Francisco Cordero, CEO and founder of BTF Media said that 2023 was a year of consolidation in cinema for the company since 2020. “It has been a change in the balance of content because it was a year in which we focused a little more on film production than on series,” he said, adding that thanks to this, four films will be released in 2024.
It is a path they began just before the pandemic, and despite the closure of cinemas and box office problems in Mexico, they have been recovering. “Little by little, the box office has been improving. The statistics say that Mexico is at 65% or 70% at the box office, and there we go,” he stated.
In 2023, they completed four original films in addition to four co-productions, for a total of eight films. Of them, four will debut in 2024.
Last year, they released in Mexico Dos más Dos, Soy tu Fan, La Película, Welcome al Norte, and Cómo Matar a Mamá, in addition to the co-productions with Spain El Hombre del Saco and La Navidad en sus Manos. Many of these are on platforms.
“For 2024, we have a film with Michelle Rodríguez, filmed in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Spain, that will be released on March 28. We also have a film called V de Víctor to release in April. Also, the launch of Tu Madre o la Mía, a co-production with Spain, on Mother’s Day, and we close the year in October with the premiere of a film we did three years ago, the first drama with Omar Chaparro, The Wingwalker. “We are thrilled with its result. With those four premieres, BTF would be closing this year,” said Cordero.
He noted platforms demand a lot of cinema because, after watching a series, the consumer looks for something shorter to avoid getting hooked or committed for so long. “I think all platforms need this type of content.”
He said that comedy is the predominant genre in Mexico, romantic comedy, which works very well in its different subgenres. “Followed by horror, which has a unique niche, also globally. According to last year’s statistics, two of the highest-grossing films were horror films. With this genre, we have a great ally in Mantícora Distribución, which distributes the horror films we make, and as of today, there are two. We also have a couple of films we are developing with them,” he said, adding that Mantícora Distribución is the organizer of the Horror Film Festival in Mexico, Mórbido TV, so they have good knowledge of the genre. “That alliance has worked very well for us.”
BTF Media premieres did very well last year. As an example, he mentioned Welcome al Norte. “A family film by Gustavo Loza, which we did very well in theaters. We were in fourth place at the box office. It is a road trip between the south and the north, where all the Mexican qualities are displayed, including those of the states visited by our beloved Silverio Palacios, who is the protagonist,” he said, pointing out that they have worked with premium talent, as well as with excellent directors, like the case of Loza.