J. Sperling Reich, Author at Celluloid Junkie

By sperling

(From Left) Juan Garcia (Odeon Multicines), Howard Kiedaisch (DCDC), Christof Papousek (Cineplexx) and Marion Rosset (ADDE) during the Technologies Shaping Tomorrow’s Cinema Experiences panel at the ICTA 2026 Cinema Technology Experience on June 21, 2026 in Barcelona Spain

Cinema Technology Is Advancing Faster Than the Business Model Supporting It

At the 2026 ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Experience, executives from Odeon Multicines, Cineplexx and DCDC examined how exhibitors can identify the technologies audiences will value – —and whether cinema’s current economics can sustain the industry’s accelerating upgrade cycle. Asked where cinema…

(From Left) Gregory Theile (Kinopolis Group), Tomasz Jagiello (Helios Cinemas), Karl Geraghty (Stella Cinemas) and Araceli Vaello (CinemaNext) during the panel discussion with 2025-2026 ICTA EMEA Award Winners at the ICTA 2026 Cinema Technology Experience on June 21, 2026 in Barcelona Spain

The Best Cinemas Aren’t Competing With Netflix. They’re Competing With a Night Out

Three award-winning cinema operators at the 2026 ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Experience explain why memorable design, hospitality and flawless execution increasingly matter as much as what appears on the screen. When cinema executives talk about competition, the conversation usually turns to st…

(From Left) David Ong (AAM-Qube), Andreas Stier (OneCinema), Seneit Debese (Greta Apps), Sophie Doherty (TAPOS) and Timo Holtkamp (Gofilex) during the Connected Cinemas panel discussion at the ICTA 2026 Cinema Technology Experience on June 21, 2026 in Barcelona Spain

Cinema Technology Has Never Been More Sophisticated, So Why Is It Still So Disconnected?

Cinema technology vendors at the 2026 ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Experience examine why the systems handling ticketing, content delivery and theatre operations still struggle to share data, what those disconnections cost exhibitors and whether open standards or consolidation will finally bring…

Paramount - Warner Bros. Discvoery - Merger

If the Cinema Business Is Suffering, Someone Forgot to Tell the Audience

There are certain unavoidable realities one faces as the editor of a cinema industry trade publication. One is that multibillion-dollar studio mergers never stop generating news long enough for you to finish the newsletter. Another is that every potential sponsor will eventually explain that the mar…

Cinerama Dome - Hollywood, California

Cinerama Dome Revival Gives Sony a Hollywood Flagship for Its Exhibition Ambitions

Sony Pictures and Alamo Drafthouse will restore the landmark cinema and reopen the adjoining ArcLight complex in early 2028, returning a major moviegoing hub to Los Angeles while giving Sony’s growing experiences business its most recognizable venue yet. For six years, Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome has…

Rob Bonta - California Attorney General at the Hollywood Sign announcing a lawsuit against Paramount to block the studio's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

The Studio Merger That Wouldn’t Stop Making News

There are weeks when putting together the CJ Marquee is mostly a matter of deciding which stories deserve space. This week became an exercise in waiting for the Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery merger to stop producing news long enough for me to press Send. It did not cooperate. Every time…

2026 Box Office - January through June - First Half

CineHamburg Brings Germany’s Cinema Industry Under One Banner

The bad news about publishing a weekly industry newsletter is that inevitably you’re going to get a few things wrong. The good news is that, in the cinema business, you rarely have to wait long for the opportunity to apologize in person. Such was the case when, in last week’s Marquee, I identified U…

2026 Box Office - January through June - First Half

International Box Office Recovery Accelerates as Local Films Gain Ground

Selected markets across Europe, Asia and Australia reported stronger revenue or attendance during the first half of 2026, with China the major exception and domestic productions increasingly powering the rebound. One year ago, the international theatrical recovery still looked fragile, uneven and he…

Paramount - Warner Bros Merger with David Ellison

The CJ Marquee Is Back. The Cinema Business Hasn’t Slowed Down.

After a longer-than-planned absence, the CJ Marquee is back in your inbox. The cinema business, inconveniently, did not pause while we rebuilt our newsletter machinery behind the scenes. Exhibition and distribution kept consolidating, premium formats kept multiplying, release windows kept shifting,…

UNIC 2026 Annual Report

UNIC Reports European Box Office Held Near €6.9 Billion in 2025, But Admissions Tell a More Complicated Story

European cinemas spent much of 2025 proving a point that has become familiar in the post-pandemic theatrical business: audiences show up when the films are there. The harder question, and the one the International Union of Cinemas’s (UNIC) 2026 Annual Report keeps circling back to, is whether…