Piracy hurting the NZ box office? Statistics NZ figures suggest 'no'

Is Piracy hurting the NZ box office? Figures just released by Statistics NZ suggest "no".

The agency says film making activity increased in NZ last year as total screen industry revenue rose 10%, to $3.29 billion on the back of foreign investment (taxpayers, of course, chipped in a bit of that total via tax rebates and other incentives for Hollywood studios to shoot here).

It goes on to note:

New Zealand is not only big on film making; its people also turn out to watch them. In 2010 a new record was set for annual box office takings.

Most of this revenue was captured in the 2010/11 Screen Industry Survey, when film exhibition rose 6 percent to $162 million.

In 2012, film exhibition revenue matched the previous year's high by remaining unchanged, at $162 million. This was despite the welcome distraction of the Rugby World Cup in September
and October 2011. The New Zealand Motion Picture Distributors’ Association noted that cinema admissions during the Rugby World Cup declined, but this did not adversely affect film exhibition
revenue for 2012.

So it seems NZ cinemas are holding the line after recent gains.

Some other interesting recent points of reference pin the piracy debate:

• recent reports that the new series of Game of Thrones set a ratings record for HBO - despite allegedly being the most pirated show in history (I skirted Sky TV, but chose to legally buy a copy from iTunes rather than steal). I guess sometimes any publicity is good publicity. And when legal download options are offered, many take them. 
• A Billboard report that digital music had its best ever week in January as 48 songs had more than 100,000 paid downloads and digital + disc sales eclipsed the former disc record (in terms of songs sold; downloads do sell for less).
• A PwC report that says movie and music revenues have stablised in NZ as online sales offset declining physical sales. PwC sees total market growth ahead (yes, it's $190 million box office prediction for 2012 was a little bullish).
• Then there's the curious phenomenon that while the music industry has enthusiastically issued notices under our new file sharing law, zip have been sent from NZ FACT, the lobby group representing the Hollywood studios. NZ FACT says its inaction is because it wants a lower-cost notice regime, and for ISPs to install filtering systems. Cynics will wonder if the NZ market's just too small to bother with and/or the odd movie download doesn't detract from what people spend at the cinema or on discs, or indeed the set fee they shell out to Sky TV each month.

People are still making money from movies and music - just not always the same people as before. Long term, regional monopolies - set up to protect exclusive distribution rather than copyright - will crumble, and consumers will have more choice. It's all good. 

RAW DATA: Statistics NZ's full screen industry report (PDF) and the accompanying Excel tables.

Follow @ChrisKeall

ckeall@nbr.co.nz