Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Spanish Film Booking

This is topic Spanish Film Booking in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Cheryl Lizzio (Member # 10623) on 10-05-2018, 11:46 AM:

Hello All
We run a small single screen theater in a small community. Our numbers are starting to go down so we are trying to figure out something new to do. Our community is made up of about 60% Mexican as we were once the largest capital in US for Nursuries so many generations came and still come. We are thinking if we could play a Spanish movie once a month to start on one of the nights we are closed we might be able to get that audience. We played BH chihuahua when it came out years ago, and all the times we played it the audience was over 80% Mexican most who didn't speak English so we really think it may go..BUT where do we get the movies? I have asked our bookers, I have asked the studios, etc and no one can help. So I was hoping someone on here might be able to help us. Thank you

Posted by Kevin Fairchild (Member # 4985) on 10-05-2018, 03:04 PM:

Pantaleon/Lionsgate releases a few Spanish movies a year. You can also request the Latin American Spanish dubbed version of most wide release films. Or, try giving the Theater Ears app a try.

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 10-05-2018, 10:03 PM:

Pantelion mostly releases silly comedies. You would have to look elsewhere for action, sci-Fi, drama, or intelligent films.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 10-05-2018, 10:41 PM:

Be sure to network with people in the Hispanic community to find out what movies they want to see. If you're doing one-off showings, also look into the best days and times. Although I have never run them, I've been told that Sunday mornings are actually an ideal time for this audience.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 10-06-2018, 11:53 AM:

Contact their consulate they usually have a atache that looks after cultural export of films and could put you in touch with the correct film studios and their representative

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-06-2018, 03:27 PM:

My local multiplex played Do It Like an Hombre last year, and it literally had lines around the side of the building. It ran for 2-3 months, and for most of that time in one of the larger screens.

Agreed that networking with local Spanish speakers to find out if there are any specific movies they'd like to see is a good start. If they've found out about movies from friends and relatives in Mexico which have not had a formal US release yet, you may have to deal direct with distributors in Mexico (if no US distributor has yet been subcontracted), and may also have to consider playing it without subtitles. Subtitling is the biggest single distribution cost of releasing a foreign language movie, and it'll only be done if either a US distributor believes that the audience is big enough, or is an arthouse or archive subsidized by grants or philanthropic donations (the most likely funding route for subtitling classic foreign releases).

When I lived in the UK, the theaters around me would play a lot of unsubtitled Bollywood movies, for this reason. It was a pity - with an investment in subtitling them plus some English language marketing, I'm sure that they would have found a significant audience among those who don't speak Hindi.

Posted by Cheryl Lizzio (Member # 10623) on 10-08-2018, 08:42 AM:

Thanks Leo

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 10-15-2018, 03:33 PM:

Most mainstream movies are available with Spanish subtitles or dubbed in Spanish. In many cases, the Spanish files come on the same drive as the English files.

Check with Lionsgate. They have a division named Pantelion Films. Some of their recent titles are Ya Veremos, Overboard, La Boda de Valentina, and 3 Idiotas.

Check with Hola Mexico Film Festival. They currently have nine Mexican films "on tour" in the US.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 10-15-2018, 04:07 PM:

Gotta love the logo for that Hola Mexico thing. A film reel bent into a taco.. [Big Grin]

Posted by Mike Moreno (Member # 4887) on 10-15-2018, 08:21 PM:

hi. maybe tru technicolor or motion picture.
WE recieve all KDMs from them spanishand subtitle.
THey can give you the contacts iguess.

Mike Moreno
Mexico