Film Magazines – Market Round-Up
Up until the end of last year EMAP’s Empire and Premiere titles were the only mainstream news-stand magazines which catered for film fans. Then, as if publishers all of a sudden woke up to the fact that the movie magazine market was just waiting to explode, four new titles were launched in the space of seven months.
First came another EMAP title in the shape of Neon in November, then Total Film arrived from Future in January and May saw both Uncut (from IPC) and Movieplus (from Inside Publications) launch.
With the number of people visiting the cinema growing almost continuously over the past ten years from 74.8m in 1987 to 123.4m in 1996 , it remains open to debate why every publisher apart from EMAP was ignoring the market.
A possible factor is that film has now become ‘fashionable’ in much the same way that football has, with the new breed of men’s lifestyle magazines in particular including films as part of their coverage about what it is “cool” to do. Due to this an interest in films has become part of a wider picture of going out for an evening’s entertainment and enjoying a particular type of lifestyle. This has led to a great deal of variation in the fim titles which are currently on offer
The editorial and general layout, design and ‘feel’ of Premiere and Movieplus indicates that they aim to appeal to a niche market. The reviews for example generally cut straight to the chase and get to the heart of what a film is about and tend to be informative rather than insightful. Interviews are similar – Premiere‘s interviews even have question and answer-type layouts in order to get the best info out of the stars in the quickest and most efficient manner.
Empire essentially takes the Premier style and expands it to 146 pages whilst also making it a lighter, more populist read with a slant towards “entertainment” and humour. It also appears to be aimed at a younger audience. Advertisers in the issue looked at were in complete contrast to Movieplus and Premiere being mainly alcohol ads with a couple for cigarettes and cars as well. While the editorial, like Premiere, has a pretty much straightforward take on the film industry it does occasionally stray to the edges of the subject with a feature on, for example, what certain films would have been like if the actors who were rejected in the auditions or passed up the chance had made it to the leading role. There is also a more of a “newsy” feel to Empire, where you get the feeling that if something doesn’t make its pages then it won’t happen.
Total Film takes the Empire theme a step further, being louder and bolder with a more stylish layout and appearing to be aimed at an older male audience. One look at the cover with lines such as “16 pages of crumpet”, “chicks at the flicks” and “the bounciest babes from the biggest movies”, along with the picture of a semi-naked model swinging from a rope immediately announces a different kind of movie magazine. It is a magazine where the in-your-face design mirrors the up-front and uncompromising editorial style while the humour which often appears in Total Film is reminiscent of the lads-down-the-pub style which Loaded has perfected and is completely different from Empire which often appears aimed at a younger audience.
Neon would probably be quite a close rival to Total Film, appearing to be aimed at an older predominantly male audience. Overall it appears to revel in the darker side of movies – in its editorial it likes to look at themes such as sex, violence and drug and alcohol abuse. Its coverline for a Nicolas Cage interview for example is “Want Some?” and then “My motto’s always been maximum violence. Immediately.” Credit must be given to Neon for its distinctive appearance. Not only is it saddle-stitched but its cover and pages are thicker and have a matt finish. Many of the photographs are in grainy black and white and it uses an attractive, if slightly oddball, font throughout. Its undoubtedly stylish and definitely “different.”
Uncut, whilst obviously a slightly different animal due to its interest in both film and music, is probably the most upmarket and discerning title of all those looked at. While the editorial can get pretentious and overblown at times it often offers serious and intelligent insights into films and their actors. Film features in the issue looked at included items about Woody Allen and Steve McQueen as well as the ubiquitous reviews and previews which tend to be longer and more in-depth than those in other titles.
With 1997 predicted to show an even greater increase in the number of people going to the cinema, further expansion into this market is almost guaranteed. So far it appears that just the surface of a very rich seam has been scratched.