Arri Statement on future

I didn't read it, but I imagine they want to be acquired before it's too late.

It was a good run - the best in cinema history - and forever Hollywood.

Potential suitors...Canon, Sony, maybe one of the Mag 7, Apple being the favorite (if they had interest).
 
If they are sold I would think Fuji would be a good candidate. Of the big players they have the least developed cinema line and they've shown interest in the segment with the gfx eterna.
 
ARRI would likely want to be overvalued (hey, who doesn't) and if they can pay it, why not.
 
So Bloomberg said in August (IIRC) that ARRI was exploring, "Options Including Sale."

Here's a no-paywall article that basically covers what the one Brian linked to covers, but includes this bit:

“Like many companies in the film industry, ARRI is undergoing a significant transformation to address lasting shifts in market demand while reinforcing its core strengths,” company spokesman Kevin Schwutke explained in a statement to Bloomberg. The announcement comes a few months after a Bloomberg reportthat ARRI was exploring strategic options, including a potential full or partial sale while working with restructuring consultancy AlixPartners to streamline operations.
Click to expand...

The CineD article here:
www.cined.com

ARRI Cuts 150 Jobs and Closes Two German Facilities Amid Ongoing Production Decline | CineD

ARRI closes two German facilities and cuts 150 jobs amid Hollywood production decline, consolidating operations in Munich
www.cined.com www.cined.com

So maybe some private equity company that plays in the general media-tools space like Cerberus, Paladino Holdings, or Black Dragon Capital, or someone like Videndum or Audiotronix or Freeman or... I don't know; I'm not a finance guy.

But as cool as ARRI's equipment is, I wonder how much value other companies will see in the company. Some, for sure, but I'd guess not as much as 10 years ago...
 
Jim Feeley said:
So Bloomberg said in August (IIRC) that ARRI was exploring, "Options Including Sale."

Here's a no-paywall article that basically covers what the one Brian linked to covers, but includes this bit:



The CineD article here:
www.cined.com

ARRI Cuts 150 Jobs and Closes Two German Facilities Amid Ongoing Production Decline | CineD

ARRI closes two German facilities and cuts 150 jobs amid Hollywood production decline, consolidating operations in Munich
www.cined.com www.cined.com

So maybe some private equity company that plays in the general media-tools space like Cerberus, Paladino Holdings, or Black Dragon Capital, or someone like Videndum or Audiotronix or Freeman or... I don't know; I'm not a finance guy.

But as cool as ARRI's equipment is, I wonder how much value other companies will see in the company. Some, for sure, but I'd guess not as much as 10 years ago...
Click to expand...
I think the value in ARRI would be similar to what Nikon has done with Red - that is putting their image in low to mid tier cinema bodies.
 
Yes, It is an unforgiving industry. A race to absolute image quality along with great usability has been the game and was kind of won by Arri. But, once you reach a certain point, folks do not need much more and your business turns into replacement and service rather than large upgrades. I am speaking about cameras more than lighting. They mentioned that lighting is their focus but that is the area where the competition is most fierce. So kind of a bleak financial outlook. Take a chair before the music stops... :)
 
Are they a global rental house or an electronics manufacturer?

As a global rental house they might survive - the need to cover JoBerg

Attempting to be an electronics manufacturer is guarenteed death.
 
scorsesefan said:
I think the value in ARRI would be similar to what Nikon has done with Red - that is putting their image in low to mid tier cinema bodies.
Click to expand...
We don't know if 1:1 Arri/Red/BM images are possible in extremely small bodies (space for computing/cooling), but you aren't necessarily referencing size re "low to mid tier bodies", since bodies could still cost less and be bigger. This is why IMO the iphone filming is always going to be a series of tricks (clever tricks) rather than actual horsepower behind an image. I'm sure we're witnessing some type of limit with komodo x/pyxis sizing where smaller means IQ hit. So the question is whether a watered down arri image will be better than other options.
 
NorBro said:
I didn't read it, but I imagine they want to be acquired before it's too late.

It was a good run - the best in cinema history - and forever Hollywood.

Potential suitors...Canon, Sony, maybe one of the Mag 7, Apple being the favorite (if they had interest).
Click to expand...
Netflix for the win.
 
While in the middle of a bidding war for WB and extending a deal with Sony for something a few months ago, throw that on their plate too, they can handle it. :)
 
It's all kind of indicative of the times we live in. The news that, after 50 years with the ABC, that the Oscars are moving to YouTube from 2029 says it all. YouTube has an audience of 2.7 billion. Netflix has a subscriber base of 196 million. Streaming has overtaken cable and broadcast as the most-watched form of TV. The world of mass media is changing before our eyes. You don't need an ARRI for that.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/bu...able-broadcast-cable-tv-first-time-rcna213451

JVC have gone out of the serious ENG camera market. Panasonic has virtually stopped building ENG type cameras. Canon are struggling with their more expensive kit. Sony with their cheapish FX6 have stolen a lot of the old ENG and sports market. With major companies trying to integrate the FX6 even further. Even Sony are down to one shoulder mounted 2/3" ENG style camera. The PXW-Z750.

https://www.globalbroadcastindustry...amera-control-system-for-the-sony-fx6-camera/

The 'cinema camera' market has been butchered, with decent cameras from other manufactures coming in well under ARRI's pricing structure. Disrupters like BM have changed the camera market. Look at the discounts ARRI have been offering. Never seen that before from ARRI. It all seems pretty inevitable that this was going to happen. Blink and you won't know what happened. Creating media and getting it out there has moved to a whole new paradigm.

"The Creator" being filmed on the FX3 was just the tip of the iceberg. It was a shot across the bows of major cinema camera makers. Red have been devoured by Nikon. ARRI don't have a 'consumer line' to support them financially.

Panavision closing down in Hollywood was another indicator of things to come.

https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/03/15/panavision-hollywood-closing-down/

I fear the world a lot of us grew up and worked in has just rumbled past us like a train we missed.

Chris Young
 
Last edited:
There is no point in having cameras when computers will be creating 99% of the world's images in the future.

New generations will not thoroughly understand what human filmmaking and professional video coverage was. Hollywood motion pictures will be generated based on likeness and that will be perfectly normal and how life is supposed to be.

Okay, maybe a little bit of a stretch...but I think the world will be in such a robotic state in 100-200-500+ years that people are not going to be doing that kind of manual labor and creating videos and movies like we know today.

Elon Musk thinks no one will have to work in 10-20 years because of AI and robotics (that's soon, lol).
 
It would be a rough blow to think of Arri as a brand going away (which is not the case--yet). My formative years in the industry revolved considerably around Arri cameras, starting in film school in New York in the early 80's and progressing through my early years as a Steadicam operator and DP. In the Boston market where I worked until I was 30, it was all Arri for film cameras (I didn't touch a Panavision camera until my first shows out of LA in the late 90's, and Aatons were mostly seen in the doc world then).

It was very interesting to watch the digital "revolution" occur in the aughts, where Arri slipped behind Sony, Panavision, RED and other manufacturers. It felt like the stalwart Germans were not convinced that digital was here to stay, and dragging their heels. But the arrival of the Alexa surprised everyone and changed everything.

My nostalgia for their lighting side is more limited. I owned a few tungsten lighting kits back in the day, and while bulletproof, those big gray Thermodyne cases were awful to shlep around. The Skypanel was a great contribution but once again, they were too slow to update it and I'm more likely to see a Vortex doing the same thing now.

Guess we'll see how it works out.

Steadicam workshop, 1985
arri2c Large.jpeg

Student film, 1987
Sr2 Large.jpeg

Commercial, 1989
16BL Large.jpeg
 
This is a fun watch, and we hear a lot about sony cameras, DJI cameras and panavision/preston custom services.

If you have 'set' experience it is interesting as there a small details like choosing lidar focus and gmaster lenses because changing the traditional fiz motor set up was too big/slow

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top