[floatl][/floatl]ZakZak reports (Japanese) that Gaga Communications will withdraw from the film production and purchasing business at the end of August. The company's finances have often been in a precarious position but they did have some notable successes such as introducing Hollywood hits like "Se7en" and "Hannibal" to Japanese audiences. The company became a subsidiary of USEN after losing heavily on "Van Helsing" but rebounded with the major hit "Shall We Dance?". The price of films has risen lately as there are more potential buyers so the potential losses from judging the market wrongly have spiralled. This year, Gaga promoted the fantasy epic "The Golden Compass" but it underperformed at the box office which appears to have been the final straw for USEN. Gaga still has some films scheduled for later this year including the new "Rambo" and "Sex and the City" but it looks like their roller coaster ride is now over. One industry journalist claims that, except for Toho, these are difficult times for all companies in the film business.
You know, I can't even remember the last time I went to the cinema. The thought of paying premium prices for a movie that's usually between 3 and 6 months old turns my skin. Thanks to this, I'll usually import the flick from Amazon on DVD around the same time it gets released here.
This is what happens when you live in a Global Economy, GaGa.
Edit: Just saw they are finally releasing Next at the cinema, holy shit that's late!
In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move - Douglas Adams