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It’s Curtains for Foreign Films, Warns Cinema 21
Elisabeth Oktofani | February 21, 2011

Indonesian cinema industry giant Cineplex 21 said it welcomed competition with foreign investors but called on the government to put a priority on local distributors. Indonesian cinema industry giant Cineplex 21 said it welcomed competition with foreign investors but called on the government to put a priority on local distributors.
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renzila
1:30pm Feb 19, 2011

And who is paying the tax ? such as the VAT and Gov tax ... is the movie goers right ? if the tax is increase then the movie goers will find the price of the cinema tickets increase also... What makes it funny that the government office whom involve can not make any comment..(or they are waiting for ..???.. with the importer or the 21 cinema group ??)

"""""Government officials involved in the matter have repeatedly declined to provide details of the new levy, saying only that talks were ongoing.""""""""


jesuslovesyou
1:25pm Feb 19, 2011

I certainly hope this policy will not go through. All the comments written below are so true, we will be on the loosing end if this happens. Cinema operators will go bankrupt as a result and many many employees will be lain off. Businesses close down and more people jobless. Please reconsider....

VJ82
1:19pm Feb 19, 2011

Coming soon at Cinema XXI:

1. TEBUS

2. POCONG NGESOT

3. RUMAH TANPA JENDELA

4. CEWEK SAWERAN

Anyone? :P

Duck
12:41pm Feb 19, 2011

romi34r: Going to the cinema to watch a movie is not always about the movie, they are hurting the whole social experience that comes with it. It's not the same watching a dvd movie at home compared to in the cinema. Also, the appeal of going to a lot of malls in Indonesia will be damaged. This is just such a bad idea in general. Hopefully it will not go through.


Duck
12:10pm Feb 19, 2011

romi34r: Going to the cinema to watch a movie is not always about the movie, they are hurting the whole social experience that comes with it. It's not the same watching a dvd movie at home compared to in the cinema. Also, the appeal of going to a lot of malls in Indonesia will be damaged. This is just such a bad idea in general. Hopefully it will not go through.


Importation of foreign films into Indonesia has been halted and will only resume if the government revokes a new levy on imported films, the spokesman of 21 Cineplex has warned.

Noorca Masardi told the Jakarta Globe that 21, Indonesia’s largest movie theater chain with 500 screens, would only continue to screen foreign films that were already showing.

“[After this], we will not be able to screen any more imported films until the customs department changes its policy on film distribution in Indonesia,” he said, adding that this applies not only to movies from the United States but also Europe and Asia.

The Motion Picture Association on Thursday told journalists at a preview for “Black Swan” that the Oscar-nominated movie was likely the last foreign offering it would bring into this country because of the new levy on imported film distribution.

Noorca was quoted in other news portals as explaining that imported films already had to pay a 23.75 percent excise duty, a 10 percent tax to the central government and another 10-15 percent of the profit from ticket sales to regional governments. The new tax on distribution, he said, was also as much as 23.75 percent. 

“There is no similar rule in any other country,” he later told the Globe. 

Government officials involved in the matter have repeatedly declined to provide details of the new levy, saying only that talks were ongoing.

Noorca warned of the effect the policy would have has on the nation’s theaters and viewers.

“Every year, cinemas screen 50 to 80 local titles and 100 to 150 foreign titles. If the government does not revoke this new policy, it will kill the cinema industry in Indonesia,” he said. “If no solution is found, Indonesian cinemas will close down one by one.”

Indonesia’s film industry has suffered a downturn in recent years. In 2009, six local films sold more than a million tickets each at the box office. In 2010, only one movie broke the million mark. 

Last year, 81 Indonesian films had cinema releases, slightly down from 83 films in 2009, although a significant decline from 91 big-screen releases in 2008.

Members of the MPA include some of the biggest studios in the United States, including Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment.