The Taiwan Film Institute under the Ministry of Culture will launch an online box-office revenue system for production companies and related businesses Dec. 26, marking a major step toward greater transparency in the nation’s movie industry, according to the MOC.
Companies and individuals involved in film production, release and distribution will be able to view daily updates in sales data on the new system. Each month beginning Jan. 5, TFI will also publish ticket sales statistics concerning domestic and foreign releases on its website for the general public, said Chen Pin-chuan, CEO of the institute.
MOC Minister Cheng Li-chiun said that the release of market information will strengthen the financing system for local productions and help ensure the stable development of the domestic film industry. The MOC will continue working with theater operators and relevant organizations to ensure the transparency and reliability of box-office data, she added.
To date, ticket sales information in Taiwan has largely been provided by such organizations as the Taipei Film Trade Association and Taipei Theater Association. As a rule, the box-office revenue of a movie released across Taiwan has been roughly estimated based on its sales figures in the capital.
The TFI system has been established in accordance with amendments to The Motion Picture Act promulgated in June last year. Article 13 of the law requires movie theater operators to set up a computerized ticket sales information system with assistance from the government and make relevant data available to the public and private sectors.
Taiwan is home to a booming film market. First-run movies garnered NT$4.2 billion (US$135.1 million) at theaters in Taipei alone in 2015, rising from NT$3.7 billion in the previous year. While imported works, and in particular Hollywood productions, lead the domestic market, the nation has in recent years witnessed a revival of public interest in locally made films, which earned between 11 and 18 percent of the domestic box-office haul from 2011-2015 according to TFTA and TTA’s statistics. (KTJ-E)
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