An influential social-media website for arthouse aficionados, Letterboxd, is hitting its stride, reaching 17 million active members with accounts at end of last year. “In 2024, those members wrote 96.4 million reviews, marked 701 million films watched, and made 6.8 million lists, a popular feature,” a Letterboxd press release says. Fans are scattered for upmarket films, … [Read more...] about Arty-Film Website Letterboxd Blossoms
arthouse
Studio Ghibli Film Festival Flexes ‘Brand’
Theatrical rereleases of famed Japanese animation Studio Ghibli play across American cinemas in a sprawling annual festival, representing one of the few “brands” in motion pictures. Ghibli’s films have a cult-like following globally topped by “Spirited Away” that grossed a blockbuster $357 million in cinemas worldwide and won the 2002 Oscar for best animated feature. What is … [Read more...] about Studio Ghibli Film Festival Flexes ‘Brand’
Young Adults Boost Specialty, Art House
The hardscrabble independent and art house segments of cinema are getting a lift from the young adult demographic, which is augmenting the traditional mainstay of older adults, according to a Hollywood Reporter story. Upmarket indie and art house have relied on middle-aged and older adults, or in industry slang the “elderverse,” so the recent influx of ages 18-49 young … [Read more...] about Young Adults Boost Specialty, Art House
Turmoil Opens Cinema to Gatecrashers
With the flow of mainstream Hollywood films interrupted by now-settled labor strikes and the pandemic, expect occasional unusual successes to surprise in domestic theatrical boxoffice. In an unusual occurrence, the Japanese animation import “The Boy and the Heron” was the No. 1 grossing movie at cinemas in the U.S./Canada for the Dec. 8-10 weekend with $13 million. This … [Read more...] about Turmoil Opens Cinema to Gatecrashers
Film Fests Wobbly on Free Speech
Once self-proclaimed bastions of free speech, film festivals increasingly kowtow to woke progressive and grievance-culture growing in U.S. society. As a consequence, acclaimed and quality films perceived to be on the wrong side of mandated group-think get the boot from movie fests in acts of self-censorship. “A new, unspoken modus operandi [is that] festivals — once the … [Read more...] about Film Fests Wobbly on Free Speech
Streamer Foreign Films Fill Indie Gap
The homegrown indie-film sector characterized by prestige movies is suffering, but moviegoers are getting relief. Similarly-crafted, high-minded movies are playing in the U.S. that streamers commissioned from overseas producers. A case in point is German-made World War I drama “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which Netflix gave a truncated U.S. cinema run. All the U.S. … [Read more...] about Streamer Foreign Films Fill Indie Gap
Theater Giant AMC Mounts Indie Effort
Indie films aimed at audiences with sophisticated tastes get a hand from the second largest U.S. theater circuit with AMC Artisan Films. Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment promises to “program specialized movies consistently in select locations throughout the United States, providing what the company terms ‘consistent and convenient showtimes’ for the works,” writes … [Read more...] about Theater Giant AMC Mounts Indie Effort
Netflix, Other Streamers Walk Tightrope on Theatrical Runs
The great unresolved issue of this era of cinema is how video streamers like Netflix will alter theatrical release. The answer unfolds slowly with Netflix, which is the streamer least committed to theatrical -- inching back to cinema. Streamers originating and acquiring theatrical films for their online services pursue different strategies for the cinema window. Amazon … [Read more...] about Netflix, Other Streamers Walk Tightrope on Theatrical Runs
Weinstein Film Sets Simultaneous Netflix Run
The top four U.S. movie theater chains say they won't play the sequel to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" if it is telecast on Netflix simultaneous with its Aug. 25 2015 debut in theaters. Independent distributor The Weinstein Co. and Imax say that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend" will be booked on big-screen Imax screens at the same time as subscription TV … [Read more...] about Weinstein Film Sets Simultaneous Netflix Run
‘Band’s Visit’ Thrives Despite Oscar Snub
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences disqualified the official Israeli entry in the Foreign Film category because its inclusion of English dialog. However, “The Band’s Visit” later managed decent boxoffice and was even transplanted on Broadway as an acclaim musical. Producers of “The Band’s Visit”-a quirky tale about a small orchestra of Egyptian policemen … [Read more...] about ‘Band’s Visit’ Thrives Despite Oscar Snub