W

hen the government and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) agreed on a deal that would allow Hollywood films to enter the Indonesian market, movie fans thought it would mean a flash flood of summer blockbusters.

It turned out to be nothing more than a trickle.

Since the new deal was inked in July, only four Hollywood blockbusters have hit the screen: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Fast Five and Kung Fu Panda 2.

“Since the latest Harry Potter film premiered in Indonesia [on July 29], we only had three other Hollywood blockbusters on our screens,” Anandia Yuda Mahardika, a resident of Karet, South Jakarta, said on Thursday.

Fellow movie buff Aria Nurfikry said he was disappointed that after a long wait he had only seen three movies.

“I don’t know why it is taking so long for the movie chain to screen more films. But the unintended consequence is that people don’t have to scramble for tickets if all the Hollywood blockbusters are being screened simultaneously,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

But Anandia and Aria will soon have their prayers answered with local movie chains screening at least five more Hollywood summer hits later this week.

Marketing director of cinema chain Blitzmegaplex Dian Sunardi Munaf said that Captain America: The First Avenger would go into wide release on Friday, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes would have a midnight screening this weekend.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Hangover Part II are tentatively scheduled for wide release at our screens next week,” she told the Post on Thursday.

Superhero buffs and horror movie fans should also be delighted with the planned release of X-Men: First Class and Final Destination 5 the week after.

“This is absolutely good news,” Anandia said upon learning this.

Anandia said she had not bought a pirated DVD of the film because she wanted to see the movie on the big screen.

“No matter how good the quality [of the pirated DVD] is, it cannot compare to watching it at the cinema,” she said.

Ratna Dewi, fashion editor at local movie magazine Cinemags, said that she was eager to see the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a prequel to the Franklin J. Schaffner-directed 1968 film Planet of the Apes starring legendary actor Charlton Heston.

“Let’s look on the bright side of this scheduling glitch. Now, we’ll have many Hollywood films screening in the upcoming weeks to entertain us in the usually quiet movie season between summer and winter,” she said.

Three local importers, which hold exclusive rights to import Hollywood blockbusters from the MPA, suspended import activities in January while they settled tax cases in court worth up to Rp 300 billion (US$35.09 million), in unpaid royalty fees and penalties.

Hollywood blockbusters began to hit the screens of local cinemas in late July after the Culture and Tourism Ministry granted permission to film importer, PT Omega Film, to bring Hollywood films back to the country.

The appointment of Omega has drawn criticism from a number of local movie distributors including its main competitor, Blitz Megaplex.

Chief commissioner of Blitz Megaplex A.M. Hendropriyono said Omega Film should not be allowed to import MPA movies because it was affiliated with cinema giant 21 Cineplex Group, which has been held responsible for the unpaid back taxes.

Critics of Omega also accused the firm of having political connections with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s youngest son, Edhie Baskoro “Ibas” Yudhoyono.

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik denied that Edhie Baskoro, was the acting force behind Omega Film’s new license. (mim)