On the eve of this year’s CinemaCon, and at the risk of not heading the wisdom of the Prussian political leader Otto von Bismarck, I thought it might be helpful to invite you into our own little sausage making factory to give you a peek at what it’s like around here in the run up to a such a major event. In doing so, you’ll get a good sense of what you can expect out of CinemaCon 2023.
You see, like the cinema industry, the journalism trade is filled with its own special jargon. A “write-around” is a story about a particular person which didn’t have direct sourcing from its subject. A “write-through” is an update of a story news story which has already been published. Such a story can also be referred to as a “follow-up.” Of course, “off the record” is now used outside of journalism, but that is where this term of art is derived. And then there is the phrase “curtain-raiser,” which are news stories written about an event which has not happened yet in an effort to prepare readers for when it does actually occur. You are reading one right now.
Traditionally before each year’s CinemaCon trade outlets such as Celluloid Junkie will get approached by companies or their publicist (aka “flack”) pitching story ideas, interview opportunities or effectively anything that will get them some “ink” before the event in a curtain-raiser story. Similarly, industry players (exhibitors, studios, manufacturers, etc.) will send in press releases in advance, sometimes under embargo, so we can write up stories ahead of CinemaCon, or be enticed to to do so during the conference.
After so many years of this routine it has gotten to the point where I can gauge how well the industry is doing based on the number of media announcements we receive at CJ before CinemaCon touting recent accomplishments or business deals. Likewise, I can tell you afterwards how successful CinemaCon was for industry vendors based on the number of press statements they release during or right after the show. With that metric in mind, it would seem that despite all the doom and gloom over box office, grumbling over anemic release schedules and perennial refrain over tight finances, the cinema industry is actually doing much better than you might think and is far healthier than most would have you believe.
We struggled to keep up with the number of press releases coming into CJ over the last two weeks as can be seen in our Wire section (in no particular order):
Cinionic will help National Amusements roll out laser projection at Showcase Cinemas;
Christie is bringing its upgraded RGB laser projector to Las Vegas;
GDC is launching its DTS 7.1 and SATO Speakers;
EVO Entertainment and Influx have entered into a digital partnership;
Megarama will be opening three new IMAX screens in France and Morocco;
Vista Group’s new CEO Stuart Dickinson is officially on-board and is bringing along a team that will be showing off their latest technology;
Vista Group’s new CEO Stuart Dickinson is officially on-board and is bringing along a team that will be showing off their latest technology;
Showtime Group Solutions has signed Cinemex as its first enterprise customer;
The Boxoffice Company is adding even more circuits to their Boost platform;
Arts Alliance Media has signed deals to deploy their theatre management system with the likes of Alamo Drafthouse and National Amusements;
Severtson Screens will demonstrate its new price estimator tool for dealers;
Unique X is partnering with Curzon to help with private screen rentals through their Book The Cinema platform;
Theater Toolkit just deployed a new mobile responsive website for Fridley Theatres.
And these are just some of the ones I could remember. Historically companies like CJ 4DPlex, Dolby, Sharp/NEC and countless others hold their press announcements and distribute them strategically throughout the week of CinemaCon.
Nor do these take into account any of the positive media announcements that were made right before CinemaCon, such as The Cinema Foundation’s new report forecasting an upbeat summer moviegoing season and Canada’s Cineplex reporting its highest box office for the first 10 days of April in company history.
There have been lean years when the announcements made ahead of CinemaCon were sparse and there were even fewer released during the show itself. I am loathe to compare this kind of tub-thumping activity to what we witnessed before the 2018 CinemaCon or, dare I say it, even 2019. Though we don’t yet have official figures, early word from CinemaCon insiders is that registration for the show is higher than its ever been.
While box office is still climbing its way to pre-pandemic levels and industry manufacturers wait for orders to pick back up, everyone you speak with this week will claim to be cash strapped, though that is thankfully not the picture being painted publicly ahead of this year’s CinemaCon.
Distributors
Netflix Is Not Coming to a Theatre Near You
What a difference a year makes. After Netflix held its first quarter earnings call in 2022, announcing a loss of subscribers for the first time in a decade, their stock plummeted 45% from 348 to 190. It clearly marked an end to the free spending days of Netflix and similar services. As the company looked for additional revenue streams surely they would have to turn to exhibitors and play their big budget films in movie theatres.
Over the past year that has not happened. And if the company’s Co-CEO Ted Sarandos is to be believed, it won’t happen over the next year either. During an earnings call for the first quarter of 2023, Netflix reported an increase of 1.75 million subscribers on earnings that beat Wall Street estimates. With their stock price hovering around 327 they are absolutely fine if their film productions don’t get a theatrical release.
Sarandos told financial analysts during the call, “The film division is doing great. They really are building some great films. The success at the Oscars was great. But even better than that was the movies that won so big were also very, very popular with fans. So, this is award-winning, critical acclaim and enormously popular with fans.”
“So, we’re really happy with the investment in film,” he added. “Of course, we’re trying to improve it, like we do with all of our films. Driving folks to a theater is just not our business. We create that demand, we collect that demand on our subscription service with our members and I think having big new desirable content, including feature films in the first window, drives value for our members and drives value to the business. So, no major changes in play except for trying to continue to improve the films for our members and make a big splash with films that are loved and watched.”
Source: The Wrap
Exhibitors
India’s MovieMax Continues to Expand with Lucknow Cinema
Despite having only launched in the middle of 2022, MovieMax has become one of India’s fastest growing cinema chains. Over the last 5 months the company, which is part of the Kanakia Group, has opened multiplexes in Bikaner, Hyderabad, Noida. Last week MovieMax added a six-screen venue in Lucknow.
The company currently operates 61 screens throughout India with a team of 500 employees and plans to expand to over 100 screens by the end of 2023.
“Our aim is to keep growing with a steady pace,” said Ashish Kanakia, CEO, MovieMax Cinemas at the grand opening of the Lucknow multiplex which was attended by actor Ajay Devgn. “With a vision of providing a wholesome movie-watching experience to our audiences, we are committed to giving them a venue to spend quality time with friends and family while experiencing the magic of movies on a big screen.”
Source: ANI
Premium Large Format
South Korea Finds Success With Staggered Release of Premium Formats
It won’t come as a surprise to anyone in the movie theatre business that premium format auditoriums such as IMAX, 4DX and Dolby Cinema generate higher attendance. However, exhibitors and distributors in South Korea performed an experiment, perhaps not purposefully, and found out that even audiences who have seen a film will return to see it again in a premium format.
This phenomena is being credited with drawing more than 70,000 viewers to see “The First Slam Dunk” in IMAX during a seven day span between 5 – 14 April. The animated film about a high school basketball team, which is directed by Takehiko Inoue and produced by Toei Animation, was first released in Korea on 4 January and it went on to sell nearly 4 million tickets. The one-week only IMAX release came three months later, yet tickets for the limited screenings sold out as soon as they went on sale.
Meanwhile the Japanese anime title “Suzume” has been a huge hit in Korea, earning USD $37.7 million from 4.8 million admissions since it’s release on 8 March. The Makoto Shinkai movie is now both the highest grossing Japanese film of all-time in Korea as well as the biggest hit of 2023. Two weeks after the film was released, “Suzume” opened in 4DX and on its first day attendance jumped 19.7%. As of this week the 4D version of the movie has taken in more than KRW 1.69 billion won (USD $1.27 million), or 3.5% of the total sales of KRW 48.5 billion (USD $36.5 million). This outpaces the IMAX gross, even though that version of the film opened on the first day of release.
Source: Dong-A Ilbo
Exhibitors
Premium Formats Struggle With Lack of Content in India
When “Top Gun Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” opened in Indian cinemas audiences poured into IMAX and 4DX auditoriums. However exhibitors don’t always have Hollywood blockbusters to show and these premium format screens often remain dormant or offer standard 2D titles.
Though IMAX and 4DX are attempting to grow their footprint in the country they are struggling to provide enough movies to keep premium auditoriums operational according to industry analysts in India. Premium formats account for 15-20% of exhibitors’ revenue, leading exhibitors to wonder whether it’s worth offering them at all.
“India is yet to emerge as a meaningful market for large formats like IMAX. While Hollywood studios are big on converting their films into such formats, the trend is relatively new in India, and the amount of money producers can spend on VFX is significantly lower here, and nowhere close to Hollywood,” said Mohan Umrotkar, an industry expert and the former CEO of Carnival Cinemas, about the prospect of getting local language productions released in premium formats.
Source: Mint
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