The findings from a leading report, Box Office Report South Africa, revealed that the South African film industry has plummeted and needs serious intervention to reach pre-Covid levels.
It investigated the performance of South African box office films by examining total annual revenue, trends and key drivers of audience consumption; the trends of films released between 2012 and 2021, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on SA’s film industry.
Compiled by the National Film and Video Foundation and the Centre for Statistical Analysis and Research, it showed that local films and film production only contributed to 1% of the total yearly revenue. The balance came from the international film market.
In 2021 a total of 155 films were released but majority (60%) of the revenue was generated by only 10 films, and none of these where locally produced. Fourteen of the 155 films were produced in SA but the Gross Box Office was just R2 517 014 (1%).
Over the past 10 years, pre-pandemic the revenue was up despite fewer films being released.
“The trend analysis of locally produced films showed that the number of local films released and the revenue generated by it have been decreasing over the years.
“The relatively poor performance of local films would also have contributed to discouraging local producers from releasing new films,” stated the report.
“Also South Africans having low interest in paying to see local films at cinemas. Additionally, the use of SVOD (video-streaming) services has provided South Africans with the convenience of accessing a wide variety of content for a flat fee as opposed to cinema, which may be considered less convenient and more expensive.”
The top films for 2021 included “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, “No Time to Die”, “Sing 2”, “Fast & Furious 9”, “Encanto”, “The Eternals”, “Godzilla vs Kong”, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and “Dune”.
On the local front the top 10 films for 2021 included: “New Material” which bought in just over R1m, “Barakat” (R849 370), “Kaalgat Karel” (R520 399), “This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection” (R43 996), “Angelo Camp 13” (State Theatre) (R19 320), “Freedom” (State Theatre) ((R17 595), “Meisie Vani Lavis” (R17 069), “That Night Of Trance” (R13 121), “Fela and The Kalakuta” (Queens State Theatre) (R6 670) and “Marikana”, which bought in just R5623.
The report said that there was a steep decline in the revenue generated in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.
“Our forecast model showed that the revenue would have continued on an upward trajectory without the impact of the pandemic. It is unclear if and when the film industry will return to its pre-pandemic performance but the increase in annual revenue from 2020 to 2021 should be encouraging.
“Also, there have been promising partnerships between industry stakeholders to revive the industry. The film industry stakeholders and the government will have to work together and devise innovative strategies to make it happen.”
Under its recommendations the report said that local filmmakers will need innovative ideas and government support to improve their content, production quality and advertising.
“The government will need to support the film industry and aim to return it to its pre-pandemic performance.”