Film industry grows globally

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With the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences set to award its annual prizes for film and acting on Sunday, the high number of nominations of individuals and films with foreign ties reflects the fact that worldwide demand for films is growing and that the film industry sells more tickets outside than inside the United States. It also indicates that the art of cinema is becoming more of a global industry.In 2005, ticket sales for films inside the United States were at $8.99 billion. International sales totaled $14.3 billion. That compares to $7.66 billion in domestic sales and $12.2 billion in foreign sales in 2000. With more artists both in front of and behind the cameras from nations other than the United States, profits in foreign markets go up.This year, for example, at least two films nominated for awards other than in the Foreign Language Films category are wholly or largely in languages other than English. Another film, Babel, was filmed in several countries and resulted in nominations for a Japanese and a Mexican female actors as well as for the Mexican director of the film. Other acting nominations went to male and female actors from Benin, Spain, and the UK. Last year, nominated actors came from the UK, Colombia, and Iran.The business reality in the film industry is that if foreign actors are cast in roles in Hollywood productions, those films are likely to do better than usual in the regions where those actors are from. But that is only part of the picture. Several nations are nurturing indigenous film industries apart from the traditional Hollywood establishment. Those industries, in places as diverse as Mexico, Brazil, India, and China, provide competition that encourages the inclusion of international talent in Hollywood productions.