Thai film-maker to increase production

He said the acquisition of MVD - formerly known as the Pacific Marketing & Entertainment Group - a leading distributor of international movie VCDs and DVDs, would drive its revenue to achieve the target of 1.48 billion Baht for the year. Of that, 1.1 billion Baht will come from sales of movie VCDs and DVDs. The process of acquiring MVD will be completed in the next quarter, Mr. Hongfa said.

He said the economic and political uncertainty could affect cinema-ticket sales but audiences had alternative choices by buying home entertainment like VCDs and DVDs, and such sales could offset the fall. Besides realizing revenue from MVD, M Pictures will have revenue from its own films. The company will produce its first movies this year.

Mr. Hongfa also said the move into film production followed its parent company’s decision that it should enter the business. Major Cineplex wants to see the annual value of the local movie market increase to 7 billion Baht, from currently 4 billion Baht.

M Pictures has established a wholly owned subsidiary, M39, to produce films with an initial budget of 200 million Baht for five movies this year. Three of these will be screened this year and the rest next year. Mr. Hongfa said ticket sales for its own films were forecast to aver-age 50 million Baht each. “Having our own movies will not only boost ticket sales, but also drive sales of VCDs and DVDs,” he said.

The company will also promote its own films in these formats. He said the company would show 36 international films in theaters this year, up from 30 last year, and that it expected 380 million Baht in ticket sales from the imported titles, against 280 million Baht last year. M Pictures has a 2009 budget of 350 million Baht for international film purchases.