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Monthly Archives: April 2009

Daily Cinema Roundup-Monday April 27

Posted by Carolyn Giardina | April 27, 2009 2:22 pm


–News on the Croisette: Xpand announced today that it was officially chosen as the 3D digital system provider at this year’s Festival De Cannes.

The 62nd Festival de Cannes will begin its opening ceremony on May 13 with Pixar Animation Studios’ first stereoscopic 3D animated feature “Up,” which Disney opens May 29 in North America.

Xpand will supply the projection for the “Up” screening, and will have four additional 3D systems throughout the Film Festival and the Marché du Film. The 3D screenings will be integrated by XDC using Christie projectors. Presentations will use the Xpand Series 101 3D active glasses.

Xpand reported that it has exceeded more than 800 3D screens worldwide and has approximately 100 transacted deals scheduled through June 2009.

“Up” looks poised to be another hit for Pixar. A 47 minute “Up” preview was screened last month at Showest and received very favorable feedback.

–UK theme park Legoland Windsor and RealD have partnered to upgrade the park’s Imagination Theatre with RealD 3D technology. This marks RealD’s first installation in a European theme park and the second partnership between RealD and Legoland (RealD is installed at Legoland California).

The Imagination Theatre 4D presentations “Spellbreaker 4D” and “Bob the Builder in 4D”  are slated to combine digital 3D with environmental elements, such as wind and water.

Popularity: 28% [?]

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‘Monsters’ Continues to Influence Box Office

Posted by Carolyn Giardina | April 26, 2009 1:21 pm


Dreamworks Animation’s debut stereoscopic 3D title “Monsters Vs. Aliens” raked in another $8.5 million at the US box office this weekend, helping bring its domestic gross to $174.8 million and allowing its international box office to cross the $300 million mark. The film opened March 27 in the US and is the highest grossing film of 2009 to date, both in the domestic and worldwide box office.

A second 3D release, Focus’ “Coraline,” also sits in the US box office’s top 10 for the year so far. At number nine, the Henry Selick-directed stop-motion title has earned just shy of $75 million.

For other recent 3D releases: Lionsgate’s “My Bloody Valentine 3D” has taken in $51.5 million in the domestic market; and Disney’s 3D only release “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” earned $19.1 from roughly 1200 3-D screens.

In contrast to the Jonas release, Disney’s 3D “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert” earned $65.5 million on only 650 screens in 2008. What factor or factors caused this difference? Was it the popularity of Miley Cyrus? Was it the fact that the “Hannah Montana” movie opened the day after the live concert tour wrapped, and was therefore considered more of an “event?”

–In this weekend’s US box office news, Screen Gems’ Beyonce Knowles starrer “Obsessed” led the pack, opening with $28.5 million.

But perhaps more notable is that “Earth”—the debut documentary from Disney’s new Disneynature banner—finished in the No. 5 slot with $8.6 million for the weekend. The movie opened last Wednesday and the five-day cum is $14.2 million. The result seems underscore the potential of digital documentary/alternative content. Disneynature launched in 2008 with a slate of nature documentaries. At the time, Disney chairman Dick Cook said 3D was a possibility for future Disneynature releases.

“Earth” is the first title from producer-director Alastair Fothergill (BBC and Discovery Channel’s “Planet Earth”), who has multipicture deal with Disneynature.

Announced productions under the new banner include “Oceans” and “Orangutans: One Minute to Midnight.” Both are slated for a 2010 release.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Posted in Alternative Content, Digital 3D
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Daily Cinema Roundup - Fri 24 April

Posted by Patrick von Sychowski | April 24, 2009 5:07 am


- Imax’s presence in China is expanding through a new deal, according to THR.com’s Asia edition. “Imax on Thursday signed a deal with China Film Group to open a super-size screen in a new multiplex in Tianjin, China, this October. The deal brings to 41 the number of screens Imax expects to have by 2012 in China, its second-largest market after the U.S.” We also note and congratulate our friends and colleague Patrick Frater, who has joined THR Asia, thus completing the hat trick of working for Screen, Variety and now THR, having done stellar work at them all;

- Projector makes Christie has given details about its digital cinema NOC (network operation centre). The press release gives some impressive stats, “Christie Managed Services currently provides round-the-clock monitoring of 32,431 devices, including 3,780 digital cinema screens and 4,700 pre-show advertising screens in over 830 sites across North America. It is staffed with over 180 remote and customer service personnel and field technicians.” Make sure you visit it if you ever pass through Cyprus, CA. Any time. We hear its open 24/7;

- The first European live 3D broadcast over satellite went out to multi locations across Italy on April 19th, showing a of a complete basketball game. This was part of an announcement at NAB about the coming together of several stereoscopic distribution pioneers, “International Datacasting Corp and Sensio Technologies announced today the beginning of their first operational roll-out of live 3D in high definition for digital cinema in Europe” and “OpenSky has formed the 3D Stereoscopic group (3DSG), a partnership with dBW Communication and Eutelsat for the end-to-end production and distribution of 3D live events across Europe.” Expect to see more in the coming year;

- On an adjacent frequency, Dolby has formed a partnership with Arqiva to deliver alternative content across Europe, according to today’s press release. “Dolby Laboratories today launched Dolby Direct Distribution Services—a pan-European satellite content delivery network for digital cinemas. The service is provided in association with leading digital network solutions provider Arqiva and uses their international satellite infrastructure to distribute feature movies, trailers, and advertising content direct to their participating exhibitors and cinemas throughout Europe.” The interesting question is whether they will open up this network wider and be a service provider, rather than equipment vendor;

- Sony does deal with Sony for digital cinema in Asia, is the essence of this press release. “Sony Pictures Releasing International Corporation (SPRI) has entered into an agreement with Sony Electronics’ Digital Cinema Solutions and Services (DCSS) group for 4K DCI-compliant digital cinema deployments in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.” But trust us, even a seemingly semi-internal agreement like this is much more difficult to orchestrate than you might think. Now the challenge will be to get more Hollywood studios to sign up. And why no India?;

- UK’s Cinema Exhibitor’s Association (CEA) is kicking off a digital road-show this coming Monday in Manchester. “The events, which the CEA is running jointly with the UK Film Council and with the support of Screen Digest, are intended to give all of those attending an opportunity to hear a comprehensive and objective summary of the challenges and opportunities presented by digital cinema projection, with discussion of funding, operational and technical matters.” It is 8 1/2 years since the last major road show in UK (‘Celluloid or Silicon?‘) that discussed the implications of all things digital cinema. [insert joke about digital cinema's long time in the coming HERE];

- Want to sell liquor for consumption with screenings of operas and sporting events in your cinema? It’s not as easy as you might think, according to this article from Grand Rapids News. “Celebration Cinema owner John Loeks Jr. must spell out the type of “special events” at which he wants to serve alcohol before city planners will allow him to uncork any bottles or tap any kegs.” Asked to define ’special events, Loeks told the commission, “I’m not sure there is a precise definition.” So much for grouping it together under the moniker of ODS (other digital stuff);

- And yet more proof if needed that box office is doing well across the globe, this time from China, courtesy of AFP. “China may be a paradise for addicts of pirated DVDs, but the box office is also booming thanks to a growing audience of well-off young urbanites and more big-ticket Chinese films… “The crisis is actually a godsend because as everyone talks about the economic crisis, people want to go to the cinema to relax,” said Zhao Jing, a Beijing marketing executive with cinema operators Wanda Group.” Wanda (pictured above) is expanding from 40 cinemas to 100 by 2010. As noted in the article, a pirate DVD may cost one tenth of a cinema ticket, but it just does not give the same EXPERIENCE;

- Only India appears to be suffering badly, with the non-release of new Hindi films entering its fourth week. A journalist from Indian Express took a tour of the deserted cinema halls and chats to employees. It’s grim. ““We’ve closed down one screen for renovation and are on a cost-cutting spree. We’ve switched to low voltage bulbs and keep half the lobby lights switched off. The air-conditioning too is not switched on till before the show.”” Not even any major Hollywood films are opening this weekend (unless you count “My Mom’s New Boyfriend“). Soon weevils will start blowing through the corridors;

- But it’s even worse for one Indian exhibitor. “Sebi on Thursday barred Pyramid Saimira Theatre promoters Nirmal N Kotecha and CMD PS Saminathan from trading in the equities market, accusing the latter of allegedly forging a letter from the markets regulator, the revelation of whose contents last December sent the company’s stock price soaring. The Sebi letter had purportedly asked the promoters to make an open offer to buy out minority shareholders.” Ouch, but the Securities & Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) can come down hard at times;

- Ending on a semi-positive note, at least if you are living in Detroit. ‘Unemployed? Movie theaters offer free tickets.‘ The headline says it all.

Popularity: 53% [?]

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Daily Cinema Roundup - Thur 23 April

Posted by Patrick von Sychowski | April 23, 2009 4:00 am


sa-wg_grosvbaby_06-10-08

- Cinema box office “is performing well despite the bad economy — not because of the bad economy,” according to a new survey published by Nielsen. Perhaps no surprise that it found that cinema was still considered a good value proposition, even in these tough economic times, by no less than 59 per cent of those who responded. Still, the article in THR.com makes clear that 20 per cent are cutting back on cinema going and only dining out is experiencing more cutting back amongst respondents;

- AMC Theatres supports children with autism (and their parents) by putting on special screenings with lower audio and lights not fully dimmed. Metro West Daily News reports that, “The Flutie Pass multiplex is one of 67 AMC theaters in 32 markets now showing “sensory-friendly films“ at convenient times and discount prices, said community relations manager Cindy Huffstickler. AMC has been screening films for autistic viewers since 2007 after a mother complained she’d been asked to leave a Maryland theater run by another chain when her autistic child became disruptive.” I’m sure these screenings do not make a massive difference to AMC’s bottom line, but are a good example of exhibitors exercising corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their community;

- In a similar vein, UK’s Cineworld is testing ‘Cinebabies’ in two screens, according to Haverhill Echo. “The initiative sets out to make the film experience as relaxed and enjoyable as possible for babies aged under 18 months and their parents, or even grandparents, uncles or aunties. Pushchairs will be arranged in the auditorium so that adults can have easy access to their belongings, while baby changing facilties are also available.” These too will have lower audio levels and light semi-dimmed.

- Canada’s Cineplex is going in for digital 3D in a big way through a deal with RealD. From Screendaily.com. “The Toronto-based exhibitor will have a total of 122 RealD 3D projectors operating in 72 facilities across the country with in a month. In all Cineplex will have 161 digital projectors, with 122 of them RealD 3D-enabled.” No word on which projector and server manufacturers are supplying the rest of the required hardware;

- Definitely not in 3D, but Cineplex will also be screening a concert by Diana Krall, according to Ottawa Citizen. “Canadian jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall, in town May 2 and 3, can also be seen in movie theatres May 20 in a concert she presented in Rio de Janeiro last November… The screening will be presented at 7 p.m. at the Coliseum and SilverCity cinemas in Ottawa as well as the Galaxy cinemas in Cornwall and Brockville.” [Which reminds me of the joke, Q: What is a guaranteed way of stopping the spread of AIDS? A: Ask a jazz record company to distribute it];

- Research & Markets has published its study on multiplexes in India. “The industry is characterized by seasonality, low screen density, increasing average ticket prices, and reducing shelf life of movies. The key trends identified include producers bypassing distributors, shift to digital cinema, and alternate content in multiplexes, retail partnerships, and new single screen formats.” It forgot to include ‘crippling strikes’ as well;

- Cinemas in south India will be closed today as part of a larger protest against the violence in Sri Lanka that is affecting the local Tamil minority, according to Press Trust of India. “The Tamil cinema industry has announced suspension all its activities today and shows in cinema theatres have been canceled.” Shops, transport and other businesses were also affected;

- Proving box office is off to a strong start in most places, Budapest Business journal is reporting that Israeli-owned Cinema City
in Hungary saw turnover rise 15 per cent in the January-February period. “The recession is not affecting the company’s performance: it has opened new screening rooms since the beginning of the year, and it plans to open a multiplex at the site of the former Skála department store in Budapest around October or November.” The outlook for the rest of the year is also said to be good;

- Similar positive news reaches us from Australia, courtesy of TradingMarkets.com. “Australian cinema operators and film studios are reporting strong box office sales. Graham Burke, the CEO of Village Roadshow, says that even ordinary films are generating a lot of interest among moviegoers. He believes that cinemas can withstand the competitive pressure from the internet by making a visit at the movies a memorable event“;

- Irish Times reports of a battle brewing over the re-development of the main shopping street in Dublin where the Carlton Cinema stood. “The proposed €1.25 billion redevelopment of a 5.5 acre site centred on the former Carlton cinema on O’Connell Street, could “serious and irreversibly” undermine the character of Dublin’s main street, An Bord Pleanála has been told.” Perhaps they should have just kept the cinema rather than just preserving the facade.

- But despair not, Irish ‘filum’ lovers - BMW Ireland is hosting an open air screening on May 7th at Dublin’s nearby Temple Bar to promote the launch of their Mini convertible. Movies.ie reports that you can vote for either “Gross Point Blank”, “The Big Lebowski”, “High Fidelity” or “Ferris Buellers Day Off”. Tough choice, but you must vote for Ferris;

- Finally, one of the big screens greatest painters of light is no longer with us as The Telegraph reports that cinematographer Jack Cardiff has died at the age of 94. “Black Narcissus” looks as amazing in all its Technicolor glory today as it did 61 years ago. RIP Mr Cardiff.

Popularity: 38% [?]

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JVC Turns Heads With 3D Conversion Technology

Posted by Carolyn Giardina | April 22, 2009 5:26 pm


JVC unveiled a potentially disruptive 3D technology at NAB this week.

The company is showing an early prototype of a 2D/3D conversion box that it is looking to further develop as a basic conversion system and, get this, sell for $10,000.

Today more elaborate methods of converting 2D imagery to 3D can run anywhere from $50,000 per minute to over $100,000 per minute, depending on the complexity of the material.

Sunday at the NAB Digital Cinema Summit, Warner Bros. Technical Operations president Darcy Antonellis discussed the studio’s interest in converting library titles to 3D. She said: “We have 40 or so titles in our library that are potential candidates.”

Filmmakers are also looking to use conversion techniques, for new titles. Disney’s upcoming 3D release “G-Force,” for example, features live action that was shot in 2D and converting to 3D using In-Three’s Dimensionalization process. CG is being added to the hybrid 3D film at Sony Pictures Imageworks.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Posted in Digital 3D
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Daily Cinema Roundup - Wed 22 April

Posted by Patrick von Sychowski | April 22, 2009 4:00 am


- Belgian digital cinema projector manufacturer Barco did not have a stellar first quarter, according to this article by Reuters. Key bullet points were “*Q1 operating loss 6.0 mln euros, vs 4.9 mln loss forecast; * Says cautiously optimistic for 2009; * Shares rise 3.2 percent.” Further into the article we learn that “Barco said it saw good order intake for digital cinema projectors and expected the digital cinema business to continue to grow over the next quarters.”;

- Barco’s rival Christie has meanwhile partnered high-end home cinema company Sumiko / Wolf Cinema to incorporate the latter’s projector technology, know-how and network of service engineers, says the press release. “Sumiko will distribute Wolf Cinema high-end home theatre projectors–with Christie digital projection technology inside–through a select network of highly qualified audio/video specialists throughout North America and the world.” Just don’t call them ‘DCI-compliant’;

- File this under ‘alternative content we’d like to see more of’. UK’s More2screen will be bringing burlesque to the big screen this May, “Performed at London’s Koko Club in May 2009″ and “Starring: Immodesty Blaize [pictured above], Marc Almond, Julian Clary, Kitten DeVille, Catherine D’Lish, and many more live performances.” I have seen Immodesty live and it is great old fashioned naughtiness that I am sure will translate well to the silver screen;

- Imax is stemming losses and closing in on profitability, according to The Wall Street Journal.”Imax Corp. has a lot to brag about recently — the successful launch of its digital projector, a rapidly expanding theater network and a rising stock price. All that’s eluded the company is profitability, and that may not be far off. The pioneer of large-format movies always knew developing a digital system would deal a blow to its financial performance, but after its last attempt to find a buyer failed in 2006, it had little choice.” Subscription to WSJ.com required for the full article;

- AMC Entertainment has a new President, Programming in the form of Robert J. Lenihan, former SVP of Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas. He will also be opening AMC’s new Los Angeles office, according to the press release. “I look forward to leading the AMC team in its return to its roots as an industry leader in traditional movie marketing while taking advantage of the programming flexibility afforded to us with AMC’s impending rollout of digital cinema and 3D technology,” says Lenihan;

- “Consumers” [NB: not 'viewers'] are apparently not bothered about wearing glasses to watch 3D according to research published by the Entertainment Technology Center at NAB’s Digital Cinema Summit. “If we don’t show visible progress now (on 3D in the home), this momentum could die and move into a niche environment,” said Phil Lelyveld, a strategy adviser for the Entertainment Technology Center.” Eerh - by ‘niche’, does he mean cinemas?;

- The RAND Corporation, in a study backed by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), claims that there is a link between film piracy, organized crime and terrorism. “It presents detailed case studies from around the globe in one area of counterfeiting, film piracy, to illustrate the broader problem of criminal — and perhaps terrorist — groups finding a new and not-much-discussed way of funding their activities. Piracy is high in payoff and low in risk, often taking place under the radar of law enforcement.” The report costs $29.50. “Support RAND Research — Buy This Product!” the website shouts and offers it at a Web discount of $23.60. Alternatively you can wait for the Warner Bros. film adaptation staring George Clooney breaking up a nefarious Taliban-Somali-Chinese terrorist-pirate-drug smuggling nexus;

- According to Silicon Valley’s Mercury News, the Livermore Cinema is now the largest cinema complex in the US to be powered by solar energy. “Monday, local business and city leaders gathered at the cineplex on First Street for a presentation on its state-of-the-art solar-power system, which has been up and running since February. The 132-kilowatt system covers the bulk of the theater’s 20,000-square-foot roof, making it not only the largest known solar-power system to be installed at a movie theater, but one of the largest systems of solar “modules” anywhere in the country.” The system covers some 35 per cent of the cinema’s power needs. The film that inaugurated the installation was Disney’s “Earth“, though I would have voted for “Crank 2: High Voltage“;

Popularity: 37% [?]

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Daily Cinema Roundup - Tue 21 April

Posted by Patrick von Sychowski | April 21, 2009 4:48 am


- Despite a proliferation of new multiplexes in the major cities, China still faces a massive cinema shortage reports Xinhuanet. ““Many cities in the western regions still don’t have modern cinemas with multiple screening rooms,” Mao Yu, vice president of the SARFT told Xinhua. Mao said, a total of 2,860 counties across the country have no cinema at all, which “severely” limited the development of the country’s film market. Statistics from the SARFT show that, the country’s box office for the first quarter of 2009 totaled 1.25 billion yuan (about 183 million U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 50 percent.” Chinese cinema growth could thus leapfrog western in terms of going digital by installing digital but no analogue from day one.;

- Heather (Rollergirl) Graham’s latest film “Baby On Board” will release in D-Cinema and E-Cinemas in the US. Distributed by Angry Monkey Entertainment (AME), note the angry language when it comes to the technology issues. “AME implements encoding and digital compression technology to conform film releases to a high standard approaching the quality of D-Cinema - without costly licensing fees and exclusive equipment contracts that penalize exhibitors through bad profit-participation agreements. E-Cinema theaters, which today greatly outnumber D-Cinema installations, circumvent D-Cinema’s corporate licensing restrictions and subsequent revenue loss to theater owners. As reasonably-priced HD projectors and servers allow smaller regional theaters to embrace E-Cinema, affordable content can extend the use of these installations beyond pre-shows and corporate presentations.” No word on which E-Cinema network will be targeted (NCM Fathom? Emerging Pictures?);

- Carmike and Screenvision (NOT Bigger Picture, interestingly enough) will be bringing stand up comedy to the big screen. “STAND-UP 360 will be delivering a series of feature-length stand-up comedy performances recorded live at the Broadway Comedy Club in NYC.” This is perhaps not such a big deal, given the past 35mm releases of “Eddie Murphy Raw” and “The Original Kings of Comedy“;

- India’s Adlabs has been piping Bollywood films to the US over Relaince Globalcom’s fibre optic network. From Variety. “Adlabs also plans to bring movies and alternative content from India and other foreign-language territories to niche auds in Reliance’s American theaters. Adlabs’ Big chain owns 21 theaters with 166 screens in the U.S., targeted at areas with large immigrant communities. The entire chain should be converted to digital production within 18 months. Adlabs has already used the Reliance Globalcom network to send recent Indian pics “Ghajini,” “Luck by Chance” and “Delhi 6″ to screens in New Jersey and California.” Press release here. [Full disclosure: I was involved in setting this up and running it];

- Hollywood distributors appear to be supporting their Indian colleagues in postponing releases of new titles to Indian multiplexes according to Businessofcinema.com. “A source informs that Fox Star Studios has also postponed the release of its upcoming flick X-Men 4: Wolverine, which was to release in India on 1 May. Warner Bros India was looking at releasing two Hollywood films in Bombay and Delhi on 17 April. However, these movies are not playing at any multiplexes as of 20 April.” US anti-trust laws means that the Hollywood distributors cannot formally join in the strike/boycott/non-release;

- In a sign of the time,s Hollywood studios are cutting back on adverts for new releases in printed newspapers, according to the LA Times (which must be worried). “While studios, many of which have remained fairly loyal to print advertising, have been running smaller movie ads in recent years, Fox has made a bolder break with tradition, releasing four movies this year alone where the studio has run minimal newspaper ads or, in the case of ”Dragonball” and “Street Fighter,” released in late February, no ads at all.” More fodder for the name-says-it-all NewspaperDeathWatch blog?;

- UK’s Cinema Advertising Association has published research that people still intend to spend money going to the cinema. “The research, which was carried out at the end of last year, found that 62% of those surveyed said they planned to spend the same amount on cinema tickets as they did before the credit crunch.” A quarter of the 3,000 people surveyed said that they had made repeat visits to a cinema to see the same film.;

- French cinema circuit CGR has signed a deal with RealD to roll out 3D widely. From the press release, “This is another example of CGR Cinemas seizing opportunities first, which make it one of the pillars of French film exhibition today. This collaboration will allow us to take advantage of upcoming 3D films beginning with Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” said Jocelyn Bouyssy, chief executive officer of CGR Cinemas.” No word on how many systems will deployed and no mention or aknowledgment of integrator Arts Alliance Media;

Popularity: 41% [?]

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Wii Fit in 3D, anyone?

Posted by Carolyn Giardina | April 20, 2009 11:09 am


NAB kicked off over the weekend with the D-Cinema Summit. (Some coverage can be found in the tech section at THR.com)

During the closing session of the summit, the audience was asked to predict the killer app for 3D in the home.

Fewer than 10 hands went up when asked if sport was the killer app. Surprising, considering the amount of attention on 3D sport (i.e. the 3D BCS Championship, NFL, NBA, as well as the various tests at Sky Broadcasting).

What did the audience think is the killer app? The most hands were raised for games, followed by movies.

Popularity: 20% [?]

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Emerging Pictures Aims To Be World’s 1st Carbon Neutral E/D-Cinema Network

Posted by Patrick von Sychowski | April 20, 2009 5:18 am


New York-based e-cinema pioneer (though they hate the term - ‘e-cinema’, that is, not ‘pioneer’) Emerging Pictures has selected CDNetworks to “provide the low-cost delivery of large HD-file downloads for its “100% green” data delivery platform.” The move is in tune with the company’s aim of not just being digital but also ‘green’ pioneers. From the press release:

Emerging Pictures uses its data-delivery platform with high-speed data lines to deliver HD-quality films to high-definition projection systems. CDNetworks provides the network infrastructure and the file delivery technology to economically deliver the large HD-file downloads, in both 720p and 1080p. The files are sent in one-of-three high-quality, yet compact, HD-file formats - MPEG2 HD, VC-1 HD, and .264 HD. Leased broadband lines deliver the files directly to servers, located at the theaters, where the files are rendered and delivered to high-quality HD-cinema projectors. Emerging’s approach is totally carbon neutral, using no petroleum-based 35mm film prints, no carbon-consumed shipping of heavy 35mm film canisters, and the most eco-friendly and economical film delivery platform available.

Emerging Pictures considered using satellite technology for their file-download system, but found CDNetworks’ digital large-file-download solution to be much more cost-effective. Data-network delivery also compares very favorably to the cost of cloning, shipping, and retrieving hard drives and makes venue operation far easier than traditional or satellite-file-download systems.

Emerging Pictures has an impressive track record to-date of both alternative content events and specialized and independent films. They are not shy to trumpet it:

Emerging Cinemas is the partner of choice for specialty-film distributors who need a cost-effective, carbon-neutral means of sending HD-quality files to communities in search of high- quality cinema programs. Emerging has secured North American digital cinema distribution rights to the prestigious La Scala Operas, Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne Operas, and Bolshoi Ballet company performances. Pop Music artists presented include Bruce Springsteen, The Who, and The Smashing Pumpkins. The company also distributes top-end art house films from leading US and International cinema companies and films from governmental film agencies.

So hats off to our friends at EmPix for not just thinking about technology but also about the environment, particularly in these tough economical times when much better of companies are worrying more about their bottom line than about the carbon footprint. They offer a lesson to the Big ‘D’ Cinema industry in corporate responsibility.

Popularity: 24% [?]

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Cinemas - Ignore Baby Boomers At your Own Peril

Posted by Patrick von Sychowski | April 20, 2009 5:17 am


senior-vue

This very good article from the New York Times does not dicsuss cinema or cinema advertising explicitly. But the implications are writ large for the two about the growing importance of the aging US (and European) population in terms of impact it will have on spending habits.

For decades, older consumers were largely shunned by marketers because they were deemed less wealthy, less likely to try new products and less willing to change brands. Campaigns directed at them were described dismissively as made for the “Geritol generation.” As much as older consumers were to be shunned, young consumers — ages 18 to 34, or 18 to 49 — were desired for what were deemed their free-spending ways, eagerness to sample new products and brand-switching proclivities. The idea that they were starting in life with a proverbial blank slate of marketing wants and needs was catnip to product peddlers.

…

Those attitudes have been changing, for a couple of reasons. One is the recession, which makes older consumers who may have paid off mortgages seem a safer bet than younger ones who may get laid off in last-hired, first-fired downsizings.

The hard numbers bear out this thinking.

Although “18 to 49 is going to remain the predominant buying demographic,” Mr. Donchin said, “this country is aging, and the boomers are an attractive demographic.”

That appeal is because of the size of the boomer market and because, as Mr. Donchin put it, “50 isn’t what it used to be.”

Older consumers today “are not as resistant to change” as older consumers previously may have been, Mr. Donchin said, summarizing their attitude as “Show me something better, and I’ll try it.”

And the boomers are even “comfortable with digital media,” he added.

Hollywood studios are slowly waking up to this as well, with films like “The Queen” having significantly higher investment return ratios than even big hits like “The Dark Knight”.

But cinemas are only slowly embracing this fact. UK exhibitor Vue spoke on a panel at ShoWest about how it has introduced screenings aimed at an older clientele where they don’t have to sit next to youngsters chatting on mobile phones. Vue may soon want to consider targeting 45-65s with wine and cheese in the evening, rather than just the 65+ tea-and-biscuit crowd.

Popularity: 24% [?]

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