SHOWBIZ STOCK WATCH: Soccer Kicks Hollywood to Limp May-June Performance in Europe!
by Steve Mason
As of the end of June, domestic box office was up slightly year-over-year, and the news is even better from overseas. Overall international box office is up about 20 percent for the first six months of 2008, but May and June have been a major disappointment. In fact, box office in foreign markets for May and June is off almost 9 percent from the same period last year. One factor in this decline that has not been discussed much is the viewer mania surrounding soccer's Euro Cup.
Although soccer as a spectator sport has yet to gain significant traction in the United States, it is king in Europe, and the Euro Cup happens just once every four years. Nations begin gearing up in May with the spectacle of the games themselves beginning in June. Spain defeated Germany 1-0 in the championship game, which was played on June 29.
To put the impact of the Euro Cup into perspective, Germany's opening-round game against Poland drew a 70 share in Germany. The Netherlands's opener drew an 82 share in Holland and 80% of those watching TV saw Portugal's opening round match. When Switzerland, a co-host of the Euro Cup, took on the Czech Republic, 70 percent of all Swiss watching television were tuned to the game. Ultimately, the title game drew an 80 share in Germany and an 81 share in Spain. Most of these numbers are bigger than any NFL Super Bowl and, in some countries, games outrated the 77 share legendarily received by the M*A*S*H finale in the United States back in 1983.
A sampling of box office receipts in individual European countries suggest that the Euro Cup has caused a movie slowdown in May and June year-over-year. In the last eight weeks, ticket sales are off 5 percent in Spain, 8 percent in Portugal, 11 percent in Switzerland, 12 percent in Italy, 20 percent in the Netherlands, 25 percent in Germany and 26 percent in Austria. England's team did not even qualify for the Euro Cup, but Euro Cup TV ratings were still strong, and May-June box office was down 10 percent in England. That represents a significant bite from the overall international take for Hollywood.
The Olympics in Beijing, set for Aug. 8-24, could also make a dent in international grosses, and, depending on how well the U.S. Olympic team performs, the quadrennial competition would even have a dampening affect at U.S. theaters. I will examine the "Olympics effect" in future articles.
Netherland never played against Portugal at this year's EURO Cup. Netherland played it's opening game against Italy while Portugal played against ......I don't really remember.
Posted by: Alex | July 07, 2008 at 02:26 AM
Portugal's opening game was against Turkey. Mase, does the World Cup another football tournament in which the U.S play in have any affect on box office stateside? The last World Cup was in July 2006 and it affected Europeon Box office but were there any changes in the u.s when America was playing its games?
Posted by: A.B | July 07, 2008 at 11:57 AM