Global boxoffice revenue will decline $32 billion due to Covid-19 closures, representing a 71.5% plunge, estimates a London-based researcher that is nonetheless upbeat about a healthy though not complete rebound in two years. Omdia Research’s latest syndicated report "Movie Windows: Adapting for the Future” forecasts 2020 global boxoffice will amount to just $13 billion, for … [Read more...] about Virus Costs Cinema $32bn, But Rebound Forecast
economics
Majors Retool Execs for Streaming Age
Hollywood’s major movie studios are remaking their executive structures to adapt to the steaming age, which means reducing theatrical marketing infrastructure. This week, Sony Pictures combined theatrical, home video (includes DVD) and TV executive structures, and reduced headcount. “Moving forward, we will be combining our theatrical, home entertainment and television … [Read more...] about Majors Retool Execs for Streaming Age
Drive-in Theaters Come to Cinema Rescue
Drive-in theaters were something of a regional and seasonal backwater until the pandemic made watching entertainment from inside a car cool again. Instances where drive-in initiatives attract throngs of consumers gives hope that cinema will snap back once the coronavirus disappears. Music concerts and esports video game competitions have even embraced the outdoor drive-in … [Read more...] about Drive-in Theaters Come to Cinema Rescue
Cinemas Reopen Cautiously Amid Virus Worries
Cinemas around the world are nervously piecing together comeback plans -- opening with social distancing, shoring up their corporate coffers with cash and restructuring operations to withstand lean times. It's a slow process made worse with deadline pressures but in the long run it should succeed. Cinema infrastructure is top-notch and audiences locked down by the … [Read more...] about Cinemas Reopen Cautiously Amid Virus Worries
Coronavirus: We’ve Seen This Movie Before
The torrent of predictions of the quick demise of movie cinema strikes me as tunnel-vision bordering on dishonesty -- and provably by simply looking at past history and ingrained human behavior patterns. Hey, if movie theaters are dead, then so are legitimate theater (Broadway), music concerts, theme parks, cruise ships and audience attendance at sports events. But the … [Read more...] about Coronavirus: We’ve Seen This Movie Before
Dine-in Cinema Expands from Niche
Dine-in movie theaters have become a force, emerging from a niche, as some pure in-cinema eating/drinking chains now rank as leading circuits, notes a Fast Company article by Patrick J. Sauer. Plush seating, intimate auditoriums and at-your-seat service are basic for the category, and the Fast Company magazine article notes that “truffle popcorn can be paired with something … [Read more...] about Dine-in Cinema Expands from Niche
New Projection Technology Propels Cinema
Movie theaters are getting a slew of technological advances in projection to "wow" audiences. The MX4D full motion cinema chairs spray water, drop snow from the ceiling and move seated moviegoers around as if they were in the film. Other tech innovations are big-screen THX Ultimate Cinema, panoramic 270-degree cinematic format 4DPLEX, 4DPLEX with Screen X panoramic, and 120 … [Read more...] about New Projection Technology Propels Cinema
Fox Marketing Disbanded Following Disney Buy
Walt Disney Co. dismantled the 20th Century Fox theatrical marketing arm in terms of executives, as part of a large staff cut following its recent $71 billion acquisition of the Fox Studio. That big shakeup ended a period of relative calm in the executive suites of Hollywood’s theatrical movie marketing. Another development is MGM, which is building a theatrical … [Read more...] about Fox Marketing Disbanded Following Disney Buy
Carmaker Flakes Out on ‘Blade Runner’
The company behind “Blade Runner 2049” is suing French automaker Peugeot alleging it reneged on a big tie-in promotion with the sci-fi movie from 2017. Alcon Entertainment filed the legal action asserting that Peugeot failed to perform on paying a promised $500,000 cash fee and accompanying advertising support of $30 million. The complaint said that another unidentified … [Read more...] about Carmaker Flakes Out on ‘Blade Runner’
MoviePass Risks Becoming MoviePast
Flat-monthly-fee cinema ticket subscription service MoviePass is at a crossroads. Shares of its parent (NasdaqCM: ticker symbol HMNY) peaked at $32.90 a share back in October when MoviePass cut its monthly fee, which swelled its subscribers that now number about 2.7 million. But as losses mounted, share price collapsed to a penny-stock level under 60 cents today, amid … [Read more...] about MoviePass Risks Becoming MoviePast