Most producers in film and tv have stopped shipments to Bolivia. Webs are wont to run pirated videocassettes. No copyright law exists.

BRAZIL With a population of 135,000,000, the giant of Latin America. Main cities

are Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, though capital is Brasilia. There were 1,736 theaters officially polled in 1983, but 150 key sites,

mostly in Sao Paulo and Rio, are estimated to account for 80% of the country's billings. Ticket prices are 3,000 cruzeiros in top firstruns in these two cities, or close to $3 per the official exchange rate, though most sites charge half that to all ' 'students,''''senior citizens" etc., constitut­ing well over half the audience. Black market rate is about 20% over the official rate. However some pics such as "Caligula" have culled as much as $5 at wickets.

140-Day Local Quota; Inflation '311%' Inflation in cruzeiro terms was officially pegged at 211% in 1983, but

extra-officially was estimated at over 300%. An exhib quota requires 140 days of Brazilian fare to play per year, easily met by local industry, which produces about 80 pics a year, many of them sexploitationers that do well at the b.o.

Stringent currency restrictions and no easy convertability into offi­cial dollars. Brazil's foreign debt at presstime was pushing close to $100-billion, largest in Latin America, so the government is doing all it can to stop imports, including films. Majors buy dollars locally with their cruzeiros and wait for the Central Bank to okay remittances. Some $4,500,000 is presently estimated to be blocked in Brazil from the majors. Furthermore, all import licenses at press time were suspended. In any case, only about 41% of net billings are remittable after all taxes have been paid.

Few indie distribs are left on the market, the main ones remaining being Artenova, Art Films, Gaumont, Ouro and Paris Filmes. Obliga­tory printing in the local Lider-Revela lab is 100%. Censorship is very relaxed. Exhibition is largely controlled by two or three circuits such as Ribeiro in Rio, and Sul, Adamiu, Haway and now Gaumont in Sao Pau­lo. Government-controlled Embrafilme is the biggest distrib in the coun­try and helps finance about 20 pics a year. Other items, mostly sexploita­tioners, are produced by distribs.

CENTRAL AMERICA Area consists of Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hon­

duras, Costa Rica and Belize. With the exception of Panama, where the official currency is the U.S. dollar, area remains a difficult market. Ac­tive indie distribs have dwindled down to virtually two, American Dis­tributors (Sarlui), and International Telefilm (Aguilera), though a new outfit, Film Distributors Int'l, repped locally by Peter Dignan, came on the scene in January.

Panama Worth 80% Of Total According to some estimates, Panama now reps 80% of the Central

American pie; firstrun tix there are $2.50, or even $3, with no govern­ment price controls. Panama has 50 hardtops, of which 30 are in the cap­ital. No censorship exists, and there's a 10% local tax on each ticket.

Costa Rica has about 20 theaters in the capital, San Jose; tickets cost about 95$. Dollars can legally be bought at the official exchange rate and remitted, but are rarely available. Censorship is fairly tight. The Cos­ta Rican market has dropped over the past year.

In El Salvador, only about 30% of billings are remittable due to the

dollar shortage. Despite the unrest, biz is brisk. Dollars are available on the black market at about four colones. Official rate is 2.50. Censor­ship is fairly restrictive. About 50 theaters are in the capital, San Sal­vador. When dollars are available they can be freely remitted.

Honduras has a good exhib scene, showing improvement over 1982. The capital, Tegucigalpa, has 25 theaters, plus another 80 around the country. Admish is $1.25. Remittances are sporadic, but good. Censor­ship is very relaxed.

Guatemala Remittances Choked Guatemala has been totally closed for the past two years as far as

remittances go. Some producers sell at a fixed price (same for other Cen­tral American countries, except Panama). Government is pushing pay­ment via dollar bonds, but these are blocked for the moment. Cost of a ticket is $1.50. *

Nicaragua is the best-performing country in the region after Pana­ma, with high attendance and coin generated. Tickets cost $1.50. How­ever, remittances are based on an annual quota set by the government for each company, and are theoretically paid every three months.

CHILE Population, about 12,000,000; capital, Santiago. Boxoffice ante now is about $2. Most indie distrib-exhibs still buy

through Argentina. Pics are never cut by censors. It's a "yes" or "no' 'proposition. Santiago with 45 sites reps about 60% of the country's film revenue. Another 150 theaters exist in rest of Chile. Generally there's little problem but some delays remitting coin or converting into dollars. Virtually no production to speak of, but there are four local fea­tures in the hopper this year.

COLOMBIA Population, 27,000,000; capital, Bogota. Other key cities are Barran-

quilla, Cali, Medellin and Cartagena. Admission prices continue to be a low 65$ at firstrun sites. Major dis­

trib and exhib is Cine Colombia, which each year is crowding out more indies. New decrees and laws passed in September 1983, whereby all con­tracts must be approved by the government, have soured this former­ly good territory. After all kinds of taxes, maximum remittable coin peaks at about 50% of gross billings. Exhibs were still pushing for a 50/50 split on six "special" pics per year for each distrib. MPEA companies embargoed Colombia from June to August 1983 when the 50/50 split was made law, but then rescinded.

FOCINE Flap About 700 theaters exist in the country, with about 66,000,000 admis­

sions per year. Middle-of-the-road attitude on censorship. Local produc­tion is down to three or four films a year, though a 30-day-per year Colom­bian exhib quota is still on the books. At press time, the government film promotion office, FOCINE, was coming under heavy attack from local press and the government for irregularities in granting subsidies to film­makers. Its operations have now been put under tight control.

So far the Colombian peso has more or less held its own against the dollar, devaluing predictably about 1 peso every 10 days, and has proven to be the most stable currency in Latin America. However, dollars are still coming out of this territory. Homevideo product is all pirated thus far, with anywhere between 100,000 and 200,000 VCRs in country.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Population, about 6,500,000; capital, Santo Domingo. Market is reckoned to be about one-third the size of Puerto Rico. Dis­

trib scene is competitive, dominated by Wometco. Ticket prices at fir­struns are approx. 2.50 pesos, theoretically worth $2.50, but in fact since 1979 all remittances have had to be made via the semi-official black mar­ket, where the exchange rate is 1.90 to $1. There are about 150 cinemas in the country, of which six key hardtops are in the capital. A 22% b.o. tax prevails, and there are almost no censorship problems.

ECUADOR Population, about 8,500,000; capital city, Quito. Once a perky territory, now all remittances must go through the Cen­

tral Bank since the start of devaluations in June 1982. When coin is avail­able, it's slow to get out. Most biz (about 75% of the market) is split be­tween Quito and port city of Guayaquil. Market is considered about a quarter the size of Colombia; 17% tax is levied on tickets. Territory is usually bought together with Peru and Bolivia. Censorship is soft. Cine Ecuador, an offshoot of Cine Colombia, is releasing more product in Ec­uador, since coin can be more easily gotten out by a Colombian outfit due to the Andean Pact. Tix cost about $1.20 at the official rate, half that at the de facto black market rate.

MEXICO Population pushing 80,000,000; approx. 17,000,000 live in the capital,

Mexico City, and its suburbs. Once the leading Latin market, Mexico has fallen off during the past

year due to its economic crisis. Territory is still closed at present to French, German, and Italo product due to governmental level feuding. Censorship is liberal by Latin standards, but hardcore is still a no-go, though softer erotics unspool at special 11 p.m. screenings.

Mexican peso is more or less devaluing at a predictably slow rate. Film solons are divided about future prospects of the country. Curren­cy is legally being remitted by the majors, as greenbacks are sporadi­cally available at banks, at a maximum $10,000 a shot. Transferral tax of 21% must be paid, but in some cases it can be used as a U.S. tax writeoff. Mexico City reps about 40% of the country in billings. B.o. prices are frozen by the government at 100 pesos tops (about 60$). Film attendance hasn't slackened, but in dollar terms it's now about half what it was in 1982. Of the 100 pesos, 17% goes for local taxes.

Eye U.S. Hispano Market Mexico produces about 60 features a year. Under the new de la Madrid

government, the Film Institute headed by Alberto Isaac plans to make a half dozen items this year, partly in coproduction. Also stirring again

(Continued on page 64)

The Foreign Exchange Maze

Following are conversion rates as of last week for the leading Lat­in American currencies, with cap­sule comments on floating rates and other sundry ramifications. Local coin quoted is for one U.S. dollar.

Argentina About 30 new pesos on the offi­

cial rate. In January '82, the Ar­gentines chopped four zeroes off their currency, i.e., 10,000 old pesos became one new peso. Some locals still talk in terms of the "old, old" pesos, which now run well over 1,-000,000 to the dollar. Floating rate of the new peso is now up to about 45 to the dollar. With inflation run­ning over 400% per annum, devalu­ation of local currency is expected to continue at breakneck speed.

Bolivia Officially 500 pesos to the dollar,

but in fact about three or four times that on the black market. No dollars available, funds are blocked.

Brazil Official rate last week was 1,250

cruzeiros to the dollar, with black market rate running 16% over the official rate. Major restrictions on remitting coin legally; all transac­tions must be approved by the Cen­tral Bank.

Chile Peso pegged at 89 to the dollar.

Inflation running about 20%. Rela­tively little difficulty in converting to dollars and remitting abroad.

Ecuador Official rate is 57 sucres to the

dollar, the "financial" rate over 88 to the dollar. Coin transfers must be approved by the government, considerable difficulty in getting dollars out.

Colombia About 92 pesos to the dollar in

what is now the most stable coun­try in Latin America (except Panama). Peso slips by about 10 centimos per day. Contracts must now be okayed by the government.

Mexico The "controlled" rate is 152 pe­

sos to the dollar, but the floating border rate is about 173. Legally, about $10,000 per shot is available at local banks, but often the tills run dry. In theory, no currency restrictions.

Peru One dollar gets you 2,514 soles,

with speculation high that further major devaluations are in the off­ing. Coin transfers must be ap­proved by the government.

Uruguay Figure 47 pesos to the dollar.

Devaluation has been relatively slow (for Latin America), with currency standing at 32 a year ago. Free dollar convertibility.

Venezuela A four-tier exchange rate was re­

cently scuttled and the bolivar now stands at over 13 to the dollar. At press time no dollars were avail­able for transfer abroad.

Only one currency in all of Latin America remains stable, that of Panama which uses the U.S. dollar as legal tender. All other Central American currencies have been devalued and dollars are hard to come by.

Bolivia's Top Films Top-grossing features in Bolivia

during the whole of 1983 are here­in listed. Rentals Title (Bolivian Pesos) "E.T." 22,000,000 "Rocky III" 17,000,000 "Return Of The Jedi" .. 16,000,000 "Escape From New

York" 12,500,000 "El Profesional" 12,000,000