The long-awaited news is here! As a leading IFE Content Service Provider (CSP), we are delighted to now offer Early Window Content to all of our wireless customers. Inflight Dublin has worked hard over the years to develop trusted relationships with all major Hollywood studios, and of course other top studios across the globe. This development now allows airlines using Inflight Dublin’s wireless Everhub solution to give their passengers access to Early Window Content via their personal device.  This ensures that the same excellent selection of new movies and TV shows we provide for seatback VOD systems, are now available on our Everhub wireless IFE solution. 

© 2018 Warner Bros. Ent. All rights reserved.

The advancement further enhances our market leading wireless IFE offering and supports our mission to bring the latest IFE to all airborne passengers. Everhub wireless IFE has already been approved for browser based DRM, removing the need for passengers to download specific applications prior to boarding. This reinforces Inflight Dublin’s position as the only true end-to-end wireless IFE provider – offering multiple hardware options, innovative software platforms, and a comprehensive in-house content library with countless titles available from across the globe.

© 2018 WBEI  Publishing Rights © J.K.R.  TM WBEI

Transform your passengers experience on board with Inflight Dublin.

Quality. Innovation. Value.

 A24 has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the landscape of modern cinema, an unassuming production company and distributor whose ghostly arrival has garnered widespread critical acclaim, and even prestigious recognition from The Academy itself with Moonlight’s dark-horse victory over La La Land at the 2017 Academy Awards ceremony. The company has made a name for itself in the industry by releasing low-budget, critically successful indie films that may win awards, but don’t necessarily win over audiences.

In the past few years, an area which has prevailed as one of A24’s fortes is their ever-growing catalogue of unique indie horror films. Since the establishment of the literary horror genre, critics have been determined to define the content depending on the text (gothic, supernatural, fantastical, naturalistic, psychological, etc), and as the genre continues to develop, the discussion surrounding these definitions and their applicability has carried over into the world of film. Sitting atop the mountain of commercial and critical success for A24 is Ari Aster’s troublingly macabre masterpiece, the 2018 film Hereditary. One of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year, Hereditary has amassed an impressive 89% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes on top of its impressive box office intake. But a glaring discrepancy lies between the critics-to-audience reaction to the film.

Similarly to its’ A24 peers The Witch and It Comes at Night, the film failed to impress mainstream moviegoers generally and received a D+ grade on CinemaScore – a polling website which measures and rates audience viewing experiences in cinemas across America. What separates these films from their jump-scare riddled rivals, and is it feasible to fund more projects like Hereditary in future if audience reactions continue to dip so far below their critical counterparts? The term ‘post-horror’, coined by Steve Rose in his Guardian piece “How post-horror movies are taking over cinema”, has been used to define this current vogue subgenre of horror. But what does it mean, and where did it come from? Is it really a new genre or just a new way of presenting classic horror ideas? Three horror-fanatics, Aoife, Jamie, and Samantha, will discuss a number of topics related to this in an attempt to figure it all out!  

Sam: Have A24 created a new, better style of horror film or are these films nothing we haven’t seen before, but something audiences are no longer used to? Aoife: I would argue that it’s still horror but it’s returning to a style of subtle scares we’d have seen in the 60s and 70s, as opposed to the relentless gore porn a la Eli Roth we’ve been OD-ing on for the last 15 years. Something I remember about Haunting of Hill House (1963) is how understated but effective the scares were, for example, mirrors hung at weird angles to make the rooms look off created an incredible sense of uneasiness. Jamie: I’d put forward that in a way it is a new style of horror, besides a few exceptions of films like The Shining, Rosemary’s Baby, the original Suspiria, etc., although I’d be tentative to describe it as “better” than anything that has comes before it – people like what they like and whether one style is better than the other is entirely subjective. But I feel that A24’s contributions are distinctly more arthouse than any (successful) horrors with a more subtle approach to scares that we’ve seen in the past. Aoife: I agree the films A24 have pushed are more arthouse than the mainstream, and I suppose that’s the crux of my point – arthouse films are out there, they just haven’t been getting the big releases A24 are giving their films. Jamie: I suppose in that case the argument could be made that A24 are introducing a new audience (or maybe just resurrecting an old one) to modern horror, more so than creating an entirely new sub-genre. I can’t think of too many horror films released since the early 80s, right up until the past 4 or 5 years or so, which could be appreciated equally by both horror buffs with a craving to be spooked and movie geeks who are looking at films from a more analytical perspective. Sam: Horror films started out in the silent era and didn’t need to wait for the transition to sound other genres did, they were already popular. Horror has always been a staple of cinema, the first filming of Frankenstein was in 1910, but it, like all things, goes through cycles of popularity. I would argue that the emergence is just repeating itself from the 60’s and 70’s as Aoife said. Films are about when and where they were filmed, not when the plot was set, so they reflect the culture we currently live in. That calls into question what about our society are these films trying to represent. Jamie: I think it’s a good point and it’s fair to compare these ‘post-horror’ films to classic releases from the 60s and 70s, but I also believe that what sets these A24 movies apart from similarly slow-paced, atmospheric films of the past is their focus on the feeling of dread which generally stems from a much more ‘human’ place. Forget the demonic presence or the witch rituals, for me the real horror in these films comes from the collapse and failure of places or people we would typically turn to for refuge – the safety of our own home, the relationships with (or genetics inherited from) our families, the state of our own mind, and so on. Sam: I completely agree with you there about where the horror comes from in these films, which is a perfect lead into my next point.

Classic vs Modern vs Post-Horror: Sam: Isn’t the fact that horror films have abandoned jump scares and gore a positive thing? Now they can appeal to a wider audience as there is less there to immediately turn them off. Those who enjoy traditional horror films however may turned off because they’re not “scared” in the typical sense anymore. The emotion that horror elicits doesn’t have to be extreme, it can be a feeling of repulsion or foreboding; a heightened sense of alertness that manifests physically. The general public is turned off because they’re not getting what they’re seeking from these movies; the adrenaline rush of being frightened. Maybe they just don’t want to be horrified in the way that these A24 films are attempting to deliver on. Aoife: I don’t think that’s the case, genre fans who are au fait with pre-Blumhouse horror would be much more forgiving of ‘post-horror style’ scares. The general public though, perhaps. Those people who don’t actively seek out horror (like us weirdos) and only go to see the movies everyone is talking about because they expect to jump out of their seats with fright? No one can blame those guys for being annoyed when they’re presented with the likes of It Comes at Night. The slow-paced building of tension with muted release must be maddening to them, especially when you compare the film with the trailer. Jamie: I’m not sure that these films abandoning jump scares necessarily equates to them being more palatable to a wider audience. I think people who are actively turned-off by jump scares tend to have a dislike towards the grim and macabre in film generally – I’m not sure the likes of The Witch or Hereditary would tick the enjoyment boxes for these people as they maintain those disturbing elements which many people look to avoid. On top of that, the arthouse approach, slow pace and lack of jump scares eliminates another demographic of moviegoers who are hoping to see a horror film specifically to experience exactly that. The only wider audience I feel these movies could resonate with who may not enjoy ‘traditional’ horrors are genuine movie-buffs, people who have an appreciation for how the films are put together with regard to writing, cinematography, acting, atmosphere etc.  Aoife: I agree with Jamie on that one, I can see film-buffs who might usually turn their noses up at horror enjoying these despite their prejudices. Sam: I have to agree with you there too Jamie, there’s no denying how well put together these films are. There has been mention however of It Comes At NIght being the kind of film all audiences are tired of as they’ve had enough of the “trapped in isolation during a zombie attack”, and though It Comes At Night certainly isn’t that film, it does appear to be at first glance. Deadline Hollywood states poor word-of-mouth is what kept viewings low. Jamie: Absolutely, that movie is obviously a far cry from a zombie apocalypse isolation movie but I think the pre-release marketing and the resulting word-of-mouth really hurt the viewership and reputation for the film, which is a shame. Sam: Speaking of marketing, maybe we should turn our attention back to the production company that started this whole conversation.

Audience vs Critical Reception: Jamie: Much has been made about the discrepancies between the critical reviews and the audience reaction when it comes to these select horror films in the A24 catalogue. What does this discrepancy look like, and what exactly do we think is the reason for it? Sam: There’s been a definite trend in the market to bring out films loaded with jump-scares, we’re already on the sixth film in the Conjuring universe with another two in the works and no sign of their profits slowing down. Audiences live for these types of films, they hear the tinkling opening notes and the dark hallway and know exactly what they’re in for. There’s going to be a ghost, generally a vengeful one, and a group of people who can’t escape its haunted grasp. This tried and tested plot has been in vogue for quite a while after audiences got tired of the shaky found-footage horror films á la Paranormal Activity. And I think therein lies the issue, if you ask the Average Joe what his favourite horror film is, how many people are going to answer “It Comes At Night”? Of course there are the die-hard horror fans who have a whole repertoire of films under their belt you’ve probably never heard of (I just learned about Basket Case the other day) but there aren’t enough of them to be heard over the scores of “That was the worst move I’ve ever seen” because it wasn’t the movie those people were expecting. Aoife: It’s worth noting that while these films polarised audiences, it would be drawing a false conclusion to assume that the more mainstream Blumhouse equivalents went down much easier. Paranormal Activity has an Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes of 56%, Anabelle 36%, and The Purge 30%… Jamie: Aoife makes a good point, the only issue I’d raise is who we think the demographic of people logging in to Rotten Tomatoes to leave their little thinkpiece reviews are – a majority are very likely to be major film buffs. I think Cinemascore would make a more accurate reflection of initial audience reaction to films since you don’t have to log into Rotten Tomatoes to share your opinion, the scores are defined through ballot polling at the screening of the movies. Looking at those scores, Hereditary got a D+, It Comes at Night got a D, The Witch probably didn’t have a wide enough release as it doesn’t have a Cinemascore at all, Mother! got an F…In contrast Annabelle got a B rating here, so did Paranormal Activity 2, Insidious 3 has a B+, etc. I feel as though the audience who is bringing in the $143 million box office for Paranormal Activity 4 (nearly twice Hereditary’s box office, which remains A24’s highest grossing film) are generally teenagers looking for a quick spook, and if that’s what they get they will likely rave about the movie regardless of any critical scrutiny. Aoife: Cinemascores are notoriously tough on horror films, between 1986 and 2017 nineteen films got an F and of those nineteen, more than half are horror movies, though I concede that all those Blumhouse releases you mention Jamie have pretty excellent scores. That makes me wonder are we looking at this all the wrong way, it’s not that A24 have a ‘je ne sais quois’ that leaves critics enamoured and audiences bored, and it’s not that they’re necessarily doing anything all that groundbreaking, but it’s that Blumhouse have identified an X-Factor and know how to exploit it? Jamie: I definitely think Blumhouse have nailed a formula in terms of churning out horror films that follow very similar plot-points and scare tactics. But for the most part they remain critically panned and still mainly appeal to one specific demographic, and it seems to me that the formula may be starting to fail them somewhat as A24 continue to gain traction and find success with this new breed of horror that seems to go against the grain with regard to the path Blumhouse have laid out. Sam: I think we need to talk about A24’s marketing techniques as part of this discussion too. You ask anyone who went to see Hereditary if it’s the film they expected from watching the trailer and if they say yes they’re lying. All of their horror films are like this, and it’s both a blessing and a curse. It means for an audience member you’re going in blind, never getting what you expected, but for many this is exactly what turns them off. They wanted a scary film where they’re clutching their popcorn or laughing at the reactions of everyone around them. They’re looking for the adrenaline rush of being truly frightened, heart quickened and spending the walk home glancing over their shoulder… Jamie: I completely agree, the marketing of these movies is a crucial talking point for this discussion around reaction discrepancies. Arguably every horror film trailer A24 has released so far has been selling false promises, implying that these movies could be viewed in the same vein as films like IT, The Conjuring, Insidious, and so on. Inevitably this leads to disappointment on the part of people who go into these movies looking to destroy their armrests and jump out of their seats for the majority of the movie – multiple people I’ve spoken to personally have described movies like Hereditary or It Comes At Night as “boring”. But on the flip-side, would Hereditary have made nearly $80 million at the box office if it was marketed as the film it actually is, i.e. a slow-paced family drama with some horror elements and a gut-wrenching atmosphere that can make you feel physically ill? It’s a catch 22 for me, because on the downside you run the risk of disappointing a large percentage of your audience, but on a positive note you rake in enough money to fund that next risky project.

Looking at A24’s recent horror film output, and at how much we have managed to both agree and disagree with one another in the space of one conversation, the conclusion can be reached that art is, simply, subjective. The idea of post-horror as a genre seems to both fit and not depending on how you interpret the film, which though they are certainly influenced by classic horror films, stand alone in current cinema. It can be agreed however that these new style of films, whether post-horror or not, are certainly contributing to a revival of the genre.

Inflight Dublin, a leading IFE provider, has launched Everhub (Inflight Dublin’s end-to-end wireless IFE system) across the full flynas fleet, as part of a 2-year contract with the Saudi carrier. flynas is the leading low-cost carrier in Saudi Arabia and has a fleet of 30 aircraft, operating over 1,000 scheduled flights every week. The airline flies to 17 destinations within Saudi Arabia and 53 international destinations. Our collaboration with flynas aims to significantly enhance the airline’s passenger experience through innovative technology trends, resulting in a robust, yet easy to install IFE solution.  The new agreement supports flynas’ dedication to elevating passenger experience to the new heights. flynas passengers can enjoy movies, TV shows, music and podcasts, games, publications, a real time moving map, and the ability to provide feedback via a passenger survey. The system is currently offered in Arabic and English languages and can be simply accessed through a web browser using a phone, tablet or laptop.

flynas has the exclusive rights for use of the system in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and were thrilled with the speedy rollout (project took less than 4 weeks from contract stage to delivery of the first servers).

Everhub wireless system is a one-stop shop for all things IFE. Consisting of certified hardware, a versatile control centre and user-friendly front-end software. Each box can deliver over 12 hours of streamed video content. Inflight Dublin Chief Executive Officer, John White, further adds: “We’re delighted to be extending our wireless footprint into the MEA region. flynas is one of the leading LCC in the whole region and it makes us proud to be a part of their long-term passengers’ commitment.”

The first of the month is always an important day for us here at Inflight Dublin, as it’s when our clients’ inflight entertainment systems are updated with a selection of brand new content.

It’s the day when all those meticulously researched and lovingly curated films go from being an entry on a computer screen, to something that can be tangibly watched and enjoyed by a passenger. It mightn’t seem like much, but for us, it’s pretty exciting!

So, with a new month just around the corner, we’d thought we’d compile a list of just some of the fantastic films that will be going on-board as part of the September update.

And quite an update it is – we’ve got everything from action blockbusters to underground indie films to Bollywood epics, and much more besides.

Happy watching.

Deadpool 2

With its unique blend of sharp humour, postmodern narrative techniques and visceral action, Deadpool helped revitalise the superhero genre in 2016.

Deadpool 2 doesn’t deviate too much from the formula, but ramps it up, Spinal Tap-style, to eleven, and the result is the rare case of a sequel that’s an improvement on an already great first instalment.

The narrative centres on Ryan Reynold’s masked vigilante and his attempts to protect a young boy, who has supernatural abilities, from a time-traveling antagonist, Cable (played with suitable menace by Josh Brolin).

A critical and box office hit, passengers will love it. As long as they’re over 18. 😉

Tully

Charlize Theron stars as Marlo, a New York suburbanite who’s just given birth to her third son. Approaching breaking point due to the demands of motherhood, her wealthy brother hires Tully, a night-time nanny to help Marlo cope. Fraught at first, the relationship between mother and nanny soon develops into something special.

Tully is about a much overlooked topic in cinema – motherhood. Handling a tricky subject with humour and empathy, director Jason Reitman delivers a fantastic film that, propelled by Theron’s warm, heartfelt performance, is as moving as it is funny. A lovely watch and a perfect airline film.

American Animals

“One of the summer’s freshest, most entertaining films” according to Kenneth Turan of the L.A Times, American Animals is a heist film, but not the sort you’ve seen before.

Starring newcomers Evan Peters, Ann Dowd, Barry Keoghan, and Blake Jenner, the film follows four young Kentuckians and their plans to steal the rarest and most valuable books in their school library.

Subverting the genres’ clichés and hallmarks for something altogether more unique and fresh, passengers will love the film’s taut, slick storytelling and surprisingly philosophical, thought-provoking undercurrent.

On Chesil Beach

Thanks to pitch-perfect performances in Brooklyn and Lady Bird, Saoirse (that’s pronounced “Ser-Sha”) Ronan has quite rightly established herself as one of the leading actors of her generation, and she returns in On Chesil Beach, a film about the societal pressures in 60s England that threaten to derail an idyllic romance between a young couple.

As is to be expected, Ronan, who stars as Florence, is fantastic, delivering a performance that’s layered with humour and pathos, but Billy Howle, who stars opposite, more than holds his own too.

Established icons of British cinema, such as Emily Watson and Emily-Marie Duff, make up the wider support cast of this rich and engaging film.

Ready Player One

Steven Spielberg returns to the directing chair for the 34^th time (yes, you read the correctly – the 34^th time) with Ready Player One, a sci-fi adventure adapted from the multi-award winning novel of the same name.

Set in a stunningly realised virtual reality universe called OASIS, it follows Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) and his attempts to unlock the secrets of the mysterious world and those of its creator, James Halliday.

By blending old school Speilberg-isms with a modern visual style and contemporary cultural touchpoints, the director has created a bold film that is a worthy addition to his otherworldly canon. A must-see for any fans of the director, sci-fi, or just, well, really good movies.

White Fang

Based on the 1906 novel of the same name, White Fang is a timeless adventure about a wolfdog and his coming-of-age that has been loved by generations of children and adults alike.

It has been adapted for the small and big screen before, but never quite like this – animated in a lovely 3D style that is almost like a visual painting, and starring some top-end voice-acting talent (Nick Offerman, Rashida Jones and Paul Giamatti, to name but a few), this is its finest incarnation yet.

Avengers: Infinity War

Our favourite Marvel superheroes return in Avengers: Infinity War, where they must put aside their differences and team up to defeat the all-powerful, universe-destroying Thanos.

With its all-star cast, sharp, snappy script, engrossing narrative and mind melting action sequences, the film far transcends the massive expectation that preceded its release.

A success both with the critics and at the box office, it’s a blockbuster in the truest sense of the word.

Life Of the Party

Who doesn’t love Melissa McCarthy? From her iconic role as Sookie in Gilmore Girls to taking the lead in global superhits like Spy and The Heat, her loveable presence and instinctive, deft comedic touch lights up the screen.

Life of the Party sees her star as Deanna, a suburban housewife who decides to return to college and kick her life into gear following a painful divorce.

Much partying and hilarity ensues as she embraces her new lifestyle, however it’s to the horror of her daughter Maddie, who just so happens to attend the same school. Eek.

Belle et Sébastien 3, le dernier chapitre

The concluding chapter to the much loved French series about a child named Sébastien and his beloved dog Belle, Belle et Sébastien 3, le dernier chapitre is a heartwarming tale of family, love and loyalty.

In this third instalment we are introduced to the menacing Joseph (played by Clovis Cornillac who you may recognise from 2004 classic Un long dimanche de fiançailles) who claims he used to own Belle and will do whatever it takes to reclaim the Pyrenean mountain dog. Sébastien however, has other ideas.

A visually impressive film packed with snow-capped mountains and grand vistas, Belle et Sébastien 3, le dernier chapitre is a classic good-versus-evil tale that will be loved by the younger passengers on-board.

Rampage

Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a The Rock, brings his signature blend of charm, brawn and humour back to our backseat screens in Brad Peyton’s exhilarating Rampage.

Starring as Davis Okoye, Johnson plays a primatologist who has forged a special bond with George, an exceptionally intelligent silverback gorilla. When the latter becomes infected with a dangerous pathogen, he transforms into a city-destroying predator and up to Davis, and geneticist Kate Caldwell (brilliant played by Naomie Harris), to both save humanity, and the animal that was once his friend.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Empire magazine curated a list of the greatest Star Wars characters for their August 2018 issue, and you may be curious to know who came in at numero uno –  well, it was, of course, everyone’s favourite deep space outlaw, Han Solo.

This much-loved character takes centrestage in Solo: A Star Wars Story, a long awaited prequel that explores the history of the loveable rogue, aswell as the wider Star Wars universe.

Portrayed with just the right amount of brazen charm and cheeky arrogance by Aidan Ehrenceich, the film lives up to its high billing with a sharp script, blistering action sequences and a host of great characters, some of whom longtime fans will undoubtedly recognise.

The Monkey King 3

The third film in the massively popular Chinese franchise sees Aaron Kwok, Feng Shaofeng, Xiao Shenyang and Him Law once again join forces to continue their “Journey to the West” – this time entering a kingdom populated exclusively by woman.

A swashbuckling rollercoaster of a film, The Monkey King 3 is a well-told tale in the classic storytelling tradition that blends fantastic visuals and hilarious comedy. The numbers can speak for themselves, though – since its release, it’s become the fifth highest grossing Chinese film in 2018, raking in over $115 million at the international box office.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

A three hour extravaganza of colour and song, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is a fantasy and adventure epic that drew record numbers worldwide – it currently stands as the first ever film to gross over ₹10 billion, doing so in just ten days.

Taking off from where its predecessor, Baahubali: The Beginning, concluded, this second instalment centres around Amarendra Baahubali, a heroic leader who makes, as Simon Abrams wrote in his five star review for RogerEbert.com, “Conan the Barbarian look like a wimp”.

An exciting and surprisingly complex film, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is a visual feast, and a must-see for any fan of Indian cinema.

I recently came across an article called “The Relative Popularity of Genres Around the World” by Stephen Follows and Bruce Nash.

About how liked (or disliked) certain genres are in different countries, it’s a fascinating piece of research.

I thought it’d be a good idea to take a look at their findings.

Let’s dive in.

If we take 0% as the global average of a genre’s popularity, we can see, with a rating of 83%, that Italy really loves comedy movies.

I wasn’t surprised to see this. This is, after all, the country that gave us its very own comedy subgenre: commedia all’italiana (or “Comedy the Italian Way”).

At the opposite end, with a score of 64% below the global average, is South Korea.

South Koreans, generally speaking, like the genre to be part of a blend in their films. Parasite, for instance: a movie that’s as much a comedy as it is a thriller and drama.

So it mightn’t be a case that they dislike it, but rather prefer comedy to be another colour in an eclectic mix.

Let’s take a look at action movies.

This is an interesting one.

Whereas Italians are the world’s great lovers of comedy, with a score of 30% below, they’re not too fond of action.

South Korea, who weren’t keen on comedy, love it as much as the Italians don’t: they have a high rating of 40%. The two countries have the opposite taste in films!

The birthplace of Kung Fu, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, it’s not surprising that China tops the list.

However, for a country that gave us Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone and Chuck Norris, North America’s rating of 17% below is very surprising indeed.

Documentaries are huge in the US and Canada. Given the ubiquity of brands like National Geographic and Discovery, as well as names like Neil deGrasse Tyson, this isn’t unexpected.

The two countries have produced some excellent feature-lengths recently – Apollo 11, RBG, American Factory and Free Solo to name a few – and this has established them as leaders in documentary filmmaking.

There’s a correlation across the three Asian countries (South Korea, Japan and China). They all score well below the global average.

But this doesn’t mean that they don’t produce documentaries, and good ones too: Jiro Dreams of Sushi is one of my perfonal faves, and Last Train Home, Old Partner and Up the Yangtze are worth checking out too.

Remember what I wrote about South Korea and Italy having opposing tastes? Well, hold that thought. Because, with scores of 50% and 40% respectively, both countries find common ground in a love of drama.

But the most curious stat here is the UK.

Much like how I was taken aback by the US’ lack of love for action, I was surprised by the UK’s rating for drama.

This is the country that gave us everything from Shakespeare to Austen to The Crown; surely there has to be a greater appreciation than 2% below?

I would wager that if plays, novels and TV were included, we’d see the UK at the top of this one. Perhaps that’s a study for another time!

Considering their lack of love for comedies (24% below), it’s interesting that Russians like the genre a lot more when there’s some romance thrown in.

I wasn’t surprised when I saw this, though.

I recently researched the Russian market and it struck me that, along with action and historical films, the country produces a lot of rom-coms.

Status Free, Ice 2, Imperfect Man and How I Became Russian come to mind; cheerful, easygoing crowd-pleasers that packed Russian cinemas.

Mexico leads the way with a score of 18% above.

Recent romance-tinged Hollywood blockbusters, like The Shape of Water and Fifty Shades Freed, did well here. Both went to number one at the domestic box office, and accrued higher grosses in Mexico than in similarly-sized territories.

The country has a healthy market for homegrown romances too; Tod@s caen with a gross of $136 million, was 2019’s best performing Mexican language film.

Mexican cinemagoers are an open-minded bunch; not only do they love romance, but horror movies too.

This is what critic Justina Bonilla had to say about the country’s ties to the genre (I recommend reading the original article here):

On the flipside of the coin, the genre dies a gruesome death in China where we see the highest disapproval rating yet: 100% below the global average. Roger Garcia, executive director of the Hong Kong film festival, gave his take in this 2016 interview:

Conclusion

Follows and Nashs’ figures aren’t an exact science, and there will always be exceptions. Action films that do well in Italy for instance, or horrors that fall flat in Mexico.

Nevertheless, there’s no doubting that it’s an important and insightful piece of cinematic research.

The findings show us, not just the specific likes and dislikes of a given country, but how changeable and fluid genre popularity is; depending on the territory and culture, you can have wildly different results.

To each their own, I guess!

At Inflight Dublin, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality film, TV and audio content to our clients. If you’d like to learn how we can do the same for your airline, get in touch. Connect with us here.

Image Credits

• Images created by Inflight Dublin, based on the research by Stephen Follows and Bruce Nash of the American Film Market.

Further Reading

• “The Relative Popularity of Genres Around the World” by Stephen Follows and Bruce Nash.
• “Why Scary Chinese Movies Are So Scarce” by Li Anlan.
• “15 Movies to Get You Started With Mexican Horror” by Carlos Aguilar.
• “The Era of Italian Comedy” by Ancos.
• “The Top-Rated Movie in Every Country” by Emily Petsko.

Everhub™ enables passengers to engage with entertainment, on-board retail, and destination services via their mobile device or laptop. Via these devices, the passengers will be able to stream movies and audio files, read magazines and newspapers, play games, with children’s movies also available…… In the initial phase, Inflight Dublin will be offering the latest content, including movies, TV, Audio, Games, Magazines and Newspapers, provided in different languages. The second phase will include the rollout of the extended service offering further content such as destination services, ground transportation services, and retail services.

John White, Inflight Dublin’s CEO, adds: “This is our first Everhub™ partnership in Central Europe and we couldn’t be more excited! Smartwings’s continuous dedication to elevating passenger experience sits accordingly with our strategic vision on bringing IFE to every airborne passenger.” Everhub™ launched onboard Smartwings on selected flights from 24^th of November 2017.

Challenge

What was the requirement identified by Aer Lingus? Aer Lingus is the flag carrier airline of Ireland and the second-largest airline in Ireland. It currently serves more than 91 destinations across Europe, Africa and North America. Aer Lingus is one of our most valued clients and we are proud to have developed a strong relationship which we’ve established over the past 25 years. One of the key requirements that Aer Lingus identified in 2015 was the enhancement of the guest journey, loyalty and customer satisfaction. Based on the 2014 VOG results:

• Voice of guests results indicated static IFE customer satisfaction
• Results suggested there was insufficient choice for passengers
• Frequent flyers were dissatisfied with the limited, repetitive choice due to route specific content
• Inflight Dublin was tasked to come up with an IFE improvement strategy to improve the static customer satisfaction trends

Solution

How did we help Aer Lingus to overturn the situation?

Inflight Dublin carried out a comprehensive benchmarking exercise that compared Aer Lingus’ IFE offering against its key competitors as well as selected “best in class”. The key results showed a broad variety of content being deployed for cross-tier airlines (including more than 1500 movie channels, 100 radio channels, 100’s of CDs & audiobooks, TV shows and games).

Understanding Aer Lingus IFE positioning served as a starting point to determine the necessary next steps. Although Aer Lingus maintained a strong TV selection, our findings showed there was an opportunity to improve the guest experience by providing a more enhanced, differentiated movie offering.

After a detailed analysis and running numerous scenarios, Inflight Dublin proposed two recommendations (taking budget into consideration) that we felt would align Aer Lingus’ offering with that of other 4-Star airlines.

• Option 01:  20 blockbusters each direction, 25 Classic Movies both directions, 5 boxsets and 54 TV Shows
• Option 02:  24 blockbusters each direction, 24 Classic Movies both directions, 6 boxsets and 54 TV Shows

Inflight Dublin felt that there was a number of benefits to Aer Lingus based on our findings and resulting recommendations, including:

• Improved Guest experience through providing an enhanced content offering that will result in greater VOG results;
• A more competitive and differentiated movie selection aligning EI’s service with that of other 4 Star airlines;
• Encourage Guest interaction and feedback through innovative content plans that will help revolutionise Guest experience;
• Synergise marketing and promotional campaigns using our innovative content calendar; and
• Enhance efficiency on a cycle-by-cycle basis through our EI specific content plan.

Outcome

What were the resulting benefits to Aer Lingus?

The results of our strategy were extremely positive;  passengers who thought the offering was excellent / very good increased by over 15% (the highest it has been in three years) and passengers who thought the offering was fair / poor decreased by over 10% (the lowest it’s been in three years). In summary, this initiative resulted in immediate benefits to Aer Lingus and had a very positive impact on its Guests experience KPI’s. We at Inflight Dublin are extremely proud to have helped Aer Lingus develop its inflight entertainment to one that competes strongly with other four, and five star airlines.

Challenge

Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius and it’s the fourth largest carrier in Africa.  With flights to and from Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa, Air Mauritius now serves 24 regional and international destinations.

Air Mauritius is committed to deliver the “7 step plan”, set back in 2012. One of the key steps is improving overall service quality and the passenger experience that would be recognised by the industry. In order to do that, a requirement for the “IFE system with a difference” was made. This new IFE offering would provide the following:

• Unique selection of eclectic content, including the latest blockbusters  & international movies, TV shows , audio collections in adherence to their budget for the whole fleet of 10 aircraft
• Range of Exclusive Content that would follow an individual content strategy suggested by the CSP provider
• Improved GUI design for the passengers that is intuitive and user-friendly    

Based on the above criteria and a promise of a 4-star Skytrax status within a year, Inflight Dublin was selected in 2013 as the new CSP.

Solution

How did we help Air Mauritius to achieve 4 star status?

Inflight Dublin was awarded the CSP contract in April 2013. The contract commenced from July 2013 and has been successfully deployed for the past 4 years. At the beginning of the process, we have benchmarked Air Mauritius competitors’ IFE offering and provided an overall content strategy.

At the time, Air Mauritius had 3 IFE systems: Pac 3Ki VOD, Hi8 Analogue and ASL XPI DMR, which replaced VHS tapes. As an experienced CSP provider, we’ve delivered on all these systems without any delays, complying with all the deadlines provided by integrators.

Our dedicated account manager implemented an innovative content strategy that included the development of Air Mauritius Movie offerings – increased number of Hollywood Blockbusters and Classic films available on board, as well as the addition of a new International TV programming including French and Chinese comedy.

Inflight Dublin’s proposed solution for the XP1 route configuration allowed for programming to be based on specific routes and languages, providing the same offering as VOD system. The solution was very well received by the airline and further personalised the content delivery onboard.

By switching to a more powerful format, content quality has substantially increased.    

Further IFE highlights that cemented the Air Mauritius 4 star status include expansion of the AOD library, an introduction of the XP1 system (50% increased content on Classic aircraft) and delivery of the anticipated Web GUI.    

How did Air Mauritius content evolve over the years?

Air Mauritius content was significantly increased after the first cycle and continued in this trend for the past 4 years. Inflight Dublin currently provides the following content for Air Mauritius:

•  Blockbuster movies (Hollywood)
• International Titles
• French & Chinese TV
• TV comedy & Drama boxsets
• Kids bundle of movies and TV
• Podcasts and destination videos
• Exclusive content such as Fairdeal Bollywood movies

Outcome

Inflight Dublin has delivered on the promise to Air Mauritius to improve their Skytrax ratings to 4 stars within a year. It was a joint effort of the leading CSP provider, and Air Mauritius who put their trust in our capable hands and let us transform the inflight passenger experience.

Challenge:

What was the requirement identified by Sky Prime? Sky Prime is a well-established private aviation service provider (headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) serving many high profile clients and VVIP in the Middle East region and worldwide. Sky Prime provides top of the range private flight service and the current fleet consists of luxurious Airbus fleet (A319, A340, A320, A330, A340-200), Gulfstream private jets, spacious Phenom and Legacy Embraer aircraft. As a high-end aviation services provider, Sky Prime basic services offering includes inflight connectivity (in high demand currently), telephones, TV, games, and DVD. Airline wished to add to their sophisticated service for their valued passengers by giving them a bespoke experience in providing them with personal pre-loaded devices with high-quality entertainment. Sky Prime didn’t have any prior IFE onboard. This requirement represents Sky Prime’s commitment to a luxurious, seamless passenger experience, where relax and top notch inflight service play a pivotal role. This new IFE system will have the following:

1. Unique selection of eclectic content, including the latest Hollywood and Arabic Movies, TV shows, international audio albums and games on their whole fleet
2. Range of personalised local content that would follow an individual content strategy
3. All content will be provided on pre-loaded iPads, that will be distributed to the passengers as they are boarding the aircraft

Priding on our reactive approach and quick turnaround times, Sky Prime’s requirement for a complex IFE solution that could be deployed and operational in a very limited timeframe didn’t cause any problems.

Solution

Implementation of Sky Prime pre-loaded IFE solution   As part of their in-flight service, Sky Prime sought to complement their internet connectivity service with an Inflight Entertainment offering. Inflight Dublin has agreed to exclusively supply Inflight Entertainment products to be used on the passenger entertainment systems onboard Sky Prime’s aircraft. The client required high quality hardware that could be managed by Sky Prime staff on the ground and handed out to passengers in-flight. Inflight Dublin developed a high-end hardware, software, media and support service for Sky Prime. Leveraging the latest iPad pro’s, we developed a secure, Hollywood approved, mobile application. This application was expertly aligned with Sky Prime’s brand guidelines and was configured with the latest Movies, TV Shows, Music, and Games. One of the interesting differentiators was also an age restriction feature within the application to ensure children could not access certain content. Inflight Dublin also sourced the latest sync & charge carts to allow Sky Prime to easily manage and update the iPads in Riyadh.

Outcome

We’ve managed to turn this project around within 2 months, with the provision of more than 400 iPads for the whole fleet, installations, and content upload. Sky Prime now have a robust IFE offering, with expert ground support, that showcases their brand and emphasises their high-quality service to passengers. Moreover, this IFE solution provides the balanced inflight experience Sky Prime were seeking. Passengers now have access to the latest available entertainment via the iPads, whilst also having internet access for key communication activities, such as email and social media.

Challenge

What was the requirement identified by PrivatAir? PrivatAir is a Geneva-based business jet operator who delivers the highest quality inflight service to its customers. PrivatAir has been in operation for over 40 years, employs 400 people and has operating bases in Frankfurt (Germany), Geneva (Switzerland) and Copenhagen (Denmark). A key part of its service is the Inflight Entertainment offering. PrivatAir had a pre-loaded iPad solution that offered passengers movies, TV shows, music, games and digital publications. There were several logistics and operational problems with this solution. Airline crew had to manually update each single iPad with new content. Updates were happening all around the world (system breaking down), adding hours to their already busy schedule, which resulted in a real culprit for crew efficiency. Airline wished to offer a more dynamic, flexible IFE product that reduced cost and improved crew logistics and was looking at new ways on how to do this.

Solution

Privatair Everhub deployment   Inflight Dublin evaluated the operation and proposed our Wireless Everhub solution that would not only ensure costs savings, but would also mitigate the previous logistic issues that crew were experiencing by eliminating the manual updating of the iPads. After the initial presentation with PrivatAir / Hapag Lloyd team, they were very impressed and happy to proceed with the wireless solution. PrivatAir was included from a design point of view and collaboratively we fine-tuned the brand design. We then had a workshop with the crew and team in which we discussed their pain points and reviewed the current setup. In light of this, we demonstrated how the new set up would work and how more efficient it would be. Inflight Dublin suggested a portable wireless IFE server to be utilised as a streaming service. This meant that only the server needed to be updated, rather than having to update all iPads manually. The server streams video and audio files to the iPads and enables passengers to download their preferred publications. The experience for the passenger was identical to the pre-loaded iPad scenario, however, with an added benefit… they could also use their own mobile devices to stream media and download publications. For the crew, Inflight Dublin provided a dedicated mobile application. This “crew app” allowed a crew member to download the daily publication package before they boarded the aircraft, and with a push of a button, push the new package to the wireless IFE server.  

Outcome

From the content point of view, we provide PrivatAir with 10 movies, 10 TV Shows, 50 Albums, Publications and airline material per cycle.

This solution improved the passenger experience, by allowing PrivatAir to download the digital publications to their own devices. It also saved over 5 hours of work, per day, for PrivatAir’s crew, by providing a quick and easy way for them to update the digital publications. Senior Vice-President of Business Aviation at the airline, Pedro Caneira, reiterated that “Inflight Dublin developed a bespoke wireless IFE system, with crew management App…delivered in a highly efficient and professional manner. ”