Tag Archives: Cineplex Entertainment

Fathom Brings Los Angeles Philharmonic To Cinemas

YouTube Preview Image

After turning the New York Metropolitan Opera into a poster child for alternative content over the past five years, NCM Fathom is hoping to have the same success with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Starting in January of next year Fathom will broadcast three L.A. Phil performances to upwards of 450 theatres throughout North America.

Each concert will be broadcast on Sunday afternoons when attendance at many cinemas is presumably lower than it is on Friday and Saturday evenings. It should be noted however, that the 2:00 pm start time on the west coast may actually eat into primetime showings on the east coast where it is three hours earlier later.

The first concert is set for January 9, 2011 and will feature compositions by John Adams and Leonard Bernstein, as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Selections from Tchaikovsky’s Shakespearean work will be presented on March 13, 2011 with the final concert on June 5, 2011 highlighting Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 and Double Concerto. Each program will be conducted by the L.A. Phil’s Music Director Gustavo Dudamel.

Dudamel is the 29-year-old Venezuelan conducting prodigy is often hailed as a rock star of sorts in the classical music world. His image has been plastered around Los Angeles ever since he took over as the L.A. Phil’s music director in September of 2009. No doubt it is Dudamel’s charismatic and energetic presence was a factor in the L.A. Phil’s decision to broadcast the concerts.

Read More »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Cineplex: 2007 ‘Good’, Q4 ‘Bad’, WGA ‘Thanks’

A mixed bag of financial news for Canadian exhibitor major Cineplex, which saw a rise in 2007 numbers on most fronts, but was dragged down by a weak fourth quarter. From the coverage in Variety:

Toronto-based Cineplex, which operates 131 multiplexes nationwide with 1,327 screens, said it lost CAN$2.77 million ($2.74 million) during the three months ending Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $4.6 million in 2006.

Fourth-quarter revenue at Canada’s largest cinema chain was down 6.3% to CAN$182.6 million ($180 million), against a year-earlier $195 million as overall Canadian box fell 15.7% during the last three months of 2007.

But at least there is a good start to 2008, in part thanks to the now-ended WGA strike:

Going forward, Cineplex Entertainment CEO Ellis Jacob told financial analysts during a morning conference call that the first five weeks of fiscal 2008 has seen boxoffice jump 15.8%.

In addition, the exhibitor has received “a bit of a bounce” in theatrical attendance owing to increased TV reruns during the WGA strike.

Unlike most other end-of-year financial summaries for non-US territories and exhibitors there is no word how domestic fare fared or what it contributed to the up or down on the numbers, which confirms the suspicion that Canada is Hollywood’s 51st state.

Popularity: 12% [?]