BG Boxoffice Update

(full of off-topics)

Hm, where is 127 Hours this week?

Expectedly, the latest BG hit Love.net ruled the weekend boxoffice in its first week of release. With almost 190,000 leva over the three days, the title ranks as the second most successful Bulgarian début in recent history, next to the 355,000 leva of Mission London registered last spring. The latter was however released with twice as less screens, which means that Love.net is actually not so huge as its distributors, sponsors and makers have wished for. Guys, let's not undervalue the support of NOVA tv, but it is not btv (and this is not a compliment to btv - one of the worst mistakes in the Bulgarian democracy). Still, the fact that Love.net scored the best début this year in Bulgaria's cinema's, albeit zero (Hop) competition, is quite an achievement.

As regards to the PR stories, which some colleagues have already been quick enough to publish without paying attention, I may say that sentences such as that Love.net has surpassed titles including The Tourist, The King's Speech, The Social Network, the last Harry Potter and Black Swan are more than stupid. You cannot compare a BG title, which is not available on the Internet, has enormous promotion with at least 20 sponsors (including the giant Mtel, which should finally get the bills of its clients in order rather than spending enormous amounts of cash on stupid advertising) and most of all is played on 33! screens with the aforementioned movies. And since when the success of a film in Bulgaria means that it is good? Actually, among the said titles, even the extremely bad The Tourist had Angelina and Depp!

A clear sign that the audiences sought alternatives this week is the minor fall registered by all major releases as compared to last week's results. Previous champion Limitless lost a slight 11%, while Just Go With It decreased 14%. At the same time Mars Needs Moms rose 4%, while Rango fell by only 4%, which means that animated movies were once again on the viewers' agenda. And the fact that the spring school holiday has started only underlines the pointless decision not to release pics such as Hop or Wimpy Kid 2 in Bulgaria. Clearly, in this period they would have been major hits...

And last, the other new release in the chart (there were two more new films, whose distributors do not care to provide boxoffice details) comes in at #19. With a poor 1,047 leva, 127 Hours, one of the best movies last year, crashed at the lower end of the countdown. Yes, it has only one screen, but still its performance is really a complete disaster.

Compared to my last week's projections, Love.net came close to my 200,000 leva forecast, while 127 Hours was nowhere near it (oh, what was I thinking).

Next weekend's projections:

Rio - 130,000 leva

The Rite - 30,000 leva (including previews)

Source Code - 35,000 leva

Austria's top economic news - April 4

The executive board members of Austria's leading utility Verbund received EUR 2.9m in payment for 2010. In comparison the executives of OMV got a total of EUR 10.735m. 
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Pipelife, in which brick maker Wienerberger owns 50%, has taken over the French plastics pipe activities of Alphacan. The transaction makes the buyer a leader on the local market. No financial details were given.
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Austria's Greens party has criticized technology group Andritz that it has delivered equipment to a nuclear power plant in Pakistan, local dailies reported. The company has rejected the accusations.

Austria's top economic news - April 1

Vaccine developer Intercell AG said it has agreed with partner Novartis to advance its investigational Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine into a confirmatory clinical efficacy trial in ventilated ICU (Intensive Care Unit) patients.
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BWT raised its 2010 sales by 15% to EUR 460.7m. EBIT went up 17.4% to EUR 31.5m. Net profit fell slightly to EUR 22.8m from EUR 23.1m. The company projects a net profit of EUR 18m for 2011 due to planned investments in Austria and Germany.
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Austria's unemployment rate continued to fall in March for a 13th month in a row. The number of unemployed stood at 252,587, down 5.2%. The rate came in at 4.3% under EU calculations.
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Atrium European Real Estate Limited announced a repurchasing offer for bonds worth EUR 35m and with a coupon of 6.8%, which expire in 2011.
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The Wifo and IHS economic research institutes have raised their outlook for the country's GDP development. Now they project 2.5% (Wifo) and 2.3% (IHS) real increase for 2011 and 2% (Wifo) and 2.1% (IHS) for 2012. A slight recovery in the labour market is expected. A strong increase inflation rate is forecast due to the high oil prices.
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Austria's construction sector reported an order backlog of EUR 6bn at the end of December 2010, up 0.3% year-on-year, Statistik Austria said. Orders in civil engineering fell 5.4% to EUR2.8bn.
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Austria's construction sector booked an output of EUR 14.3bn for 2010, down 4.7% in annual terms, Statistik Austria said. Output fell 2% in building construction and 8.4% in civil engineering.
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The turnover in Austria's industrial and construction sectors totalled EUR 21.8bn for December 2010, up 15.8%, the country's statistical office said.

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In BG Cinemas from April 1

Love.net/Love.net (Bulgaria) - After last year's enormous success of Mission London, it was inevitable that many Bulgarian film makers will try to find the next cash cow at the multiplexes. This year's great performance of Tilt and the more-than-respectable results of Footsteps in The Sand showed that the Bulgarian audience is hungry for local productions. And naturally here comes Love.net. Unfortunately, the movie arrives in cinemas not only with its great pretensions and gigantic promotion, but also with its low quality. Yes, all the aforementioned titles are far better than Love.net. As early as the first trailer arrived, it was clear that something has gone wrong. To sum it up, the movie really suffers from a predictable and full of clichés plot, bad editing and worst of all from poor acting. I know it is already a universal truth here, but no-one prepares Bulgarian actors to play before the camera. Yes, they are great in theatre, but in cinemas, they have to learn a lot. And why we have to suffer the attempt of Uriah Heep's ex-vocalist John Lawton (who is now known in Bulgaria only) to be an actor? And last, but not least, it's clear that via product placement the film makers find funds for their movies, but guys, it should have been more subtle! In that respect, a note to all who want to produce a BG movie, just go to the Nedelya sweet shop chain, they will give you the money...(Alexandra) **

Trailer

127 часа / 127 Hours (limited) - It's more than certain that no-one is gonna watch 127 Hours when the latest "great" BG picture has flooded the cinemas, and the fact that it has only one screening doesn't help either. Still, if you opt to tune down your patriotism and skip the BG movie with the English title, 127 Hours is the film you should check out. You probably already know what to expect - a thrilling study on the human will for survival, portrayed excellently by Danny Boyle and his lead James Franco (at least 127 Hours is a little consolation for all who feel betrayed from cancelling the Your Highness distribution here (and yes, I won't stop despite the film's bad press abroad)). And to join the horde of critics worldwide, yes, the pivotal arm scene is tough to watch, but still bearable. A special referring also to the great soundtrack of A.R. Rahman and the visual work of the movie's cinematographers. And did I mention how great Franco is? (А+) ****1/2

Trailer 

Бютифул / Biutiful (Mexico) (limited) - Perhaps spring time is not the best time to get depressed and many will probably avoid the latest title from director Alejandro González Iñárritu. This however doesn't mean that this extremely tough watch has got no merits. The movie's lead, Javier Bardem, battled with the aforementioned Franco for the Oscar this year (we however all knew that Colin Firth is gonna blow them off). Biutiful is a human story that will touch many who prefer films different from the regular popcorn Hollywood stuff. Just cross your fingers that there will be no teenagers or мутри next to you in the cinema hall... (Van Kris) ****

Trailer

When You're Strange - Филм за The Doors / When You're Strange (limited) - Unmissable for all fans of documentary film making, When You're Strange will be adored by all admirers of The Doors. For the rest of us, we can only congratulate the distributor for its bold decision to release it. (ProFilms) ***

Trailer 

MISSED OPPORTUNITY - Beastly - There were vague hopes that after the relative success of I Am Number Four in Bulgaria, the local Sony distributor will release this Alex Pettyfer vehicle, but of course this did not happen. Yes, it is maligned by the critics across the Atlantic, but still this new take on the Beauty and The Beast story would have been a curious watch. (Responsible Alexandra)

Trailer

The ratings:

***** Perfect

**** Unmissable

*** Fun

** So-so

* Stay away

Austria's top economic news - March 31

Technology group Andritz said it will start on April 6 a share buyback programme. The move, which envisages the acquisition of no more than 10% of the stock capital, will probably run until September 30.
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BDI BioEnergy International AG reported a net profit of EUR 3.4m for 2010, up from EUR 2.5m for 2009. Sales rose to EUR 39.9m from EUR 33.9m. The company plans further growth in 2011, especially in the field of waste to energy.
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Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) said its net profit rose 13.6% to EUR 413.3m in 2010 based on final figures. The consolidated premium income grew 7.2% to EUR 8.593bn. The combined ratio worsened to 98.4% but is to fall to 97% in 2011. VIG's pretax profit is expected to grow by 10% this year. The company will propose a dividend of EUR 1 for 2010, up from EUR 0.90 for 2009.
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Notebook maker Quanmax AG said its 2010 sales grew 30% to EUR 80.7m, while the net profit rose to EUR 4m from EUR 3.3m. The company expects to cross the EUR 100m mark in terms of sales this year.
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Insurer Uniqa reported a pretax profit of EUR 150m for 2010. The company will propose a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share for 2010.
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Technology group Binder+Co approved a dividend of EUR 1 per share for 2010.
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Gerhard Roiss, the newly-appointed CEO of OMV, plans to revamp the company's strategy. The rework of the strategy will focus on three sectors - regional concentration, portfolio development and future challenges. Furthermore, the importance of the Gas & Power (G&P) activities will be raised.
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Austrian online bookmaker Bwin, set up in 1997, ceased to exist as of March 31. The company will now operate as Bwin.party digital entertainment after the merger with UK PartyGaming. The new entity is listed in London.
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Oberbank plans to take a stake of 5% plus one share in the forthcoming IPO of aluminium group AMAG. The stake is estimated at around EUR 40m.
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BKS Bank generated a profit of EUR 3.9m in Slovenia last year, while the results in Croatia stood at a zero profit. As a whole, the bank booked a net profit of EUR 46.4m for 2010.
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Software company Plaut has confirmed its 2010 preliminary results. Its net profit grew to EUR 4.79m from EUR 4m for 2010.
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Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG said it plans to issue above 5m new shares at EUR 3.20 apiece. The capital hike will result in proceeds of EUR 16.25m. The subscription period will run between April 1 and 15.
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Oberbank closed 2010 with a record-high operating profit of EUR 218.3m, up 19.4%. The net result grew 27.2% to EUR 98.4m. The bank plans to continue its expansion in 2011.
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Frauenthal booked a net profit of EUR 17.4m for 2010, compared to a loss of EUR 29.4m a year earlier. Sales rose 19% to EUR 539.4m. The company will propose the payment of a dividend of EUR 0.1 per share, plus a bonus of EUR 0.2.
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Century Casinos said its 2010 net gaming revenue grew 22% to USD60.7m. EBITDA remained stable at USD 7.9m.
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Austria's Maastricht Deficit stood at 4.6% in 2010, an increase of 0.5% percentage points, Statistik Austria reported. The country's debt came in at 72.3% of the GDP, up 2.7 percentage points.
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The volume of freight transport on the Austrian section of the Danube rose 18.6% on the year to 11.1m tonnes in 2010, Statistik Austria said.

German chart comments - Issue date - 1.04.2011

Lady Gaga has to retreat from the number one in Germany two weeks after reaching it as Bruno Mars' "Grenade" regains strength and bounces back to the summit. The song, whose sales were boosted by performances on the DSDS show, has now five non-consecutive weeks as the German number one.

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The highest and for sure the most surprising new entry comes in at #3. Belgian singer Milow was extremely successful in 2009 with his take on 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology", which reached #2 in Germany. The song was followed by the #15 peak of "You Don't Know" and the #19 of "Out of My Hands". At that time, Milow was destined to be a one-hit wonder but now this all changes as his "You and Me (In My Pocket)", the lead single from his new album, enters directly at #3 in Germany.

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Milow even manages to outscore superstar Rihanna, whose "S&M" finally charts in Germany. Strangely, the singles from Rihanna's latest album have a somewhat delayed release schedule in the country, but you'd never know what's going on in the heads of these record companies. So the scandalous song shoots in at #5 this week, and deservingly becomes more successful than her previous "What's My Name" (peak #12). "S&M" is the 13th top 10 single of the singer in Germany. 

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Further down the top 10, Jennifer Lopez advances to #6 from #10 and if "On the Floor" doesn't move further up, it would be her third single to peak at #6 in the country. 

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In the top 20, new peaks for Usher's "More" at #14 and Die Atzen/Nena's "Strobo Pop" at #15, while Caro Emerald's "A Night Like This" is gaining pace and reaches #24. 

Before Caro, however, we have a third new entry at #18. With only a promo video until yesterday, "E.T." is the fourth single of Katy Perry's latest album and despite for now her least successful, expect it to soar in the upper reaches of the countdown as the song promotion gets a boost. The track is so good that it has to be among her best ones in chart terms. 

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New peaks to be observed also at #29 by Beth Ditto's "I Wrote The Book" and at #31 by Bullmeister's "Girls Beautiful". 

And the remaining new entries with videos:

41 Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude - As it is often the case, to be extremely successful in UK doesn't translate directly in a success abroad. Still, follow-up "Price Tag" may have better chances...

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43 Medina - Gutter  

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46 Guano Apes - Oh What A Night - Despite not so successful, it is always good to see the great German band back in the top 50.

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57 Alexis Jordan - Happiness

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58 Plastik Funk - Everybody Dance Now! 

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82 Andrea Renzullo - Heal - Andrea ranked fourth at the last year Supetalent casting, where his take on "Run" of Leona Lewis triggered the enormous interest in the song observed towards the end of 2010.

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94 RLP And Barbara Tucker - R.E.S.P.E.C.T 

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The Album Chart

This week's LP chart is flooded by seven new entries in the top 20. The highlights are once again set on Herbert Grönemeyer, whose 13th album "Schiffsverkehr" goes straight at #1. The German legend now has a total of 69! weeks atop of the LP charts and it's certain that this number will go up in the next weeks. Since his fifth album in 1984, Grönemeyer has never missed the number one slot - that's quite a record to be jealous of.

Another German veteran, Udo Jürgens, brings his latest album "Der ganz normale Wahnsinn" at #3, while Green Day's live compilation "Awesome As F**k" is at #5. 

New entries also for Joe Bonamassa's "Dust Bowl" at #10, Die Atzen's "Party Chaos" at #14, The Strokes' "Angles" at #15 and Avantasia's live LP "The Flying Opera - Around The World in 20 Days" at #18.