FILM.UA Group has taken stock of its theatrical season from 2019 until early 2020.
Just a reminder: starting from August 2019, Ukrainians have watched seven films made and/or distributed by FILM.UA Group. This wasn’t just a business project; this was an experiment of sorts aimed to involve wide audience in watching Ukrainian films of different genres. We would like to share our experience which has become unique without exaggeration. So, friends and colleagues, here are our 10 most notable achievements:
1. Impressive release time. Every month, for seven in a row, cinemas had a new movie from FILM.UA Group. This means 7 months, 7 movies, 39 premieres with the participation of creative crews, 36 weeks, 254 days of release, and 46,028 screenings all over Ukraine.
2. Box office of over 100,000,000 UAH. The cumulative box office for all films has passed the mark of 100 million UAH and amounts to 109,094,260 UAH. The projects include two “millionaire” films in USD equivalent: The Rising Hawk ($1,438,000) and Crazy Wedding 2 ($1,741,733).
3. Audience exceeding 1,200,000 people. During the release of our lineup, 1,255,911 tickets have been bought in total. The favorites of the audience were #BestComedyoftheYear Crazy Wedding 2 (444,659 tickets) and The Rising Hawk historical action feature (443,427 tickets). It is also interesting that the leader in release duration was also The Rising Hawk with screenings in the cinemas lasting for 10 weeks.
4. Astonishing partner support. Sponsors, promotion, informational and other Group partners are leaders in their fields who the consumers prefer and trust. These are over 50 companies the teams of which have put in their efforts into the final result. And we’re sincerely grateful to them for our successes.
5. Original promotion package.An essential component of promo packages was the release of six music videos from top performers dedicated to film premieres:
All of this totals 12,000,000 views on YouTube! An absolute record was set by a music video to Vil’na (Maid-in-Law OST) with the number of organic views reaching 6.5 million and still growing.
6. Connection to other art fields.The studio projects are not only inspired by books (Zakhar Berkut by Ivan Franko and Felix Austria by Sofia Andrukhovych which served as foundations for The Rising Hawk and Maid-in-Law respectively) but also inspired to make literature in return. This is how three books were published:
7. Selling a format abroad. A special reason for FILM.UA Group to be proud today is the release of Importinis jaunikis (Imported Groom) which is an adaptation of Crazy Wedding format in Lithuania. The craziest Ukrainian comedy of 2018 became the first national feature for its format to be acquired by another country. What’s most important, the film topped the cinema viewing rankings for three weeks in a row! And even during the fifth week it remained among top five most viewed films. The box office of our Lithuanian colleagues has amounted to $776,939 (19,190,393 UAH). We are very happy for their success!
8. Promo tour as one of ingredients for success. The release of Cherkasy military drama became a record-breaker by the number of premiere events, having visited 10 cities: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Odesa, Cherkasy, Poltava, Shostka, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhya and Kyiv, the latter hosting five premieres in different neighborhoods. The creative group traveled from the west to the east, from the north to the south, ensuring direct contact with the viewers and maximally informative meetings. Over 4,500 tickets were sold to those events. Just a reminder: the release was suspended due to coronavirus pandemic. The authors plan to bring the film back to the cinemas as soon as the health threat for people passes. For the same reason, the premiere of Pulse sports drama has been postponed without date; it was to become the eighth project of the season.
9. A global project with Kyiv Underground. Starting from October 2019, a unique subway train has been launched. Kyiv residents and visitors responded to this with so much enthusiasm that later it became a part of global campaign “To the cinema by subway” initiated by FILM.UA Group. In the framework of the project, film trains were launched showcasing the following:
10. Film Universe. We created a special Universe around the films, and an important component of each one was merchandise. This practice has been implemented on a wide scale for the first time in Ukraine, and the demand confirms the audience’s interest. Our products become great souvenirs for oneself and pleasant gifts for the loved ones. In total, 3,175 units of 38 types of goods were produced. The most popular were Maid-in-Law satin kerchiefs 137 of which have found their happy owners. The whole range is available for purchase both in FILM.UA Store and at the premieres and festivals which are announced on FILM.UA Group pages.
“For FILM.UA Group this period was intense and exciting. Seven theatrical releases in different genres in seven months, each release with a wide-scale national promotion campaign and each project with unique sponsor and partner activities. During this period we have built and adjusted absolutely new business processes for team interaction both inside the Group and outside– with our partners, cinemas, distributors and finally our main “client”, Ukrainian audience. The numbers point to the efficiency of our efforts and we are ready to move on, with the team of real experts in theatrical distribution, and work on new releases enriched by unique experience and expertise. And remember: we are distant, but not apart», said Nadia Korotushka, head of theatrical distribution at FILM.UA Group.
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