Brazilian Exhibitors Step Up Demand For Local Films

There is a tremendous demand for Brazilian features at domestic cinemas right now due to a combination of recently established federal government quotas for local pics and the low supply of U.S. blockbusters resulting from last year’s Hollywood strikes, said participants of this year’s Expocine, Latin America’s largest theatrical distribution-based industry event held in Sao Paulo.

A presidential decree set the quotas for 2024. Exhibitors with more than 200 screens must reserve 16% of their screenings for Brazilian pics. The percentage is lower for smaller exhibitors, dropping to 7.5% for exhibitors with just one screen.

The decree also establishes a 50% limit of occupation for a single pic – usually a U.S. blockbuster – in an exhibitor’s circuit. If an exhibitor chooses to screen a blockbuster in more than half of their screening sessions, it must compensate within the year with screenings of local pics above the quota.

Marcelo Lima, CEO of Tonks, Expocine 2024’s organizer, said that industry leaders are negotiating with the government to renew the quotas in 2025 with the same conditions.

“Brazilian films have always been important for the market, but are more important now that there is a lack of U.S. content,” Sandro Rodrigues, president of H2O Films, an indie company that distributes Brazilian content only, told Variety. “The quotas particularly help local films that are performing well to remain for longer periods in the exhibition circuit.”

“We compete against a powerful industry. While Hollywood produces films with budgets of $50 million or more, ours have budgets of 20 million reais ($3.6 million), if that,” Marcio Fraccaroli, president of local indie distributor and producer Paris Filmes, elaborated.

“It is more than reasonable that Brazil regulates the sector, as many other countries do. This is the only way to have our stories, our language, our culture on the screen. But the quota should be the right one to not damage the exhibitors,” added Fraccaroli.

Lima said the Brazilian production sector, which relies heavily on government incentives, is underfunded, which is reflected in the quality of the country’s films. Some of the incentives, such as Article 3, have not updated their funding limit in many years. In general, the incentives’ limits have not increased at the same pace of production costs.

“What is the point of establishing quotas for exhibitors if you do not have money to produce properly?” questions Lima. “A significant part of the local production is of low-budget films that resemble telefilms.”

In spite of the financing hardships, a strong selection of local features will open in the coming months. The year’s buzziest Brazilian film is “I’m Still Here,” the latest drama from acclaimed helmer Walter Salles, which received the screenplay prize at September’s Venice Festival and is a strong contender for the international feature Oscar.

Another highlight of Salles’ pic is the performance of Fernanda Torres, as Eunice Paiva, the wife of Rubens Paiva, a congressman murdered in 1971 during the Brazilian military dictatorship. It’s a true story of a crime that remains unpunished like hundreds of others during the period. Sony will release the film on Nov. 7.

On the same day, distributor Imagem will open the animated feature “Noah’s Arc,” an $8 million-budget Brazil-India co-production that stands as the most expensive Brazilian animated feature ever. Gullane Entretenimento and Videofilmes produced in co-production with Symbiosys, from India, which animated the characters. The film’s story was created in Brazil by Felipe Sabino and Daniel Greco of NIP. Globo Filmes, Telecine, Imagem Filmes, CMG and Kabulete have also contributed to the production.

“Noah’s Arc” is based on the 1980 Bossa Nova album of Vinicius de Moraes, with songs for kids, which also launched an Emmy-awarded musical aired by broadcaster Globo.

“We started with this masterpiece of the Brazilian culture and produced an animated film with an original, humanistic story,”, Fabiano Gullane, director of Gullane Filmes, told Variety, adding Imagem is due to release the film on 800 to 1,000 screens, a significant share of the country’s total 3.530 screens.

Another potential local blockbuster is “O Auto da Compadecida 2,” the sequel of the 2000 feature hit based on the Globo series of the same name. Matheus Nachtergaele and Selton Mello, who starred in the first film and series, are back for this theatrical sequel, produced by Conspiracao and H2O. Vet helmer Guel Arraes, the director of the original pic, will co-direct “Auto 2” along with Flavia Lacerda.

Sandro Rodrigues, of H2O, which will release the pic on Dec. 25, said they aim to sell 5 million tickets. If so, it will be the best performance of a Brazilian film since “Minha Mae E uma Peça 3,” which opened in Dec. 2019.

“Chico Bento” is a live-action pic for kids, based on the graphic novel work of Mauricio de Sousa, “Brazil’s Walt Disney.” Fernando Fraiha helmed the pic, which is produced by Bionica Filmes and co-produced by Paris Filmes, Mauricio de Sousa Producoes and Paramount Pictures. Paris will release it on Jan. 25, 2025.

Another potential box office hit, “Homem com H” is an Esmir Filho-helmed biopic about Brazilian 83-year-old singer Ney Matogrosso, a transgressive performer who managed to become a star in a conservative society. Jesuita Barbosa plays the role of Matogrosso. Paris Filmes produced the pic and will release it on May 1, 2025.