The magazine is third in the film and leisure sector in the UK, behind Empire and Total Film, with a circulation of 21,431 according to the last set of ABCs for the July-December period, down from 21,570 a year earlier.
Paragon aims to boost the magazine's sales, while maintaining its status as a niche cult film title. Changes to the magazine include a rise in pagination to 180 pages, while it will shrink in size to the more square American Super A4 format, to make it stand out at newsstand. Its cover price rise to 拢3.99.
Editorial changes include more features, DVD reviews and expanding its existing coverage of retro films, which the publisher believes is key to its cult status. Paragon believes it this that appeals to the US market, where export copies have doubled.
Damian Butt, editorial director at Paragon, said: "Hotdog has always been the magazine for the hardcore film fan and its hard-hitting features and attitude is what made Paragon purchase the title from I Feel Good last year. There is a huge untapped market for this style of magazine in America and Hotdog is at the forefront of Paragon's expansion in this territory."
The company is understood to be in talks with four US publishers about a stateside launch. Although no names have been mentioned, Dennis Publishing, owner of lads mag Maxim is thought to be a likely candidate because it is planning to launch a film title in the US.
Paragon said it is monitoring sales of copies to the US and hopes to launch there in September. If the launch proves successful, it may launch other titles in the US.
It is also planning a number of new titles in the UK in the coming months.
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