Movie theaters are rolling out a range of special promotions to try to ingrain the cinema-going habit with showings of older films at discount prices. * Carmike and Regal starts a “Marvel Superhero Movie Marathon” screening movies with Marvel characters simultaneously on May 3 coming just before the premiere of "The Avengers" from Walt Disney Studios the following day. * … [Read more...] about Theaters Host Mini-Fests at Reduced Prices
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Some ‘Twilight’ Moviegoers Suffer Convulsions
News reports indicate a some incidents occurred where moviegoers go into convulsions during a scene replete with flashing visuals in “Twilight: Breaking Dawn--Part One.” These apparently spontaneous attacks of jitters call to mind publicity stunts for pure horror films in the 1950s that promised over-the-top frights. This week’s episodes with the “Twilight” audience, which … [Read more...] about Some ‘Twilight’ Moviegoers Suffer Convulsions
Studios Push Fast 60-day VOD Window
Hollywood’s major studios are close to deals for a “premium video-on-demand window” to put movies on TV screens just 60 days after theatrical premiere for $30, prompting denunciation from theaters and some in Hollywood. The timing is odd because studios and theater operators just met in Las Vegas for the CinemaCon convention but the studio premium VOD plans only … [Read more...] about Studios Push Fast 60-day VOD Window
Gripes over Film Rating System
The movie classification system is under attack in a spate of press commentaries, but I’ve got a simple fix. All those films that don’t like their ratings should withdraw from classification and play in cinemas “unrated.” There is no requirement to be classified and some films go that route all the time. It’s really an argument about Hollywood making more money by … [Read more...] about Gripes over Film Rating System
Super-luxury Theaters Sprout
Some movie theaters have created a premium-priced film-going experience with booze and fancy food at $29 a ticket, versus a $7.50 national average. Australian theater circuit Village Roadshow (VRS) has four such theaters in the U.S. offering a movie and dining experience. “Forget Milk Duds and popcorn,” says a “Los Angeles Times” article by Richard Verrier and Jessica Gelt. … [Read more...] about Super-luxury Theaters Sprout
Imax Screens 16-Minute ‘Avatar’ Clip
In its extensive discussion of trailers, “Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition” calls them essentially “free samples” of movies. Now, 20th Century Fox is taking the trailer concept to an extreme level with “Avatar,” which is the Jim Cameron (“Titanic”) sci-fi epic set for Dec. 18 theatrical release. A “Los Angeles Times” article says big-screen Imax theaters will present … [Read more...] about Imax Screens 16-Minute ‘Avatar’ Clip
3-D Screens Double Boxoffice
“Monsters vs. Aliens” pulled a robust $59.3 million for the three-day weekend on 7,300 screens, in a validation for 3-D cinema projection. Lionsgate’s horror film “The Haunting in Connecticut” grossed $23 million from half as many screens, in another strong debut, as cinema going continues to ride high despite the deep recession. Those figures are domestic box office—U.S. and … [Read more...] about 3-D Screens Double Boxoffice
Financing Set for Digital Cinema
Four major studios and the biggest independent agreed this week to help fund a consortium of movie theater owners to convert to electronic digital film projection to replace mechanical projectors. Digital cinema has been stalled for a decade, because of questions if the technology was not ready, making movie companies unwilling to invest in what could be soon-obsolete … [Read more...] about Financing Set for Digital Cinema
‘Dark Knight’ Baffles Film Ratings
Warner Bros. latest Batman adaptation, “The Dark Knight,” is a genre bender that baffles audience classification, and may impact film ratings going forward. Further, its comic-book-to-silver-screen arc makes it ideal for a new print graphic novel to promote the film and special clips screening in Imax theaters. But its console video game adaption was abandoned and won’t be … [Read more...] about ‘Dark Knight’ Baffles Film Ratings
Toy Brand Screens in Cinema
A popular pre-schoolers toy brand books a one-time special movie screening "Thomas & Friends On The Big Screen" via Fathom Events. It’s part of a budding trend of non-theatrical audio/visual content showing one or a few times, mostly in slots when cinemas would otherwise be dark. "Thomas & Friends" played once at a 10 a.m. Saturday screening time with its … [Read more...] about Toy Brand Screens in Cinema