Driving Economic
Growth

This economic activity runs through every aspect of filmmaking from the earliest stages of development all the way to distribution. Each phase requires a substantial amount of people, investment, and creativity to produce a story that truly entertains fans.  The hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of people working in the various fields of development, pre-production, production, post-production, marketing, and distribution work together to produce and deliver the films we all know and love. Without the writing of scripts, financing, casting, hiring crew members, special effects, editing, and marketing – just to name a few crucial processes – your favorite movies would not be possible.Take a look at the infographic from Creativity Works! for a more in-depth look at the many steps involved in the filmmaking process.

Access to Global Markets

The motion picture and television industry is a global industry that creates a huge economic impact everywhere it calls home. The key to continuing this success is to work to avoid protectionism, counterfeiting and online piracy in global markets.

Keeping markets open enables people around the world to enjoy the movies they love, and strong intellectual property rights protect millions of jobs worldwide supported by the industry.

While copyright laws vary from country to country, a set of international agreements helps to protect creators and makers’ intellectual property rights across the globe. The World Trade Organization (WTO) establishes global trade rules, as well as a minimum level of protection for intellectual property rights under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Bilateral and regional trade agreements further deepen commerce and investment between the United States and its trading partners. Trade pacts help protect jobs by reducing trade barriers and protecting against discriminatory trade practices.

A number of countries in the Asia Pacific, including Mexico, are currently negotiating agreements that have the potential to significantly expand trade flows, including access to greater content and entertainment. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional pact that would encompass much of the Asia-Pacific region, proposes including strong standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for the 21st century. Meanwhile, the United States and European Union have agreed to launch talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Agreement, which would cut tariffs, improve regulatory cohesion and strengthen cooperation on intellectual property rights.

Nationwide, the creative and media industry makes up 3% of Mexico’s total GDP – closely following contributions from aerospace, agriculture, and automobiles.  Through that economic activity, the country now ranks as the 18th largest exporter of creative goods in the world, as well as the largest exporter of Spanish-language goods, with such exports exceeding more than $5.9 billion.

In 2017, with 176 domestic films produced, we again reached a historical record. Likewise, 22.4 million admissions to Mexican films were tallied in movie theaters, making it the year with the fourth most attendance in the last 25 years, and 65.8 million people viewed recently released national films on open television. Alternative exhibition grew in terms of the number of festivals, with 143 counted, 10 more than the previous year, and close to 500 film clubs were mapped, the highest figure since the tally began in 2013. Mexican releases in the international sphere and the 412 participations of domestic films in film festivals abroad, with 103 awards received, also show a cinema which is earning a place in the world. In addition, the increase in exhibition infrastructure in multiscreen complexes throughout the country generates investment and creates jobs. As demonstrated by the data presented by INEGI, in 2016, the film industry grew five times more than the national economy overall, creating more than 28 000 positions, of which 40% were occupied by women. Expenditure on the acquisition of goods and services having to do with our cinema rose to 31 660 million pesos, exceeding by 15.2% that of 2015, while spending on film consumption was greater than that on other cultural goods and services, such as books and concerts; these figures reflect the importance of motion pictures in the  cultural life and entertainment of the Mexican people.

There were 424 films released in commercial theaters, 4% more than in 2016 and the highest figure since 1994, when the multiplex model was introduced in Mexico.

Over the past eight years there has been a 25% increase in the number of screens and a 36% one in theater complexes. This year, 6 633 screens were registered in 816 complexes. So, Mexico is a very good venue for enjoying films.

The same report states that Brazil’s audiovisual industry was responsible for 0.38% of the nation’s GDP after directly contributing R $55.4 billion to the nation’s economy in 2013. Additionally, ANCINE predicts that Brazil’s film market, which currently stands as the world’s 11th largest, will become the fifth largest by the year 2020.

Read the report, The Economic Impact of Brazil’s Audiovisual Industry, to learn more about how the film industry works in Brazil to create jobs and boost the national economy.

Here are some more key facts about Brazil’s vibrant theatrical marketplace:

• The Box Office revenues in South America rose from $1.4 billion in 2007 to $2.8 billion in 2012, an increase of 100%.
• In 2016 Q1 – Q3 Brazil’s Box Office was BRL 2,04 billion with and audience of 146,1 million, representing a growth of 10,5% in audience and 15,1% in box office over the same period in 2015.
• Domestic films’ share of Box Office in 2016 was 12,1%.
• While 102 national titles were released in 2016, 231 foreign films were released in the same year, accounting for 69,5% of the releases.
• Brazil is now home to 3,098 total cinema screens. Additionally, 99,19% of those screens are digital.

Key to this growth is the strong ties between the American and Brazilian film industries. Between 2010 and 2014, the two countries worked together to generate over 100 co-produced films. These co-productions are a creative venue for cultural exchange and mutual economic growth.