Hawaii's Market for Movies

Artsy films come to Hawaii theaters a lot later than one might expect given the fact that we're a pretty cosmopolitan, progressive, and some say "hip," state. An article by Mary Kaye Ritz in yesterday's Honolulu Advertiser, explains that this is because Hawaii has a low-ranking designated market area, or DMA, which is a measure used by distributors to decide which movies to release where and when. But the way a location's DMA is determined is not an appropriate indicator of Hawaii box office habits. (We're below Dayton, Jacksonville, Tulsa, and Toledo, for chrissakes!)

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this will change anytime soon, so in the meantime, we'll have to rely on programmers like Konrad Ng at the Academy of Arts, Don Brown at the UHM Cinema Series, and wait around for film fests like the two Hawaii International Film Festivals (April & October), Cinema Paradise (June), the Maui Film Festival (June), and the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival (May).

>> Not playing in a theater near you [Hnl Advertiser, 1/22/06]

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