The digital native atop Hollywood’s largest major studio gave a full endorsement to cinema release, as the broader rebound of the theatrical film business takes shape post-pandemic. Jason Kilar, head of mammoth Hollywood enterprise WarnerMedia, told a recent MoffettNathanson investors' conference: “You should expect us to lean into theatrical distribution for decades and … [Read more...] about Digital Disciple Endorses Cinema
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No. 3 Cinema Chain Opens VOD Windows
The nation’s third-largest theater circuit, Cinemark Holdings, reached a deal with all five Hollywood major studios allowing rapid video-on-demand adjacent to cinema release, indicating the industry is moving to shorter windows and cooperation. In a separate initiative, the Plano, Texas-based theater chain booked Netflix original movie “Army of the Dead” apparently on a … [Read more...] about No. 3 Cinema Chain Opens VOD Windows
Cinema Stirs Amid Oscars Debacle
Pundits may praise watching movies on streaming, but the Hollywood establishment gave a full-throated endorsement to pandemic-battered cinema in Sunday’s poorly received Oscars telecast. ABC Television’s audience plunged 56%, which is a crisis for the Academy Awards organizer that depends on Oscar TV-rights income. But the event will remain a moneymaker because TV … [Read more...] about Cinema Stirs Amid Oscars Debacle
BO Reporting Going Underground Again?
One little-appreciated outgrowth of pandemic-related “the new normal” is that reporting boxoffice grosses immediately and publicly has become irregular. For about a quarter century previously, industry allowed cinema ticket sales revenue to be publicly announced quickly, though it’s little remembered that previously those figures were confidential (explained further … [Read more...] about BO Reporting Going Underground Again?
Wrestling Toxic Fans Who Torch Cyberspace
As the nation’s political and social discourse gets coarse, it’s no surprise that movie marketers — who aim to engage fans — increasingly battle unwanted spurts of toxic fan syndrome. “So-called toxic fans take up an oversized place in the media's and the public's imaginations,” writes Aaron Couch in an analysis article in the Hollywood Reporter. In 2019, fanboys … [Read more...] about Wrestling Toxic Fans Who Torch Cyberspace
Movie Malaise Rattles Oscars
As Hollywood looks to the Oscar telecast on April 25, the movie industry remains battered but has cause to be optimistic about better days ahead. On that bad news, the pandemic closed theaters, interrupted production and triggered large audience viewership declines for glitzy awards shows like the Oscars. Further, Hollywood is engulfed in painful self-evaluation about … [Read more...] about Movie Malaise Rattles Oscars
Golden Globes Display Hollywood Civil War
The adage that “the show must go on” shined with the Golden Globe awards Sunday, Feb. 28, on NBC Television presenting a clunky event that indicates Hollywood’s problems are deeper than just the Covid-19 pandemic. Withering press coverage criticizes the foreign journalists trade group that hands out the award for lack of black members and its exclusionary membership; this … [Read more...] about Golden Globes Display Hollywood Civil War
Scandal! Marketing Downplays Disgraced Actor
Bad publicity over a suddenly disgraced actor has Hollywood’s publicity machine in high gear scrambling to minimize Armie Hammer in the latest marketing messaging for his two upcoming film releases. Hammer was exposed for communicating cannibalistic and sex-abuse desires toward women a month ago, creating a controversy imperiling audience reception for movies "Crisis" and … [Read more...] about Scandal! Marketing Downplays Disgraced Actor
Universal Mounts Horror Image Contest
A major studio built on a foundation of horror films 109 years ago, Universal Pictures now mounts a contest soliciting amateur-made posters and other marketing images celebrating the fright genre. Universal’s Out of the Shadows contest is partnered with onliner Tongal, which is a digital platform connecting businesses with vendors providing graphics/creative services to … [Read more...] about Universal Mounts Horror Image Contest
Streamers Supplant Films in Super Bowl
Movie distributors placed just one cinema commercial in TV’s Super Bowl telecast, although Hollywood was all over the Feb. 7 sports events with video streamers, celebrities, and loads of imagery from famous movie/TV content. The telecast carried six movie-related commercials in streaming and streaming platforms, especially Paramount+, which is a corporate sibling of Super … [Read more...] about Streamers Supplant Films in Super Bowl