Garry Maddox, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports
As The
Sapphires heads into British cinemas this week after its Australian
success, the heartfelt comic musical has boosted careers left, right and
centre.
But who makes money out of all this success?
In taking $14.2 million at the box office, the film has confirmed
the talents of Deborah Mailman and Jessica Mauboy and established little-known
Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell, who play the four sassy singers in a 1960s
girl group.
It has also launched actor-director Wayne Blair into feature
films.
An estimated one million cinema viewers have now seen a story
about Aboriginal women rising above racism with warmth and humour, giving a
fresh perspective on indigenous Australia.
Only 13 Australian releases have taken more at the local box
office - a strong result for a film costing less than $10 million from a
first-time director with no huge stars.
While film is a notoriously complex business and The Sapphires producers
say it is too early to talk about income, only a small share of an $18 cinema
ticket will flow to its creators and backers.
An estimated $11.50 will go to the cinema operators to screen the
film.
The remaining $6.50 goes to the distributor, who might have risked
up to $3 million on creating prints of the film and advertising, as well as
providing a hefty advance during financing.
That leaves just $1 to $3 to flow, via Screen Australia to the
financiers, the investors (including Singapore's IFS Capital, private backers,
Screen Australia and Screen NSW) and the producers.
Sometimes the director and stars will eventually get a share;
other times they won't.
But the Australian cinema release is only the first stage of a
roll-out that can bring revenue to the producers and investors from around the
world for three years.
Last year's hit Red
Dog rewarded its investors from an even better Australian cinema
box office of $21.3 million.
The heartwarming drama about a kelpie who united a mining
community became the country's third-highest seller, behind only Avatar and Finding Nemo, with more
than 800,000 DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
''A great result at the cinema can be the locomotive to generate
other revenue streams that are cleaner, like DVD and digital downloads,''
producer Nelson Woss says.
The distributors of The
Sapphires are planning a more conservative 200,000 DVDs and
Blu-rays when it is released next month, although digital downloads on phones
and tablets have become increasingly valuable in the past year.
The revenue breakdown for The
Sapphires shows how tough the film business is for Australians.
''The exhibitor is in the box seat - the guy who takes the dollar
over the counter,'' says Screen Australia's head of production investment, Ross
Matthews.
''Then the distributor is next on the list. Down the back of the
bus, you'll find the poor old equity investors, looking pale.''
Mr Matthews says the cinema ticket breakdown demonstrates why a
country the size of Australia needs a subsidised film industry.
''It's pretty hard to turn a dollar for the investors out of an
Australian film,'' he said.
