Foreign films a tough sell in America, but remakes thrive

Quelle surprise...

Most Americans are lazy.

There are 20 foreign films in my streaming queue today - might watch 1 this week because reading the subtitles takes much more effort than watching English programming. We half-watch things and multi-task on others just like people around the world do if multiple screens are easily available. Subtitles don't work so well with that behavior.

I'm catching up on a little TV now. The audio is enough to follow the show. Don't need to watch it closely. Can't do that when reading subtitles.

A niche American audience will always go see a film with subtitles at art house cinemas, but “beyond that, to reach the general public is a problem.

I think there is a market for foreign films but not so much at the art house cinema. I watch a lot of foreign films via online streaming. That is where the bigger audience for these films will be found.

theFu,

Americans are the the biggest producers and consumers in the world. We can't be lazy to achieve such thresholds. Just because we only need to work 40-50 hours a week on average doesn't mean we are lazy, it means we are efficient. It means we don't have the peer pressure to force others to OT just because its a common practice which adds no value to production.

Those are the faux pas misunderstanding on Asians being more diligent than us.

Plus, we make much better movies than the rest of the world. Most of the rest of the world copy our scripts and music and make them into their own. If there is something interesting and worthwhile, of course we will pay attention to them. La Vita e Bella won an oscar for Benigni. This was a foreign film that became mainstream in America. It does happens.

Make something good and we will watch. All these stupid scary Japanese movies and drama cliche that makes no sense aren't worth a minute of our time. With all this money and creativity, the Japanese film industry really does a poor job on the international scenes.

A main problem according to a subtitle writer friend I know is that reading level of about 70% of Americans are too low to read subtitles. As a rule, subtitles can only be 5 to 7 words, so lots gets lost making the movie less interesting.

I chose my first sentence poorly. Sorry for the confusion it caused. The topic was why foreign films don't do well in the American market, right? Sorry to have stayed on topic, but not being clear that I was.

Do I know any Americans? THAT is just funny. I'm surrounded by them daily for the last 40-something years, except for the occasional trips overseas - usually only 6 times a year these days. ;) Oddly, both my neighbors are NOT native Americans, but the rest of the neighborhood is. I live outside Atlanta, ya'll.

When Americans want to watch TV/Movies, we are lazy. We don't want to work at reading, understanding, and translating non-native sentence structures for understanding. With Asian films, often the historical and cultural aspects of a plot are completely lost too. That is too much work for little payoff. Action movies are easier to understand, so they work better. Asian gore films translate too, but have smaller audiences. I am describing the majority of people in the "fly-over" states where people may have never traveled outside the USA. My Mom had no interest in going overseas - except to Australia, but she loved hearing about my trips everywhere and seeing the photos.

In my extended family of US university educated people - in mostly science and engineering degrees - 4 of 23 will watch a foreign film. We are light on liberal arts in the family. We 4 (the folks who would watch) enjoyed God of Cookery over Xmas together as the rest of the family did other things.

BTW, I'm American - AF-brat and never lived overseas. I worked 80-100 hrs for a few years as my business grew. Now I work much less - and have time to enjoy movies more. Was I lazy - definitely NOT - in relation to my work and business. I enjoy strenuous outdoor activities too, so I'm not lazy then either. However, there are times when watching the "boob-tube", reading subtitles is just too much effort.

Clearer?

Here's an idea. More American movies play OUTSIDE of American (in non-English speaking countries) that non English speaking movies play INSIDE of America.

Given the SHEER SIZE of the industry, and the amount of options available for movie watchers, could this simply reflect the fact that movies made in the U.S. are of a much higher quality, in general, than movies elsewhere?

I'm not saying great movies aren't made by non English speaking countries. But think of the U.S. industry as the MAJOR LEAGUES while every other country is the MINOR LEAGUES and this all makes sense.

Just like the best Japanese baseball players, golfers etc strive for the American Arena (major leagues, the masters, etc) maybe movies are the same way?

Besides, the average american moviegoer just wants to shut his brain off and enjoy the show. This is tough to do with subtitles AND a second rate show.

“people often think of action films or anime when you mention Japanese films.”

Really? Anime for sure, and even horror movies to an extent, but action doesn't pop to my mind at all when you say Japanese films.

TheFu: The idea that Americans are lazy and that's why foreign films are not as successful as remakes is utter malarky, as is the idea that only they multi-task when multi-tasking is an option, or that they cannot concentrate on subtitles. The fact of the matter is simply that the US produces the highest budget and most films and TV in the world, save India, who's films are not as successful overseas because they are culturally relevant to India where some of said relevance doesn't fly outside of Bollywood. Multi-tasking? I've NEVER seen so many TVs in North America placed in a spot where a person can glimpse at it while doing something else, be it the family watching over dinner, watching while cooking, TVs active while in the car via navigation systems, etc. Back to US being the most successful movie market in the world in terms of exporting and production, though, while a lot of remakes are complete duds vs. the originals, the bottom line is that mainstream Hollywood movies are far better than those of their counterparts. There's a reason why every nation on the planet that has screens imports US movies, but may not from others. The production value of movies here, save art-house movies (and anime), is pretty lousy for the most part, involves recycled stars only relevant in Japan, etc.

And I'm not a big fan of Hollywood by any means, and prefer 90% of Japanese originals to any remakes done in the US (although the US can be pretty creative sometimes in terms of 'cultural' translation, as with turning the classic Seven Samurai into a Western, making them somewhat incomparable).

America makes the best films... US is the Major League everyone else is in a minor league... Thank you for making me laugh. How arrogant can you get? That attitude alone says why foreign language films fail to find a US auduence. I dont agree with subtitles being a turn off... A lot of western movies have subtitles, such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars sagas. Nobody moans about them.

Lots of times when you go to a film the theater is almost empty, and that's for US films, although probably I went late in the distribution run.

Distributors and theater owners have to make their decisions based on economics, if they don't want to become ex-distributors and ex-owners.

I wouldn't really want to risk going to see a foreign film and finding a dud. Dud's are a lot cheaper at $5-$15 for used DVDs.

As a youth I saw "Seven Samurai" on PBS, and have been hooked on foreign films ever since.

It is amazing how many mediocre American films are based on really excellent foreign films.

1glenn: "It is amazing how many mediocre American films are based on really excellent foreign films."

Agreed. Goes both ways, though, with Japan making some terrible remakes of Western films, or ripping off the ideas. And on the contrary, there are those occasions where Western (not just American) films are better remakes than the original.

Thunderbird2: "How arrogant can you get? That attitude alone says why foreign language films fail to find a US auduence."

Not at all, and I'm not sure why pointing out that mainstream American films are better than mainstream (ie. non art-show) movies in other countries. They are, in general, and that is why they find world-wide audiences while foreign films don't in the US. It's nothing personal, Thunderbird, it's just fact -- and I'm not American. If you want to talk about arrogance in terms of cultural identity and imports and what not, just point out the fact that Korean movies and Dramas (if not now than a few years ago) are rented out more than domestic films and dramas at movie rental shops in Japan and sell better on Amazon and you have some people here who go ballistic. Of the top ten grossing movies in Japan, only five are Japanese, and all of those are anime (four being Miyazaki Hayao's). An American movie is about to break into the highest grossing film in Japan of all times, by the way, if it hasn't already. In the US some of the top grossing films are the same as those American films in Japan, giving further proof to gaijinfo's statement on the level of the industries as a whole.

gokai: "A main problem according to a subtitle writer friend I know is that reading level of about 70% of Americans are too low to read subtitles."

BS. If that were simply the reason than there were still be more imports but they would be dubbed, like foreign movies are for children in Japan because they cannot read the Kanji, or like anime from Japan in other nations.

In USA TV channels, every day, Japanese Anime films (reruns) are shown, Also old old b & w movies with subtitles on bottom come once in a great while. /Not only CN channel but many other channels. After these shows, the screen display large 3 info on ditributer, SONY PICTURES TELEVISION. Then many Japanese films have excellent voice actors. Why I know? Watch credit screens. Japanese names all over, Subtitles? Someone is talking B & W films. Voice actors and actresses are used. Old old samurai movies come out and my children used to say, "Mom, how come the subtitle is worse than your speaking?" No more such questions as we know who are voice acting. There is no subtitles in Ninja Turtles or any anime from Japan. Subtitle friend? There is no such jobs in Hollywood. Toei and other Japanese movie companies used to have subtitle makers who translated English to Japanese and Japanese to English (Not in USA) and translators omitted difficult Japanese to make narration in English). Not in USA. When needed, Hollywood use translation software but use voice actors/actresses for speaking part. Go check Hollywood area. Bunch of former stars who now make pretty good living rescued as voice actings. Color TV times. If you have screen writer friends, he.she must be over 70 years old Japanese person who worked fro B & W movies. Almost all of them live in Japan if they are alive. There was no such jobs for USA films even B & W eras, Voice actors. Not subtitles.

The problem lies in simple fact, Americans only like American stories, and they mostly dont care for foreign word , only people who are interested in other cultures and countries are watching foreign movies, but as we see , its a small niche group.

I want to remind you on the case of "Letters from Ivo Jima", while it was Clint Eastwood movie , it barely screened in US , and the reason why ? Its not because it was bad movie, quite opposite, it was one of this better works, the problem lies it was made in Japanese language and with mostly Japanese cast, and it was telling Japan story of the war . That same movies who was nominated for several rewards in world and in US , only earned 13 million $ in US , so, no mater is was mostly filmed in US and was made by US company , and was greatly well done, it still didnt managed to achieve success in US , simply, they treated that movie as foreign one ( and that is showcased how it was distributed in US, with lots of lagging ) .

And now to say another thing , about the trend of taking famous international entertainment brands and movies into Hollywood ones , of course again putting those stories into America and with American heroes , and in that way, taking away origin of those stories .

Even when story cant be changed , as it was a case with Dragon Ball movie and Ronin 47 , Americans always have a need to put American , or close to American as a main character, simply, they fear of not having character that look as mainstream American as a way of losing the money ( but again, I mentioned examples where they again lost their money , because it looked so stupid )

Telling that US mainstream movies are better than those from other markets is incredible nonsence, specially comparing it with European ones , the only diference is that European mainstream movies dont rely on super hero theme , while top mainstream movies in US are mostly super hero .

Someone say Japan movies are not well made, but what with Space Battleship Yamato movie ? It was one of the best made movies , or what to say about Ruroune Kenshin movies ? They are made under Warner Bros, so why they didnt tried to screen in US those movies ?

And then we got a Oscar, people often look at that reward as something that showcase the best from the world, but , the fact is its a show cast of AMERICAN movies , but still, Oscar is treated in the world as the biggest prize the movie can get , while the foreign movie can get only one reward there, and thats for foreign movie, and thats so sad, I can bet that Oscar is really international reward, the majority of rewards would be in the hands of foreign ones.

And now to explain my self, as someone who live in part of Europe where subs are normal thing ( tv, movies, anime, cartoons ) and we only use dub for things that are aimed for small kids who cant read , I think that people exaggerate problem of subs, I think the real problem lies in people willingness to listen foreign words, thats the problem , because subs are not something that disrupts watching movies so much as someone here want to say, and again, its a small effort to get used on subs, and not a excuse .

In USA, there are software products that translate voices to hearing language. But this is an article about foreign film sale in USA. So, I stick to USA situation. Japanese anime and other films do not use subtitles. That parctice by Japanese companies such as Toei, Tohoku and Shochiku were gone with death of B & W eras in Japan. Never in Hollywood.

Nenad Jovanović: ... Oscar ... while the foreign movie can get only one reward there, and thats for foreign movie, ...

The Artist (French movie) won Best Picture 2011. Lord of the Rings 3 won 2003.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture

I'm not sure why the U.S. is singled out for criticism in this article since it produces the most films in demand in the international market. The same preference for U.S. movies with a few local ones over other foreign movies exists in the box office results of virtually every international market in the world. Commentators who pretend that their own country rewards decent non-U.S. foreign films with substantial ticket sales are deluding themselves. Here is a chart of the major international markets and their Top 20 box office results for the previous week:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/

@ turbosat

You are right, "The Artist " won 5 of them , my mistake .

Well, because American movie watchers are not used to watch movies with subtitles, USA movie importing business must be skipping movies with subtitles. That could explain why they have hard time in trying to establish movie sales business in USA.

Toshiko: "There is no subtitles in Ninja Turtles or any anime from Japan."

Why would there be? The shows are mostly for kids, and correct me if I'm wrong, but is not EVERY movie in Japan released for children imported from foreign countries dubbed in Japanese? And it's a rhetorical question: the answer is yes, every movie for kids here from the US or elsewhere is dubbed. If you think Japan doesn't do it, why is Takako Matsu so popular here for her version of "Letto itto gou", let alone the entire movie being dubbed.

"Well, because American movie watchers are not used to watch movies with subtitles,"

Because American movies top the charts in all nations, and there aren't many movies that are not art-house worth importing and putting in theaters. You can try and site kids movies and anime all you want as 'proof', but again I'll just point out that kids in Japan watch dubbed versions of movies and shows too. For movies screened for adults, I've NEVER seen a dubbed movie in theaters in North America while there, save Hong Kong action films, where dubbing is part of the charm and the kitsch. Foreign movies just usually do not have the production value American movies do. They may have far better stories than mainstream American movies and shows, but not the cast or the budgets.

Nenad: "The problem lies in simple fact, Americans only like American stories"

Please! Do you want to know why regular American TV shows are starting to put in a token Japanese cast member into their programming? Because if there is a Japanese actor they know it will be shown in Japan and offered for rental in shops at about the same time as released in the US -- or at least a lot faster than other foreign programming. How about movies that are based on Japanese manga/stories, are remakes, or feature Japan or elements of the culture? The answer: if it paints the nation in a positive light or part of the culture with pride, then they are released the same time or soon after Hollywood releases them. If not, they are released much later, if not at all (as is the case with Lost in Translation and others). Why? because, as you claim Americans only like, Japan only likes to see stories about itself, if they are positive. My point is that if you are going to make such a generalization, just be aware that it swings both ways. If that needs more proving, let me ask you this: since you cite Letters from Iwo Jima as not being as popular in the US as it was overseas, let me ask you which of the two movies was more popular in Japan? Flags of our Fathers, the story of the American side, or Letters from Iwo Jima? the one more about the Japan side?

Doing well at the box office doesn't automatically make a film any better. You can have a great steaming pile of mince starring, say, Angelina Jolie and full of explosions and it's going to be a hit. Just means it's popular, not that it's actually any good..

@smithinjapan: Isn't this article about Foreign movie sales in USA? Nothing about movies sold in Japan. Please look back above article. Why are you writing movies in Japan?

Foreign films are a tough sell in America because, in general, the majority of Americans 1) do not like or cannot be bothered to read subtitles, and/or 2) have no interest or clueless about the world beyond their borders. Note that this is not the case in many other countries.

There are some art-house theaters that specialize in independent and foreign films, but they are few and far in between and only cater to a specific crowd that enjoys watching them.

Hahaha since i'm not from the U.S. this doesn't affect me at all.

As for arrogance, I'd say "keep doing remakes Hollywood" I always think the original is better, so I will not see the American version but the original version (to us since it will be subbed anyway doesn't matter if it is English or another language).

It happened with "The girl with the dragon tattoo" remake, never seen the version with that Craig guy, but the original Swedish version with Noomi Rapace (she's great!), same happened with "Nikita" I always prefer the French version with Anne Parillaud.

It was funny though what happened with "The hunger games" in Latin America there was a rumor that it was a rip off of "Battle Royale" so people got interested in those movies, although it was not in cinemas, you can get them on online stores.

I forgot "The Ring", people started to look for the original, because the first one got people interested and now those remakes promote also the originals outside U.S.

Simply because most people don't even know the remakes are remakes. They think they are all American and that's why they go see it. Its ironic in a way, the US is a collection of different nationalities, but there are some of the least accepting people on the planet.

Some movie remakes are pretty good by changing conversation lines and/or scenes. and/or actors, etc. Many people who watched original also watch remakes. Often same title, same producers and same production companies that own copyrights.