Can one film save cinema? The obvious answer is no. Yet this does not stop excessive expectations from being attached to specific titles on the post-COVID release schedule. The potential and/or actual performance of said title then triggers an outpouring of column-inches predicting that the cinema p…

We’re sending out this week’s newsletter later than our usual Wednesday publication schedule because we were attending CinemaCon in Las Vegas since last Sunday and wanted to bring you all the highlights. Trying to capture all the ceremonies, industry panels, studio presentations and over…

The news that Netflix lost subscribers in the first quarter of this year for the first time in a decade no doubt caused some Schadenfreude amongst cinema operators, scarred as they were by pandemic-induced headlines proclaiming the demise of cinema at the altar of streaming. The news that Netflix lo…

What do “The Exorcist,” “American Graffiti” and “Live and Let Die” have in common? Film history buffs will know that they were the films that American cinema audiences flocked to in 1973. This was the last time we saw an energy shock and price inflation comparable…

As I type these words, executives at Discovery Inc. are putting the finishing touches on their USD $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia. The deal was announced last May and came as a shock, since AT&T had just purchased Time Warner three years earlier after a lengthy court battle with the Unit…

If you were hoping this week’s CJ Marquee editorial would expound on actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, you might be disappointed. There are plenty of other places to read hot takes on the shocking incident and keep abreast of all the latest finger pointing over who i…

While the cinema industry’s focus is on the upcoming Oscars and the world’s eyes are on the war in Ukraine, China is moving back into full lockdown region-by-region and city-by-city. Beijing’s “Zero Covid” policy means a clamp down on any cluster of outbreaks, even if i…