Film and Film

These figures show the significant improvement that the Spanish film industry has experienced in the past 15 years. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that we should understand this recovery as a consequence of the low level that the population´s acceptance of Spanish films had reached during the first decade of the 90s. This decrease worsened due to the legal changes introduced in the film industry during the 80s. First with the liberation of the film industry promoted by the Unión de Centro Democrático and later with the "Miro Decree" the subventions fostered by the Partido Socialista Obrero Español. Both changes almost destroyed the fragile film industry.

The first decade of this century can be regarded, on the whole, as positive for the Spanish film industry. Film production (graph 1) experienced a substantial increase since the decade started with 98 films (64 Spanish productions and 34 co¬productions) and ended with 186 (136 Spanish and 50 coproductions. These figures apparently showed that the decade registered an increase of 88 films 89.90 %, percentage which was substantially bigger for the 72 Spanish films (112 %). Coproductions reached 16 (47.06). This increase in the production, with 172 films broke the record set in 1966 with 164 films, record which was broken again in 2008 and 2009 with 173 and 186 films respectively.

Proceeds from the films together with the increase in production boosted (graph 2) since it started with 53.75 million euros in the year 2000 to the 104.37 in 2009 which represente dan increase in 50.62 million euros (94.18%.) Anyway the best records were registered in 2001 (110.18 millon) and 2005(105.05). It is worth mentioning, however, that proceeds stepped back between 2006 and 2008 to gradually go up again in 2009.

The increase in the Spanish film industry mas observed in the number of spectators (graph 3) . The first year of the decade showed 13.42 million spectators and the last showed 17.48 millon (30.24%) and depicted the worst evolution the number of spectators had experienced between 2007 and 2009. In fact, in the two years that preceded the last one, the number of spectators had suffered a decrease of 11.68 and 5.12 million respectively.

The worst record (30.24 %) had its consequence in the increase of films (89.80%) and proceeds (94.18%), which show a difference of 59.56 points with respect to the first ones ( 94.18 %) and 63.94 poins to the second ones.

As for the market share of the Spanish film industry during this decade, there is a significant rise, since it moved from the 10.02 in 2000 to the 15.63 in 2009, although if we revise the maket share in each year we find that this last figure was inferior what happened in 2001(17.87), 2003(15.75), 2995(16.75), and if exceeded the figures of 2002 (13.66), 2006(15.47), 2007 (13.51) and 2008 (13.18).

The fluctuation of the market share has been constant since 1995, year which marked the beginning of a tendency: its increase in the odd years with respect of the previous ones and a decrease in the even years, also in relation to the previous years. This sequence was discontiued in 2007, when there was a decrease which extended into 2008 to then rise again in 2009.

What happened between 2000 and 2009, shows remarking results in comparison to what happened in these decades, from the 635 films to 1407 ( 121.57 %), the proceeds fell from 338.06 million to 186.92 million (67.67%) and the average market share went from 10.62to 14.53 (3.91puntos).

Concentration of success

The undeniable recovery which the Spanish film industry experienced during the first decade of the present century has its downside which balances these global figures, not only with respect to the evolution of the decade itself but also to the preceding one.

In this decade, as in the 90s, there was a concentration of successful films in few titles each ear (chart 1). The first 25 most profitable films of each year are add up to a percentage which fluctuates between 73.88 in 2002 and 86.28 % in 2009.

The blockbuster films at the top of the ranking show proceeds that fluctuate between 10.05% in 2008 (Los crímenes de Oxford) and the 28.04 % of 2007 (El orfanato). Likewise, we have three films which exceed the 20% in proceeds: Los otros (2001), La gran aventura de Motadelo y Filemon (2003), mar adentro (2004).

This tendency to the concentration of proceeds had as a consequence that the first five titles sum up on three occasions more than 50% of the proceeds. Tis is what happened in the year 2001 (58.31%, 2003( 51.02 %) and 2009, percentage which exceeds in all the years all the most profitable films, whose proceeds move between 51.74% ( 2002) and 70.88 % (2009). If we take into account (with the exception of one in which the percentage was of 68.38 (2002) the rest of the years proceeds were over 70.15 % (2000) topping 83.99(2009).

Another negative aspect in the Spanish film industry of the decade, although it can be extended to cover the previous one too, is the high number of producers which each year take part in the making of a film (chart 2). This figure has been growing hand in hand with the producers. From the 90 producers in 2000 we have 226 in 2009. In every year, except in 2003, there has been a rise in the producers compared to the previous year. Since the year 2002, this number has been over 100 and since 2007, it shows more than 200 producers.

The number of producers who have taken active part in a title has fluctuated between 70 in 2001 and 179 in 2008. As regards percentages, we notice that they have moved between 75% in 2003 and 82.49 in 2008. Producers which have participated in 2 to 4 foms have fluctuated between 17 in 2000 and 37 in 2007. As for percentages, these have moved from 15.67 in 2008 and 21.28 in 2008. The producers which have taken part in five or more filsm have oscilated between 9 in 2007 and 2 in 2000. In this field, the percentages are 1.84 % in 2008 and 5.38% in 2001.

The high number of producers who have participated in the production of a film in the first decade of this century, which has just started, and its low level of activity shows the huge atomization which characterises the Spanish film industry, this industry is still anchored in a very precarious phase which hinders most producers from developing a long_term industry, thus transforming it into a medium term industry, since they are immersed in a lethal short_term plan for the industry , which is not able to depart or develop the necessary industrial profitable weave with a view into the future.

Chart 2
Spanish film Industry: Producers` Activities
Year	Producers	Producers which have taken part in a film	%	Producers which have taken part from 2 to 4 films	%	Producers which have taken part in 5 films	%
2000	90	71	78.89	17	18.89	2	2.22
2001	93	70	75.27	18	19.35	5	5.38
2002	141	106	75.18	30	21.28	5	3.54
2003	120	90	75.00	25	20.83	5	4.17
2004	142	111	78.17	27	19.01	4	2.82
2005	160	130	81.25	27	16.87	3	1.88
2006	183	138	75.41	41	22.40	4	2.19
2007	213	167	78.40	37	17.37	9	4.23
2008	217	179	82.49	34	15.67	4	1.84
Source: Institute of Cinematography and visual Arts.  Own production.

The lack of self-funding to produce a film means, in most of the cases, the disappearance of the producer, if success is not present in this first and brief attempt. The natural consequence of this fact is the permanent upcoming and disappearance of Spanish producers, which leads to an excessive rotation of film producers, thus stopping, in this way, the creation of an industrial weave which may support to a stable and permanent film industry thus preventing from avoiding the inevitable ups and downs of an unpreductable activity such as the film industry which might appear in more than one occasion.

One of the typical characteristics of the Spanish film industry is its permanent critical situation with which it has to develop. This determines that any change in the cinematographic outlook, be it of an endogenous or exogenous nature, may unbalance and cause alert in a cinematographic industry which depends too much on state regulation of the cinematographic activity and not on the public to which the film is addressed.

A good example was when the Order 2834/2009 was published on October 19th by the Ministry of Culture[1] which explained the Real Decree 2062/2008 of December 12th and Law Nr 55/2007 of December 28th. This was a legal text which aroused an important controversy when it was recused by the Cinematographers'union against the Order, which caused its initial paralization. They supposed that the new cinematographic regulation was more in favor of high-budget films than of low –budget films: commercial cinema vs authorial cinema[2].

The loss of capital of Spanish producers o the lack of self funding determines that every effort will be centered in the pursuit of funding which might enable then to face the shooting of the film.This focussing of the job on the production leads on numerous occasions to neglect the flm marketing, once the films have been finished . The immediate result of this fact means that a significant part of the production does not reach the opening stage[3]. Another part addresses its release in poor advertising conditions and with few number of copies which sentences their film to a rapid exit from the cinemas. Consequently, many films do not reach the spectators and do not generate the necessary funds to afford new projects. We cannot forget that a good result in the cinemas is essential to make films gain a real value which may be reproduced in other screens in which they will be broadcast.

In fact, the most significant event recorded during these years has been the funding of films by TV networks, which has transformed them in the main suppot of the film industry. It is not in vain that together with state funding, this fundamental resource has become of utmost importance which producers are based on to carry out their projects. The evolution of the TV networks' investment (chart 3), is a clear example of the outstanding role that these networks have played in the funding of Spanish films.

A fact which is fostered by the present regulation which forces them to invest in advance the 5& of the total amount of invoicing in the audiovisual production of European films, from that amount 60% must go to Spanish productions. This legal requiremente has brought about the repeated rejection of the Commercial TV Union ( from Spanish Union de Televisones Comerciales (UTECA ) thus forcing them to resort to the Supreme Court for its administrative regulation,, which has not yet decided on the subject.

The overall investment in the Spanish film industry by TV network amounts to 794,463,369 million euros between 2000 and 2008, a figure which expresses an average annual investment of 88.27 euros, fluctuation from 62.28 million euros in 2000 and 112.79 in 2007.

Televisión Española leads the investements in the Spanish film industry with 256 million, which represents the 32.32 %, Telecinco is the second with 204 million (25.80 %, Antena 3 with 163.87 million (20.50) and Sogecagle with 159.73(20.11 %). The investement from Walt disney and SPPTI (AXN until 2007) are not considered relevant since it represents 5.35million (0.67) and 4.53 million (0.57 %).

Chart 3
(2000-2008)Investment in the Spanish Film industry ( TV operators ) (2000/2009)
	ANTENA 3	SOGECABLE	TELECINCO	TVE	AXN/SPTI	WALT DISNEY	total
2000	11,584,664	20,620.383	7,335,469	23,288,017			62.282.533
2001	31,620,730	25,636,730	6,552,728	27,858,13			91.668.301
2002	17,526,938	15,294,749	7,220,825	23,890,821	167,302	2.028.215	66.128.850
2003	2,003,749	17,305,371	19,980,271	32,078,160	2,191,794	629.990	74.189.335
2004	13,657,729	21,480,333	21,183,678	30,178,000		755.550	87.255.290
2005	20,460,401	18,103,971	25,373,344	34,851,301		542.149	99.331.166
2006	21,253,677	13,805.750	30,618.,957	28,103,101	620,000		94.401.485
2007	29,604,502	15,825,162	36,393,600	27,913,101	1,550,000	1.205.000	112.791.365
2008	15,154,219	11,657,375	49,993,976	28,623,101	800,000	186.373	106.415.044
	162,866,609	159,729,824	204,952,848	256,783,715	4,529,096	5.347.277	794.463.369
Source: National Secretariat of Telecomunications and for the Society of Information. Own Production

In the last three years, Telecinco has shown a relevant role in investement which transforms it in the leading investor in the cinematographic industry with a 32. 43% (2007), 32.53 %(2008) and 46.98(2009) percentages which contrast with the investments of the first three years of the decade, which were 11.78% (2008), 7.15%(2001) and 10.92(2002).

This investement activity ahas positioned Telecinco in an outstanding place in the second half of the decade, since it has made it profitable its participation in the film industry, thus enabling it to lead the box office income from 2006 to 2009, the first year with its producer Estudios Picasso Fabrica de Ficcion, when it raised its income by 20% and the three remaining with Telecinco cinema, years in which it obtained the 13.49% of (2007) 10.58% (2008) and 25.49% (2009).

In spite of the good results, the ranking of the producers (graph 4) is led with 57.66 million euros(6.28) by Sogecine, a producer connected to the TV operador Sogecable, followed closely by Telecinco Cinema with 51.66 million euros (5.62 %) In the fifth position we have Estudios Picasso Fablirca de Ficción with 387. 14 million (4.04) and in the tenth we situate Antena 3 Films with 18.93 million ( 2.06) As we can infer from this information that the TV operators have managed to situate their producers at the top of the rankings of the decade and consequently lead the Spanish box office, thus being resposible for the 18% of the proceeds.

This is a percentage which the first ten producers in the ranking of the decade rise to 39.61%, which represents a noticeable concentration in the income. Among these, we find Castelao Productions and El Deseo with the 4.78 and 4.10 %. We could add Lolafilms and Amiguetes Entrtainment with the 3.81 and 3.67 %, to end with Tornasol Films and Mediaproduction with 2.67 and 2.57 % of the proceeds.

A Final Commentary

The first decade of the present century has had a positive balance, since as a whole it offers a relatively optimistic Outlook if we understand this improvement from the low level from which we departed, we can speak about a clear though moderate, which had its best moments in 2001, 2003 and 2005 to start declining again in the following years.

This improvement in the Spanish cinema was crystalized in a significant rise in the number of films, which reached in the last part of the decade a historical record, when, in 2007, for the first time was superior of the 164 of 1966. Hand in hand with this rise, there was a constant number of producers which in 2009 topped to 226 by taking part in 186 films.

The advance in the film industry was shown likewise in the proceeds and market share, which show a significant rise in 94.18 % and of 5.61 points respectively. Less noticeable was the rise in the number of spectators which placed itself in 30.24%. These numbers were favoured by the increase in the numbers in the screens which topped in 2005 with 4.401, to finally situate itself in 4.083 in 2009, although the global record shows a rise of 16.63 %.

In the light of encouraging information, which shows the significant improvement of the Spanish film industry, we still find serious problems when we do not question these figures. For example, we could mention the following aspects:

1) The structural weakness of the Spanish film industry places it in a situation of permanent crisis, which is especially noticeable in concrete moments and this triggers alerts in the field.

2) The concentration of success in very few films, and therefore in very few producers, entails that many of those producers are left out in moments of prosperity in which the film industry seems to gain confidence.

3) The atomization which historically marks the production area has started to grow again significantly as it has increased its number, so that more than 75 % of the producers each year take part in the production of a film. That shows the huge loss of funding which affects the area, which stops most of the companies developing a continuous activity, thus limiting its existence to the production of a single film to later disappear.

4) Due to the lack of self-funding, government help and TV operators have become essential support since these operators must afford the cost of their own films.

5) Finally, we must point out that the exceso of offer makes the market, which is controlled by multinational American distributors, unable to afford a production which is constantly increasing. This entails a very low-quality marketing of Spanish films, many of which are not released or are released in very poor conditions.