Corporate sibling video-on-demand streamers Paramount+ and Showtime roll out a price cut by selling themselves as a bundled package in the increasingly crowded and booming VOD landscape. The VOD package provides two options priced to consumers at $9.99/month in the Essential Plan or $12.99 for the Premium Plan, whose main differentiators are being more commercial free, 4K video … [Read more...] about Paramount+ Pushes Discount Streaming Bundle
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Dispute Over ‘Pulp Fiction’ Image
Movie posters can become as beloved as their source material, which is driving an unusual lawsuit over who owns the key art image from 1994 crime yarn “Pulp Fiction.” The photographer who shot the iconic poster image of actress Uma Thurman lying on her stomach seductively puffing on a cigarette next to a large pistol claims he owns the imagery, and is suing “Pulp Fiction” … [Read more...] about Dispute Over ‘Pulp Fiction’ Image
AMC Unspools Surprise $25m Ad Campaign
AMC Theatres launches a $25 million-plus marketing campaign with Nicole Kidman as star presenter this week to encourage a return to moviegoing amid the pandemic. The key copyline is “AMC Theatres. We Make Movies Better" in what is an advocacy and brand-building exercise. The campaign is a surprise because cinemas don’t normally bankroll pricey advertising, instead relying on … [Read more...] about AMC Unspools Surprise $25m Ad Campaign
Cinemas Show Comeback Grit
Though battered, the domestic movie theater industry showed surprising confidence at annual industry gathering CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Aug 23-26. Pundits can scoff, but I spent three days at the cinema trade show with nearly 2,000 executives who rolled up their sleeves to do business. Reflecting the devastation of the Covid pandemic, that headcount is down from 3,000-3,500 … [Read more...] about Cinemas Show Comeback Grit
Indies Battle Cinema Marketing Costs
There’s an unfolding tug-of-war over independent films, defined as titles not distributed by Hollywood’s five major studios. Cinemas want to keep them on their silver screens while video streamers, which enjoy more-favorable economics, are siphoning them away. Distributors of indie movies generally want theatrical release, but cinema marketing costs are a perennial obstacle. … [Read more...] about Indies Battle Cinema Marketing Costs
NYU, AFI, USC Top Film School Ranks
NYU, The American Film Institute and USC top the Hollywood Reporter rankings of 25 best film schools in the United States, in a four-article package that is mostly predictable but has a few surprises. One of Hollywood’s longstanding trade newspapers, THR cites as tops New York University (close to the Gotham scene with Spike Lee among resources), AFI (a Los Angeles-area … [Read more...] about NYU, AFI, USC Top Film School Ranks
Watchdog Revamps Kids Guidelines
A watchdog organization monitoring marketing aimed at children is overhauling its guidelines, which will impact movie marketers considering that some landed on its hot seat in years past. The guidelines from a week ago come from the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), which is an industry self-regulation nonprofit organization. The guideline revamp, which goes into … [Read more...] about Watchdog Revamps Kids Guidelines
Streamers Exalt Original Movies
If movies are supposedly “dead,” then why are video streamers producing them by the truck load? In just the past week, it was learned that NBCUniversal will spend $400 million to make a new “Exorcist” movie trilogy for to-be-determined play on its Peacock video streamer as well as cinema for October 2023. Elsewhere, the parent of streamer HBO Max announced plans to make 10 … [Read more...] about Streamers Exalt Original Movies
‘Jungle Cruise’ Serves Applebee’s Promo
Casual-dining chain Applebee’s Grill + Bar offers a free movie ticket to “Jungle Cruise” for every $25 in meals purchased, as the restaurant chain mounts its first direct movie tie-in. It's also a milestone for cinema gradually returning to a post-pandemic normal with a movie hooked up with consumer marketer for a joint promotion. Up to four movie tickets are offered per … [Read more...] about ‘Jungle Cruise’ Serves Applebee’s Promo
College Debate: Artsy vs. Practical
Advanced arts degrees even from the top Ivy League don’t pay off after graduation because of meager job-earnings later, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The result is many arts/film school graduates are saddled with a lifetime of burdensome student loans that they can’t cover from their career earnings, and this reignites the debate over arty versus practical in … [Read more...] about College Debate: Artsy vs. Practical