Telefilm Canada announces first Success Index results, nearly 24% increase

Canadian cinema increasingly successful at home and abroad

Montreal, July 4, 2012 – Telefilm Canada is pleased to announce that the Canadian film industry is enjoying greater success at home and abroad. According to the organization’s Success Index, the performance of its portfolio improved by 23.7% in 2011. As introduced at Telefilm’s Annual Public Meeting in November 2011, this index measures the year-over-year results for the commercial, cultural and industrial success of feature films supported by Telefilm.

The benchmark year for the Success Index is 2010, which was assigned a value of 100. In 2011, the Index increased to 123.7. This growth primarily stems from the commercial component since domestic box office receipts increased by 11.6% as well as domestic and international sales doubled.

“Our Success Index is attracting a great deal of interest,” said Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada. “Domestic box office used to be the only measurement of success but that no longer reflected the true reach of our films culturally, internationally, and on other distribution platforms. The Index is an information, management and promotion tool. As the trends become clearer over the years, it will serve as a useful reference source for Telefilm and the industry. It will also enable us to adjust our strategies if necessary.”

The Index consists of three weighted attributes, as follows:

• Commercial component – 60% (40% for box office receipts in Canada, 10% for other domestic sales and 10% for international sales);
• Cultural component – 30% (10% for the number of selections and nominations at prestigious competitive international festivals and events, 10% for awards at certain competitive international festivals and events, and 10% for awards at certain Canadian festivals);
• Industrial component – 10% (percentage of private and foreign financing in productions supported by the Canada Feature Film Fund).

2011 results of Telefilm Canada’s Success Index

Commercial component – up 45%

This component saw a remarkable 45% increase over 2010. Domestic box office receipts rose 11.6%, from $24.6 million to $27.5 million, thanks to Starbuck ($3.5 million), Le sens de l’humour ($3.4 million), Barney’s Version ($3 million), Incendies ($2.1 million), Gerry ($2 million), Breakaway ($1.9 million), Monsieur Lazhar ($1.8 million) and Café de Flore ($1.6 million).

Other sales by distributors more than doubled. Domestic sales (pay TV, DVD, video-on-demand, etc.) rose from $15 million to $34 million, thanks to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Barney’s Version, Incendies, Mr. Nobody, One Week and Splice, while international sales jumped from $22 million to $51 million, a spectacular increase due mainly to Barney’s Version, Incendies, Monsieur Lazhar and Le Vendeur.

It should be kept in mind that a film’s career often continues over several years.

Cultural component – down 20.4%

The feature films funded by Telefilm did very well in 2011, with 68 selections and nominations at prestigious international festivals and events, not to mention 31 international awards and 27 awards in Canada.*

The big Canadian cultural successes were Barney’s Version, Incendies, Monsieur Lazhar and Le Vendeur. However, despite this significant cultural performance, the Index indicates a 20.4% decline from 2010 since that was a truly exceptional year, thanks mainly to Incendies and Barney’s Version, which were at the peak of their international careers.

Industrial component – slight decline of 4.8%

The industrial attribute edged down 4.8%. This component refers to the share of private and foreign funding in feature films supported by Telefilm under the Canada Feature Film Fund. The private and foreign contribution lets us measure the leverage of Telefilm investments.

This share was 34.5% in 2011, compared to 36.2% in 2010. Telefilm encourages the industry to diversify its sources of funding. The Index’s variances for the industrial component will paint an enlightening picture of the industry’s evolution with regard to this objective.

Producer Robert Lantos added: “A producer’s mission is fulfilled when audiences embrace his film. The journey of Barney’s Version has been particularly gratifying, because its story and characters are so deeply and specifically rooted in Montreal. Yet, thanks to Mordecai Richler, the film’s language is universal, as evidenced by its many international awards and wide distribution throughout the world.”

Caramel Films president André Rouleau also added: “We’re really pleased that Caramel Films’ productions have been able to contribute to the growth of the Success Index, especially when doing so means you can still pursue excellence while succeeding both commercially and culturally.

* These figures do not include all awards received by Telefilm-supported films. On the international scene, festivals and events are selected for their size and cultural influence, while in Canada only the most prestigious awards are considered. For the list of festivals, events and awards used in calculating the Index, go to http://www.telefilm.ca/files/fonds_prog/List-of-festivals-and-events_Success-Index.pdf.

About Telefilm Canada

Telefilm is dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada’s audiovisual industry. Through its various funding and promotion programs, Telefilm supports dynamic companies and creative talent here at home and around the world. Telefilm also administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Visit telefilm.ca and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/telefilm_canada.

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Media inquiries:
Douglas Chow, Manager, External Communications
Telefilm Canada
514-283-0838, ext. 2225, or 1-800-567-0890
douglas.chow@telefilm.ca