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 market is down this year, but perhaps they can support your efforts next year.
You would think that after nearly two decades, we would have stopped falling for that one.
This past weekend made that particular excuse a little harder to swallow.
On Friday afternoon, my daughters decided they wanted to see “Hadestown: The Musical.” I spent close to an hour trying to find tickets nearby. Who knew that the filmed production of a seven-year-old musical would be one of the hottest tickets in town?
Bleecker Street apparently did. The film earned USD $10.2 million during its opening weekend in North America from 1,949 cinemas.
The following morning, we traded one Greek myth for another and drove into Hollywood for an 11:00 a.m. IMAX 70mm screening of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” at the TCL Chinese Theatre.
I had purchased the tickets months earlier; the first time I have ever bought movie tickets that far in advance. I have seen Springsteen and U2 with considerably less planning. And at least after a concert, there is usually the option of buying a bacon-wrapped hot dog in the parking lot.
Thankfully, Fandango sent me an email reminder. Otherwise, I might have forgotten which Saturday morning I had committed to spending nearly three hours at sea with Odysseus.
My daughters spent much of the 40-minute drive researching the best moment in Nolan’s film to make a bathroom run, should one become necessary. I dismissed this as excessive preparation.
I would soon reconsider.
We arrived at the Chinese Theatre’s underground garage shortly before 10:00 a.m. and found it surprisingly full. Stranger still were the crowds hurrying toward their cars and the long lines at the payment kiosks. At that hour, I assumed there must have been a reality show taping at the adjacent Dolby Theatre.
There was not.
On Hollywood Boulevard, we encountered a line stretching from the Chinese Theatre courtyard far down the sidewalk. Hundreds of people were already waiting to enter our 11:00 a.m. screening.
That was when I discovered where everyone in the parking garage had come from: the sold-out 7:00 a.m. screening of “The Odyssey.”
The time in that sentence is not a typo.
At seven o’clock on a Saturday morning, all 932 seats inside the Chinese Theatre had been occupied. Nearly every IMAX 70mm performance there has been full. London’s BFI IMAX has similarly sold out weeks of screenings well into the film’s run.
The queuing did not end once we passed through the theatre’s Disneyland-like entry gates. Concession lines were roughly 20 people deep, with families strategizing over who would buy refreshments, save the seats and visit the restroom before showtime.
Maybe my daughters’ advance bathroom research was not so unreasonable after all.
Behind the counters, employees worked an assembly line, pulling prefilled bags of popcorn from a wall stacked several feet high. It looked less like a concession stand than a fire brigade preparing sandbags for a flood.
My daughters were delighted to be watching the film with a completely full audience. Nolan’s “The Odyssey” lived up to its billing as an event, as did the extended preview of “Dune: Part Three” beforehand.
As the credits rolled, they immediately asked whether I had already purchased our “Dune: Part Three” tickets.
I had not.
A few days earlier, this would not have concerned me. Now I suspect I may already be too late.
On the way out, I ran into fellow film journalist David Poland, who had just watched “The Odyssey” for the fourth time. Back on Hollywood Boulevard, the line for the 3:00 p.m. screening had already begun to form.
We were quickly accosted by someone dressed as Spider-Man, apparently unaware of the promotional irony of standing opposite the El Capitan Theatre marquee advertising “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Farther down the sidewalk, a vendor was heating bacon-wrapped hot dogs. But I was full of popcorn and needed to return to the parking garage, where another line awaited at the payment kiosk.
So, the next time a studio or vendor tells us they could not possibly sponsor CJ because the cinema market is suffering, I will think about the sold-out 7:00 a.m. screening, the popcorn fire brigade and two Gen Z moviegoers already asking when they could purchase tickets for their next theatrical event…
…and I will have only one response:
Perhaps the market is not the problem.
Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Deal: Approved in Europe, Blasted by Exhibitors, Frozen in the U.S.
It has been a whiplash week for Paramount’s USD $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery: Brussels said yes, European exhibitors said not so fast, and a U.S. federal judge made sure nothing is closing anytime soon. There’s too much here to untangle in one digest, so consider this the current state of play. The European Commission approved the merger after Paramount agreed to exit United International Pictures, its joint venture with Universal, within 13 months of closing, and avoid any new joint EEA distribution arrangement with Universal for a decade. Worth remembering: Brussels examined a narrower market structure than the one under the microscope in the U.S., and its review did not encompass the same broadcast, cable, news and theatrical concentration questions central to the American case.
That narrower scope didn’t sit well with exhibitors. UNIC criticized the Commission for treating UIP as the whole story, arguing that removing Paramount does little to address what happens when two major film suppliers combine—output, diversity, negotiating leverage, contractual practices and access to content remain live concerns for European circuits. UNIC also noted that first-half 2026 EMEA box office ran 21% ahead of last year, a reminder that Europe’s recovering theatrical market deserves broader scrutiny before its supplier base is consolidated. The theatrical window featured prominently in UNIC’s argument, though it wasn’t part of the legal basis for either the European approval or U.S. court order—worth keeping those arguments in separate lanes.
Stateside, the deal remains stuck. A federal judge extended the temporary restraining order blocking closing while state attorneys general pursue their antitrust suit, having already found the states made a “strong showing” the merger could harm competition. Rather than keep fighting for the extensive preliminary-injunction hearing it wanted—witnesses included—Paramount pivoted, proposing to skip that fight and head straight to trial.
The company and the states have agreed that the deal will remain on hold while litigation proceeds, potentially through June 2027. That comes at a cost: Paramount reportedly owes Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders USD $650 million per quarter starting in October, plus a possible USD $7 billion breakup fee if regulators kill it outright. Paramount wants a November trial; the states are angling for 2027. One law professor described the move as waving “a very, very small white flag.” Paramount, unsurprisingly, called it a “significant win.” Both can be true; Paramount may genuinely believe trial is now its fastest route forward, but that preference only became obvious once the faster ones started closing around it.
Celluloid Junkie will return with a deeper look at why American and European regulators are treating the same transaction so differently—and what each approach may be missing.
Source: The New York Times
Sony and Alamo Will Restore and Reopen Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome
Sony Pictures Entertainment and wholly owned subsidiary Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will restore and reopen Hollywood’s iconic Cinerama Dome, dark since March 2020, with an early 2028 target. Renovation begins in August on the Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, which will retain its Cinerama name, exterior branding and famed 86-foot curved screen. The adjoining 14-screen former ArcLight Hollywood complex will reopen as a full dine-in Alamo Drafthouse. This is not merely a restoration story; it is the clearest signal yet of what Sony wants from owning a cinema circuit—a flagship it controls outright in the market where it matters most.
The Dome will remain a traditional cinema without dine-in service, pairing standard concessions with repertory screenings, filmmaker programs, premieres and special events. The neighboring multiplex provides the commercial engine, retaining 35mm capability while adding 4K laser projection, immersive audio and 70mm presentation. Separating the landmark from the workhorse is the smart move: the Dome gets to remain a shrine without being expected to carry the complex’s weekly box office.
The project follows Sony’s 2024 acquisition of Alamo and its recent USD $100 million investment in immersive entertainment company Cosm, extending an experiences strategy that now includes a national circuit, live-event technology and a Hollywood landmark. Alamo CEO Michael Kustermann called the complex the chain’s “new West Coast flagship,” filling a geographic gap beyond its existing Downtown Los Angeles location. Sony has not disclosed a restoration budget or clarified whether the Dome’s original three-strip Cinerama equipment survives, and an early 2028 reopening leaves time for preservation questions to emerge. Still, after six years of darkness, Hollywood finally has more than another promise that the Dome will return.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
Miraj Cinemas Rebuilds Leadership Bench After Sudden Loss of Bhuvanesh Mendiratta
Miraj Entertainment Ltd. has moved quickly to rebuild its leadership bench following the sudden death of Managing Director Bhuvanesh Mendiratta on June 2, elevating Deepak Adwani to Executive Director and Sameer Munshi to Chief Operating Officer. Mendiratta, who died at 43 after suffering a brain stroke, spent 13 years at Miraj, rising from operations to COO before becoming Managing Director in May 2025. He was widely credited as a principal architect of the chain’s growth to 235 screens and its role in shaping India’s modern multiplex experience.
Losing a Managing Director mid-flight is the kind of scenario every exhibition chain plans for on paper and dreads in practice. Miraj’s decision to promote from within suggests it is prioritizing continuity. Adwani, elevated from Vice President – P&L on June 19, is a 14-year company veteran with two decades in exhibition. He steps in already fluent in Miraj’s operating playbook rather than as an outsider learning the circuit while trying to lead it.
Miraj deepened the bench again on July 22 by promoting Munshi from Vice President of Operations and F&B. The 25-year industry veteran will oversee multi-location operations, standardization, technology and food-and-beverage growth. That last mandate is worth flagging: as Indian exhibitors pursue more margin beyond the ticket, Miraj is treating concessions as a genuine growth lever rather than an afterthought. With both appointments completed before Big Cine Expo convenes in Chennai this August, the company arrives at India’s largest cinema industry gathering with its immediate succession story already taking shape rather than being written on the show floor.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
IMAX Posts Strong Second Quarter Before “The Odyssey” Sets Sail
IMAX Corporation reported second-quarter revenue of USD $103 million, up 12% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 23% to USD $48 million and adjusted earnings reaching a Q2 record of USD $0.43 per share. Global IMAX box office totaled USD $285 million, its best second quarter since 2019, led by “Michael” with USD $69 million, “The Mandalorian & Grogu” with USD $42 million and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” with USD $39 million. It was a strong quarter on its own merits—and one that ended before Christopher Nolan even entered the building.
The hardware business was equally healthy. IMAX installed 38 systems during the quarter, its strongest Q2 installation total in a decade, expanding its commercial network to 1,809 locations with another 421 systems in backlog. Net cash from operating activities rose 19% to USD $36 million, while the company repurchased USD $13.7 million of its shares. The installation pace may be the more important signal for exhibitors: cinema operators were committing capital to the format before any “Odyssey” halo effect appeared on the horizon.
That halo arrived firmly in Q3. “The Odyssey,” the first feature filmed entirely using IMAX film cameras, opened to a record USD $52 million worldwide in IMAX and accounted for 20% of the film’s global debut. Its 41 IMAX 70mm locations generated USD $6.3 million, averaging a blistering USD $153,000 per screen. With additional international markets still to open and “Dune: Part Three” ahead later this year, IMAX has moved from reporting a solid quarter to contemplating what could be an exceptional second half.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
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Celluloid Junkie is the leading online resource dedicated to the global film and cinema business. The Marquee is our newsletter focused on motion picture exhibition; keeping industry professionals informed of important news, the latest trends and insightful analysis