Latest news with #Cinemark
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
More commercials are playing before movies: Are theater chains testing your patience or saving the box office?
The business model for movie theaters has been under threat since at least the 1980s with the widespread adoption of the VHS. DVDs, streaming, and the COVID-19 pandemic have only compounded the issue. According to Octane Seating, 63% of Americans watch movies at home, which isn't happy news for big chains such as AMC, Cinemark, and Regal. This is in addition to video games, smartphones, prestige TV, and every other form of media that competes for your attention in the 21st century. Popular movie chains have been forced to get creative to stay afloat. Tactics such as luxury reclining chairs and top-shelf alcohol haven't been enough. A new controversial way to bring in needed revenue is to add additional non-trailer advertisements in the preshow, increasing the length from 15–20 minutes to 30. So if you want to see a summer blockbuster flick, plan accordingly. Let's take a look at the timeline for this change and if it has impacted audience behavior. Cinemark and Regal lead the way In 2019, Cinemark and Regal reached an agreement with National CineMedia to add additional commercials in the preshow slot. One of these was dubbed a platinum spot and would play right before the attached trailers. The movie chains reportedly received 25% of the revenue collected from these prominently displayed ads. National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski promised that this would not deter audiences, as a similar practice was already standard in Europe. 'We don't believe it will be a significant issue for exhibitors or consumers,' he explained in an interview with Deadline at the time. AMC jumps on the longer preshow bandwagon AMC initially rejected the idea, but six years later is changing its tune. On July 1, AMC joined Cinemark and Regal. The chain also made sure its patrons were aware of the change by emphasizing it in a disclaimer for ticket buyers. When news of AMC's change of policy broke, the movie chain issued a statement explaining the decision. AMC claims this change will not keep audiences away from theaters but doesn't explicitly say anything about watching trailers. 'While AMC was initially reluctant to bring this to our theatres, our competitors have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance,' the statement explained. 'This is a strong indication that this NCM preshow initiative does not negatively influence moviegoing habits.' How has this impacted the audience? While theater chains may claim the practice hasn't impacted attendance, the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic and entertainment industry strikes make it difficult to isolate the exact reason for any changes in audience behavior. Thanks in part to the ' Barbenheimer ' phenomenon of two summers ago, 2023 was the best summer box office since all of this drama came about, bringing in $13.6 billion globally. Last year, meanwhile, saw a 10.3% decline domestically over 2023, according to Comscore. In June of this year, as reported by Deadline, Gower Street Analytics predicted the summer season would make around $12.4 billion in global box office revenue. Moviegoers appear to be holding steady. However, even though audiences are still showing up, they are starting to skip the trailers. According to Steve Buck's firm EntTelligence, only 60% of audiences were present for them this year. The numbers get lower in the movie-centric cities of Los Angeles and New York. Only 42% of Angelino cinephiles were present for every trailer, down from 55% last year. Only 42% of New Yorkers saw each trailer, down 5% from the previous year. These statistics to reveal a potential catch-22. While theater chains have to stay open to new sources of revenue, they may risk repeat business as fewer audience members are exposed to their full slate of coming attractions. 'What if a trailer plays in a movie theater and no one sees it? What good does it do?' Tom Rothman, Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman and CEO, mused to Deadline. 'It's incredibly self-defeating and shortsighted. Since the beginning of the movie business, the single best inducement to see movies is trailers in movie theaters. And now, nobody sees them.' Only questions remain. Will 'the skipping the trailers' trend continue and even grow? Will this lead to opting out of going to the movie theater altogether? Time will tell. For now, be armed with the knowledge that you have extra time to get your popcorn without missing the movie should you so choose.
Hypebeast
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
IMAX Tickets for Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Are Reselling for Upwards of $200 USD — A Year Before The Film Even Premieres
Summary 95% of tickets to seeChristopher Nolan'sThe OdysseyinIMAX70mm have already been sold — but the movie won't be out for another year. An insider tellsVarietythat a majority of the sales took place within the first hour of the tickets going live. While the lucky ones were able to acquire them at face value, others may have to turn to scalpers who are selling tickets on eBay for upwards of $200 USD. A Sunday night ticket at a Cinemark in Dallas, with the seat located on the left of the second row, is currently priced at 400% of its retail value. Meanwhile, four Saturday tickets at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City went on the auction block for a starting bid of $1,000 USD. Varietyadds that the high demand for tickets isn't just due to Nolan's reputation as a stellar filmmaker. Viewers are also interested in seeing the director's work in the way he intended it to be — in the IMAX 70mm Odysseywill be the first studio film to be shot entirely on IMAX cameras. 'It's bold, it's brilliant and it's audacious,' Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said of the advanced ticket sales. 'But only someone of Nolan's stature could pull this off. He's a brand unto himself. If other filmmakers tried this, people would scoff.' 'This ticketing decision is generating all kinds of upfront attention for the movie,' stated Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango. 'When you do something that's never been done before, it helps make the movie seem like an event.' The Odysseywill adapt Homer's ancient Greek epic with a star-studded cast. Matt Damon will portray Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca, while Tom Holland will play Telemachus, Odysseus' son. Also joining the two are Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page and more. The Odysseyhits theaters July 17, 2026.
Business Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Cinemas weigh launching new large screen brand to challenge Imax
[LOS ANGELES] Some of the largest US theatre chains, including Cinemark, Regal and Marcus, have held preliminary talks about jointly marketing their big-screen theatres to blunt the growing influence of Imax within the movie industry and the public, according to sources familiar with the matter. The talks so far have focused on setting shared standards for the chains' 'premium large-format' theatres to better compete with Imax's giant screens, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The chains have a number of options, the sources said. One is to unite around a new brand name for their premium format. Another would be to keep their premium brands and add an industrywide designation that would act as a stamp of approval for their locations. It's also possible they do nothing and maintain their current ties with Imax. Some chains are alarmed by the growing presence of Imax in Hollywood advertising, including posters in their own lobbies that feature the brand as prominently as movie titles. Imax licenses its technology to theatres and has about 372 US locations, a fraction of the screens nationwide. Yet it consistently generates more than 10 per cent of the box office for blockbusters. Displacing Imax would be a tall order: The company has spent half a century refining its technology and building its brand. It has attracted marquee filmmakers, including Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan, Dune director Denis Villeneuve and Sinners director Ryan Coogler, to shoot their films using Imax cameras. 'We view this as a sign of Imax's growing influence rather than a threat,' Benchmark Equity analyst Mike Hickey, who recommends buying the shares, wrote in a note to investors on Thursday. 'Imax continues to outperform with unmatched brand equity, strong filmmaker loyalty and premium economics that benefit exhibitors, particularly through incremental high-margin concession sales.' On Thursday at midnight in New York, Imax began selling tickets to Nolan's epic The Odyssey, one-year in advance. The screenings are for the 70-millimetre print, Nolan's preferred format and one favoured by cinephiles. Some locations, including Hollywood's iconic Chinese Theatre, were already almost completely sold out. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up There could be financial benefits for theatres in banding together, including less money going to Imax for licensing its technology, the sources said. The chains have also discussed among themselves the possibility of asking studios to help market any new brand they might adopt. Representatives of Cinemark Holdings, Marcus, Regal Cineworld and Imax all declined to comment. AMC Entertainment Holdings, the largest chain and biggest operator of Imax screens in the US, is not participating in the deliberations, according to the sources. Talks among the top movie-theatre chains 'won't blunt Imax's box-office market share, we believe, as the company's premium large format is gaining popularity with filmmakers and studios,' Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kevin Near and Geetha Ranganathan wrote in a note. 'At close to 1 per cent of total movie screens, Imax's opportunity remains large.' Movie theatres have invested in big-screen names of their own that do not use Imax technology. Imax said last quarter that its big-screen footprint is double the size of its nearest competitor. Cinemark's company-branded big screens are called XD, while Regal's are dubbed RPX and Marcus' UltraScreen and SuperScreen. They are typically 70 feet wide, or more, and taller than those found at traditional theatres. Some come with premium sound systems and seats that move. They resonate with fans, who will often pay 30 per cent more for seats. Also driving the push for change is the sluggish recovery of the theatre industry following the Covid-19 pandemic and labour strife in Hollywood that cut the supply of new films. Ticket sales nationally remain well below the pre-Covid peak. Despite those troubles, Imax is set to score its best year for box-office revenue in 2025 on the back of movie marketing campaigns that carry taglines such as 'Filmed For Imax'. Cinema owners who do not have Imax screens have bristled at receiving film posters from major Hollywood studios with taglines such as 'See it in Imax,' the sources said. Another source of tension is the deal that Imax struck to release Netflix Inc.'s film based on CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia in late 2026, the sources said. The Greta Gerwig-directed film will run for two weeks exclusively on Imax screens before being released on the streaming service. Some theatre owners are in revolt because Netflix has largely shunned theatrical releases. Its co-chief executive officer Ted Sarandos has criticised theatres as an inefficient distribution model. Speaking at an industry event earlier this year, Regal CEO Eduardo Acuna would not commit to playing the Narnia movie in his theatres even though his circuit operates Imax screens, arguing that two weeks is too short a period to draw a significant number of moviegoers. And earlier this month, Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment, Europe's largest independent cinema chain, debuted a large-screen format called Epic, in part due to Imax's deal with Netflix. In a May interview with the New York Times, Adam Aron, chief executive officer of AMC, said his circuit will screen Narnia to support Imax. BLOOMBERG
Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Cinemark to Host Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call
PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cinemark Holdings, Inc. ('Cinemark') (NYSE: CNK), one of the largest and most influential theatrical exhibition companies in the world, today announced that it will report its second quarter 2025 operating results pre-market and host a webcast and conference call to discuss the results on: 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time Interested parties can listen to the call via live webcast. Please access 5-10 minutes before the call: A replay of the call will be available at following the call and archived for a limited time. To automatically receive Cinemark financial news by email, please visit our Investor Relations website and subscribe to email alerts. About Cinemark Holdings, Inc. Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) provides extraordinary out-of-home entertainment experiences as one of the largest and most influential theatrical exhibition companies in the world. Based in Plano, Texas, Cinemark makes every day cinematic for moviegoers across approximately 500 theaters, operating in 42 states in the U.S. (304 theaters; 4,246 screens) and 13 South and Central American countries (193 theaters; 1,398 screens). Cinemark offers guests superior sight and sound technology, including Barco laser projection and Cinemark XD, the world's No. 1 exhibitor-branded premium large format; industry-leading penetration of upscale amenities such as expanded food and beverage offerings, Luxury Lounger recliners and D-BOX motion seats; top-notch guest service; and award-winning loyalty programs such as Cinemark Movie Club. All of this creates an immersive environment for a shared, entertaining escape, underscoring that there is no place more cinematic than Cinemark. For more information, visit
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Imax 70mm tickets now live for Nolan's The Odyssey
Tickets for Christopher Nolan's next film, The Odyssey, are now officially on sale in select IMAX 70mm theaters, more than a year before the film's scheduled release on July 17, 2026. IMAX confirmed the news via its official X account on July 17, stating, 'Tickets now live for IMAX 70mm showings of The Odyssey. A year ahead.' Get tickets now to experience the first IMAX 70mm screenings of #TheOdysseyMovie - A film by Christopher Nolan. In theaters 7 17 26. — IMAX (@IMAX) July 17, 2025 Shortly after the announcement, major cinema chains including AMC, Harkins, and Cinemark began showing listings for the film, with ticket booking available through platforms like Fandango. Listings have appeared for several major IMAX 70mm venues including AMC Lincoln Square in New York, AMC Metreon in San Francisco, TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, and BFI IMAX in London. These theaters are among the limited 30 or so worldwide capable of projecting in 70mm IMAX. This marks the first time Nolan has shot a film entirely in the IMAX 70mm format, which is considered the gold standard for cinematic presentation. While early ticket sales aren't unusual for blockbuster films, releasing tickets 365 days in advance is rare and underscores the exclusivity of the format and expected demand. The content of The Odyssey remains tightly under wraps. However, the announcement has generated immediate buzz across social media, with film journalists and fans alike confirming purchases. With limited capacity at 70mm venues and a full year of anticipation ahead, The Odyssey is already shaping up to be one of 2026's most anticipated cinematic events.
