Film distributors note success of Ukrainian-language "Cars" (07/30/06)

Film distributors note success of Ukrainian-language "Cars"

by Yana Sedova
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - With the debut of "Cars" in Ukraine, the nation's film industry discovered that the Ukrainian language can be more profitable than Russian - a notion once unfathomable among its executives.

The Disney film not only became the first full-length foreign movie dubbed into the Ukrainian language, but also covered all production costs and got higher-than-expected box office returns, raking in 30 percent more profit than its Russian-language twin.

"Our (profit) expectations were about $350,000 for the Ukrainian version, however it earned $500,000," said Bohdan Batrukh, the general manager of B&H Distribution Co., the Kyiv-based company that distributed "Cars."

Even the Russian-language inhabitants of eastern Ukraine preferred the Ukrainian version of the film.

In Donetsk for example, the average number of viewers that saw the Ukrainian-version of "Cars" at a particular showing was 37, compared with 32 viewers who viewed a Russian-language screening.

The success arrived despite unfavorable conditions for the Ukrainian-language version, in which the film was shown primarily in the mornings and afternoons.

"Many of my friends didn't have the possibility to see 'Cars' in Ukrainian because of this schedule," said Oleksa Sanin, a well-known Ukrainian director whose two daughters, 7-year-old Ivanka and 4-year-old Sasha, became passionate fans of the film.

As is the case with many Ukrainian children now, the girls can easily identify models of cars, quote funny expressions of their favorite characters and collect merchandise.

"Cars" proved that films dubbed in Ukrainian are competitive, said Viacheslav Kyrylenko, Ukraine's vice prime minister for humanitarian affairs, who initiated a government resolution establishing Ukrainian-language dubbing quotas for foreign films.

The cartoon's success is expected to lift the sails for the next summer blockbuster that has already reached Ukraine's shores.

"Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest" started its voyage in Ukrainian theaters on July 13 and became the first film with real-life actors dubbed into Ukrainian.

It also features the voices of well-known Ukrainian actors, including the father-and-son acting team of Bohdan and Ostap Stupka, who handled the roles of pirate Bill and rebellious son Will Turner, respectively.

Pirate captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) also kids around in the Ukrainian language thanks to Fagot, leader of Ukrainian hip hop group, "Tanok na Maidani Congo."

About 55 percent of the "Pirates" versions distributed nationally are in Ukrainian, and 45 percent in Russian.

"'Cars' showed that we need more Ukrainian versions," Mr. Batrukh said. "However, we cannot ignore commercial rules and everything will depend on the viewers now. We hope this trend [towards increasing Ukrainian-language versions] will continue."

He expects "Pirates" sales will easily cover the estimated $50,000 cost of Ukrainian dubbing.

B&H Distribution Co. plans to dub ten more fiction films into the Ukrainian language by the year's end, he said.

The company has been working with two Kyiv-based companies that have technical equipment for high-quality dubbing - Lema Studio and Pteproduction Studio.

It's realistic to expect that in a year's time, every full-length movie released in Ukraine will be dubbed in both the Ukrainian and Russian languages, Mr. Batrukh said, which wasn't the case until this summer.

"The number of copies in each language will reflect the percentage of those ethnic groups that declare themselves as Russian- or Ukrainian-language speakers," he said.

Not everyone is sold on Ukrainian dubbing, however.

Prior to the release of "Cars," many pessimists among local distributors argued that viewers don't want to see movies in Ukrainian because they have gotten used to the Russian language.

Mykhailo Sokolov, president of the Association for Ukrainian Cinema Promotion, even addressed Mr. Kyrylenko directly and demanded that he revoke the government's decision establishing Ukrainian-language dubbing quotas.

Mr. Sokolov and the Association sued the Cabinet of Ministers in April, asserting that its decision violates the Constitution of Ukraine, which protects the free use of the Russian language and languages of all national minorities in Ukraine.

Now distributors will think twice, considering each distributed Ukrainian-language copy of "Cars" earned 50 cents more than its Russian-language counterpart.

"Those guys in Odesa who didn't take 'Cars' in Ukrainian on principle now took copies of 'Pirates' in Ukrainian," Mr. Batrukh said.

Odesa theaters were the only ones in Ukraine to outrightly reject the Ukrainian version, which was accepted even in Symferopol.

"And the guy who sued the Cabinet of Ministers - he actually owns one or two theaters and even asked us for a copy," Mr. Batrukh said. "So he also surrendered."

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