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International Newswire: ‘Paddington’ Mobile Game to Be Released

Paddington Run, from Gameloft
Courtesy: Gameloft

In the International Newswire today, a mobile game linked to the second ‘Paddington’ movie is readied for release; Disney unveils Latin American boxing bio-series ‘El Cesar’; piracy hems in music biz growth; and Chile sends ‘A Fantastic Woman’ to the Oscars.

Gameloft, Studiocanal and The Copyrights Group are teaming to develop “Paddington Run,” the official game of the second “Paddington” movie.

Featuring Paddington leading “a frantic race through the streets of London, trading his famous duffle coat for other clothes as players make their way through new levels,” “Paddington Run” will be made available for iPhone, iPad, iPad touch, Android and Windows Phone.

It underscores two core strategies, stressed by Vivendi head Vincent Bollore, at Vivendi and Studiocanal, part of the Vivendi-owned Canal Plus Group. One is synergy: Gameloft and The Copyrights Group are both Vivendi companies.

The other is the 360-degree exploitation, Hollywood-style, of franchises. Released in 2014, the Studiocanal-financed, distributed and sold “Paddington” earned some $300 million worldwide, including $76.3 million in the U.S., making it Studiocanal’s biggest earner ever and the highest-grossing family film made outside Hollywood. But if a company doesn’t own the game and merchandising rights, it’s leaving money on the table.

The second “Paddington” film rolls out worldwide from Nov. 10.

DISNEY, TV AZTECA, BTF MEDIA, SPACE UNVEIL ‘EL CESAR’
“Until I Met You,” the hugely successful Juan Gabriel biographical series — which encouraged Disney to plunge into the production of original series in Latin America — may have a successor.

Producers Disney Media Distribution Latin America, TV Azteca and BTF Media — fast emerging as a key production company in Latin America — have unveiled at a press conference in Mexico City “El Cesar,” the story of the rise and fall of real-life Mexican boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez.

Space releases the series in Latin America on Sept. 18, followed by Azteca 7 in Mexico and Telemundo in the U.S. Disney Media Distribution handles international distribution.

Bio-series are proliferating in Latin America. This looks, however, like one of the weightiest.

PIRACY STILL CONSTRAINS MUSIC INDUSTRY GROWTH (REPORT)
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the global recorded music industry body, has reported rising trade sales for the second consecutive year, with total revenues increasing 5.9% to $15.6 billion in 2016. But in a report released this week, the London-based Enders Analysis projects a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the global recorded music industry of just 2.3% to 2021.

Growth in streaming revenues this year comfortably outweighed falling purchases in most countries save, of biggest markets, Japan. But “the market remains awash with free music,” the report claimed. It added: “Streaming trade revenue growth could be higher still if the industry finds a solution to piracy through technological or regulatory means, obviating the need for the ad-funded compromise.”

CHILE SENDS ’A FANTASTIC WOMAN’ TO OSCARS
Sebastian Lelio’s transgender drama “A Fantastic Woman” has been selected by Chile as its entry for the foreign-language Oscar race. Other contestants have been entered recently by Lithuania, Colombia and Egypt.

Sony Pictures Classics acquired Lelio’s film going into the Berlin Film Festival, where it played in competition, winning the screenplay prize and the Teddy Award for best LGBT-themed film. Lelio’s latest pic “Disobedience” recently premiered in Toronto.

Meanwhile, Lithuania has sent Sharunas Bartas’ Ukraine War drama “Frost,” starring Vanessa Paradis, Colombia has picked Ivan D. Gaona’s contempo Western “Guilty Men,” and Egypt is backing Amr Salama’s “Sheikh Jackson,” about an Islamic cleric with a passion for Michael Jackson.