I couldn’t tell you whether Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theatres, personally convinced the musical sensation Beyoncé to release a film version of her Renaissance concert tour directly through the world’s largest cinema chain turned indie distributor. What I can tell you is that no sooner had the singer taken her final bow at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City last Sunday AMC sent out a press release announcing “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” would be opening in theatres on 1 December.
One could surmise that since AMC is based in Kansas City, Aron was backstage on 1 October pitching the idea to Beyoncé and her team, just like he did with Taylor Swift earlier this year. Or maybe they both got the idea on 7 September when, in writing about “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour,” we said Beyoncé may be the only artist who could release a concert film directly through movie theatres without a traditional distributor. (Don’t worry, we’re not asking for a cut.) More realistically, the production of the film was planned some time ago with the announcement tied to Beyoncé’s final North American date on the Renaissance World Tour. To date, Beyoncé’s ninth concert tour has raked in USD $579 million making it the seventh. highest-grossing tour in history, and the highest-grossing tour ever by a female artist.
However we wound up here, AMC’s press announcement came in just before midnight last Sunday, followed shortly thereafter by those from every exhibitor with a public relations department. It marks the second time in under a month that concert film for a massive world tour went on sale at movie theatres. The first being the aforementioned Swift film. Unlike Swift, who started out by announcing a North American release, Beyoncé made it known that her film would be a worldwide release from the outset. While I was initially disappointed that Beyoncé’s film should be hitting theatres so soon after Swift’s for fear that the two would be unfairly compared, I soon realized such comparisons are inevitable.
During last week’s CJ Cinema Summit, Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst for Comscore, gave a rundown of the top grossing concert films of all time, going all the way back to Woodstock in 1970 (USD $ 35 million). He wasn’t the only analyst to compare box office for concert movies, with every trade and mainstream media story about Swift’s film questioning whether she would top the USD $73 million North American gross of “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” from 2011. We didn’t even need to wait for “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” to hit theatres to answer that question. On Thursday AMC surprised absolutely nobody when they sent out another release touting how Swift’s film had sold more than USD $100 million in advance tickets globally.
This comes after their initial announcement that ticket presales for Swift’s movie had reached USD $26 million, an AMC record for single-day advance ticket sales. We didn’t get such news after the first-day of pre-sales from “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” though reports surfaced that it came in between USD $6 and $7 million in North America. Oddly enough, exhibitors in some foreign territories have been told not to put tickets for the Beyoncé film on sale or include it on their websites yet. Presumably that embargo will lift this week.
Comparisons of grosses for Beyoncé and Swifts concert films will be made a bit more complicated by the fact that cinema operators can only show “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” Thursday through Sunday. This could potentially wreak havoc for film programmers who, after dedicated a large percentage of their screens to Beyoncé’s film during the opening weekend, will need to program those auditoriums with different titles for Monday, Tuesday and Wedensday. Joe Garel, Vice President of Film at Cinepolis Cinemas USA was quick to say during our recent summit, that this wouldn’t be a problem for most theatre owners, as they have plenty of releases to backfill. He also was looking forward to seeing how sales per patron crept up during the run of the two concert films.
And though I would have preferred to see Beyoncé’s film hit theatres early next year to get some distance from Swift’s movie, let’s face it, these musicians are so big its hard to imagine that there can be one too many concert films with their names on them being released so close together. It’s certainly good news for movie theatres and great news for Swfties and the Beyhive. Plus, now anyone who couldn’t donate a kidney to purchase a ticket to one of their concerts this summer can see two of the world’s hottest musical acts in a fantastic setting with immersive audio and fantastic projection. I count myself among this latter group.
Movies
Beyoncé Will Take Over Movie Theatres in December
AMC Entertainment is teaming with Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s production company, to release a concert film of the singer’s Renaissance World Tour. “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” will hit North American movie theaters on 1 December with international territories likely to follow, if not released day-and-date through sub-distribution partners.
We particularly liked the way the theatrical experience was described as accentuating “the journey of Renaissance World Tour, from its inception to the opening show in Stockholm, Sweden, to the grand finale in Kansas City, Missouri. It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mind and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft…Its maximalist production welcomed more than 2.7 million fans from around the world, who travelled across oceans to enjoy Club Renaissance. Now, millions of moviegoers will get caught up in the Joy Parade, the monumental dance party that celebrates everyone’s right to be themselves, close to home.”
Tickets in the United States are set at USD $22 with showtimes on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, for a minimum of four weeks. While AMC Theatres Distribution is handling the distribution, exhibitors such as Cinemark, Cineplex, Cinépolis and Regal, among many others, will also be showing the film in the U.S.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
Organizations
NATO Names New Chair and Vice-Chair
The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) Executive Board of Directors has elected B&B Theatres President & CEO Bob Bagby as the new NATO Chair and Harkins Theaters President & CEO Mike Bowers as the new NATO Vice-Chair during NATO’s 2023 General Membership & Board Meetings last week at the Beverly Hilton.
The new NATO Executive Board Chair, Bob Bagby, oversees the largest family owned and operated theater chain in the country. Headquartered in Kansas City (Liberty), Missouri, B&B Theatres will celebrate its 100 th anniversary next year. The new NATO Vice Chair, Mike Bowers, oversees the Scottsdale-based Harkins Theatres circuit and its related businesses. Mike’s 40-year career in business includes 35 years in the motion picture industry beginning his exhibition career with Los Angeles-based Mann Theatres. Joining Harkins Theatres in 1993, Mike is responsible for every aspect of the organization.
Also, at the NATO 2023 General Membership & Board Meeting, Santikos Entertainment CEO Tim Handren was elected Chair of The Cinema Foundation, while Salt Lake Film Society’s Tori A. Baker was re-elected Vice Chair.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
Piracy
Despite Sanctions Foreign Titles Still Profiting In Russian Cinemas
Hollywood studios may not be releasing movies in Russia these days, due to that its invasion of Ukraine, yet three foreign films still managed to crack the country’s top ten highest grossing titles for the first nine months of 2023. The Cinema Fund reports that the local language “Cheburashka” tops this year’s box office charts, having earned RUB ?6.7 billion (USD $66.34 million), imported movies such as “John Wick: Chapter 4” are in fourth place with RUB ?874 million (USD $8.74 million).
Fifth and sixth place on the Cinema Fund’s chart also go to foreign titles; the French animated movie “Lady Bug and Cat Noir: The Force Awakens” bringing in RUB ?800 million (USD $7.9 million) and the British “Operation Fortune: The Art of Victory” with RUB ?685 million (USD $6.8 million).
We’re thinking that perhaps the pirated screenings of “Barbie” weren’t being included in the survey (which, of course, calls into question the accuracy of any of the country’s current box office statistics). Though the Warner Bros. Pictures blockbuster has not officially been licensed in Russia, like many other Hollywood titles, it is screening openly in numerous cinemas, especially in Moscow. Technically, moviegoers are buying a ticket at a cost of RUB ?400 to ?500 (USD $4 to $5) to see a short film with “Barbie” being shown before hand as a “preview.” Many other Hollywood titles have been screening in Russian cinemas through the same scheme.
Source: New York times
Conferences & Trade Shows
Expocine Closes 10th Edition With Awards Ceremony
The tenth edition of Expocine, one of Latin America’s biggest cinema trade shows, wrapped up in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, 6 October with an awards presentation paying homage to every aspect of the motion picture production, distribution and exhibition value chain. During the four day event eleven distributors, including major Hollywood studios, presented their upcoming release slate, along with screenings and 17 different panel discussions covering a wide range of industry topics.
During its closing ceremony at Cine Marquise, Expocine 2023 honored five companies for their work in the Brazilian film industry. In the distribution segment, O2 Play, H2O Films and Diamond Films Brasil were awarded for ten years of operation. In the production area, Casa de Cinema in Porto Alegre will be recognized for its 37 years of uninterrupted work in audiovisual production in Rio Grande do Sul. Representing the exhibition sector was Cine Casarão, rewarded for being an important cultural and social institution in the city of Manaus.
The event took place against the third edition of the third iteration of the Semana do Cinema (Cinema Week) throughout Brazil. The promotional initiative was put together by Federação Nacional das Empresas Exibidoras Cinematográficas (FENEC – National Federation of Cinema Exhibition Companies) and Associação Brasileira das Empresas Exibidoras Cinematográficas Operadoras de Multiplex (ABRAPLEX – Brazilian Association of Cinema Exhibition Companies Operators of Multiplexes). From 28 September through 4 October, tickets for 2D movies were BRL R$12 (USD $2.35). The second Semana do Cinema was held in February of 2023 with 3.7 million moviegoers participating, a 180% increase in attendance.
Source: Exibidor
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