In Bulgarian Cinemas from 20 July 2012 / Cancelled Releases

Acting with rage against BG cinema distribution

Аврора / Aurora (Romania) (A+) - This Romanian 180-minute extravaganza will be released only in the two arthouse cinemas in Sofia, so it could not conceal the fact that we have a week with no major releases in Bulgaria. And here are just some of the titles which were not distributed in Bulgaria this summer:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
The Three Stooges
The Five-Year Engagement
Think Like A Man
Friends with Kids
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Cosmopolis
People Like Us
Moonrise Kingdom
Katy Perry: Part Of Me
Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3
The Odd Life Of Timothy Green
The Apparition

And more to come... Go and watch Ice Age 4 again, it's not that it will become better on a second or a third viewing...
Trailer - Aurora

Cancelled Cinema Releases in Bulgaria

I've abandoned this feature for the last few months but here is a recap of all major releases which have been cancelled from cinema distribution in Bulgaria since the start of the year. The most striking case: Scorsese's Hugo.

Wanderlust - Universal
 

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Ind.
 

Dangerous Method - Ind.
 

Shame - Ind.
 

The Devil Inside - Paramount
 

In The Land Of Blood And Honey - Ind.
 

Big Miracle - Paramount
 

The Big Year - Fox
 

J. Edgar - Warner
 

The Lady - Ind.
 

The Sitter - Fox
 

Hugo - Paramount
 

The Lucky One - Warner

Expect more titles to enter the hall of shame during the next months.

NO ANONYMOUS, ALVIN 3, ZOO, CLOONEY, STRAW DOGS IN BULGARIA

Shakespeare or not Shakespeare, the truth remains hidden...

This feature is dedicated to the policy of depriving Bulgarians from watching major Hollywood films on the big screen and has nothing to do with the quality of the movies in question.  

 

Anonymous - It's a curiosity really, when Roland Emmerich makes a relatively good movie (half of the critics liked it, bar the UK ones), there is no chance for the film to be released on the big screen in Bulgaria. So, despite the heavy promotion and the almost ready advertising materials, Emmerich's view on Shakespeare was cancelled from cinema distribution in almost the 12th hour. All BBC purists can sleep calm now, at least until the blu-ray comes out...(Columbia/Alexandra)

Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked - No surprises here. The first two Alvin flicks didn't see the light of the cinema hall in Bulgaria, so no one familiar with the trends in the cinema distribution here was surprised from the fact that our country is one of the few worldwide where the chipmunks will not conquer the cinemas. Oh, it's difficult for the Bulgarian NATFA graduates to dub them after all... (Fox/Alexandra)

We Bought A Zoo - Someone somewhere has decided that Matt Damon is no star in Bulgaria (and having in mind the performance of Adjustment Bureau from earlier this year, maybe they have a point), so this feel-good drama was moved to April 2012. And as the latest Cameron Crowe is lacking any Oscar buzz and is almost a flop in the USA, don't expect to see it even then. (Fox /Alexandra)

The Descendants - We Bought A Zoo may be a flop, but the follow-up movie of Alexander Payne after the excellent Sideways is not only praised by critics but has already made above 30m bucks in the States. Of course, it won't be released here. Who needs quality movies when Underworld 4 is on the screens? (Fox/Alexandra)

Straw Dogs - This remake was met with indifference from audiences and critics all over the world, so its cinema cancellation is somewhat justified. Oh, and James Marsden is no Robert De Niro (it sounds absurd, I know). But what all True Blood fans have to do now, when they could not watch Alexander as the really really bad guy on the big screen...(Columbia/Alexandra)

No Footloose, Paranormal Activity 3, Warrior and More in Bulgaria!

Sorry guys, no dances in Bulgaria!

This feature is dedicated to the policy of depriving Bulgarians from watching major Hollywood films on the big screen and has nothing to do with the quality of the movies in question.  

The Major Ones

Paranormal Activity 3 - There should be no surprised here as the previous two Paranormal Activities never reached the legal movie market in Bulgaria. However, when they were released, the Paramount distributor(s) back then either had difficulties or was just entering the market to care for this chiller. Now the situation is just the opposite and while the fact that such genre pictures struggle to find their audience in Bulgaria justifies the cancellation of Paranormal Activity 3 distribution, with a USD 190m global box office, and counting, the film is slowly turning into one of the most successful titles to not get cinema release in this country in 2011. (Paramount/Forum Film)

Trailer

Footloose - Despite being the unexpected underdog flick in the USA (with USD 48m so far), the remake of the Kevin Bacon vehicle from 1984 never had the chance to be released in the BG cinemas. It's too American, you know. And it also drew surprisingly good critic reviews, so, of course, it won't be played here... (Paramount/Forum Film)

Trailer

Warrior - Though it's by far more superior than Real Steel, this boxer drama flopped in the States, which automatically means the film, despite having a premise suitable for our "pretentious" audience, was deprived of Bulgarian distribution. It's such a shame, really... (Ind/Forum Film)

Trailer

The arthouse ones:

Тhe Art Of Getting By (Fox Searchlight/Alexandra)

Trailer 

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Fox Searchlight/Alexandra)

Trailer 

No What's Your Number, Dolphin Tale, 30 Minutes or Less in Bulgaria!!!

This feature is dedicated to the policy of depriving Bulgarians from watching major Hollywood films on the big screen and has nothing to do with the quality of the movies in question.

Sorry Anna & Chris, your number doesn't start with +359

Let's start with What's Your Number now. Yes, by the looks of it, it is one of the lesser comedies this season, while the disastrous performance in the USA shows that even the Americans avoided it. However, when have the poor results of a movie stopped it from being released here and since when the tastes (for better or worse) of Bulgarians and Americans are alike? The truth is that such comedies, especially anchored by a female lead as Anna Faris, usually find their audience in Bulgaria. Oh, and why all cinemas were decorated with advertising for the film when it was clear from the start that the number of people willing to watch it here was never going to be calculated?

Trailer

Next up, and a slight step up in terms of quality, is Dolphin Tale. Despite showing great legs in the USA, with a boxoffice of almost USD 60m and counting, this Warner title was called off from the Bulgarian cinemas in the 11th hour. The strong boxoffice in the USA is another proof that the performance in the States is no indicative for getting a release here. The cute little movie, however, never stood the chance of seeing the light of the multiplex on these shores first because it has no A-list stars and second who cares to release a warm children story when there is Spy Kids 4 on the screens? Dolphin Tale also joins the prestigious league of autumn Warner child-orientated films which get scrapped in Bulgaria. The last I remember were Where The Wild Things Are and Legend of The Guardians - heavily advertised, never released...
Trailer 

And last but not least is 30 Minutes or Less, the follow-up of the great Zombieland of director Ruben Fleischer and star Jesse Eisenberg. Despite receiving healthy reviews and although it has no spectacular but a passable result in the USA, this crazy comedy was never too "important" to catch the attention of anyone responsible for its release here. So, it's better to have stupid flicks such as Abduction, The Three Musketeers, Dream House and so on and on, while one which actually looks like fun has to be watched legally only on the little screen. And let's be thankful that Sony is returning to the local DVD market, or you'd had to buy it from abroad instead...

Trailer

Expect very soon: NO FOOTLOOSE, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3, WARRIOR IN BULGARIA!!!

NO GLEE 3D/LION KING 3D/DEBT AND MORE IN BULGARIA

Even the new "acclaimed" city hall was not enough

So, the time has come for yet another issue of my favourite feature - Films which will never be released in Bulgaria. This time around, I'll focus on movies which, to be honest, have never been in the release schedules of the Bulgarian distributors, but which got broad distribution in the USA and other major countries:

The major 3D ones

Glee 3D - Despite some appeals of the Bulgarian fans of the popular TV series, this concert movie seeing the Glee cast performing live and in 3D, will not get even a single screening in Bulgaria. Fox and its Bulgarian distributor actually have never had such plans, but probably the fans have expected a miracle (and the posters in some cinemas didn't help much). Anyway, we should not blame the distributors (only) as due to the policy of the "biggest" Bulgarian TV channel bTV, the popular show never saw the light of the primetime. Yes, it is more important to play retarded Turkish series than shows with two consecutive wins in the best comedy or musical category at the Golden Globes. Thus, Glee never had the chance to gain the popularity it deserved, so as a result no one ever cared to put it on the big screens here. 

Trailer 

Lion King in 3D - There is not much to say here. Disney has decided to release its 1994 classic in 3D and Disney and its BG distributor have decided not to release it in Bulgaria. Go watch Spy Kids 4 instead...

Trailer

The lost Miramax ones

With the sale of Miramax, two movies which initially should have been distributed by Disney, i.e. Forum Film in Bulgaria, were sent in the limbo. Now, they are independent and thus no one give it a thought to buy them for a release here. So, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, the Del Toro produced and generally liked by critics and audiences chiller, and The Debt, the Sam Worthington/Helena Mirren thriller, can be found only on (I'm not gonna say the Z-word). It's a shame...

The Dark Trailer 

The Debt Trailer

The independent ones

Apollo 18 - the found footage genre was never popular in Bulgaria and I can bet that no distributor has even heard of this lost-on-the-moon curioso.

Trailer

Our Idiot Brother - A film with Paul Rudd in the lead to be released here? Are u kidding me?

Trailer

The lost Sony one

Attack The Block - Actually this praised by the UK critics movie appeared briefly in the distribution schedules and disappeared even more quickly afterwards. And believe me it's not the recent hoodie riots that prevented it from coming to our theatres.

Trailer

(Expect in the next months: NO 30 Minutes or Less, Paranormal Activity 3, The Thing, Footloose, What's Your Number and more...)

NO HANNA/MONTE CARLO/CHANGE-UP IN BULGARIA!!!

Putting a bullet in BG cinema distribution

!UPDATE! - The Change-Up and Crazy Stupid Love will be actually released in Bulgaria. Fingers crossed that the distributors will soon make features like this one useless. And let's hope that everything is okay in the Universe now ;)

So, unfortunately, the series of cancelled cinema distributions in Bulgaria continues at a full speed and will even accelerate in the next months. And for people like me, who hate downloading movies illegally or worse watch them on the small screens, this trend continues to be extremely irritating. Add the small number of actual premieres, and you'll see that instead of going forward the business here is going backwards, albeit the increased ticket sales...

Hanna - After several delays in the Bulgarian premiere schedule, one of the best reviewed movies this year has taken the WC road. It comes from director Joe Wright, whose excellent Pride & Prejudice and the now classic Atonement were released here (thanks Sunny & Prooptiki for that, they were Universal titles and in the current situation would have never been released in Bulgarian cinemas). His previous title Soloist suffered bad decisions at its studio and did not reach our shores (thanks Prooptiki for that) and now it's time for his latest to be also stuck in the closet. Hanna, which for sure would have insulted the more fainted hearts, tells the story of a girl assassin, chased by the merciless Cate Blanchett. Apart from her, the remaining cast is definitely solid stuff - Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana... The trailer really kicks ass and just imagine how it would all have looked in the cinema hall... Several months ago I wrote that Hanna would not be released here, despite all promises of the distributor. I just hate to be right for these things... ("Distributor" in Bulgaria - Alexandra)

Trailer

Monte Carlo - Let's be clear here - I know that this Selena Gomez flick would have sucked - it looks like a mesh-up of the bad Disney days when Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan were considered stars, but go and explain this to the little girls out there. Shouldn't they deserve a movie with their teen idol? And who has even thought of putting posters of Monte Carlo in the cinemas. This movie never actually stood the chance of getting distribution here...("Distributor" in Bulgaria - Alexandra)

Trailer 

The Change-Up - Oh, here comes my favourite studio in Hollywood. If you read my blog from time to time, you'll know at whose logo I'm looking right now... Another month, another Universal title cancelled... The fact that it stars Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Olivia Wilde and Leslie Mann doesn't convince the studio and its distributor in Bulgaria that it has to be released here. And yes, it's another R-rated comedy which will be available only on the Internet, just after Your Highness, Paul, Bridesmaids... I've never thought that I'm gonna miss Sunny or Prooptiki...("Distributor" in Bulgaria - Forum Film)

Trailer 

Expect soon features on the 99%-certain cancellation of the cinema distribution of Hoodwinked 2, The Thing, Wanderlast and even Crazy Stupid Love... The list is piling up!

No Prom/Bridesmaids/African Cats in Bulgaria!!!

Steady girls! There'll be no wedding here!

Another week, another example of unfair treatment of the Bulgarian cinema market. Two Disney movies expectedly gone, while another Universal title will only pass us by. But let's handle the cases separately:

The moment one of my colleagues started writing a long feature on Prom, I told him this movie would never get a distribution here. Just don't pay attention to what the distributor says, write for something else! He didn't listen. Anyway, the idea to distribute a movie about graduation from high school several weeks after the same event finishes in Bulgaria was never the most brilliant one. The film would have found success only if it was played in the peak of the prom hysteria in Bulgaria. And believe me, the fact that there is no single familiar face in the cast and worse - the film was a real flop even in its native USA have never worked for it getting a distribution here. The critics say it's awful, so no regrets (perhaps).
Trailer

But just forget about Prom, the case with Bridesmaids is quite the opposite. At the time of writing, the comedy has (take a deep breath) - a 7.7 rating on IMDB, 88% on Rottentomates and almost USD 108m in its BO run in the USA so far, with one of the smallest weekly declines this summer. The movie was declared a hit by critics, market observers and the audience. So why not distribution here? It's a Universal movie ladies and gentlemen! And we know that we are not worthy of their high-valued production. And while the cancellation of Your Highness and Paul was understandable (they did not make a lot of bucks abroad), this of Hop was a regrettable mistake, the no-release of Bridesmaids in Bulgaria is just too much. I personally cannot remember any successful Universal comedy from the past few years which we did not get here - even Funny People and Definitely Maybe somehow crept onto our screens. But in 2011 the situation is different! And we should be thankful for at least one or two movies per year from the aforementioned studio. And even should bring them flowers and sweets! Without having any insight into the situation, I'm certain that there are huge problems between the studio and its local distributors, but please for the cinema goers sake deal with them immediately!!!
Trailer 

And last, someone somewhere had included African Cats in the Bulgarian release schedule for this autumn. The moment I saw this, I just couldn't stop laughing. A documentary of Disney on the big screen here? Months after the US release, are you kidding me? That was never going to happen. And officially it will not...

Trailer

Responsible - Disney/Universal abroad & Forum Film here

No Arthur in Bulgaria!

It's official, there will be no Arthur in Bulgaria! Expect my comments in the Missed Opportunity section of my film reviews every Friday. For now I can only say that there will be a mere SEVEN movies debuting in Bulgaria in May, of which at least one is not certain...

Just wondering what big companies such as Alexandra and Forum Film are doing all day long when obviously they do not distribute films....

NO PAUL IN BULGARIA!!!

Any comments would be useless. It was expected and now it's official - Universal has cancelled the distribution of Paul in Bulgaria. The movie now becomes yet another Peck/Frost collaboration, next to Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuss, which is not worthy for our precious BG screens. 

And it is high time for Universal to change its name, or Bulgaria to officially declare it's not part of the universe!

Trailer 

Anyway, expect Arthur to join the club soon!

Let's go and see Love.net again then...

NO HOP/YOUR HIGHNESS IN BULGARIA!!!

Bulgaria is not part of the Univers(al)

With the start of 2011, surprisingly, the number of major Hollywood titles missing our big screens was kept to an absolute minimum. More or less, the only major studio pictures which did not get cinema distribution were Paramount's Never Say Never (The Justin Bieber biopic) and Sony's The Roommate. Of course, this trend was never going to last for long and the big casualties unfortunately will be registered next month.

Thus, the BG viewers will be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy two of the most exciting Universal films of the year. Yes, the Easter bunny comedy HOP and the R-rated extravaganza Your Highness will be available for now only on the Internet (and perhaps sometime later on legal DVD). There are still no reviews across the ocean and we can only judge by the trailers for their quality, but definitely they will be among the biggest MISSED OPPORTUNITIES of the year.

HOP - yes, at the end it may turn to be as stupid as Alvin and The Chipmunks - but just take a look at the bunny and the chickens in the trailer - aren't they the cutest live CG creatures for a very long time? And how often do we have Easter family movies? The answer is never! Yes, it's not 3D (so there will be no Yogi Bear magnitude cash), it has no big names but if it was dubbed in Bulgarian and with the proper advertising campaign it would have been massive around Easter. And what was the point of flooding the cinemas with all the promotional material? 

Trailer 

Your Highness - Just watch the R-rated trailer! It's so shocking that you'll not be able to stop laughing all day. And most of all it has the biggest actor and actress of the moment - James Franco and Natalie Portman! It would have been huge!

Trailer 

So what do we get instead? Rio - the chances are that this will be a second-tier staff and Fast Five - which is gonna break the BG boxoffice for sure. But first, and most importantly, we'll have Love.Net in April. The latest BG title not only has the worst trailer in a while, but actually is so poor, that Mission London will seem to you as a masterpiece. Nevertheless, it will be played in most of the cinema halls.

And finally, who is responsible? The BG distributor (Forum Film) will probably say it's not its fault. The market is small, and these movies will not bring enough money and therefore Universal has decided that we are not worthy of the titles. And perhaps they will be right, but to be treated as a second-hand market is not the best policy an international company should conduct. Still, we should not forget the poor results which Universal's last titles - Adjustment Bureau and Dilemma had in Bulgaria. I've already written about the way their distribution was handled, which lead to neglectable boxoffice and maybe now has led to this - no HOP and no Your Highness here! And don't fool yourself that the excellent Paul will reach our cinemas...

* And if somehow HOP and Your Highness reach the cinemas here, the post will disappear...