Tag Archives: Cinemark

Barco Expands In Latin America and India

October 29, 2010

After launching their 4K projector at ShowEast, Belgium based Barco is ramping up their global sales effort with the announcement of two new deals.

The first was a reseller partnership arrangement with Real Image in India, a country presently experiencing high growth in new multiplex openings. Real Image may be familiar to some as the company behind Qube Cinema. Barco will provide training, service and customer support to Real Image in a deal that should help the projector manufacturer strengthen marketing efforts and increase its install base throughout the territory.

Real Image will be able to offer Barco’s entire digital cinema product line to their customers, a necessity in a country where cinemas range from small single screen complexes in remote geographical areas to state-of-the-art venues in large urban areas. Arvind Rangnathan, Chief Executive Officer of Chennai based Real Image pointed this out in the press release announcing the partnership:

“The complete range of digital cinema projectors offered by Barco are ideal for this market, be it the mid-sized multiplex screen or the large single screen… we are now able to provide a stunning experience in 2D and 3D even on larger cinema screens.”

Popularity: 2% [?]

Posted in Equipment Vendors

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Cinemark Announces NextGen Cinema Concept

By J. Sperling Reich

October 26, 2010

What is the next hot trend for theatre owners and moviegoers? Cinemark, North America’s third largest theatre chain, thinks they may have the answer and they have begun publicizing a new cinema concept. Last Friday the Plano based circuit announced plans to build what it has dubbed Cinemark NextGen theatres. The first such complex will be the Cinemark Frisco Square which is set to open in Frisco, Texas some time in December.

Based on the press release and various news reports it seems as if the NextGen theatre concept is being marketed as a technologically advanced, and thus superior, moviegoing experience. Alan Stock, Cinemark’s Chief Executive Officer said in a statement:

“The new Cinemark NextGen theatres represent the next generation in cinema. We have designed an entertainment environment that offers technologically advanced amenities and a movie-watching experience that simply cannot be duplicated.”

The environment Stock refers to will feature giant screens that cover an entire wall of each auditorium, Barco digital cinema projectors, 3D systems from RealD and a customized JBL sound system. There is no mention of how the sound system will be any different from the standard 5.1 or 7.1 digital surround setups that can be found in most theatres these days. Nor is it clear how NextGen theatres will be any different than the 29 Cinemark XD Extreme auditoriums they have opened since 2009.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Posted in New Theatres

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Travis Reid Departs DCIP To Head Up Screenvision

By J. Sperling Reich

October 20, 2010

Travis Reid

Last Thursday Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP) announced that Travis Reid, their CEO, had resigned. That same day on-screen advertising giant Screenvision announced that Shamrock Capital Advisors, a private equity fund founded by the late Roy Disney, had finalized the $160 million purchase of the company and had appointed Reid as its new CEO.

At ShowEast, which was just wrapping up at the time, many industry folks I spoke with were surprised to hear the news, though looking at it objectively, the move is somewhat inevitable.

Reid has had a long career in motion picture exhibition that includes his stint as the President and CEO of Loews Cineplex for which he worked from 1991 until 2005 when the chain was acquired by AMC Entertainment. In 2007 he joined DCIP, the deployment entity formed and owned by North America’s largest exhibitors; AMC, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark. Reid has also sat on the boards of Cineplex Galaxy, Yelmo and Fandango among others. As Shamrock’s Managing Director Steve Royer said in Screenvision’s press release:

“Travis has an over thirty-year history in the exhibition space having operated chains and most recently, pioneering the digital revolution for the cinema exhibition industry. He was our ideal candidate.”

Reid led DCIP through a challenging period in its formation and development. Not only did he successfully oversee the companies protracted negotiations with major studios for virtual print fees (VPFs), but just as it seemed digital cinema was taking off, the financial meltdown caused funding for rollouts to dry up for more than a year. Reid and DCIP persevered and in March of this year he secured $660 million in funding from a consortium of banks.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Posted in Cinema Advertising, Integrators

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“Paranormal Activity 2″ Trailer Too Scary For Cinemark

By J. Sperling Reich

July 9, 2010

When was the last time you heard about a movie trailer being pulled out of theatres because audiences complained it was too scary? Especially a teaser trailer? It seems unimaginable doesn’t it?

Well, apparently it’s not impossible as this is just what happened last week when Paramount Pictures was lucky enough to get the teaser trailer for “Paranormal Activity 2″ to run in front of “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” at certain Cinemark locations. After the initial midnight show on opening night, as well as one in the wee hours of the morning, the theatre chain received a number of complaints from patrons in Texas claiming the “Paranormal Activity 2″ teaser trailer was too scary. Many felt its content was inappropriate to be placed in front of a film aimed at teenagers.

Sure enough, Cinemark had to inform Paramount a day or two into the run that they would be pulling the trailer from a number of theatres. There was no word on whether the trailer was tacked onto the front of another film title.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted in Trailers

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It’s Official – DCIP Gets $660 Million In Funding

By J. Sperling Reich

March 10, 2010

DCIP + Money.jpg

A boisterous cheer erupted this morning during the Inter-Society Digital Cinema Forum (ISDCF) meeting when the proceedings were interrupted with news that Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP) had just officially announced they had received their financing. Indeed, DCIP published a press release stating that they had raised USD $660 million in financing. The funds will be used to roll out digital cinema in North America’s three largest circuits; AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas.

As we previously reported when it was still a widely circulated industry rumor, DCIP’s financing will come in the form of USD $445 million in senior bank debt, USD $135 million in junior capital and USD $80 million in equity from the theatre chains themselves. JPMorgan assisted DCIP in raising the money which is being supplied by a who’s who of financial institutions including Bank of America, Barclays Bank, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, GE Capital, Morgan Stanley and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

There are sure to be tons of news stories generated by DCIP’s announcement, especially since it will allow media outlets to wave around the trendy “3D” phrase in hopes of attracting a few extra eyeballs. The reports will cite that nearly 14,000 screens throughout North America will be converted to digital by AMC, Cinemark and Regal who formed DCIP as a joint venture in 2007. (Truthfully, it’s probably more like 10,000 screens when all is said and done). No doubt they may even go so far as to pull press release quote from Travis Reid, DCIP’s CEO, which states:

“We are excited that with the continued support of our owners, studio partners and financial advisors we have completed this critical step in our process. Over the next few years, we’ll be aggressively implementing the transition to digital technology in theatres across North America. Guests will enjoy enhanced presentation and additional entertainment options at their favorite theatres as Exhibitors and content providers capitalize on the flexibility enabled by digital technology, including many upcoming releases using digital 3D. Having this substantial financial package and our studio partnerships in place, we’re pleased to launch this new era of technology to guests looking for an exceptional out-of-home experience.”

Check out the way Mr. Reid so adeptly snuck the word “capitalize” into that quote. Pretty slick. It’s funny though, because I always imagined his press release quote would read more along the lines of:

“Phew! That was harder then it needed to be and dare I say it’s about time we landed some money. Thankfully I will no longer have to answer questions every other week about when DCIP will be getting its financing.”

Since the mainstream media will take care of all the cheerleading about how 3D will soon be coming to a theatre near you, I figured it might be interesting to further explain the types of financing DCIP is getting. I mean what’s with all these terms like “senior debt” and “junior capital”? Does the senior debt have offspring named after it? And does the junior capital have a father with the same name? Read More »

Popularity: 23% [?]

Posted in Integrators

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More Rumblings About DCIP’s Financing

By J. Sperling Reich

February 28, 2010

Last week both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that an announcement from Digital Cinema Implementation Partners about their financing was imminent. The opportunity to play 3D content will certainly be welcomed by AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark, however from the way the two newspapers covered the story you might get the impression it was the only reason. The financing would allow Hollywood studios to “roll out more 3-D movies in the wake of the success of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’” wrote the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times said the “money would allow future 3-D film releases”.

Both media outlets seem to have gotten their hands on some internal briefings or at the very least seen an early draft of a press release as they have updated some of the details from previous reports about DCIP’s financing. A more exact figure of USD $660 million was cited by both papers which is down from the original USD $700 million rumor which was first floating around. As well, the number of screens has been upped to 14,000 from 12,000 with the Wall Street Journal putting the number of actual theatre sites being converted at 1,100. The New York Times laid out the details as follows:

According to a draft announcement making the rounds in Hollywood, the new financing, arranged by JPMorgan and Blackstone Advisory Partners, would total about $660 million. Of that, $445 million is expected to come from senior bank debt, $135 million from what is described as “junior capital” and $80 million from equity contributed by the member theater circuits. Nine banks, including Bank of America and Citibank, are part of the lending group. Blackstone raised the $135 million from other investors.

I always find it amusing to see how mainstream media covers the transition to digital cinema in reporting such news. The Wall Street Journal piece states:

In a digital conversion, theaters rip out old celluloid film projectors, and stop receiving weekly shipments of large film canisters. They instead use fiber optic lines to transfer huge digital film files.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Posted in Digital Cinema, Integrators

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JPMorgan Finds $700 Million For DCIP

By J. Sperling Reich

February 10, 2010

That collective sigh of relief you may have heard over this past weekend no doubt came from the North American motion picture exhibition and distribution industries. The Los Angeles Times report that investment bank JPMorgan was finally able to round up roughly USD $700 million for Digital Cinema Implementation Partners must have come as some relief.

Heaven knows we’ve been hearing about DCIP’s quest for financing for well over a year now. It seems at every ShoWest, Cinema Expo or Show East for the past 18 months we’ve been told by investment bankers that money is on the way. Though let’s face it, if the staggering amount of money being sought wasn’t enough to cause a delay, the worldwide credit crunch certainly didn’t help. Financing hasn’t been easy to come buy in any business sector and no matter how lucrative the project.

Of course, DCIP is the deployment entity founded by three of the world’s largest exhibitors; AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas. With anonymous sources close to the negotiations confirming that DCIP’s financing will be announced in the next two weeks, the company can finally begin the rollout digital cinema technology on 12,000 screens across the United States and Canada.

Back in 2008 JPMorgan, armed with virtual print fee agreements from the studios, went looking for USD $1 billion for DCIP to convert 14,000 screens across all three circuits. Since then, AMC has gobbled up Kerasotes adding another 900 odd screens to the mix. There was no word on which screens or theatres will be converted or what will happen to those screens which don’t make it into the first 12,000. Nor was a time frame given to complete the transition, though it has been widely expected to take three years.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Posted in Digital Cinema, Integrators

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Report: Movie Theatre Popcorn Makes You Fat (Surprise!)

By J. Sperling Reich

November 19, 2009

As if theatre owners didn’t have enough to worry about with studios shrinking release windows at every opportunity, they may soon have to start worrying about moviegoers bypassing the real bread and butter of any exhibitor’s business, or more appropriately the popcorn and butter. A new study conducted by the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest and released earlier today reports that the food items found at most movie theatre concession stands are incredibly unhealthy. Lab tests revealed that eating a medium popcorn and soda combo from Regal Cinemas was the equivalent of eating three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders topped with 12 pats of butter. For those with a more of an interest in nutrition, that’s 1610 calories and 60 grams (three days’ worth) of saturated fat.

The CSPI report also found that the candy sold by most exhibitors is no better. An extra large box of Junior Mints contains 570 calories and 8 grams of fat. Raisinets are 420 calories and 11 grams of fat. M&Ms may be tiny but they pack in 790 calories and more than a half a day’s supply of saturated fat (16 grams). Then there’s the calorie king of all movie theatre confections, Reese’s Pieces which are loaded with 1,160 calories and 35 grams of saturated fat. To hammer the point home the study compares the intake of such candy to eating a 16-once T-bone stake with a buttered baked potato as a side order. It’s a miracle that E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’s heart was still able to glow after downing all those Reese’s Pieces in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster back in the early 1980s. The alien rightfully should’ve keeled over from a heart attack according to CSPI.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Posted in Concessions

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DCIP Closer To D-Cinema Funding

By J. Sperling Reich

September 12, 2009

The announcement the entire exhibition and distribution industry has been waiting for has finally happened; Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP) will finally get funding to roll out d-cinema equipment on over 15,000 screens at U.S. exhibitors AMC, Regal and Cinemark. Some may view it as a non-announcement as this doesn’t mean the money is in the bank yet. At the very least though, DCIP’s financing is looking more probable than it did earlier this year when the global financial meltdown was holding up any potential funding.

The Hollywood Reporter is stating that investment bank J.P. Morgan has set out to raise $525 million from brand name lenders before seeking additional sources of cash from private equity firms and the exhibitors themselves. So, while funding is not readily at hand, with a heavyweight such as J.P. Morgan in their corner it hopefully won’t be long before DCIP will be seeing some cash to jump start its efforts. Read More »

Popularity: 30% [?]

Posted in Integrators

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TI’s 4K Announcement Causes Waves – Wither 2K Now?

By Patrick von Sychowski

June 18, 2009

The announcement on Celluloid Junkie that Texas Instruments is developing 4K projector solutions is causing waves throughout the industry. The story was picked up by both THR.com (DLP making the jump to 4K) and Variety (TI leaping into 4K fray), which despite their headline both acknowledge that TI was effectively forced into this situation by the Sony tie up with Regal and AMC.Perhaps the best other coverage came from Eric Taub in the New York Times:

TI has always said that 2K is good enough, with tests showing that consumers can’t see the difference.

TI has been against 4K, until they were for it. On Thursday, the company announced that it would now market 4K technology, which will be incorporated into their next-generation projector technology to be manufactured by a variety of partners.

The company will continue to sell 2K projectors to the majority of its customers, according to Nancy Fares, business manager for TI’s DLP Cinema Products Group.

Ms. Fares said that this is not a case of TI trying to play catchup to Sony, which recently announced a number of large contracts to install its 4K projectors in AMC, Muvico, and Regal Entertainment cinemas. Texas Instruments has been working on 4K technology for two years, she said.

And when TI said that most consumers can’t see the difference between a 2K and 4K image, the company is sticking to its guns.

Their 4K technology will only be installed in about 20 percent of its customers’ theaters, the “brightest and biggest” with screens 70 feet and larger in size.