Download "Circulation of European films on VOD and in cinemas" 

• On average, European consumers in the 21 European countries covered by our report have access to 8 528 European films on VOD in their countries, of which 6 958 are of European nonnational origin on any given day (May 2021 data). This compares to an average of 3 394 European films released in cinemas from 1996 to 2020 in the 21 European countries, of which 2 244 are of European non-national origin.
• Out of the 27 944 European films released in cinemas in the 21 countries (1996 – 2020) 16 515 films (59%) were available on VOD in May 2021 in at least one country.
• The main metrics/drivers explaining later VOD availability of theatrically released European films are commercial/theatrical success measured by theatrical admissions, the importance of the theatrical release measured by the number of theatrical release markets, perceived quality measured by awards and IMDb ratings, recentness of the film measured by the year of production and origin of a film measured by the country of origin. The report explores these 5 drivers which explain to some extent the later VOD availability of European theatrically released nonnational films.

The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg has just published a new trailblazing report on the circulation of European films on VOD and in cinemas.

This new report was authored by Christian Grece, TV and VOD Analyst within the Observatory’s Department for Market Information. The theatrical film exploitation data comes from the Observatory’s LUMIERE database, the VOD film exploitation data is based on data provided by JustWatch and available in the Observatory’s LUMIERE VOD database.

A few key findings of the report:

• The offer of theatrically released European non-national films on VOD in May 2021 is on average 71% higher than the number of European non-national films released in cinemas from 1996 to 2020 in a given country. On average, 3 336 theatrically released European non-national films are available on VOD, compared to 1 949 European non-national films released in cinemas in the 25-year period.
  This is due to the fact that VOD services offer the most successful European non-national films released in cinemas in the country (1 072 on average, 48% of theatrically released European non-national films in the country from 1996 to 2020 are available on VOD, representing 83% of admissions to European non-national films) and increase their offer of theatrical European non-national films by offering on average 2 264 films released in cinemas in other European countries but not the country of VOD availability.

• Commercial/theatrical success is the main explaining driving factor for VOD availability for European non-national films, as films available on VOD have an above-average level of admissions while films not available on VOD have a below-average level of admissions.

• The importance of the theatrical release is also correlated to later VOD availability while 82% of films not available on VOD had one theatrical release markets, often in their home market.

• Awards are a driver for VOD availability, with awards from major international films festivals and important national festivals being boosters for circulation in cinemas and on VOD.

• Increased VOD availability with recentness of film

• Production countries make a difference in terms of future VOD availability

 Presentation of this report by Christian Grece during our Advisory Committee meeting

Online workshop 10 December 2020, 15.00-17.30 (CET)

Free registration here

How can Europe ensure better respect of diversity and inclusion in its cinema, television and VOD industries? There has long been a keen awareness of the principles of equality and non-discrimination based on gender, origin, or disabilities enshrined in European media legislation. But more recent social changes, in particular concerning the position of women in the workplace and the #blacklivesmatter development have meant that diversity and inclusion have more recently come into sharper focus. What of the audiovisual industries in Europe? How are we ensuring better D&I in the creative processes of content production? And what about our on-screen representation of society in films, series and other audiovisual content? 

The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, is organizing this free online public workshop to look at strategies and challenges for increasing diversity and inclusion in the European audiovisual industries: both off-screen and on-screen. Indeed a major new legal report on D&I based on this workshop is planned by the Observatory for spring 2021.

Our first session will examine under-representation behind the camera. What is the situation off-screen? How inclusive is the world of film and television? And what are the good practices for actually measuring the level of diversity and inclusion in these industries? From the perspective of the labour market we will look at themes such as equal employment conditions and training opportunities for minority and under-represented groups.

The second session will focus on the best ways to promote inclusion and non-discrimination on screen/air. Again we will look at best practices for actually measuring the perception of D&I on screen and on air as this must surely be the starting point for any analysis. What are our barometers? We will also look at how film funds encourage broader on-screen diversity as well as look at broadcaster long-term strategies for promoting D&I on air. 
The Observatory will provide its scene setting analysis of the situation in Europe as regards D&I. The conference will be moderated by Maja Cappello, Head of the Observatory’s Department for Legal Information, and her team. 
Observatory Executive Director, Susanne Nikoltchev, said “the time is more than right to address current discussions and best practices on diversity and inclusion in European film, TV and VOD industries. It’s the Observatory’s role to provide a neutral platform for debating challenges and goals by bringing together stakeholders from the various sector and stimulating exchanges on possible future developments. The pandemic has not stopped us in this: we continue online!” 

Workshop speakers will be announced soon.