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Author Topic: Paramount kills off 35mm in the US Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 11-25-2013 12:16 AM                     I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet, but a week or so ago Paramount announced Anchorman 2 would be their last release on 35mm, that all future releases would be digital only. I believe I pegged that one dead on a couple of years ago. I've always said the studios would make it through Christmas 2013 and then in January one of the majors would announce they were no longer supporting 35mm, then the rest would follow fast.  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 11-25-2013 02:33 AM                        This is the first time I've heard this, but I'm not surprised. I would imagine they are going to start falling like dominoes now. The small number of theatres still running 35mm make up such a small percentage of the gross, I imagine the studios are barely recouping print costs.  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 11-25-2013 08:26 AM                     I tried to book Trains Plains And Automobiles the other day and was told they have DCP only. They said once a title is replaced by DCP the 35mm will no longer be available for that title!  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 11-25-2013 10:59 AM                        For older and archive titles, that makes sense economic sense from the studio's perspective. There is a one-time cost in creating the DCDM and DCP from their preservation master, and once they've done that, the 35mm release print sitting in their vault is costing them money (in atmospherically controlled real estate) and making them virtually none, apart from the odd rental from a theatre that doesn't have digital projection and/or prefers to show 35mm for curatorial reasons. I'm guessing that as soon as the DCP has been made and is available in the distributor's servers, the film print goes in the recycling bin.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 11-25-2013 11:01 AM                    Par might be a little early on this but seems like early in the new year film will end. They don't want all the articles about mom & pop theatres having to close to hit the news at Christmas. Does anyone have Wolf of Wall Street or Labor Day booked on film? Likewise the latest Paranormal Activity or Jack Ryan early in the new year (all Par)?  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-25-2013 11:12 AM                        Paramount! Is there a source for this? In (possibly) related news, Kodak has announced a price increase on nearly all of its motion-picture products. Estimate is about a 10% increase. This takes effect on January 1.  |  IP: Logged Buck Wilson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 894 From: St. Joseph MO, USA Registered: Sep 2010 posted 11-25-2013 11:53 AM                     AAHHHHH!  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 11-25-2013 01:10 PM                        quote: Scott Norwood In (possibly) related news... Definitely related. As sales of film products decrease, the shrinking economies of scale make the cost of production more expensive, because the fixed costs (buildings, infrastructure, advertising, after-sales support etc.) have to be spread over a smaller volume of sales. So the price per unit goes up. The significant thing, I'd guess, is that Kodak believe that the remaining customer base for film products (some high end film production and still photography using film for artistic reasons, archival preservation and some medical imaging, essentially) is now price-elastic enough to withstand a 3x inflation price hike.  |  IP: Logged Kevin Markwick Film Handler Posts: 43 From: Uckfield East Sussex England Registered: Sep 2004 posted 11-25-2013 01:12 PM                        In the UK Disney have announced Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be the last release available on 35mm. Surprised they are waiting that long frankly.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-25-2013 02:49 PM                        So, NATO was right on in their prediction all those years ago...2013 is pretty much going to be the last film year for all major releases.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-25-2013 03:16 PM                        Or maybe it became a self-fulfilling prophecy, since nearly every news item on the conversion quoted the "2013" date, usually without indicating the source.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 11-25-2013 05:20 PM                     We have received clear statements towards the end of 35mm in germany a while ago. February will see the last german 35mm print. Most distributors have already ended 35mm this fall. The Hobbit 2 is the last big release with 35mm prints here. I think we are around 85-90% conversion rate here. Public funding for digital conversions just ended here, so something like 5-10% of the remaining cinemas will not make it. A lot of them are small studio like operations without a real business model. The end of the public funding was announced quite early, that was a clear sign for everyone involved. First half of 2014 will probably see some remaining installations in small multiscreens, and local/independant/crowd funding for some single screens. Then that'll be it. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 11-25-2013 06:15 PM                     When the VPF deadline was announced, it kinda brought this date more into focus. Odds were, cinemas would scramble to meet the deadline, and the d-cinema conversion would hit critical mass before the VPF offer expired. Once the d-cinema conversion hit critical mass, the handwriting would be on the wall, insofar as film is concerned. After all, the whole point of converting to d-cinema was to ditch film. And then we have all the various announcements from Kodak and Fuji that they're (basically) pulling the plug on film. Take all of this together, and nobody should be surprised that the end is here. If you're surprised, then you weren't paying attention.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 11-26-2013 09:02 AM                     I'm not surprised by the announcement from Paramount. Actually, I was expecting more distributors to make similar announcements like this before year's end. I seem to recall a discussion here about Fox considering a halt to 35mm release print production a year or so ago. The thing that worries me is what the impending shut-down on 35mm release print production will do in raising the costs of film-based production. 35mm negative film is made on different production lines. However, there has to be some kind of ripple effect that will hit it anyway.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-26-2013 11:49 AM                        Did VPFs actually do any good for many independents? I know of a handful of independents who have installed (or will soon install) D-cinema equipment, and I only know of one (a 5-screen first-run house) that signed up with a VPF deal (not sure which one, specifically). For all of the hand-waving about VPFs, it seems that they either did not apply to many independents or that the terms were so bad that many chose not to sign up for them.  |  IP: Logged

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