Sony Pictures has woken up to the fact that the big screen real estate will not be occupied 100 per cent by feature films in the future and that third party operators like AccessIT and Arts Alliance Media are getting in on the game. That is why they have launched their own division for alternative content entertainment. From Reuters:

The new venture, dubbed the Hot Ticket, will launch in August with a presentation of the final staging of the music and dance extravaganza “Delirium” from Cirque du Soleil, which closed its worldwide tour in London in April.

In September, the final performance in the 12-year Broadway run of the hit musical “Rent” will be presented.

“Our mandate will be to identify the one-of-a-kind, and sold-out events that people around the country most want to see … and present them to audiences everywhere,” Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said in a statement.

Hot Ticket presentations will be shown in high-definition format for limited engagements, starting out on roughly 400 to 500 screens in theaters across the country, with audiences paying roughly $20 a seat, Bruer said.

What most US and western media covering this announcement, such as LA times, have failed to pick up on in regurgitating the press release is that this type of venture was already announced by Sony Japan several months ago and covered here at CelluloidJunkie.com when it happened. Don’t be surprised if other Hollywood studios follow suit, with Disney already halfway there through the ‘Hannah Montana/Milly Cyrus’ concert film, wildlife films in cinemas and ESPN’s deal with AccessIT.