Boxoffice - June 2018

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JUNE 2018 

GLOBAL CINEMA 

FEDERATION 

EXHIBITION GROUP RELEASES 

POSITION PAPERS 

CINEMA 

ADVERTISING 

PROFILES OF BEFORE THE MOVIE, 

NCM, SCREENVISION, AND 

SPOTLIGHT CINEMA NETWORKS 

BOSTON CELTIC GREAT 

KYRIE IRVING STARS AS 

STREETBALL LEGEND 

UNCLE DREW 

A WHOLE 

NEW MENU 

MOVIE TAVERN’S NEW 

FOOD OFFERINGS 

THE AR 

REVOLUTION 

AUGMENTED REALITY 

MAKES ITS WAY TO THE 

MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE 

THEY 

GOT GAME 

UNCLE DREW DIRECTOR 

CHARLES STONE III ON 

WORKING WITH 

BASKETBALL GREATS 

The Official Magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners

2018 VOL. 154 NO. 6 

INTERVIEWS 

NCM 38 

ANDY ENGLAND 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 

SCREENVISION MEDIA 40 

KATY LORIA 

CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER 

CHRISTINE MARTINO 

SVP NATIONAL AD SALES 

JOHN PARTILLA 


SPOTLIGHT CINEMA NETWORKS 43 

JERRY RAKFELDT 


MICHAEL SAKIN 

PRESIDENT 

RONNIE YCONG 

SVP, EXHIBITOR RELATIONS & OPERATIONS 

BEFORE THE MOVIE 45 

COREY TOCCHINI 


3 HELLO 

4 EXHIBITION BRIEFS 

14 EXECUTIVE SUITE 

20 CHARITY SPOTLIGHT 

22 EVENT CINEMA 

24 SOCIAL MEDIA 

COVER STORY THEY GOT GAME 

DIRECTOR CHARLES STONE III TALKS 

ABOUT WORKING WTH NON-ACTORS 

—MULTIMILLIONAIRES ALL—ON 

SUMMIT’S UNCLE DREW 

26 INDIE FOCUS brought to you by Spotlight Cinema Networks 

30 INVESTOR RELATIONS 

32 EXHIBITOR MARKETING brought to you by Webedia Movies Pro 

48 GUST COLUMN 

50 FOOD & BEVERAGE 

52 3D CALENDAR brought to you by RealD 

54 EVENT CALENDAR 


MAKES ITS WAY TO THE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE 

56 ON SCREEN 

66 BOOKING GUIDE 

72 MARKETPLACE 

Boxoffice Magazine has served as the official publication of the National Association of 

Theatre Owners (NATO) since 2007. As part of this partnership, Boxoffice is proud to feature 

exclusive columns from NATO while retaining full editorial freedom throughout its pages. As 

such, the views expressed in Boxoffice, except for columns signed by NATO executives, neither 

reflect a stance nor endorsement from the National Association of Theatre Owners. 

2 BOXOFFICE ® JUNE 2018

hello. 

>> With the summer movie season 

now in full swing, I can’t help 

recall the sweltering summers I 

spent in Miami as a teenager— 

hiding out from the heat in the 

comfort of an air-conditioned 

movie theater. The summer of 

1998 was my first back in the U.S. after living throughout 

Latin America with my family; arriving in July 

(weeks before my first day of school) and having neither 

friends nor plans, I spent most of my time reading 

Entertainment Weekly and going to as many movies as 

I possibly could. I still can’t believe, all these years later, 

and thanks to my current position at Boxoffice, that I 

can look back at that summer and tell my parents, “I 

told you it was a better investment of my time than 

going to science camp!” 

That summer also introduced me to a new part of 

the moviegoing experience: the pre-show. Watching 

two or three movies a day, I often found myself having 

some free time between screenings. The trivia games 

and soundtrack selections that made up that pre-show 

experience have significantly evolved over the years. In 

this month’s issue we look at some of the latest innovations 

coming from cinema advertising companies in 

the United States. Coming off a year that saw a slight 

decline in domestic box office, we surveyed some of 

the sector’s biggest players to discover the current 

state of the pre-show—and what new technology, 

such as augmented reality (AR), can offer for the future. 

Also in this issue, you can read the first position 

papers from the Global Cinema Federation, detailing 

the year-old organization’s stance on the numerous 

issues that concern exhibitors around the world. We 

completed this month’s issue while at CineEurope in 

Barcelona, a week that once again served as evidence 

of the increasing collaboration and shared priorities 

of exhibitors in the U.S. and abroad. As this industry 

continues to take a global dimension, Boxoffice will 

uphold its commitment to bringing you news and 

features highlighting the latest developments from the 

industry’s global players. 

As always, please feel free to reach out with any 

comments on our current coverage or suggestions for 

future stories. 

Daniel Loria 

Vice-President Content Strategy 

Boxoffice Media 

BOXOFFICE MEDIA 

CEO 

Julien Marcel 

VP CREATIVE SERVICES 

Kenneth James Bacon 

VP CONTENT STRATEGY 

Daniel Loria 

BOXOFFICE ® 

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BOXOFFICEPRO.COM 

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BOXOFFICE ® (ISSN 0006-8527), Volume 154, Number 

6, June 2018. BOXOFFICE ® is published monthly by 

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JUNE 2018 BOXOFFICE ® 3

INDUSTRY NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE 

ABRY PARTNERS ACQUIRES 

SCREENVISION MEDIA 

>> Screenvision Media has signed a 

definitive agreement with Abry Partners, 

which will acquire a controlling stake in 

the company. As part of the agreement, 

the company’s existing owners, Shamrock 

Capital and AMC Entertainment, will 

maintain minority stakes. 

Unlike most traditional advertising 

media, cinema advertising continues to be 

a growing, premium video offering with 

its stable and consistent audience delivery. 

Screenvision Media has dramatically 

grown the cinema advertising market, 

demonstrating 30 percent revenue growth 

and tripling profitability over the past 

three years. 

“Abry’s investment in Screenvision 

Media is a true testament to the vitality of 

our company and the cinema advertising 

market,” said John Partilla, Screenvision 

Media CEO. “We’re excited to build on 

our recent growth with Abry Partners and 

look forward to all that we can achieve 

together. Thanks to its scale and unrivaled 

impact, cinema advertising is uniquely positioned 

to benefit from eroding audiences 

on alternative media platforms. We’re at 

an inflection point in the current media 

landscape, and the cinema advertising 

platform couldn’t be more well-positioned 

for sustained future growth.” 

“We see a very bright future for 

Screenvision,” said John Hunt, managing 

partner of Abry Partners. “We look forward 

to partnering alongside and investing 

with their first-rate management team to 

help further unlock future growth for the 

company as well as their leading network 

of exhibitors.” 

The transaction is expected to be finalized 

this summer. 

UCI GERMANY IS FIRST TO LAUNCH 

REAL-TIME DYNAMIC PRICING 

Following January’s announcement to 

roll out dynamic pricing to all of its German 

theaters, UCI (United Cinemas International 

Multiplex GmbH) and Smart 

Pricer have successfully completed the 

rollout three months ahead of schedule. 

“The rollout itself was an incredibly 

smooth process. I would like to thank the 

implementation team consisting of UCI, 

Smart Pricer, and Compeso very much for 

the fantastic job they have done,” said Jens 

Heinze, managing director of UCI. Regarding 

the commercial impact, Claas Eimer, 

commercial director of UCI, noted, “We 

are seeing good customer and employee 

acceptance. We look forward to improving 

the dynamic pricing model even further 

together with the Smart Pricer team.” 

Smart Pricer is a Berlin-based company 

that specializes in bringing airline-type 

dynamic pricing to the cinema, entertainment, 

ski, and sports industries. The 

software links with the ticketing (POS) 

systems of cinemas, theaters, ski, and 

sports venues to optimize ticket prices in 

real time. The exhibitors set the pricing 

rules in the web-interface, then the tool 

optimizes prices automatically for every 

single show. 

4DX HITS 10 MILLION AUDIENCE IN 5 

MONTHS 

>> CJ 4DPLEX continues to break 

records in 2018. At the end of May, global 

4DX attendance had passed 10 million 

attendees through the first five months 

of the year—the quickest to reach this 

milestone in history. Additionally, since 

the fastest-growing premium-cinema format 

first launched in 2009, more than 75 

million people have experienced 4DX. 

“To say that 4DX is rapidly expanding 

around the world is a massive understatement, 

and we are thrilled to report such 

positive results with 2018 not yet at the 

mid-way point,” said Byung-Hwan Choi, 

CEO of CJ 4DPLEX. “Over the past 12 

months alone, we have significantly grown 

the 4DX global footprint by opening more 

than 150 new locations—bringing our 

total to 526 today—and increasing the 

number of 4DX seats in theaters internationally 

by 40 percent, and this trend will 

only continue.” 

In particular, China has been driving 

4DX expansion and has become a 

powerhouse, increasing its total number 

of screens by 62 percent over the past 

12 months. The U.S., Canada, and 

Europe are also seeing strong growth. In 

North America, attendance through the 

first five months of 2018 is 70 percent 

greater than the same period in 2017. 

Growth was more significant in Europe, 

with 4DX attendance doubling over 

that same time period, year-over-year. 

France continues to be a very powerful 

market for 4DX, accounting for 8 

percent of total worldwide box office in 

2018 despite only making up 3 percent 

of locations. 

ATOM TICKETS LAUNCHES ITS FIRST- 

EVER REWARDS PROGRAM AND NEW 

APP FEATURES 

>> Atom Tickets, the social movie ticketing 

app, has rolled out its fan-centric loyalty 

program, Atom Rewards, which lets 

registered users unlock exclusive offers and 

unique product features. Atom Rewards 

is free to join and includes a members-only 

offer to earn a free movie ticket after 

seeing four movies in a theater any time 

in the next year. Atom Rewards members 


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EXHIBITION BRIEFS 

will continue to receive loyalty-program 

benefits from Atom’s exhibitor partners 

including AMC Stubs, Regal Crown Club, 

and many others. 

“We believe that movies are best 

enjoyed as a shared experience in theaters 

on the big screen,” said Allison Checchi, 

chief operating officer, Atom Tickets. “Our 

focus is to enable people to connect with 

the movies they love, as often as they want, 

and in the most convenient way possible. 

Launching the Atom Rewards program 

directly supports this effort while encouraging 

incremental moviegoing.” 

With Atom Rewards, registered users 

who make a purchase to see four different 

movies will automatically receive a credit 

to their account for a free standard-format 

movie ticket of their choice at any 

Atom-supported theater. 

Atom Rewards members also receive 

benefits like faster checkout, click-to-cancel, 

exclusive offers, and the ability to earn 

theater loyalty rewards. Atom Rewards is 

free to join with an Atom account, and 

all existing registered users automatically 

become members without having to take 

any further action. 

Atom Rewards launches in time for 

this summer’s highly anticipated movies, 

including Ocean’s 8, Incredibles 2, Jurassic 

World: Fallen Kingdom, Uncle Drew, Hotel 

Transylvania 3, Ant-Man and the Wasp, 

and more. 

AMC OPENS 100TH DOLBY CINEMA IN 3 

YEARS 

>> AMC Theatres and Dolby Laboratories 

have opened the 100th Dolby Cinema 

at AMC location at AMC Loews 34th 

Street 14 in New York City. The 100th 

site is being opened just three years after 

the first; the original agreement, reached 

in 2015, was for 100 auditoriums over a 

10-year deployment. 

“Opening the 100th Dolby Cinema 

at AMC location is a momentous event,” 

said Doug Darrow, senior vice president, 

Cinema Business Group, Dolby Laboratories. 

“Dolby and AMC embrace a 

shared passion to deliver a best-in-class, 

unforgettable entertainment experience. 

Our growth was made possible by the 

incredible response from moviegoers, 

studios, and filmmakers.” 

“Dolby Cinema at AMC provides an 

unparalleled moviegoing experience and 

the guest response around the country has 

been remarkable,” said John McDonald, 

executive vice president, U.S. Operations, 

AMC. “To reach 100 locations in just 

three years is a testament to the strong 

partnership between Dolby and AMC, but 

also to the strong preference of moviegoers 

to enjoy their movies in the powerful 

and captivating environment that Dolby 

Cinema at AMC provides.” 

Hollywood’s commitment to Dolby 

Cinema remains strong, with over 165 

feature releases mastered specifically 

for the format. Many of 2018’s most 

anticipated releases will be shown at 

Dolby Cinema at AMC locations across 

the United States, including Solo: A Star 

Wars Story, Ocean’s 8, Incredibles 2, Jurassic 

World: Fallen Kingdom, Mission: Impossible 

– Fallout, Mamma Mia! Here We Go 

Again, The Equalizer 2, BlacKkKlansman, 

Venom, A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, 

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, 

and Aquaman, among others. 

DWAYNE JOHNSON AND DANY GARCIA 

JOIN ATOM TICKETS ADVISORY BOARD 

>> Atom Tickets welcomed its newest advisory 

board members and investors, Seven 

Bucks Productions co-founders Dwayne 

Johnson and Dany Garcia. In support of 

this new relationship, Johnson, Garcia, 

and the team at Seven Bucks will provide 

their expertise to the growing startup. The 

board formed a year ago with visionary 

filmmakers Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, 

and Tyler Perry to serve as a resource to 

Atom Tickets as it continues to bring the 

most innovative and convenient theatrical 

movie experiences to consumers. 

“Dwayne has a unique and impressive 

connection with movie fans around the 

world who love going to theaters to watch 

his silver screen adventures. We’re honored 

to have the opportunity to tap into his 

passion for the motion picture industry 

to ideate the possibilities,” said Matthew 

Bakal, co-founder and executive chairman 

of Atom Tickets. “Dany is a global business 

strategy and marketing force who has 

a proven record of success along with her 

talented team of brand and marketing executives. 

We look forward to working with 

Dwayne and Dany to unleash innovation 

around the moviegoing experience.” 

“My main objective is to deliver 

entertainment that the world can enjoy,” 

said Johnson. “We want this unforgettable 

experience to extend beyond just the film 

itself and start as soon as the ticket is purchased. 

Coming aboard with Atom Tickets 

creates an opportunity for us to add even 

greater value to the moviegoing event. The 

Atom Team is an amazing group of individuals, 

who, like us, are purely focused on 

the audience first.” 

“The desire to serve our audience is paramount 

to everything we do. We look for 

partners who, like us, are reimagining how 

the entertainment industry does business 

to most effectively delight, inspire, and 

add value to the consumer experience,” 

said Garcia. “By joining their advisory 

board, we’re excited to add our insight and 

storytelling skills to further harness their 

potential and transform how our global 

audience plans a night at the movies.” 

Co-founded by Dwayne Johnson and 

Dany Garcia, Seven Bucks Productions 

is a multiplatform production company 

pioneering original content for television, 

film, emerging technologies, and 

digital networks and is behind some of 

the biggest global blockbusters of the past 

year including Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to 

the Jungle and New Line’s Rampage, with 

a highly anticipated slate that includes 

Universal’s Skyscraper and Red Notice and 

Disney’s Jungle Cruise. 

MARCUS THEATRES TO RENOVATE 

NATIONWIDE 

>> Marcus Theatres will add amenities 

to 23 theaters in eight states to welcome 

the highly anticipated summer blockbuster 

season. Extensive renovations over 



the past year added signature Dream- 

Lounger recliner seating, premium 

large-format (PLF) screens, and exciting 

food and beverage concepts. From the 

Lincoln Grand Cinema in Nebraska to 

the Pickerington Cinema in Ohio, these 

investments demonstrate the company’s 

commitment to creating the ultimate 

moviegoing experience. 

“The opening of Avengers: Infinity 

War kicked off the summer with a bang. 

Marcus Theatres is well positioned to carry 

the momentum forward thanks to a strong 

pipeline of films and our newly renovated 

theaters,” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, 

president, and chief executive officer 

of Marcus Theatres. “Customer response 

to these amenities has been outstanding, 

leading many moviegoers to purchase 

their tickets well in advance for films like 

Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story. 

They are eager to reserve their seats in our 

theaters that offer premier screens, seating, 

and terrific food and beverage!” 

Renovations to bring the amenities described 

below to these 23 properties were 

either completed in the past year or will be 

finished in the coming months—in time 

for moviegoers to enjoy other upcoming 

films. Following is a recap of the overall 

impact across the theater circuit: 

As part of these renovations, 21 additional 

properties will feature DreamLounger 

recliners in all non-IMAX auditoriums. 

Additionally, 15 more locations will 

feature one or more new PLF auditoriums, 

giving audiences the best viewing experience 

for this summer’s biggest films. The 

UltraScreen DLX experience features a 

massive screen, DreamLounger recliners, 

and Dolby Atmos multidimensional sound 

with speakers along the front, back, sides, 

and ceiling. Meanwhile, SuperScreen DLX 

auditoriums showcase an oversized screen, 

DreamLounger seating, and immersive 

Dolby Atmos sound. All these PLFs include 

the option for heated recliners. 

Beyond in-auditorium enhancements, 

updates include the addition of unique 

food and beverage concepts at 10 more 

locations. These concepts include: Take 

Five Lounge for a casual dining experience; 

Reel Sizzle, inspired by classic Hollywood 

and the iconic diners of the 1950s; 

Zaffiro’s Express, with its award-winning 

Thincredible handmade pizza and other 

menu items that can be ordered at the 

counter for quick pick-up; and Big Screen 

Bistros for full-service in-theater dining. 

IMAX EXPANDING TO SAUDI ARABIA 

WITH VOX CINEMAS 

>> Following the news that Saudi Arabia’s 

Ministry of Culture and Information will 

be opening up the kingdom to movie theaters 

in 2018 for the first time in 35 years, 

IMAX Corporation and VOX Cinemas, 

the Middle East’s largest cinema exhibitor, 

have agreed to collaborate on a minimum 

of four new IMAX theaters in Saudi 

Arabia. Four theaters will be added to new 

multiplexes in Riyadh and other shopping 

mall locations, including those owned by 

VOX Cinemas’ parent company, Majid Al 

Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, 

retail, and leisure pioneer across 

the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. 

The first IMAX theater has opened at 

VOX Cinemas’ new four-screen multiplex 

in Saudi Arabia at Riyadh Park Mall. 

VOX Cinemas was awarded its license to 

operate cinemas in the kingdom and plans 

to invest SAR2B (US $533.3M) to open 

600 screens in Saudi Arabia over the next 

five years. In addition, IMAX theaters will 

be featured at VOX Cinemas in Majid Al 

Futtaim’s City Centre Ishbiliyah and Mall 

of Saudi. The agreement brings the IMAX 

contracted network in Saudi Arabia to 

at least five, with two currently open, as 

IMAX also operates the IMAX dome theater 

at the Sultan Bin Abdul Science Center 

in Al-Khobar, which opened in 2005. 

Cameron Mitchell, chief executive 

officer of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas commented: 

“We’re thrilled to bring IMAX to 

commercial theaters in KSA for the first 

time. We thank the Saudi government for 

the faith they have placed in us and we 

look forward to contributing to the Saudi 

Vision 2030 as we support the growth of 

their new cinema sector.” 

VOX Cinemas currently operates 322 

screens across eight countries in the region. 

The experience-focused exhibitor was also 

recognized on the international stage as 

the recipient of the CinemaCon Global 

Achievement in Cinema award in 2017. 

VOX Cinemas has a highly successful 

partnership with IMAX across many of 

its best-performing locations in the Gulf 

Cooperation Council. 

The announcement follows IMAX’s 

signing of a Memorandum of Understanding 

with Saudi Arabia’s General 

Culture Authority (GCA) on May 12 

at the Cannes Film Festival. The GCA 

and IMAX will jointly seek opportunities 

to help Saudi studios and directors 

release films with cross-border appeal and 

eventually tap IMAX’s global distribution 

platform to export their films to non-Arabic-language 

markets. 

VISTA GROUP SIGNS JAPAN’S AEON 

ENTERTAINMENT 

>> Vista Group International has signed 

Aeon Entertainment, its first customer 

in Japan. Japan is one of the top five film 

exhibition markets in the world by box 

office revenue. 

Vista Group companies Vista Entertainment 

Solutions (Vista Cinema) 

and Movio, will provide their respective 

cinema management and marketing data 

analytics software solutions to Aeon, which 

operates 91 cinema sites throughout Japan, 

comprising 774 screens. 

The successful negotiation of the 

agreement, conducted over more than two 

years, was achieved with the support of 

Vista’s in-market business partner VINX 

Corporation, which will continue to work 

with Vista to execute the new agreement 

including the deployment of Vista’s software 

and ongoing support. 

VINX has established a new cinema division 

with a focus on selling and supporting 

Japanese exhibitors. “Our partnership 

with Vista has initiated this new division 

within VINX, and we’re very excited about 

the opportunity it represents,” said Toshiya 

Fujita, president of VINX. 



“It is difficult to promote the foreign 

software package in Japan since we have 

developed customized systems for every 

customer. This partnership will allow us 

not only to expand our business together 

in Japan, but also it will help us enhance 

our global strategy. I am convinced that 

this agreement will be the very first step 

of a great development and success for the 

Japanese cinema industry.” 

“With perseverance, determination, 

and hard work and with the support of our 

partner VINX Corporation, we’ve finally 

realized our long-term goal of establishing 

the Vista brand in Japan,” said Kimbal Riley, 

chief executive of Vista Group. “With 

the implementation of Vista Cinema’s 

industry-leading cinema management 

software system and Movio’s unsurpassed 

marketing data insights and solutions, 

Aeon will absolutely enhance its leadership 

position. We are humble and grateful to 

partner with an organization with the reputation 

and standing that Aeon holds in 

Japan and our experience of Aeon is that 

they are a devoted and extraordinary team 

of cinema professionals.” 

The rollout of the Vista Cinema and 

Movio solutions for Aeon will be completed 

by February 2020. 

SHOWCASE CINEMAS IS NOW A 

FANDANGO PARTNER 

>> Showcase Cinemas recently announced 

the company’s first-ever partnership 

with Fandango, the online movie 

ticketer. Showcase Cinemas customers 

now have the option to purchase tickets 

on Fandango for all theater locations. Fandango 

advance ticketing and reserved-seat 

options will be available for Showcase 

Cinemas theaters in the U.S., in Massachusetts, 

Connecticut, Rhode Island, New 

York, New Jersey, and Ohio. 

“Fandango is proud to partner with 

exhibition leader Showcase Cinemas to 

present an outstanding entertainment 

experience for our many fans,” said 

Fandango SVP, Chief Commerce Officer 

Kevin Shepela. 

Showcase Cinemas’ customers can 

now purchase their tickets and reserve 

seats, in select theaters, at the 

time of purchase through Fandango. 

Showcase’s movie technology offerings 

include: XPLUS, Showcase’s proprietary 

large-format auditorium featuring Dolby 

Atmos sound and the most advanced 

laser projection and screen technology; 

REALD 3D; IMAX; and MX4D, 

the sight, sound, motion, and sensory 

experience. 

VISTA NAMES TILL CUSSMANN SENIOR 

VP OF SALES IN EMEA 

>> Vista Entertainment Solutions (Vista 

Cinema) has appointed Till Cussmann 

senior vice president sales for EMEA and 

general manager, Europe. 

Cussmann will lead the next phase 

of growth for Vista Cinema in Europe. 

He will focus on sales management and 

customer relationships in the whole of 

the EMEA region as well as on general 

management of the continental European 

activities. 

For over a decade, Till Cussmann was 

deeply involved in the digital conversion of 

movie theaters as well as the technical conception 

and implementation of infrastructure 

for new venues. Previously, as senior 

vice president of CinemaNext and its 

predecessor dcinex, he was responsible for 

the overall product and customer support 

strategy, geographical expansion to more 

than 20 countries, and he led reshaping 

the organization from a server manufacturer 

to a one stop shop for cinema technology. 

Cussmann also has experience in the 

marketing of technical products in the 

leisure and retail industry. 

Cussmann will share his time between 

continental Europe and the Vista Cinema 

EMEA headquarters in London. He will 

report to Mischa Kay, managing director 

of Vista Entertainment Solutions EMEA. 

“I’m delighted to join Vista Group 

and take part in the next level of success 

of Vista’s great products in Europe,” said 

Cussmann. “I strongly believe that an 

intelligent cinema management system 

is at the heart of any cinema operation 

and will be more and more a significant 

factor in an exhibitor’s business success. 

Vista Cinema’s product line is by far the 

most advanced and complete solution for 

cinemas on the market, and I’m thankful 

that Vista Group has given me this great 

opportunity. I’m particularly excited 

about joining a great team of skilled people 

passionate about cinema.” 

GEORGE EYLES NAMED CEO OF MACCS 

>> Maccs, the theatrical distribution 

software company, has announced the 

appointment of George Eyles to the role 

of chief executive officer. As CEO, Eyles 

will be responsible for Maccs’s global 

operations, spanning customers in more 

than 50 countries. 

Eyles will join Maccs from his current 

role of managing director of digital 

cinema, EMEA, for Deluxe Technicolor. 

He has worked at Deluxe since Deluxe 

and Technicolor created a joint venture for 

cinema in 2015. 

Eyles has over 16 years’ industry 

experience in distribution of digital content, 

including advertising and cinema. 

Prior to the Deluxe Technicolor joint 

venture, he was responsible for Technicolor’s 

worldwide digital cinema strategy, 

leading the business development team 

located in London and Los Angeles. He 

joined Technicolor from Arqiva, where he 

was responsible for the deployment of a 

Pan-European electronic delivery network 

for cinema, working closely with studios 

and exhibitors. Eyles was also responsible 

for creating Arqiva’s live event services, delivering 

hundreds of live alternative events 

to cinemas around the world. 

Eyles said, “Maccs is highly regarded 

throughout the industry and well known 

for supporting and bringing innovation 

to its clients. The organization and its 

professionals around the world are first 

class, and I’m looking forward to being 

part of the Vista Group team and the 

innovation and vision they continue to 

bring to the industry.” 

Eyles will take up his new position in 

August 2018. n 


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EXECUTIVE SUITE 

NATO AND ITS 

DOMESTIC MEMBERS 

WORKING TOGETHER ON ISSUES IN THE UNITED STATES 

by John Fithian, President & CEO, NATO 

In a separate column on page 16, we describe the recently announced policy 

positions and initiatives of the Global Cinema Federation (GCF). The five subjects 

described there affect cinema operators everywhere in the world, and the work 

of the GCF will bring together exhibition leaders from more than 90 countries to 

address those concerns. NATO and our global membership will support the work 

of the GCF, alongside our friends at the Union Internationale des Cinemas (UNIC) 

and the exhibitor members of the GCF Executive Committee. 

JOHN FITHIAN 

>> At the same time, though, NATO and our 

domestic members continue to address challenges 

and opportunities unique to the exhibition market 

in the United States. NATO’s Executive Board 

of Directors is currently considering a multiyear 

strategic plan, which we will describe more fully 

in next month’s publication. For now, this column 

will highlight some of the ways NATO and its 

domestic members work together in the U.S. 

ADMINISTER, PROTECT, AND ENFORCE A 

VOLUNTARY MOVIE RATING SYSTEM 

NATO: Work with the Motion Picture Association 

of America to administer and promote the 

voluntary movie ratings system both as a useful 

guide for parents and as a successful deterrent to 

government censorship. Provide educational materials 

for members to inform the public. Provide 

training materials to inform staff. Coordinate with 

NATO member companies through their appointed 

ratings-compliance officers. 

U.S. Members: Appoint a company ratings-compliance 

officer to work with NATO and 

take responsibility for ratings-compliance efforts 

at the company. Enforce the voluntary ratings 

system in cinemas by training staff, posting 

policies, checking IDs at the box office, and 

including ratings information on websites and 

ticketing portals. 

STRENGTHEN SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC 

THEATRICAL WINDOWS 

NATO: Promote exclusive theatrical exhibition 

as the best platform for new movies, and 



THE KEYSTONE 

OF SUCCESSFUL 

BUSINESS IS 

COOPERATION 

generally advocate for strong and sustainable 

windows policies. Urge studio partners to not 

undermine the successful sequential release of 

movies. Compile data on windows and distribute 

that data to members. (NATO will not take a 

position on what windows should be or seek to 

negotiate windows terms.) 

U.S. Members: Study the data provided by 

NATO and utilize that data in their own individual 

negotiations with studios. Make theatrical exclusivity 

an essential component of those negotiations. 

PROMOTE THE U.S. EXHIBITION INDUSTRY 

PUBLICLY 

NATO: Represent the exhibition industry 

through interaction with the media and Wall 

Street analysts. Engage the creative community to 

promote moviegoing. Maintain ongoing program 

of materials for member use, including 

video endorsements from 

the creative community. Speak at 

—J.C. PENNEY 

conferences and other gatherings 

to promote the industry. 

U.S. Members: Utilize the 

materials NATO supplies on 

social media and elsewhere. 

Volunteer to take media 

inquiries referred by NATO. 

Participate in public conferences 

that offer opportunities to 

promote the industry. 

ADVOCATE FOR GOVERNMENT POLICIES THAT 

PROTECT AND ADVANCE THE EXHIBITON 

INDUSTRY 

NATO: Proactively address legislative and 

regulatory federal policy matters that impact 

exhibitors. Mobilize NATO’s national grassroots 

network to engage decision makers and achieve 

favorable outcomes for the industry. Partner with 

other industries and coalitions to advance government 

priorities. 

U.S. Members: Serve on NATO committees 

and offer subject matter expertise to NATO’s 

deliberations. Become member advocates in direct 

and grassroots lobbying by responding to NATO 

action alerts and by coming to Washington, D.C., 

for lobbying days. 

ENHANCE SECURITY AT U.S. MOVIE THEATERS 

NATO: Serve as the central industry hub for 

sharing information and actionable intelligence 

regarding physical and cyber security. Develop 

programs, partnerships, and resources to help 

members implement threat-mitigation strategies 

and tactical capabilities. Share threat information 

received from government contacts with 

members on a local, regional, or national basis as 

warranted. Provide and update a Crisis Management 

Handbook. 

U.S. Members: Appoint a lead security officer 

to work with NATO and take responsibility for 

security issues at the company. Report suspicious 

activity and security threats to local law enforcement 

and then to NATO. Attend member security 

briefings offered by NATO at least once a year. 

PREVENT ILLEGAL RECORDING OF MOVIES IN 

AMERICAN CINEMAS 

NATO: Provide movie theater operators and 

their employees with information on identifying 

and preventing illegal recording of movies in 

cinemas. Coordinate with the MPAA, studios, 

technology companies, and NATO’s Movie Theft 

Task Force of members. Investigate new antipiracy 

technologies. Provide training materials. 

U.S. Members: Assign key staff to the NATO 

Movie Theft Task Force. Participate in meetings. 

Review NATO’s weekly “North American Camcord 

Source Report” and target enforcement actions 

accordingly. Partner with MPAA and studio 

investigators on key targets. Train employees. 

EXPLORE CINEMA TECHNOLOGIES TO ADVANCE 

THE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE 

NATO: Explore existing and emerging cinema 

technologies and systems to ensure that they 

achieve the highest standards, provide the best 

experience to patrons, and the optimal business 

model for exhibitors. Liaise with studio partners, 

creatives, and technology companies. Collaborate 

with members of NATO’s Technology Committee. 

When necessary and appropriate, advocate for 

standards in exhibition’s interest. 

U.S. Members: Participate in NATO’s Technology 

Committee. Communicate to NATO about 

technology issues in the field. 

These are some of the important ways that 

NATO and its members operating in the United 

States work together. If you are an exhibitor who 

operates in the U.S. and want to learn more, please 

contact the NATO offices. n 


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GLOBAL CINEMA 

FEDERATION RELEASES 

POSITION PAPERS 

This month, the Global Cinema Federation (GCF) released five 

position papers on key areas of concern and interest to cinema 

operators worldwide. The papers will guide the GCF in its efforts to 

advocate and educate on these issues on behalf of cinema operators 

around the world. The full position papers are available on the 

GCF website at www.globalcinemafederation.org. 

“In its first year, the GCF has identified and come to 

agreement on these issues of vital concern to exhibitors 

around the world,” said Cinépolis CEO and GCF chairman 

Alejandro Ramírez Magaña. “While further issues remain 

to be explored, these five papers give us our marching 

orders as we begin our second year of advocacy on behalf 

of cinemas worldwide.” 

The Global Cinema Federation (GCF) is a volunteer-based 

federation established to represent the global cinema 

exhibition community and to advocate to global stakeholders 

on its behalf. The GCF seeks to increase industry 

effectiveness by providing input to international regulatory 

bodies and to contribute more effectively to international 

dialogue on issues of common interest. 

The Executive Committee of the GCF is comprised of 

exhibitors AMC, Cinemark, Cineplex, Cinépolis, Cineworld, 

CJCGV, Event Cinemas, Les Cinemas Gaumont Pathé, Toho, 

Vue International, and Wanda Cinemas, and trade associations 

NATO and UNIC. Between them these companies and 

organisations have interests in more than 90 territories. 

THE PAPERS INCLUDE CINEMA EXHIBITORS’ 

POSITIONS AND CONCERNS REGARDING: 

Theatrical Exclusivity 

1 Cinema owners give top priority to maintaining 

the period of the theatrical exclusivity. 

2 The theatrical window is an integral 

part of the commercial terms between exhibitors 

and distributors. 

3 A surprise launch of a short theatrical window 

will be regarded as unfair and unacceptable business 

behaviour. 

4 Any future discussions with regards to theatrical 

windows must have exhibitors at the negotiation 

table in view of the effect that it will have on 

revenue and attendance. 

International Trade and Investment 

1 Value of free international trade and investment 

into the cinema sector; 

2 Sharing of information on local regulations 

and practices that impact on foreign trade 

and investments; 

3 Where appropriate, support local/regional 

advocacy that focuses on promoting international 

trade and investment into cinema through research 

and information sharing; 

4 Respect national policies which support local 

production and distribution activities with the objective 

of developing and sustaining a strong local 

cinema ecosystem. 

Movie Theft 

1 Movie theft has long been a significant 

threat to our industry, and technology advances 

have increased that threat dramatically. However, 

box office losses to illegal movie copies are not 

inevitable. We can—and must—work together 

to reduce movie theft, building on success stories 

from around the world. One success story that 

proves the effectiveness of government and exhibitor 

cooperation comes from Canada. Canada 

revamped their copyright laws in 2012. As a 

result, not only is piracy negligible, but Canadian 

consumers have drastically increased their legitimate 

content consumption. 

2 Movie exhibitors are the “front line” of preventing 

in-theatre camcording, the source of most 

illegal copies accessed during a movie’s theatrical 

run. In partnership with the MPA and local law 

enforcement, theatre teams have been successful at 



deterring and detecting camcording, and escalation 

to local law enforcement has led to arrest and 

conviction that puts criminals out of business. The 

Global Cinema Federation will share best practices 

in theatre employee training and operational 

practices, as well as successful models of local law 

enforcement collaboration that can be adopted 

across markets. 

3 Cinemas are also the voice of the industry 

to consumers, with the ability to build awareness 

of the cost of movie theft. Theatre exhibitors have 

a unique opportunity to humanize the cost of 

movie theft and to enhance the perceived value of 

commercial purchase. Exhibitors must be able to 

show guests that the experience of seeing a film 

in-theatre far outweighs any perceived “benefit” 

of seeing a pirated version. Exhibitors should 

thank guests for their patronage. The Global 

Cinema Federation is preparing an online portal 

to share best practice in-theatre marketing campaigns 

and collateral. 

4 Theatre exhibitors and the Global Cinema 

Federation shall partner with local trade organizations 

and advertisement companies to ensure that 

legitimate advertising does not appear on cannibalized 

content. (For example, in the United States 

exhibitors shall work with the American Association 

of Advertising Agencies.) 

5 The Global Cinema Federation and members 

shall continually and diligently advocate local 

governments and law enforcement agencies for 

laws criminalizing acts of piracy. In addition, the 

Global Cinema Federation and members shall also 

advocate for strict enforcement of these laws. 

6 The Global Cinema Federation shall encourage 

internet service providers to actively monitor 

the services they provide for pirated material. In 

the event that pirated content is discovered, internet 

service providers must take immediate action 

by removing the pirated content and coordinating 

with the proper legal authorities. 

Music Rights 

1 The long-term goal is to remove entirely the 

need for cinemas to enter into licence arrangements 

with, and make royalty payments in respect 

of music rights to, PROs; this is however hampered 

by legal and structural challenges; 

2 In the interim, the Global Cinema Federation 

will support efforts to secure material 

reductions in existing tariffs, by sharing information 

and deploying both (i) factual data about 

rates in other territories; and (ii) tactics and legal 

and economic arguments which have succeeded 

in other territories; 

3 In all events, the Global Cinema Federation 

will strenuously resist attempts by PROs to 

seek higher tariffs and will do so using the means 

described above; 

4 While it may be legally problematic to have 

a collective discussion with studios about the 

allocation of music rights fees as between distribution 

and exhibition, it is certainly permissible 

to discuss with studios the extent to which the 

relevant rights are already “fully cleared” so that 

no PRO fees should be payable for that content. 

Securing detailed information about how much 

music within movies is actually vulnerable to a 

valid PRO claim will be a useful tool in reducing 

overall payments. 

Accessibility 

1 Cinema owners have long provided innovative 

services to disabled guests on a voluntary 

basis, and we encourage exhibitors to continue to 

implement independent solutions that increase 

access to guests. 

2 Historically, voluntary solutions adopted 

by exhibitors make government intervention and 

regulation unnecessary. 

3 In cases where the government chooses to act, 

government processes to reform or adopt accessibility 

laws should involve exhibition representatives 

and the input of individuals with disabilities. 

4 Cinema owners and moviegoers both benefit 

from government standards with dynamic and 

flexible mandates, including size of exhibitor where 

appropriate, rather than static requirements that 

hamper technological innovation and impose 

burdensome costs. 

5 Technologists and distributors creating accessibility 

solutions should seek the input of exhibitors 

to ensure that these solutions are compatible, 

interoperable, complimentary, and affordable. 

6 We encourage our distribution partners to 

continue to provide accessibility tracks on all motion 

pictures and trailers. 

7 We encourage our distribution partners to 

notify theatre operators of a film’s accessibility files 

sufficiently in advance of a film’s release to allow 

theatre owners to advertise this information when 

ticket presales begin. n 


CHARITY SPOTLIGHT 

To add events in an upcoming issue, please send announcements to numbers@boxoffice.com 

PAST EVENTS 

VARIETY – THE CHILDREN’S CHARITY OF 

DETROIT 

The Variety of Detroit Hearts & Stars Gala was held at 

the Townsend in Birmingham, Michigan. Felicia and 

Edwin Shaw were honored for their 25 years of committed 

support to Variety. 


ILLINOIS 

Variety of Illinois presented their Community All Star 

Award to the Siegel Family of Siegel’s Cottonwood 

Farms in Lockport, Illinois, for hosting free and discount 

events for children with special needs and their 

families throughout 2017–18. 

UPCOMING EVENTS 

VARIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHARITY 

POKER & CASINO NIGHT 

July 18 

6 p.m.–11 p.m. 

Paramount Pictures 

https://bit.ly/2sOwzpS 

The 8th Annual Variety Charity Poker & Casino 

Night hosted by Jamie Gold, World Series of Poker 

Main Event Champion, will take place on July 18 at 

Paramount Pictures. To date, Variety’s Charity Poker 

events have raised over $1 million to provide lifesaving 

support for disabled, abused, physically challenged, and 

underprivileged children in Southern California. With 

Variety’s 77-year history and deep roots in the entertainment 

community, we garner support from movie 

studios, celebrity friends, and theater owners to create a 

fun, high-energy evening with over 350 studio executives, 

corporate partners, and industry colleagues on 

hand enjoying great food and Vegas-style game play. 


ILLINOIS 67TH ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC 

August 1 

Join Variety of Illinois August 1 at the Arboretum Club 

in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, for their 67th annual Golf 

Classic, Dinner & Silent Auction. Hole sponsorships 

and tickets available on Eventbrite. 

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EVENT CINEMA 

DISTRIBUTION MATTERS 

GOFILEX BRINGS NEW TECHNOLOGY TO EVENT CINEMA DISTRIBUTION 

>> Established in the Netherlands in 

1938, Gofilex—apparently the name 

stands for “good film exploitation”—operates 

in 80 countries, delivering, via a 

terrestrial network, features, trailers, and a 

live-streaming solution. 

Director Cathy Huis in ’t veld-Esser 

says that it started delivering live event 

cinema in 2010 with a pop concert 

by Dutch duo Nick & Simon that it 

streamed to 55 cinemas. This year Gofilex 

will manage several live-streaming events 

per week—sometimes per day—to multiple 

cinemas around the world. 

The expansion of the sector has driven 

innovation, she says: “From 2012 on, 

we saw the event cinema market grow 

and grow and we understood that it was 

much more than opera and ballet. So 

we had to be really innovative, creating 

a reliable network and technology. We 

also were hearing more and more ideas 

from our customers and we needed to 

by Sam Andrews 

adjust to these ideas and create solutions 

for them.” 

One of these is Gofilex’s customer portal, 

which allows users to monitor where 

their event is being streamed, how much 

bandwidth is being used, and examine 

the logs that see which cinemas carried 

out a test of the event. 

“It’s even possible, if you have the authority, 

to start, stop, and pause a stream 

in a cinema,” she says. 

The Gofilex system gives distributors 

the opportunity to delay streaming of an 

event to take into account different time 

zones. “We work through time zones,” 

Huis in ’t veld-Esser says, adding that 

the system also offers a choice of “mixed, 

multiple subtitles. 

“All the live events we have English, 

French, etc. subtitles but there are countries 

that prefer mixed subtitles because 

they have a mixed audience. We can also 

encode such a stream with double subtitles, 

like French and 

German, at the same 

time,” she says. 

The Gofilex solution 

also offers the flexibility 

to move an event around 

a cinema’s different 

screens—small, medium 

or large or all at the 

same time—depending 

on demand. 

Huis in ’t veld says: 

“The solution is easy to 

use, secure, and, most 

important, you have far 

more control over what 

is being done in the 

cinema.” 

She is also eager 

to underline Gofilex’s 

ability to enable cinema 

operators and other 

institutions to create an 

event screening. Examples 

include a Slovakian 

poetry reading in Vienna 

that was recorded by Big 

Cinema Group and live 

streamed to several of its other cinemas in 

Germany, and a medical operation that 

was a live streamed by a university in the 

Netherlands to a cinema where students 

could watch it. 

“Cooperate with others, universities, 

hospitals, concert halls, etc., etc. Think 

out of the box, and we can help you 

realize it,” she says. 

“Because we can work through time 

zones, we can work worldwide with you. 

If you have content from Europe, use our 

network to also deliver it to America, Canada. 

We also have installations running now 

in China. The future for live events will be 

worldwide and there will be many types of 

content, different kinds of content.” 

Finally, Huis in ’t veld says that Gofilex 

has created a content marketplace 

called Cinio. “It’s a marketplace where 

content owners can find cinemas and 

where cinemas can find content to do a 

live event in their cinema.” n 


SOCIAL MEDIA 

DOES SOLO’S BOX OFFICE EARNINGS SIGNAL FRANCHISE FATIGUE FOR THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE? 

by Alex Edghill 

>> Solo: A Star Wars Story made headlines 

for all the wrong reasons over the Memorial 

Day holiday weekend as it opened below 

industry expectations with $103 million 

over the four-day frame. Seems odd to 

call a triple-digit opening paltry in any 

sense, but this instance stands out given 

the franchise’s blockbuster pedigree. We 

took a look at the social media stats behind 

Solo to see what—if anything—the film’s 

performance indicates about the popular 

appeal of the greater Star Wars universe. 

Solo grossed $148 million in its first 

10 days of release but might have a hard 

time gaining the traction required to avoid 

ignominy as the lowest-grossing live-action 

Star Wars release of all time. The looming 

question on everyone’s mind is simply, 

what happened? 

Pre-release social media buzz was 

noticeably lacking leading up to the film’s 

opening weekend, falling flat upon release 

when compared to Disney’s other Star 

Wars releases. 

Interestingly enough, its positive-to-negative 

ratio was tied with Rogue 

One as the best-received title in the new 

slate of Star Wars titles, but its overall Twitter 

and Facebook likes added were comparatively 

poor. Quite a few factors play 

into this, namely its close proximity to The 

Last Jedi and indeed other blockbusters, 

including Disney’s Infinity War—not to 

mention The Last Jedi’s poor reception 

from a segment of die-hard fans. 

Marketing campaigns are crucial for 

OPENING WEEKEND (FRI–SUN) TWEETS TWITTER POS–NEG RATIO FACEBOOK LIKES ADDED 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 1,061,391 12 110,720 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 1,252,581 15 56,111 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi 1,059,593 7 26,386 

Solo: A Star Wars Story 158,313 15 5,322 


THANDIE NEWTON, 

WOODY HARRELSON, 

AND ALDEN EHRENREICH 

STAR IN SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY 

releases of this magnitude. Rogue One, 

for example, debuted its teaser trailer 

more than eight months before release. 

Solo, however, had just over three months 

between the launch of its first teaser 

trailer to its release. The Star Wars social 

media properties offer some of the brightest, 

best examples of how to generate 

demand, but with such a short runway 

there was simply not enough room for 

Solo to take flight as it might have. 

The Last Jedi opened on December 15, 

2017, just over six months before Solo, 

an unorthodox decision when it comes 

to the theatrical rollout of titles from 

the same major franchise. In a landscape 

where sequels are some of the biggest 

earners at the box office, it is generally 

unheard of to debut them within six 

months of each other. 

Only once in the last 25 years of 

big-budget sequels has a franchise seen 

a six-month window between releases, 

namely for The Matrix Reloaded and The 

Matrix Revolutions. Shot simultaneously 

and originally intended to be released 

in the same month—only weeks apart 

from one another—the studio stretched 

out their releases to May 15, 2013, and 

November 5, 2013, respectively—just 

under six months apart. The result was 

similar to what Solo achieved, in that 

The Matrix Revolutions opened to just 

above half of what Reloaded did ($48 

million to $92 million) while its domestic 

total was under half of what its 

predecessor achieved ($139 million to 

$282 million). 

In the case of The Matrix, it could be 

argued that the quality of the films was in 

decline as the franchise aged—dragging 

the box office results down with it—and 

that the overall decline would have been 

similar had Reloaded been released 12 or 

24 months later. The same can’t be said 

for Solo, which has enjoyed a positive 

reception from fans and critics alike. 

Had Solo been released a year after 

The Last Jedi, the minimum usually given 

for big-budget sequels, there is a very 

real possibility it would have performed 

much better on its opening weekend. 

A six-month wait time for Solo would 

have ostensibly offered greater earnings. 

While that might be a drop in the 

bucket considering its multibillion-dollar-per-year 

global revenue, scheduling 

tentpoles will be increasingly tricky for 

a studio that must balance multiple 

releases from the Lucasfilm, Marvel, and 

Pixar families. 

The market was also fairly saturated 

by the time Solo hit theaters in North 

America. Disney’s release of Infinity War 

took place only one month before, and 

Fox’s Deadpool 2 was selling tickets fast 

and furious on Solo’s opening weekend. 

Another perhaps more tenuous 

observation comes from the negative 

press and reviews The Last Jedi received 

on its release last December. To briefly 

summarize, the film had the lowest 

user score on review aggregator Rotten 

Tomatoes of any in the franchise (yes, 

including The Phantom Menace), with 

46 percent. The Twitter sentiment for 

its opening three days—7 to 1 positive 

to negative—was also the lowest of the 

four Disney releases. While the critical 

reception was stellar (over 90 percent 

on Rotten Tomatoes), dissenting views 

from die-hard fans of the franchise were 

rampant on social media. Solo could 

have possibly suffered from some of this 

backlash from a contingent of unsatisfied 

fans withholding their support from 

Disney’s new Star Wars offering. 

Star Wars is easily one of the most 

robust franchises in existence, so it will 

absolutely be able to bounce back from 

this downturn. However, if one thing is 

clear after Solo, it’s that no franchise in 

cinema today is invincible. n 


INDIE FOCUS 

b r o u g h t t o y o u b y 

ROXY CINEMA 

BURLINGTON, VERMONT 

Contributor: Merrill Jarvis, President 

SCREENS: 6 

Seating Capacity: 184, 138, 113, 92, 75, 57 

TOP TITLES HISTORICAL 

Our five biggest films here at the Roxy 

since we opened in 2003 are Fahrenheit 

9/11, Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s 

Speech, Brokeback Mountain, and Lady Bird. 

History 

My family has been in the movie 

theater business in Vermont since 1949. 

I have been in movie theaters since I was 

three days old. My grandmother owned 

a drive-in, my mom ran the concessions, 

and my dad was the projectionist. After 

I was born and left the hospital, I spent 

my first night in a projection booth. 

Merrill theaters started in 1972 and 

opened the Roxy in May of 2003. I have 

been running the operations here ever 

since opening. 

Community 

Merrill’s Roxy Cinema is located in 

beautiful downtown Burlington on the 

banks of Lake Champlain. Burlington 

is a college town, with the University of 

Vermont bringing in 13,500 students, 

Champlain College bringing in 2,500 

students, St. Michael’s College bringing 


INDIE FOCUS 

in 2,000 students, and Community 

College of Vermont bringing in 7,000 

students. Our cinema hosts a good 

mixture of college students and has a 

great following with the senior citizens 

of the area. The Roxy Cinema adds to 

our community a quirky artistic addition 

to the already eclectic surroundings of 

downtown Burlington. I do many special 

events for the community. I work with 

Gather. The University buys 2,500 tickets 

a year to send students to non-alcohol 

events at no charge to them, making it 

a great program for the students and for 

the Roxy. Being a college town, there 

are many bars and clubs here, and the 

University wants students to have non-alcoholic 

choices for recreation. I play 

jazz movies during the Jazz Festival and 

donate half the proceeds to the festival. 

The Roxy is loved by all here in Vermont 

because of all the things the theater does 

for the community. 

We are the only art house in Burlington. 

I play not just art films but the 

occasional blockbuster to appease the 

college students. A good mixture of art 

and commercial films here make it a 

one-stop shop for all that is worth seeing 

today in film. 

Concessions 

Any art house will tell you how hard 

it is to have a great per cap at the concession 

stand. We strive to always do the 

best we can at up-selling and giving the 

customer what they want. Popcorn and 

soda are always the No. 1 and 2 sellers, 

but bottled water is also up there. Coffee 

and teas do really well too. Our bulk candy 

bins do incredibly well and we have 

raised our per cap now to a level never 

seen before here—and we are maintaining 

that level week after week. 

Grassroots Marketing 

I am always looking for an edge on 

marketing. I see what will connect with 

each movie and focus on the target 

market. If a film is political, I will 

contact the agency of concern. If it is 

an anime, I will Facebook the correct 

sites that have anime lovers. I also do a 

lot of benefits for the local community, 

donating thousands of dollars per year 

to various agencies in need. I donate and 

work closely with the Flynn Center for 

Performing Arts, University of Vermont, 

local food banks, and schools. The more 

we help gets the Roxy name out there 

and we connect as a needed part of the 

city structure. 

Cinema Advertising 

Spotlight Cinema Networks’ ads are 

quality national brands that my audience 

connects with and reacts to. Their staff 

is friendly, informative, and cares about 

my theater’s needs—making them a great 

partner to work with. I have received 

hundreds of thousands of dollars from 

Spotlight and it is a great feeling to get 

a check in the mail from them on a slow 

attendance week! I highly recommend 

partnering with them! n 


INVESTOR RELATIONS 

CINEMA ACROSS THE STREET 

INDUSTRY FINANCIAL NEWS / Q4 RESULTS 

>> At a recent 

investment banking 

investor conference 

hosted by B. Riley 

FBR, AMC senior 

management posted 

an updated Power- 

Point deck online 

to accompany their presentation, which 

was also covered via a live-streaming and 

archived webcast. Slide number three 

presented an intriguing picture of the 

worldwide theatrical exhibition screen 

count in a visual bar graph. 

Of note, AMC now boasts a global 

footprint in excess of 11,100 screens, 

which are located in 16 countries. It 

operates over 1,000 theaters, generating 

aggregate annual attendance of 344 

million (based on its trailing 12-month 

results for the period ended 3/31/18). 

When analyzing by screen count, AMC is 

No. 1 in eight of the countries it operates 

in and is the No. 2 operator in three additional 

countries, of its 16 total. 

UK-based Cineworld recently leapfrogged 

into second place in terms of 

screen count, reflecting its Regal Entertainment 

purchase. In aggregate, Cineworld 

now operates a total circuit north 

of 9,500 screens. Cinemark, with a U.S. 

and Latin/South American footprint, 

remains in third place, with over 5,900 

screens. Cinépolis, headquartered in 

Mexico but with a growing international 

expansion strategy, sits in fourth, with 

approximately 5,400 screens. In fifth 

place is South Korea–based CGV. Note: 

the above screen counts are as of 2017 

calendar year end. 

Of AMC’s 344 million visitors, 236 

million attended movies in one of its 

domestic U.S. locations. AMC claims to 

be the No. 1 operator in 22 of the top 25 

U.S.-based markets by box office revenue. 

by Rob Rinderman 

According to its updated PPT, approximately 

one-third of its seats have now 

been reseated and converted to recliners. 

The company’s current strategy seems 

to revolve around four pillars—all starting 

with the letter E, namely: Enhance, 

Engage, Expand, and Execute. Enhance is 

centered on comfort and convenience— 

recliner and reserved-seating initiatives. 

This category also includes food and 

beverage options, such as installing Coke 

Freestyle machines with over 100 possible 

combinations and premium sight and 

sound amenities—from IMAX to the 

Dolby Cinema at AMC brand. 

Engage stands for AMC’s Stubs loyalty 

program, its online/mobile/social media 

presence, U.S. theater branding and targeted 

programming. Expand and Execute 

are intertwined and include: expense 

control, integration, and balanced capital 

allocation—between net cap-ex and share 

repurchase programs. 

Marcus Theatres (a division of 

NYSE-listed Marcus Corp.) announced 

in mid-May that 23 of its properties 

based in eight states were undergoing extensive 

renovations in anticipation of the 

upcoming summer blockbuster period. 

Enhancements over the past year—some 

of which have already been completed—include 

the addition of its signature 

DreamLounger recliner seating, premium 

large-format (PLF) screens, and innovative 

food and beverage concepts. 

According to the company’s corporate 

news announcement heralding 

these changes, “From the Lincoln Grand 

Cinema in Nebraska to the Pickerington 

Cinema in Ohio, these investments 

demonstrate the company’s commitment 

to creating the ultimate moviegoing 

experience.” 

“The opening of Avengers: Infinity 

War kicked off the summer with a bang. 

Marcus Theatres is well positioned to 

carry the momentum forward thanks 

to a strong pipeline of films and our 

newly renovated theaters,” said Rolando 

Rodriguez, chairman, president, and 

chief executive officer of Marcus Theatres. 

“Customer response to these amenities 

has been outstanding, leading many 

moviegoers to purchase their tickets well 

in advance for films like Deadpool 2 and 

Solo: A Star Wars Story. They are eager 

to reserve their seats in our theaters that 

offer premier screens, seating, and terrific 

food and beverage!” 

Ballantyne Strong, a holding company 

operating in diverse industries including 

cinema, reported Q1 operating results in 

May. Net revenues amounted to $15.8 

million, which were down from $17.9 

million the prior year. Cinema segment 

top-line net revenues were $11.4 million, 

compared to $12.7 million in Q1 2017. 

The company’s operating loss grew to 

$3.1 million, versus a loss from operations 

of $0.6 million in the year-earlier 

first quarter. Ballantyne Strong’s net loss 

was $3.8 million, or $0.26 per share. 

In its quarterly results news release, 

Chairman/CEO Kyle Cerminara indicated 

that Ballantyne Strong “incurred 

significant start-up costs with the launch 

of our New York City taxi-top advertising 

business, which we believe will be 

a notable contributor to digital media 

revenue in the second half of 2018.” He 

also added that the company recently 

inked “a very significant Digital Signage 

as a Service (DSaaS) contract that should 

begin to benefit our digital media results 

in late 2018.” Cerminara also heralded 

a new agreement with Eclipse Screens, 

“under which we expect to benefit from 

selling screens to the themed entertainment 

industry over the coming months 

and years.” n 

Rob Rinderman is an avid follower and fan of 

the cinema and exhibition businesses. He has 

assisted many public and privately held companies 

with communications and business-development 

consulting services for over two 

decades and written as a freelance journalist 

covering these industries since 2015. 


EXHIBITOR MARKETING 

brought to you by 

LOUISE MCKENZIE 

Never underestimate 

the power of price 

for driving online 

conversions. Yet not 

everyone buys just 

because something is 

cheaper. There is also 

the risk of cheapening 

your brand and 

annoying customers 

with constant price 

changes. 

THE POWER OF 

CONVERSION 

by Lisa McKendry, VP Sales & Marketing, Webedia Movies Pro 

As digital evangelists within the movie industry, 

we spend our waking hours dedicated to the conversion 

of unbelievers to the joys and convenience 

of buying movie tickets online. 

Online sales conversion is the single most 

important metric when it comes to measuring 

performance of your e-commerce website. It gives 

meaning to all the time we spend optimizing websites 

and tracking down likely converts out there 

on the web, through loyalty and SEO strategies. 

Small increases in conversion can mean huge 

increases in financial returns for our clients. Last 

year, we increased the conversion rate of a U.S.- 

based client by 0.8 percent—it doesn’t sound like 

much, but in real terms, this will add over $6 

million to their online revenue over a year. 

When you compare the average conversion 

rate across eight cinema chains on the Webedia 

platform (6.53%) to the average e-commerce 

conversion rate (3.57%), you can see just how 

much opportunity there is to optimize your online 

revenue in this sector. 

There are many different factors that affect online 

conversion, so ensuring your website is set up 

for consumers to purchase is crucial. Is one factor 

more important than another? Below we look at 

some of the primary factors and how they affect 

online purchase. 

Premium Cinema Experiences 

One of the primary drivers of online conversion 

in cinemas is the move toward reserved seating and 

premium experiences, such as VIP service and dining-in. 

The graphic below shows how the offline 

experience directly affects the online conversion 

rate. If you don’t have a reserved seat, there is less 

need to book in advance—a full in-theater dining 

experience is part of an evening out and requires 

forethought and planning. 

Optimizing the User Experience 

Firstly, ensure that what people are searching 

for is likely to match what people want. Make 

sure that your customers can find what they are 

looking for easily and don’t overwhelm them 

with too many options; they should be able to 

filter and change things themselves. A confused 

user does not become a purchaser and is even less 

likely to return. 

Mobile First 

More and more people are doing everything 

on the move and using their mobile devices to 

purchase, and this trend is set to continue. Google 

is now leading with a mobile-first approach and 

therefore to maximize online conversion for mobile 

users, how the site is optimized and designed 

for mobile users is crucial. With 77 percent of 

traffic but 61 percent of transactions being made 

on mobile/tablet, conversion on mobile still lags 

behind desktop. However, this is changing fast 

with the introduction of easier payment methods 

such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and sites with oneclick 

payment. The quicker and more convenient 

OFFLINE DRIVERS OF ONLINE CONVERSION 

GENERAL 

ADMISSION 

RESERVED 

SEATING 

PREMIUM 

EXPERIENCE 

0 % CONVERSION % 10 % 


you can make the user experience, the higher the 

conversion rate. 

CONVERSION BENCHMARKS 

Speed + Reliability = Improved Conversion 

We live in a fast-paced, ever-changing world, 

in which people have little time to spend shopping 

or using a short window to buy online. 

Whether it’s the speed of the website going from 

one page to the next or the loading speed, users 

will quickly leave if the site does not respond 

quickly enough. 

This is particularly important on mobile 

devices, where distractions are, by definition, all 

around you. Use of accelerated mobile pages 

(AMP) is one way of helping drive up the 

conversion rate, by stripping back the content to 

give mobile users quick and convenient access to 

the ticketing process, reducing the delays of 3G 

signals, and giving customers the chance to get on 

with their busy lives. 

10 % 

CONVERSION % 

0 % 

= WEBEDIA CLIENTS 

6.53 % 

3.57 % WEBEDIA 

AVERAGE 

E-COMMERCE 

AVERAGE 

Content 

Good content is important with clear images 

and good-quality videos. Users are more likely to 

stay on your site if you have engaging content, and 

the longer they stay, the more likely they are to 

make a purchase. 

Check conversion metrics, user flow, bounce 

rate, and conversion funnel through analytics to 

see how your customers are performing to help 

when designing the site 

Search Engine Optimization 

SEO covers a variety of things that affect a website’s 

performance, and not having your website 

properly optimized can be another reason for poor 

conversion rates. 

Since organic search contributes up to 80 percent 

of online sales, this can have a major impact 

on sales volume 

If your keywords do not relate to what people 

are searching for, Google will not list your pages, 

and if they aren’t showing, people will not click, 

traffic to your site will be low, and so will your 

online conversions. 

Competitive Pricing 

Never underestimate the power of price for 

driving online conversions. Yet not everyone buys 

just because something is cheaper. There is also 

the risk of cheapening your brand and annoying 

customers with constant price changes. It can, 

however, be a good way to attract new customers 

who would not have previously purchased from 

you. It can also serve as a good way to fill up seats 

during quiet periods. 

Engagement 

Sending abandonment emails, running re-marketing 

campaigns, using relevant social media 

channels are important to keep in touch with both 

potential and existing customers. 

Ultimately, it all boils down to understanding 

your customers and the need to take into account 

all of the factors we discussed above. While some 

may affect one customer more than another, they 

are all collectively important to the online buying 

cycle and to ensure your online conversion rates 

continue to grow. 

If we have demonstrated anything, we have 

shown that you can always improve the conversion 

rate of your website, through on- and off-line 

activities. The graphic below shows the relative 

conversion rates of eight of Webedia’s clients. The 

range is wide and there is always room for improvement. 

So the search for excellence in online 

conversion will never end—it is the holy grail of 

e-commerce. n 

*Sources: Webedia Movies Pro Benchmark Report: July–December 2017 

Monetate EQ3 2017 Benchmarks (UK), Criteo Mobile Report 2016Q2 


COVER STORY 

THEY GOT GAME 

DIRECTOR CHARLES STONE III ON UNCLE DREW 

by Daniel Loria 

It was an ingenious idea, executed perfectly. NBA star Kyrie 

Irving, donning hair and makeup that disguised him as 

a 70-year-old man, walked onto public basketball courts 

around the country and joined streetball games against 

unwitting opponents. This was the central conceit of the 

Uncle Drew web clips produced in 2012 to promote Pepsi 

Max, PepsiCo’s low-calorie and sugar-free soda, under the 

slogan, “A zero-calorie cola in disguise.” The clips went viral 

and ultimately led to the production of this summer’s 

Uncle Drew. The feature film uses the original web clips as 

a launching pad to tell the story of Dax (Lil Relationship 

Howery), who spends his life savings to enter a team in 

Harlem’s Rucker Classic streetball tournament. When 

his rival, Mookie (Nick Kroll), steals his squad, Dax draws 

upon the legendary Uncle Drew (Kyrie Irving) to assemble 

a team of not-quite-over-the-hill veterans to compete 

for the tournament’s cash prize. The ensemble cast 

for Uncle Drew includes a spate of former basketballs 

stars, including Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie 

Miller, Nate Robinson, and Lisa Leslie. Boxoffice 

spoke with the film’s director, Charles Stone III, about 

how he adapted the short-form hit into a feature film. 

How did you come across this project? 

It came across my desk through my 

agent. The producer Marty Bowen, who 

knows me, he actually was my agent 

many, many, many moons ago. So he 

knew my work and felt like I’d be a good 

person to put the story together. Initially, 

I read it, then I came in and pitched my 

version of how to tell the story. He really 

liked that, as well as Lionsgate. We just 

moved forward from there. 

You have experience with short-form 

content, both in the commercial world 

and music videos, so you’re familiar 

with how different it is from tackling a 

narrative feature film. What were some 

of the challenges in adapting something 

that worked really well in short form 

into a feature film? 

It’s interesting you bring that up, 

because I did a short film back in 1999 

called True, which actually became the 

Budweiser “Whassup?” campaign in 2000 

and 2001. It’s a very similar situation 

here, a short-film series that kept getting 

created and sponsored. It was similar in 

that, “Okay, here’s this short form content 

that I have to expand into a story.” 

I guess it’s sort of a reverse of what I did 

with the “Whassup?” campaign, in that 

I’m actually taking the short-form piece 

and blowing it up into a long-form film. 

It’s hard to, in the script, to put it 

together. I knew from watching the short 

films tonally where I wanted to go. The 

short films gave just a slight [sense of] 

who this person was and the people in 

his life. But Jay Longino, the writer, put 

together a much larger story that involved 

this older character. That question is 

really good for both Marty Bowen, the 

producer, and Jay Longino, the writer, 

who actually put this story together. But 

for me, the challenge and the goal is to 

make sure there’s a real story behind it. 

It’s very easy to get caught up in 

what I call the hook of the shorts. That 

hook to me was, “NBA basketball player 

dresses up or disguises himself as an old 

man, and starts to challenge the real 

young players on a real public basketball 

court, and not announce to them or all 

the real people who are at the court.” So 

it’s more of a Candid Camera or Jackass 

kind of format. You get to see real 

people going, “Oh my goodness!” and 

being caught off guard by this old guy. 

We the viewers know that old guy is 

really a young guy. A lot of what makes 

that short film successful is that kind of 

hook, that surprise hook. 

I couldn’t tell a story purely based on 

that hook line, because that would get 

tired real quick. It needed to be a story 

that helps define that superpower, so to 

speak, that Uncle Drew has. This old 

guy can actually play like a young guy. 

So we had to actually really create a story 

about this person. We did that by actually 

designing a young man who’s desperate 

to win this big tournament with a dream 


“UNCLE DREW“ KYRIE IRVING LEARNED HE WAS TRADED 

TO THE BOSTON CELTICS FROM THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 

WHILE FILMING UNCLE DREW. 

team he puts together, but that dream 

team gets picked by this bully nemesis of 

his. So he hears about this old guy who 

apparently can still play like a young guy. 

He doesn’t believe it until he witnesses 

it himself on the court. Sure enough, he 

gets the old guy to join him. 

But again, it was important to design 

a story that emotionally we as viewers 

can connect to. That will then allow us 

to enjoy the eye candy or the superpower 

or the hook line: this old guy is schooling 

young guys on the court. That was 

really important for me. When I did 

the short film True, how can I make a 

resonant story about guys who are yelling 

“Whassup?” on the phone. I really went 

through that whole couch potato thing, 

of basically guys holding hands through 

the phone, which is what all of us do. It’s 

a universal thing. 

Another interesting aspect of the film 

as a narrative feature is the ensemble 

cast you’ve put together. Can you tell us 

a little bit about building that specific 

dream team of talent? 

It’s actually quite sobering, the process, 

because you start off with lists of potential 

NBA players. Then certain NBA 

players don’t become available. It’s sort 

of a back-and-forth thing. But I will tell 

you, it’s amazing how the process rewards 

the intent or the goal of the movie. In our 

case, that really happened. 

When Chris Webber came in to meet 

me to play the character Preacher, I 

couldn’t see it at all. He’s got a really very 

steady and smooth demeanor, not like 

how I envisioned the Preacher character, 

who’s very fiery—sort of a cross between 

James Brown and Al Sharpton. But Chris 

came in and read for me as the character, 

and he totally brought that fire. I was 

totally taken by surprise. That was a wonderful 

revelation. 

Shaquille O’Neal, we always knew 

wanted to play Big Fella. Number one, 

he’s so big! Number two, Shaquille has 

had experience in making films and he’s 

quite the cutup, he’s quite the ham, very 

funny. He just wants to make people 

laugh. So that was an exciting get. 

Nate Robinson worked out really well. 

He’s five-nine but yet he used to be a 

slam-dunk champion and did pretty well 

in the NBA. So him playing Boots, being 

this little guy who appears to not be 

able to walk—and spoiler alert, he ends 

up getting his shoes and being able to 

actually slam dunk. Visually, that worked 

out very well. 

Reggie Miller was also a surprise. 

Reggie had done the Lights character. His 

superpower is that he could shoot from 

long range; he was really deadly from the 

perimeter. Who else is deadly from the 

perimeter besides the classic Reggie Miller? 

There was the idea of maybe going 

to someone like Stephen Curry, because 

he’s also deadly from the perimeter. But 

Reggie Miller, we loved that idea. He’s a 


COVER STORY 

vet; he’s an alum of the NBA with a little 

bit more age on him. So that worked out 

well for the Lights character, especially 

because the Lights character is blind, 

which adds a comedy to it. 

Lisa Leslie was the perfect person for 

Betty Lou, also because she’s one of the 

greats of the WNBA. And stunning to 

boot, on top of that. She looked really 

good with Chris Webber. 

And then Kyrie Irving, who’s just reprising 

the role of Uncle Drew as well. So 

it’s the term “the stars are in alignment.” 

With this one, literally and figuratively, 

the stars just came into alignment. These 

guys all really got along and worked well 

together. It was just the perfect motley 

crew of talented players. 

Working with non-actors is 

always a challenge. Working 

with non-actors who are also 

multimillionaires—I’m sure 

that isn’t the world’s easiest 

task! How much of it was 

directing a performance, and 

how much of it was—for a lack 

of a better word—coaching 

them in these roles? 

So there are two things there. 

One is that because I had so many 

players to work with, and because 

a lot of them were inexperienced in 

terms of narrative acting, I also brought 

on a wonderful acting coach by 

the name of Adam Lazarre- 

White. Adam had a lot 

of experience with 

television as an actor himself, and he has 

an acting studio and coaches. So he was a 

great asset, in terms of really being able to 

handle the ensemble cast. 

The other part of it is that for me, 

what my intent is in working with 

non-actors is to explore their personal 

lives, see just how they think and how 

they move, how their life experiences can 

potentially be applied to these characters 

they’re making. 

A perfect example is that Reggie Miller 

had a relative, an older man who had 

this really bad back and used to have this 

funny walk. It was really great to embrace 

that. His character has this kind of strut, 

but because he’s much older he’s got this 

crick in his back. That helped to create 

the character. 

Chris Webber’s father is a preacher, 

so Chris Webber grew up in the church. 

He’s well versed in what it’s like to be a 

real preacher. He was able to apply that 

knowledge and the mannerisms that he’s 

grown up experiencing of real preachers, 

especially his father, to the Preacher character 

in the movie. 

So each person I would talk with, then 

both Adam and I would discuss their past 

experiences and family life, try to find 

things that could help to anchor them 

into the character. Then we just take it 

from there. 

Making any film, you’re beholden to 

working with a number of different 

schedules—managing the availability 

of your stars. Sometimes people are 

available for reshoots, sometimes 

they’re not. With Kyrie [Irving], the 

preseason starts and that’s basically 

it, so you have a tight window to work 

with. It was also a very transitional 

time for Kyrie, both personally and 

professionally, with his trade from 

Cleveland to Boston. How did you 

manage those constraints? 

Being a director, it’s not just realizing 

or executing your version of the story. It’s 

also managing all of the various personalities 

and conflicting schedules 

and time restrictions. I’m 

having to realize my 

vision but make 

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL 


“BIG FELLA “ SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, 

“PREACHER “ CHRIS WEBBER, 

“BOOTS “ NATE ROBINSON, “LIGHTS “ 

REGGIE MILLER, AND “UNCLE DREW” 

KYRIE IRVING 

it fit within a structure that 

has lots of challenges. 

In reference to Kyrie Irving 

specifically, there was a lot 

going on for Kyrie. We didn’t 

know about the potential 

trade until he found out, 

which was when LeBron 

leaked something. It was out 

in the public that he was 

potentially going to be leaving 

Cleveland or being traded. So 

that was happening during the 

process. Then his getting traded 

to the Celtics happened 

in the middle of that. So that 

was going on. I tip my hat to 

Kyrie, because he was pretty 

good about keeping that away from his 

acting and what needs to be done in front 

of the camera. 

But there were other things. A 

lot of the really successful ballplayers 

are brands; Kyrie is a brand 

unto himself. The brand is of great 

value obviously to himself, but 

to other people: the NBA, Nike, 

and so on. So the brand needs to 

be protected. Essentially, we could 

only shoot him playing two hours of 

basketball every other day. I get it! I 

totally respect that. I’m sure 

the insurance policy on his 

body alone is probably worth 

millions of dollars. We had to 

deal with that challenge. 

And that was just Kyrie; we’re not 

even talking about Shaq and Reggie 

and Nate. At one point, Nate Robinson 

couldn’t make it for a 

couple of days’ shooting 

because he was 

trying out for the 

Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Or Shaq had to go to China 

for some event, some previously engaged 

event. Reggie had to go to the Hall of 

Fame ceremony to speak. 

There are other lives 

outside the film, which was 

definitely something we had 

to deal with on a day-to-day 

basis, which in many ways 

was almost impossible. But I 

also had an incredible assistant 

director, Benita Allen, who 

was great at helping to 

really just manipulate 

the schedule in order 

to try to accommodate 

everything 

that these ballplayers 

needed, as well as what 

we needed. n 

LISA LESLIE 

CHARLES STONE III 

AT THE MOVIES 

MOVIE MEMORY 

The one that stands out the most— 

and there are a lot of them—is 

probably the original Star Wars movie. 

That film, I was so transfixed by 

George Lucas’s vision in that movie. 

I’m a big lover of science fiction and 

comics and fantasy. There are a lot of 

close seconds, but the original Star 

Wars in 1977 is the most memorable 

and impactful on me, as a person and 

as a filmmaker. 

AT THE CONCESSIONS STAND 

It’s going to be popcorn, but dry with 

no butter. 


FOCUS ON 

C I N E M A 

LOCATED IN NCM’S HEAD- 

QUARTERS IN CENTENNIAL, 

COLO., THE DCN NETWORK 

OPERATIONS CENTER (NOC) 

PROACTIVELY MONITORS AND 

MANAGES ALARM POINTS, 

FILES, AND HARDWARE DEVICES 

IN THOUSANDS OF MOVIE 

THEATERS THROUGHOUT THE 

COUNTRY. THE NOC OPERATES 

24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS 

A WEEK. 

INTERVIEW WITH 

ANDY ENGLAND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 

You announced new projects at last year’s 

upfront, including your pre-show Noovie, and 

forays into publishing (Moviebill) and gaming 

(Fantasy Movie League). How have these 

launches impacted your business? 

On September 29 of last year, we launched 

Noovie, our new pre-show. We always liked First 

Look as a name, but we couldn’t trademark it. So 

we had a desire to trademark our name, where we 

could get the URL and we could get the Instagram 

and Facebook and YouTube handles; we could 

build up that digital presence. Part of the objective 

of that pre-show is to dial up the engagement level, 

and I’m really excited about the progress we’re 

making with that. Early on, we did a deal with 

Disney that would bring us unique and special 

material to do with their releases. So we had special 

stuff from them, exclusive content for movies like 

Coco, Black Panther, and Avengers: Infinity War. We 

did tons of research with consumers, asking them 

what they would want in a pre-show. Exclusive 

stuff about upcoming movies was top of the list, 

so that deal with Disney was a super-great way 

to go. They were also interested in music, which 

leads us to Noovie Soundcheck—we’ve done some 

interesting things with Sony Music. We have lots 

of gaming projects that we’re working on, so obviously 

we’re really excited about launching Noovie 

ARcade. We’re excited to see how that does. We’ve 

been advertising Fantasy Movie League on our 

pre-show, and that’s done wonders for driving the 

registrations and page views and lineups—all the 

metrics we look at on Fantasy Movie League. That 

proves the efficacy of our network. 

Like exhibition, cinema advertising is a global 

business. Have you considered expanding the 

NCM brand abroad? 

I would never say never, but here’s what I would 

say: to me, it’s all about synergies, as it should be 

for anybody. I think the challenge with cinema advertising—or 

any sort of advertising—is that typically 

people buy advertising on a market-by-market 

basis. You look at TV, for example—nobody buys 

U.S. and Canadian TV together. So nobody buys 

U.S. and Canadian cinema together. If you’re an 

American company, Canada and Mexico are the 

first places you’re going to look to expand, because 

of the contiguous nature of those markets. 

So it’s difficult to argue that we would be a 

better revenue driver in those markets. There might 

be some synergies, but I think in general they 

would be limited. With that said, the other reason 

why acquisitions happen is because you can get a 

price that makes sense. So a simple way to look at 


CINEMA ADVERTISING 

that is, if you are trading at an eight multiple and 

you can buy a business for a five multiple, then by 

definition you’ve added value. 

My personal view is that I’d love to find markets 

that we can expand into, but there would have 

to be good reasons for us to say we’d be a better 

owner in those new markets. 

What’s next for NCM and cinema advertising? Are 

there any concerns ahead for the industry? 

You know, it’s interesting. When I talk to 

analysts, there are two big things they worry about. 

They worry about exhibition, which frankly I 

don’t. I don’t lose any sleep over it. Exhibition is a 

lot healthier than analysts give it credit for. I think 

they’ll work that out over time. That is what it is. 

To your point, they worry about audience build 

and issues like that. I look at that and say I don’t 

think it’s anywhere near as bad as analysts worry 

about. There may be some modest impacts from 

reserved seating, but I think they’re modest at 

most. By the way, gamification and the things we 

do to bring engagement I think will really help. 

Beyond that, you’re going to see a continually 

upgraded pre-show experience. You’re going to 

continually see us look to build those digital assets, 

such that we can reach audience members after 

they’ve been at the theater. So we gather data. I 

think digital is going to be a really important element 

of what happens next, I really do. 

Knowing how much a company like NCM values 

data, specifically when it comes to understanding 

who the moviegoer is, would you consider 

a subscription service like MoviePass as a 

competitor? Maybe not a direct competitor, 

of course, but how much do your businesses 

overlap? 

I think when I read about what MoviePass 

is aiming to do, I certainly think they have the 

potential to be a significant contestant, but 

only if they survive. It’s a huge caveat. I don’t 

know—I don’t see how the math works without 

them raising a ton of money. It’s tough 

to imagine they’re going to do that with their 

current structure. So I don’t know what Movie- 

Pass looks like a year from now. But nonetheless, 

they clearly have some of the same ideas we have 

about connecting brands with movie audiences. 

We believe we’re going to do so in a much more 

stable financial way. 

At the end of the day, if there’s more interest 

in the value of moviegoer data, you’re in a 

better position. 

Absolutely. We’re very fortunate. It’s interesting—we 

regularly come across potential competitors 

who have some of the same ideas, but they 

don’t stick around to execute them. These are not 

easy things to execute. It’s not like you’re going to 

build it, you’re going to improve it, then you’re 

going to sell it. That all requires time. 


KATY LORIA CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER 

CHRISTINE MARTINO SVP NATIONAL AD SALES 

JOHN PARTILLA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 

We saw a dip in box office and admissions in 

the United States last year. How was 2017 for 

Screenvision? 

John Partilla: In the macro of the last several 

years, we have had a really good track record. Over 

the last several years, if you look at aggregate, we’ve 

brought about $50 million on the top line, and 

revenue from $15 million in 2017. We’ve more 

than doubled our profitability. 

I think that has been the result of a couple of 

things. The sector has done a really nice job in terms 

of preaching a stronger message around replacement 

for premium television and premium video. We’re 

looking to further amplify and hone that message. 

We’re seeing a rising tide. Even though attendance 

was a little choppy, we grew. What I would prefer 

to say, instead of flat or slightly down, I’ll use the 

euphemism of “stability.” Maybe there’s a little of 

this year-over-year with the attendance; we’re able to 

grow the ad revenue against a relatively stable and 

large cinema audience. 

I like to think that, along with our competitors, 


we are out there trying 

to preach the rising-tide 

story, instead 

of attacking each other. 

I think we’re doing it 

with some degree of 

success. Overall, we’re 

not as worried about 

the choppy attendance. 

We’re seeing ad growth 

in our business. We 

continue to feel optimistic 

and encouraged 

by it. We’re doubling 

down on our messaging, 

which I’ll turn 

over to Katy. 

Katy Loria: As JP 

said, cinema is consistent; 

it’s stable, vis-àvis 

any other medium 

out there. So when we look at TV and the nosedive 

it’s taken, that’s concerning for an advertiser. 

Cinema being plus or minus 2 or 3 percent, that’s 

a home run. So we don’t really worry so much 

about that dip. But I think within that, the overall 

attendance was down a little bit, but we see growth 

in our core selling demos. So the adult 18 to 49 

attendance is not down year over year, so that’s also 

good news within the bigger picture. 

What are some of the innovations Screenvision 

will be rolling out this year? 

Christine Martino: The theme at our upfront this 

year was to reach for real impact. What we’re trying 

to say is, the kind of evolution that’s come over—impressions 

in cinema are more valuable; not all impressions 

are created equal across media platforms. 

In cinema, we have this huge reach. The movies 

have delivered enormously; year after year we’re 

able to reach this enormous audience. But it’s really 

about the impact that that reach can give to your 

media plans. Our core pillars are being the most 

premium video out there—we invest more to make 

that content, and it’s the best content in the world. 

So the core pillar of premium video, along with 

the immersive environment, being in that movie 

theater environment and knowing that you have 

distraction-free, no ad skipping, 40-foot screen. 

And a desirable audience: 18 to 49, elusive millennials. 

Those combined three pillars really create 

this more impactful, most memorable impression. 

So really, the theme this year is to say, “We deliver 

huge numbers, but it’s about the impact that those 

impressions can actually have.” 

Katy Loria: As part of a connected cinema 

umbrella, our connected cinema platform is all 

about the journey of the moviegoer. We talk a lot 

about how important that is, the experience of 

going to the movies: the before, the during, and 

the after. We have also entered the gaming arena 

with E-Hollywood Sports Chinese Theater in L.A., 

a dedicated home for esports. We’re very excited 

about that, to be able to bring sponsors into that 

arena is an exciting new use of cinema or theater, 

from an event cinema standpoint. 

While we’re on the event cinema topic, 

Screenvision has ramped up its activity there 

as well. Esports are a big part of that. Can you 

spotlight that a bit? 

John Partilla: We want to help both our exhibitors 

and our advertisers do more with our audience, 

versus just the ads on the big screen—and we’re 

going to try to make every effort in that regard. 

We’re involved in esports, on AR and VR, and 

event cinema is similar in that regard. There’s an 

audience that is coming into their local theater. 

Obviously our competitors have done a nice job 

with that over the years, and now we’ve stepped 

out into that space. If we’re going to try to be the 

ACCORDING TO NEWZOO, 

GLOBAL ESPORT REVENUE WILL 

REACH $906M IN 2018 WITH 

ADVERTISING CARVING OUT 

23.8% OF THAT TOTAL. 



best partner we can to our exhibitor partners, we have 

to have some fundamental offering there. It’s not a 

main thrust of our company, event cinema, but it’s 

a key ingredient. 

I think that’s part of what’s going on with exhibitor 

innovation efforts. They’re all important. 

We know we have to do more in data so we have 

more informed targeting; we’re working hard 

to figure that out. We definitely want to do 

more with the audience around e-gaming, 

e-commerce. But they’re all embryonic 

efforts. All we’re trying to do is keep growing 

our core business but start to tap into 

other ways to monetize our audience for 

exhibitors and advertisers. 

Katy Loria: That’s exactly what 

connected cinema is: the idea of infusing 

technology—whether it’s through partnership 

or just the technology itself— 

across the entire moviegoing journey. 

Tapping into that fan base, where people 

are so passionate about the movies. 

Bringing technology and partnerships 

into that, it allows us to open it up to 

our advertisers, and bring them into the 

moviegoing experience. Through mobile 

technologies now, we’re able to re-target 

moviegoers and know that they’re sitting 

in front of Jurassic World and then message 

them at a relevant time, when they’re 

in proximity to purchase after they’ve left 

the movie experience. 

With Cintel, our advanced targeting 

platform, we have exhibitors leaning in 

more and becoming more willing to sort 

of share and work with us, using their 

loyalty data—which is an important part 

of first-party data. Using that in conjunction 

with some third-party measurements 

to really bring the advertising market more 

defined audience targets, so that we can 

layer on top of age and demo. 

Christine Martino: That leads us to our 

10 Pack offering, which we first announced 

at last year’s upfront. For the first time ever, 

we’ve carved out a limited amount of our 

premium inventory in front of the top 10 

films of the year—so being able to actually 

buy more as if it was a series, a year-round 

program of the top 10 films that are guaranteed 

to deliver the bigger reach and the 

Through mobile 

technologies now, 

we’re able to re-target 

moviegoers and know 

that they’re sitting in 

front of Jurassic World 

and then message 

them at a relevant 

time, when they’re in 

proximity to purchase 

after they’ve left the 

movie experience. 

– Katy Loria – 

biggest impact out there. The anticipation for those films 

starts years in advance. We allowed advertisers to come 

in and buy opening weekend of the top 10 films of the 

year and we’ve seen a huge success. The impressions 

that have been garnered from the 10 Pack in 2018 are 

up 20 percent, with movies like Black Panther and 

Avengers. It’s really been an undeniable success for 

those advertisers. We’ve relaunched the 2019 10 Pack 

and made the announcement that this is a new 

sales property for 2019—garnering the best 

of the best for cinema for next year, with the 

biggest reach that you can. 

John Partilla: I think it’s just an 

acknowledgment that the more the world 

gets increasingly fragmented with technology, 

and more personalized with more 

niche, the more that the world needs scale 

and mass reach. 

Katy Loria: It’s also undeniable that 

we’ve reached the elusive millennial. Fifty 

percent of households are streaming content 

now; 22 percent are fully cordless. We reach 

the “cord nevers,” the ones that it’s hardest 

to reach. With all the fragmentation out 

there and different ways that people are 

consuming media, cinema is this really core 

area where we don’t just have huge reach, 

but we’re able to reach this elusive millennial 

that you can’t reach other places. 

How has reserved seating impacted 

cinema advertising? 

John Partilla: We spent a lot of time 

looking at that. I think the headline is 

“Not so much.” 

Katy Loria: We’re mindful of it, working 

with Nielsen to measure it. Nielsen 

would report back that there is no material 

change so far in reserved seating. There’s 

actually research that suggests people are 

getting there a minute earlier than they 

were, on average—which I would attribute 

to sort of the whole experience. There’s 

more going on in the lobby, the dining 

options are better, there’s more alcohol 

service. So the event of going to the movies 

is actually drawing people there earlier, we 

think. But it’s certainly a metric we care 

about and will continue to watch. Happy 

to say that right now it’s only been a positive 

for the experience. 



JERRY RAKFELDT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 

MICHAEL SAKIN PRESIDENT 

RONNIE YCONG SVP, EXHIBITOR RELATIONS & OPERATIONS 

How was 2017 for Spotlight Cinema Networks? 

Jerry Rakfeldt: 2017 was a year of growth for 

Spotlight. We significantly expanded the scope 

of our company by acquiring Storming Images, a 

leading digital-content provider. We can now service 

the needs of exhibitor partners with the latest 

products and technologies, manage our business 

more efficiently, and decrease operating costs. 

Additionally, we formed the CineLife Entertainment 

division in the fourth quarter to distribute 

event cinema and other alternative programming 

to exhibitors around the world. 

Overall, we continued to provide our advertising 

partners the cinema platform they need to 

reach their target audiences and achieve the best 

recall of their brand messaging. This quality helps 

distinguish us from our competitors. 

The company underwent significant expansion 

with the new division and acquisition— 

CineLife Entertainment and Storming Images, 

respectively. Has that growth benefited the 

company and its partners? 

Jerry Rakfeldt: Storming Images had a productive 

focus in delivering movie theater pre-shows 

and advertising to theaters throughout North 

America for more than 14 years. The acquisition 

combined their technical prowess with Spotlight’s 

strong exhibitor relationships and operational 

expertise, thereby enabling Storming Images to 

expand its business to include delivery of lobby 

displays and feature film content. Storming Images 

North America is now established as a national 

distribution platform beyond advertising, and it’s a 

free service to our exhibitor partners. 

The formation of Spotlight’s event cinema 

division, CineLife Entertainment, shows our 

dedication to helping our exhibitors increase their 

revenue opportunities. 

Event cinema 

and other alternative 

programming is 

a rapidly growing 

segment of the 

exhibition industry. 

Because of our long 

and deep relationships 

with the art 

house community, 

with whom we have 

worked since the inception 

of Spotlight, 

we are well positioned 

to support 

CineLife Entertainment’s 

venture. And 

we’re also making 

CineLife Entertainment’s 

specialty 

content available to 

exhibitors outside 

of our advertising 

network. 

How has Spotlight 

Cinema Networks 

leveraged these 

moviegoing 

innovations into its 

offerings? 

Michael Sakin: 

Last year, Spotlight 

was first to market with several experiential 

activations that enhanced the overall entertainment 

experience for moviegoers while providing 

advertisers with a powerful platform to connect 

with consumers. 

For example, Spotlight worked exclusively with 

Lexus in the cinema environment to offer moviegoers 

an immersive, hyper-real audio “test drive” 

for the company’s LC 500. The Dolby Atmos technology 

used in the 107-second ad made audiences 

feel as if they were part of the experience and not 

simply watching it. 

Spotlight was also the only company to bring 

to life the Google Home Mini within movie 

theaters. The device dimmed the lights in front 

of audiences with a special prompt. These two 

examples demonstrate our commitment to 

THE CINELIFE APP IS A 

CONSUMER-FACING APP 

DEVOTED TO HELPING 

AUDIENCES CONNECT WITH 

INDIE FILMS TO ART HOUSES 

ACROSS THE U.S. THE FREE 

APP, AVAILABLE ON ALL 

ANDROID AND IOS MOBILE 

DEVICES, ALSO FEATURES A 

“SPECIAL EVENTS” CALENDAR 

THAT LISTS AND PROMOTES 

UPCOMING EVENTS, INCLUDING 

PROGRAMMING FROM CINELIFE 

ENTERTAINMENT. 



How does box office from 

specialty distributors influence 

and impact your business? 

Ronnie Ycong: Since Spotlight’s 

founding, our network has 

continually grown year after year. 

We’re also seeing a steady increase 

of indie-focused theaters opening, 

and they are joining our network. 

Additionally, there is continued 

growth in film product coming 

from the specialty divisions of 

the major studios and from indie 

distributors. Some of the titles that 

performed well at the box office 

in 2017 include The Big Sick, The 

Shape of Water, Ladybird, Disaster 

Artist, I, Tonya, and Three Billboards 

Outside Ebbing, Missouri. So we 

are very confident of the continued 

long-term success and growth of 

the specialty sector, and Spotlight 

for that matter. 

SATOMI OKUBO AS SAILOR 

MOON IN PRETTY GUARDIAN 

SAILOR MOON: THE MUSICAL – 

LE MOUVEMENT FINAL 

showcasing our advertisers’ products and services 

through multiple theater touchpoints. The end 

result is an entertaining and engaging cinema 

experience for moviegoers. 

What are some other ways you have worked 

with advertising partners to add an experiential 

element to the Spotlight program? 

Michael Sakin: The recent Genesis Experience 

activation is a perfect example of extending 

a client’s brand message beyond the screen. The 

Genesis Experience consisted of Spotlight theater 

takeovers for a four-week period across the top 10 

DMAs. Affluent consumers were engaged with 

Genesis at all touchpoints via vehicle displays, 

custom on-screen messaging, digital lobby signage, 

specialty cocktails, and screening events for prospective 

Genesis owners. 

Are there any upcoming projects 

or initiatives you could share 

with us? 

Ronnie Ycong: Earlier this 

year, we announced a robust event 

cinema lineup led by the live 

musical adaptation of the globally 

popular anime series Sailor Moon, 

called “Pretty Guardian Sailor 

Moon: The Musical – Le Mouvement Final.” 

After a successful screening in the U.S., Sailor 

Moon was also launched in Canada, Australia, 

New Zealand, and Latin America. Spain is the 

next market where it will be released. We have 

also released five other titles including To a More 

Perfect Union: U.S. vs Windsor, and the musical 

Oklahoma! Upcoming events include musical 

and theater productions from our Great Stage 

On Screen series, which consists of: Richard 

Rodgers Gala, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, 

Elaine Stritch at Liberty, The Sleeping Beauty, 

and The Nutcracker. We anticipate several major 

announcements in the coming months. It’s a 

bit premature to discuss specifics now, but we’re 

excited about the long-term growth of our event 

cinema business adding value to exhibitor partners 

in and outside of our network. 



COREY TOCCHINI CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 

How would you sum up 2017 for Before the Movie? 

2017 was a great year; we grew our network by adding 

additional screens. We introduced a new delivery system that 

needs less human interaction, freeing up theater management to 

focus on other work related activities. Before the Movie finalized 

our newest segment (The Ferguson Files), which features 

Jim Ferguson interviewing Hollywood’s top talent just ahead 

of their current releases. We have introduced additional local 

ad-tracking software, allowing us to drill down even further 

within geographical territories. National ad revenues have been 

on the rise again this year as brands are beginning to understand 

the power of cinema. 

What makes Before the Movie different from other cinema 

advertising entities? 

Cinema is our business; exhibition is in our DNA. We 

want to be a resource for independent theater owners, not 

just another vendor. Increasing their revenue is priority one, 

but if they need something else, like a film booker, seating, 

equipment, promotional material—we can refer them or be a 

conduit. When I formed the company in 2008, other pre-show 

companies were paying exhibitors once a quarter; some might 

have paid monthly but I do not recall any that did. We pay our 

exhibitor partners twice monthly, once on local and once on 

national. They get two checks per month from us. 

We produce exhibitors’ high-quality policy announcements 

free of charge. Before the Movie provides the most customizable 

options for them, understanding that not all exhibitors are 

the same and not all pre-show providers are the same. To a large 

degree, we can customize the look and feel of their show. We 

provide national ads but we focus on local within each market we 

serve. Some pre-show companies have someone in a local market 

selling ads once or twice a year; we work markets every week of 

every month throughout the year. 

You’ve worked in innovating and finding new ways to benefit 

exhibitor partners—can you tell us more about Fuze Viewer 

and its potential for the sector? 

We have been showing Fuze to theater owners for nearly four 

years now. We have fine-tuned it, added various feature sets, built 

it around cinema. The app is very unique in that it has many 

capabilities built into one simple application; Fuze can generate 

a really cool AR experience whereby a movie poster comes to life 

with characters or by allowing the trailer to play right on your 

phone just by pointing the device at the poster. Imagine pointing 

your phone at the poster, which triggers the trailer to play and 

then allows you to purchase the movie ticket for that movie right 

at that time. 

Fuze also has a built-in rewards and loyalty program that can 

reward moviegoers for doing specific activities like scanning the 

poster and buying a ticket or by visiting an advertiser that is paying 

for an on-screen ad. It also has a built-in digital scavenger hunt 

mode, which the studios or exhibitors could use for a higher level of 

engagement—either hyper local, regional, national, or worldwide. 

We have done digital scavenger hunts for local theaters, and the 

engagement is always very high. 

How will technology continue to impact cinema advertising? 

Before the Movie has always been a technology-driven company, 

as long as the technology solves a problem and/or enhances 

the experience, then we try and utilize it. We believe AR is here 

to stay and will only gain popularity as the surrounding partners 

in our industry learn how it will help their business and, most 

of all, how it will enhance the customer experience. A large part 

of our industry is built around millennials, and we should all do 

what we can to engage them. I know one thing for sure: the way 

to be successful in any business is to take a little time to find out 

what your customer wants, and then spend the rest of the time 

you have giving it to them. At Fuze and Before the Movie, we believe 

that next level of engagement is critical; it is our mission 

to deliver that to our exhibitor partners, advertisers, studios, 

and, most of all, the moviegoer. n 


MARKETING 


MAKES ITS WAY TO THE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE 

by Daniel Loria 

To those unfamiliar with the technology, a first encounter with augmented reality 

(AR) brings to mind an iconic scene from the original Star Wars, in which Princess 

Leia’s hologram is broadcasted from R2D2: 

“Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” 

No, it’s not exactly the same, but considering the momentum AR has enjoyed in 

recent months as it becomes more prevalent in the moviegoing experience, 

the cultural reference is irresistible. 

>> The technology is fairly simple to 

use: point your smartphone camera at a 

specific target, and it will activate digital 

content superimposed to the environment 

on your screen. Cinionic, for example, 

has used AR as part of its interactive 

lobby offering for several years now, most 

recently releasing a gaming component to 

its video boards where patrons can enjoy 

AR-enhanced multiplayer gaming before 

entering an auditorium. 

Gaming capabilities for the technology 

are now being explored inside 

auditoriums as well. Taking a page 

from Timeplay, a pioneer of gamification 

for the pre-show, both NCM and 

Screenvision have developed their own 

AR-enhanced games to play ahead of the 

trailers for some of today’s hottest releases. 

NCM’s offering, Noovie ARcade, 

went live on the opening weekend of 

Avengers: Infinity War and engages audience 

members with games through its 

smartphone app that they can play (or 

follow along with) on-screen during the 

Noovie pre-show. According to NCM 

Chief Executive Andy England, AR was 

the company’s best option when looking 

to apply a gaming element to their preshow. 

“We love the idea of gaming in 

the theater. We thought AR was frankly 

a simpler way to do it, a more modern 

way to do it, in terms of interacting with 

the screen,” England told Boxoffice. 

“If you enjoy playing on your TV or 

on your laptop, imagine playing on a 

50-foot screen. AR allows us to build 

a better mousetrap, one that can be 

more flexible. All you’re really seeing is 

a trigger on the screen that launches the 

game, and it gives us the opportunity to 

produce—and update—a lot of games.” 

Fellow cinema advertising player 

Screenvision has similarly begun to integrate 

AR-enhanced gaming to its own 

pre-show, working with Fuze Viewer to 

bring a custom trivia game to moviegoers. 

“They’ve been a fantastic partner 

for us,” says Screenvision Chief Revenue 

Officer Katy Loria. Screenvision, 

which also works with Shazam for other 

AR capabilities in its pre-show, Front 

& Center, sees AR as an exciting new 

development for cinema advertising. “It 


unlocks the experience for a moviegoer to not 

just interact with the content but feel that they’re 

guiding it,” explains Loria. “That’s what we are 

focused on: seeing how our pre-show can be 

transformed in a certain way. Moviegoers should 

be able to interact with multiple elements—including 

the advertising. We looked at it from the 

perspective of ensuring that AR could engage the 

moviegoer in the right way.” 

By working with Fuze, Screenvision can 

integrate its AR capabilities through an app that 

offers AR experiences inside and outside the 

cinema. Fuze can activate AR hotspots on everything 

from popcorn buckets to movie posters, 

all linked to a rewards program through its app. 

Corey Tocchini, founder and CEO of cinema 

advertising entity Before the Movie, has worked 

with the company for several years—and helped 

bring the technology to Screenvision. “Fuze is 

the conduit that binds all of the various sectors of 

the industry,” says Tocchini. “The consumer goes 

to the movie, engages in the lobby using Fuze 

on a popcorn and/or soda cup and has a unique 

experience. Maybe they walk through the lobby 

and have to collect various targets as part of a 

studio-sponsored digital scavenger hunt, whereby 

a winner is selected to win a trip to Disneyland 

or any one of a million other prizes. Then they 

go into the auditorium where they play our AR 

Trivia game on the big screen. All the while they 

earn points for engaging, playing, and spending. 

When they exit the theater, they can use Fuze 

to find what deals participating advertisers and 

sponsors have waiting for them. When they exercise 

one of those deals, they share it socially and 

earn more points.” 

Spotlight Cinema Networks, which specializes 

in providing cinema advertising to art house 

theaters nationwide, similarly sees the technology’s 

advantage for the independent market. 

“Spotlight is currently in a testing phase for the 

art house and luxury space, specifically targeting 

adults with a sophisticated AR technology,” says 

President Michael Sakin. “We’re enthusiastic 

about the potential to offer a deeper, richer experience 

that resonates with moviegoers long after 

leaving the theater.” 

AR has also begun making inroads away from 

the screen and onto the page. This April, Regal 

launched the premiere issue of Moviebill, an 

in-theater magazine that fully embraces its AR 

capabilities. The magazine’s debut issue exhausted 

its run of one million copies within a day of 

release, registering over two million 

scans through Regal’s official app. 

According to the exhibitor, downloads 

of the Regal app more than 

tripled the average weekend benchmark 

upon the magazine’s launch. 

Moviebill is currently slated to release 

eight additional issues throughout 

2018, coinciding with the 

release of some of the year’s most 

anticipated films. “The amazing 

reception and high engagement 

went beyond our expectations,” 

said Matthew Shreder and 

James Andrew Felts, co-founders 

of Moviebill, in a press 

release. “Augmented reality 

is the theatrical counterpart 

for the mobile/digital space and 

produces similar consumer attention. 

We are seeing exponentially higher 

engagement and dwell time compared to other 

digital platforms. Opening weekend moviegoers 

are some of the most engaged, passionate, and 

active consumers in the media world and we are 

thrilled to provide a unique experience just for 

them at the moment when they are most excited 

to see the film.” 

Like many other new mobile tech innovations, 

time will tell if AR proves to be a staple 

among consumers or just yet another passing 

fad. If the tech’s current appeal is any indication, 

however, it looks like moviegoers today will have 

ample options to live in an augmented reality– 

enhanced world. n 

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GUEST COLUMN 

The moviegoing experience has always been in a state of flux. 

If you haven’t gone to the movies in the last 20 years, you’d be 

astonished by the culinary and entertainment options available 

today. While many changes have occurred incrementally, some 

milestones have changed the experience dramatically. 

by Bruce Proctor 

These 10 advancements arose at the nexus of technology and 

consumer preference and have forever changed the way we 

experience a night at the movies. And with the pace of change 

ever increasing, it may not be long before we add another 10 

things to the list—or more. See you at the movies! 

TALKIES 

The first moving picture was released back in 1890. 

For the next 35 years, movies were silent; they 

featured musical scores—sometimes performed 

live, sometimes recorded—but dialogue was 

displayed on title cards called “intertitles,” similar 

to today’s subtitling. Then in 1927, the first talkie, 

The Jazz Singer (below), debuted. It soon became 

clear that talkies represented a better entertainment 

value for consumers and a more profitable product 

for producers. After 1930, virtually all movies were 

talkies (until the release of Mel Brooks’s Silent Movie 

in 1976). 

FOOD AND BEVERAGES 

Enjoying a snack and a drink is a natural part of the cinema 

experience today, but it hasn’t always been that way. Around 

the turn of the last century when theaters first started shifting 

from live performances to movies, most owners remained 

dead-set against serving food in their theaters. They saw it as a 

distraction from the show and a janitorial nightmare. But more 

importantly, they thought it was beneath the “elevated” level 

of the theater experience. Then the Great Depression hit. As 

financial hardship exerted downward pressure on ticket sales 

and attendance fell by nearly a third, the revenue that food 

could generate became too tempting to ignore. So the sound of 

popping popcorn began to fill cinema lobbies across the U.S., 

and new theaters almost universally included candy counters, 

the precursor to modern-day concession stands. Perhaps one 

good thing did come out of the Great Depression after all. 

FOUNTAIN DRINKS 

In the early days of cinema, soft drinks were available only in 

bottles. Eventually, pre-mix fountain drinks were offered as 

well. At the time, both bottled and fountain drinks were served 

to customers by theater staff, but the evolution continued. 

Pre-mix led to post-mix, and post-mix led to self-serve. Today’s 

freestyle machines (right) are the next step in this progression, 

dispensing beverages faster than ever before and enabling 

patrons to customize their drinks to an almost infinite degree. 


MULTIPLEXES 

In 1963, Stan Durwood of American Multi-Cinema 

built the first multiple-screen theater in Kansas City, 

Missouri. For the first time, multiscreen cinemas 

gave moviegoers a choice—and they loved it. Multiplexes 

quickly became the norm just as the number 

of screens in the United States was set to explode. 

Today, the vast majority of the 40,000 screens in the 

U.S. are part of a multiplex facility, and the largest 

multiplex in the world—or more accurately, the 

largest megaplex in the world—is the AMC Ontario 

(below), which features no less than 30 auditoriums 

inside a single theater. 

SELF-SERVE 

It used to be that if you wanted candy, popcorn, 

or drinks, a theater employee would prepare your 

order and serve it to you. The station concept, 

built on the fast-food idea of prepping in the 

back and serving in the front, sped things up, but 

infuriatingly long lines remained the norm. Then, 

self-serve foods became widely available and customers 

took to them right away. Today, moviegoers 

are accustomed to choosing the food and drinks 

they prefer in a cafeteria-style, grab-n-go setting, 

which creates a more satisfying experience for 

them while lowering theater overhead. 

STADIUM SEATING 

PROJECTION 

The 35-millimeter reel was adopted as an international 

standard in 1909. It remained in use through 

the 1990s when digital technology entered the 

scene. Once the benefits became evident, digital 

projection caught on quickly; in 2000 there were 

30 theaters featuring digital projection—a decade 

later, that number would exceed 36,000. Today, 

most commercial movie projectors support either 

2K or 4K resolution and employ a xenon, UHP, or 

laser light source, providing a product that is light 

years ahead of the flickering, scratchy, unreliable 

celluloid of early cinema. 

In the last two decades, the shift to luxury seating has made attending a 

movie a much more comfortable experience. Cushy and supportive, reclining 

stadium seats relegate the old theater flip-up seat (oh, my aching back!) to 

the scrap heap of history. And luxury seats are not just more comfortable; 

they’re more convenient as well. Large, padded armrests, extending footrests, 

cup holders, stash-away tables, and call buttons put the customer in control. 

Some seats even move, bounce, and jolt to enable viewers to feel the visceral 

intensity of the action on the screen. Hold on, it’s going to be a wild ride! 

SOUND 

Sound has come a long way in cinema. The Jazz 

Singer was recorded in Vitaphone, which involved 

the painstaking, archaic process of recording all audio 

onto a single record. Subsequent talkies offered 

scratchy mono-channel sound, which would often 

produce the unsettling effect of seeing an actor on 

one side of the screen while his voice came from the 

other. Alan Blumlein, a British engineer, developed 

stereo sound in 1934 to solve this problem. In 1940, 

Disney’s Fantasia was the first film to use surround 

sound, an improvement over stereo (and also a 

Blumlein invention). Dolby noise reduction was used 

by Stanley Kubrick in A Clockwork Orange, released in 

1971. THX was first used in Return of the Jedi in 1983. 

The mid 1990s saw the advent of digital sound, a 

huge step forward in terms of fidelity that quickly 

replaced analogue magnetic sound industry wide. 

Dolby Atmos, an adaptive-rendering technology that 

assigns sounds to screen objects to create realistic 

soundscapes, is one of the most recent developments 

in sound. It debuted in the Pixar film Brave 

in 2012. These sound improvements ensure that 

cinephiles’ ears are as happy as their eyes. 

IN-THEATER DINING 

The in-theater dining concept encourages customers 

to come earlier, stay longer, and spend more. Introduced 

nearly 20 years ago, in-theater dining service 

has four basic levels: counter order/patron pickup; 

counter order/seat delivery; seat order/seat delivery, 

single service; and seat order/seat delivery, ongoing. 

Regardless of service level, in-theater dining has 

helped theater owners boost their revenue and has 

given customers a compelling new reason to go to 

the movies. n 

BEER, WINE, LIQUOR 

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, I hope 

they walk into mine.” This might be the mantra of today’s 

theater owners. The addition of alcoholic drinks to menu 

offerings can increase theater revenue by as much as 10 

percent. In an environment where every dollar counts, this 

bump is too important to ignore. 

Bruce Proctor is president of Proctor Companies, which designs and builds food and beverage 

venues for movie theaters around the world. He is certified as an Executive Concession Manager by 

NAC and still loves going to the movies. 


FOOD & BEVERAGE 

A WHOLE 

NEW MENU 

SOUTHERN THEATRES DIRECTOR OF 

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS 

DAR HACKBARTH ON MOVIE TAVERN’S 

NEW FOOD OFFERINGS 

by Jesse Rifkin 

Usually at the cinema you’d order buttered popcorn, a hot dog, and a soda. What 

about baked rigatoni with spinach and portabella mushrooms? Movie Tavern 

revamped its menu earlier this year, fulfilling their slogan, “Come for the movie, 

come back for the food.” Based primarily in the South—though with a few locations 

in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado—Movie Tavern is one of 

the three brands operated by Southern Theaters, the seventh-largest exhibitor in 

the country. Boxoffice spoke with Southern Theatres Director of Marketing and 

Communications Dar Hackbarth about the company’s relaunched cuisine. 

What inspired Movie Tavern 

to create this new menu? 

We get customer feedback 

daily, at all of our stores. We 

ask customers on an ongoing 

basis. Two things really came 

to the fore for us from that 

feedback. One was that people 

were really seeking newer 

entrées. They didn’t want the 

“same old, same old” bar food. 

And they wanted healthier options. 

That’s sort of 1a and 1b. 

The second part of it is mainly 

that for a night out, when 

they’re looking to be entertained, 

they’re willing to spend money—but 

I think in our industry 

as a whole there’s been sort of 

a price-value myth, if you will. 

What we were getting from our 

customers is that they’re willing 

to pay restaurant prices. We just 

wanted to make sure the nature 

of our entrées and quality of the 

entrées meet that price. 

So based on the feedback 

from customers that we got, we 

just felt it was a no-brainer to rethink 

the food and beverage side 

of our entertainment offerings. 

How much did you use customer 

feedback in implementing the 

new menu? 

We didn’t have bar taste tasting, if 

that’s what you’re asking. But we did look 

at customer feedback and daily customer 

surveys to really curate the types of items 

BAKED RIGATONI WITH SPINACH AND PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS 

ROASTED SALMON OVER BRUSSELS SPROUT CRANBERRY-WALNUT SALAD 

that they wanted. We had the universe 

narrowed down to what they were saying 

they wanted. 

We use the term “chef-inspired” a lot; 

that’s not just branding. Truly, we took 

the lead from a Michelin star chef. I can’t 

use the name, unfortunately. I want to, 

as a communications guy! But 

they’re not allowed to. So we 

consulted a Michelin star chef 

to rethink the menu based on 

customer feedback, to come up 

with not only dishes but flavor 

profiles that meet what we think 

is where the audience is heading. 

What have proven to be some 

of the most popular dishes? 

It’s been about a month 

and a half. Right now, a 

couple of our biggest sellers 

include the Vietnamese rice 

bowl, the short rib with green 

chile mac and cheese has been 

very popular, and the roasted 

salmon over brussels sprout 

cranberry-walnut salad. We’ve 

got a full slate of salads now. 

We only had one or two in the 

past. Those have all gone over 

like gangbusters. 

In the appetizer world, there 

are three items that are really 

jumping out for most people. 

The sweet potato tater tots with 

Greek yogurt dipping sauce— 

that’s just a different sort of 

thing that people like experiencing. 

People like the roasted 

red pepper hummus, probably a little bit 

healthier. And the honey-butter potato 

chips are doing very well. 

Do customers want those innovative 

sorts of options or tried-and-true items 

like buttered popcorn? 


At least early on here, it’s both. 

We’re seeing a surge in the new items 

and entrées, but there’s still going to be 

the traditional palate that also comes 

to the theater, that wants a burger. Our 

view is, people are going to find the 

burgers if that’s what they want. That 

said, we’re going to offer an exceptional 

burger. The burger that we offer, the 

Tavern Black Angus cheddar burger, we 

put a lot into it to make it exceptional, 

We know people are going to 

find that. 

You’ll see the way our new 

menu is laid out. The bar 

food, if you will, has found 

its way toward the back of the 

menu. We really want to put 

an emphasis on those things 

that we heard in the customer 

surveys that they want. If 

they want wings or that sort 

of thing, we’ve still got those 

things. And they’re good! But 

we really want to emphasize 

the chef-inspired stuff. So far, 

so good. People really seem to 

be embracing it. 

Is there a dish or two that you 

considered or tested, but didn’t make 

the final cut? 

I don’t know if there’s a dish or two. 

Our internal chefs said what the decision 

really boiled down to wasn’t that there 

was a dish they tried that didn’t make 

the cut; what it boiled down to was that 

dishes that didn’t make the menu were 

more traditional, like sandwiches. What 

made the cut were unique entrée items, 

as opposed to traditional things. 

Have you noticed any changes in what 

customers are ordering or asking for 

over time, like perhaps more glutenfree 

items in the last few years? 

They have been asking for healthier 

options, just in general. That takes a lot 

of different forms for us. In the movie 

theater industry, as you know, there’s an 

element of the audience that still is not 

afraid to be decadent on their night out. 

But we definitely want to embrace the 

movement toward a healthier customer 

base. If that’s what they’re asking for, 

we’re here to provide that. 

One of the ways we did that is there 

are now seven entrées, for example, 

that are under 700 calories. We’ve got 

another five appetizers that are under 

700 calories. So if somebody is looking 

to be healthy with us, they can be. 

VIETNAMESE RICE BOWL 

Beyond that, we’ll continue to see how 

the menu evolves. We’re constantly 

looking to evolve the menu, like any 

other restaurant. The menu is not a 

static thing. 

How much do the menus vary by 

location, if at all? 

We rolled this out to our entire 

Movie Tavern base. Our only exception 

is our four legacy stores, which are older 

and don’t have the kitchen capacity 

to make some of the newer items. They 

don’t have the equipment, or they just 

don’t have the elbow room. That said, 

this menu has been rolled out wide. The 

four that don’t have that capacity, we’re 

taking a look at each of those stores 

individually to see which items we can 

add, how we can beef up the kitchen 

if need be. Then we’ll probably, within 

the next couple of months, come up 

with individualized menus that are a 

little bit of a hybrid between what I’m 

talking about versus what they currently 

offer. 

What are your own personal favorite 

dishes? 

I’ve made my way through only 

about half the menu here. It’s pretty 

tough to nail down. I think probably 

my three favorite items that I just can’t 

get enough of? The short rib with green 

chile mac and cheese. The 

short rib is really tender and 

it’s just a really nice blend of 

barbecue and cheddar and 

green chile. It’s really awesome. 

Probably the salad that 

I really love is the roasted 

salmon over brussels sprout 

cranberry-walnut salad. Even 

the salad alone is really good. 

I’ve had it with every kind of 

protein. Probably my favorite 

starter is the sweet potato 

tater tots. 

You serve an item on your 

Sunday brunch menu called 

the “hangover breakfast burrito.” Is this 

the long sought-after cure? 

[Laughs.] I think what’s relevant there 

is that breakfast has been a “thing” for a 

while. We know that people, especially 

on weekends, want to be entertained— 

but when they’re coming on a Saturday 

or Sunday, they’re not necessarily always 

coming for lunch or dinner. So last fall, 

we decided to pilot brunch. We wanted 

a few key items, like the hangover burrito 

and the chicken waffle. 

It’s done really well, because we 

focused on the psychographics of that 

time of day. People are willing to order 

breakfast, and they’re even willing to 

order alcohol at noon, if you offer 

them a discounted mimosa or Bloody 

Mary. They’re not necessarily ordering a 

margarita at 11:30 or noon. But if you 

give them a chicken waffle or a hangover 

burrito, that might be just enough to 

encourage them. n 


COMING SOON IN 3D 

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 

JULY 6 · DISNEY 

CAST Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly 

DIR Peyton Reed 

GENRE Act/Adv/SciFi 

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION 

JULY 13 · SONY/COLUMBIA 

VOICE CAST Adam Sandler, Kathryn Hahn 

DIR Genndy Tartakovsky 

GENRE Ani/Com/Fam 

SKYSCRAPER 

JULY 13 · UNIVERSAL 

CAST Dwayne Johnson, Pablo Schreiber 

DIR Rawson Marshall Thurber 

GENRE Act/Cri/Dra 

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT 

JULY 27 · PARAMOUNT 

CAST Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan 

DIR Christopher McQuarrie 

GENRE Adv/Act/Thr 

THE MEG 

AUGUST 10 · WARNER BROS. 

CAST Ruby Rose, Jason Statham 

DIR Jon Turteltaub 

GENRE Act/Hor/SciFi 

ALPHA 

AUGUST 17 · SONY 

CAST Kodi Smit-McPhee, Leonor Varela 

DIR Albert Hughes 

GENRE Act/DRA/Thr 

MOWGLI 

OCTOBER 19 · WARNER BROS. 

VOICE CAST Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis 

DIR Andy Serkis 

GENRE Adv/Dra 

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS 

NOVEMBER 2 · DISNEY 

CAST Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy 

DIR Lasse Hallström 

GENRE Adv/Fam/Fan 

DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH 

NOVEMBER 9 · UNIVERSAL 

VOICE CAST Benedict Cumberbatch 

DIR Scott Mosier, Yarrow Cheney 

GENRE Ani/Com/Fam

ALSO UPCOMING IN 3D 

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: 

WRECK-IT RALPH 2 

November 21, 2018 – Universal 

SPIDER-MAN: 

INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE 

December 14, 2018 – Sony 

MORTAL ENGINES 

December 14, 2018 – Universal 

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL 

December 21, 2018 – Fox 

AQUAMAN 

December 21, 2018 – Warner Bros. 

BUMBLEBEE 

December 21, 2018 – Paramount 

THE LEGO MOVIE SEQUEL 

February 8, 2019 – Warner Bros. 

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: 

THE HIDDEN WORLD 

March 1, 2019 – Fox/Dreamworks 

CAPTAIN MARVEL 

March 8, 2019 – Disney 

DUMBO 

March 29, 2019 – Disney 

UNTITLED AVENGERS 

May 3, 2019 – Disney 

TOY STORY 4 

June 21, 2019 – Disney 

THE LION KING 

July 19, 2019 – Disney 

UNTITLED ANIMATION PROJECT 

July 26, 2019 – Sony 

WONDER WOMAN 2 

November 1, 2019 – Warner Bros. 

FROZEN 2 

November 27, 2019 – Disney 

ALADDIN 

December 20, 2019 – Disney 

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX 

December 20, 2019 – Disney 

REALD.COM

EVENT CINEMA CALENDAR 

ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: THE BIG LEBOWSKI 20TH ANNIVERSARY (1998) 

CINELIFE ENTERTAINMENT SpotlightCinemaNetworks.com 

KISS ME, KATE! Wed, 6/27/18 Musical Theatre 

RICHARD RODGERS GALA Wed, 7/11/18 Musical Theatre (Gala) 

KING LEAR Wed, 7/25/18 Shakespeare Play 

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE Wed, 8/8/18 Shakespeare Play 

ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY Wed, 8/22/18 One Person Show 

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY (TCHAIKOVSKY) Wed, 9/5/18 Ballet 

THE NUTCRACKER (TCHAIKOVSKY) Wed, 12/12/18 Ballet 

FATHOM EVENTS fathomevents.com 855-473-4612 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: WEST SIDE STORY Sun, 6/24 and Weds, 6/27 Classic Film 

BANDSTAND: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL ON SCREEN Mon, 6/25/18 and Thurs, 6/28/18 Theatre 

THE MET: LIVE IN HD - IL TROVATORE Weds, 6/27/18 Opera 

FIREWORKS Tues, 7/3/18, Thurs, 7/5/18 and Sat, 7/7/18 Anime 

BOLSHOI BALLET SUMMER ENCORE: GISELLE Mon, 7/9/18 Ballet 

THE MET: LIVE IN HD - EUGENE ONEGIN Weds, 7/11/18 Opera 

350 DAYS Thurs, 7/12/18 Sports 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: BIG 30TH ANNIVERSARY (1988) Sun, 7/15/18 and Wed, 7/18/18 Classic Film 

BOLSHOI BALLET SUMMER ENCORE: ROMEO AND JULIET Mon, 7/16/18 Ballet 

THE MET: LIVE IN HD - TURANDOT Weds, 7/18/18 Opera 

PRINCESS MONONOKE Sun, 7/22/18, Mon 7/23/18 and Wed 7/25/18 Anime 

BOLSHOI BALLET SUMMER ENCORE: SWAN LAKE Mon, 7/23/18 Ballet 

NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL! Thurs, 7/26/18 and Sat, 7/28/18 Theatre 

8TH ANNUAL GRATEFUL DEAD MEET-UP AT THE MOVIES Weds, 8/1/18 Music 

RACHEL HOLLIS PRESENTS: MADE FOR MORE Thurs, 8/2/18 Documentary 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: THE BIG LEBOWSKI 20TH ANNIVERSARY (1998) Sun, 8/5/18 and Wed, 8/8/18 Classic Film 


ELVIS 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMEBACK SPECIAL 

SPIRITED AWAY 

GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES Sun, 8/12/18, Mon, 8/13/18 and Wed 8/15/18 Anime 

ELVIS 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMEBACK SPECIAL Thurs, 8/16/18 and Monday, 8/20/18 Music 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: SOUTH PACIFIC 60TH ANNIVERSARY (1958) Sun, 8/26/18 and Wed, 8/29/18 Classic Film 

DIGIMON ADVENTURE TRI.: FUTURE Thurs, 9/20/18 Anime 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) Sun, 9/23/18 and Wed, 9/26/18 Classic Film 

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO 30TH ANNIVERSARY Sun, 9/30/18, Mon, 10/1/18 and Wed 10/3/18 Anime 

THE TRUMP PROPHECY Tues, 10/2/18 and Thurs, 10/4/18 Inspirational 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) Sun, 10/14/18 and Wed, 10/17/18 Classic Film 

NT LIVE: FRANKENSTEIN Mon, 10/22/18 and Mon, 10/29/18 Theatre 

SPIRITED AWAY Sun, 10/28/18, Mon, 10/29/18 and Wed 10/31/18 Anime 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: DIE HARD 30TH ANNIVERSARY (1988) Sun, 11/11/18 and Wed, 11/14/18 Classic Film 

CASTLE IN THE SKY Sun, 11/18/18, Mon, 11/19/18 and Wed, 11/21/18 Anime 

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) Sun, 12/9/18 and Wed, 12/12/18 Classic Film 

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE roh.org.uk/cinemas cinema@roh.org.uk 

MAYERLING Thu, 10/4/18 Ballet 

DIE WALKÜRE Sun, 10/28/18 Opera 

LA BAYADÈRE Tue, 11/13/18 Ballet 

THE NUTCRACKER Mon, 12/3/18 Ballet 

THE QUEEN OF SPADES Tue, 1/22/19 Opera 

LA TRAVIATA Wed, 1/30/19 Opera 

DON QUIXOTE Tue, 2/19/19 Ballet 

LA FORZA DEL DESTINO Tue, 4/2/19 Opera 

FAUST Tue, 4/30/19 Opera 

WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR / NEW SIDI LARBI CHERKAOUI / FLIGHT PATTERN Thu, 5/16/19 Ballet 

ROMEO AND JULIET Tue, 6/11/19 Ballet 


SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLADO 

JUNE 29 / BLEECKER STREET (LIMITED) 

>> In the drug war, there are no rules—and as the cartels have 

begun trafficking terrorists across the U.S. border, federal agent 

Matt Graver calls on the mysterious Alejandro, whose family was 

murdered by a cartel kingpin, to escalate the war in nefarious ways. 

Alejandro kidnaps the kingpin’s daughter to inflame the conflict, 

but when the girl is seen as collateral damage, her fate will come between 

the two men as they question everything they are fighting for. 

ON SCREEN 

SYNOPSES COURTESY OF QUICKLOOKFILMS.COM 

CAST JOSH BROLIN,, BENICIO DEL TORO, CATHERINE KEENER DIRECTOR 

STEFANO SOLLIMA WRITER TAYLOR SHERIDAN GENRE ACTION, CRIME, 

DRAMA RATING R FOR STRONG VIOLENCE, BLOODY IMAGES, AND LANGUAGE 

RUNNING TIME 126 MIN. 

ISABELA MONER AND BENICIO DEL TORO 


LEAVE NO TRACE 

JUNE 29 / BLEECKER STREET (LIMITED) 

>> Will and his teenage daughter, Tom, have lived off 

the grid for years in the forests near Portland, Oregon. 

When their idyllic life is shattered, both are put into social 

services. After clashing with their new surroundings, 

Will and Tom set off on a harrowing journey back to their 

wild homeland. 

CAST BEN FOSTER, JEFF KOBER, DALE DICKEY DIRECTOR DEBRA 

GRANIK WRITERS DEBRA GRANIK, ANNE ROSELLINI GENRE 

DRAMA RATING PG FOR THEMATIC MATERIAL THROUGHOUT 


THOMASIN MCKENZIE AND BEN FOSTER 

THREE IDENTICAL 

STRANGERS 

JUNE 29 / NEON (LIMITED) 

>> Three complete strangers, Bobby Shafran, David 

Kellman, and Eddy Galland, are reunited in an astonishing 

coincidence after being born identical triplets, 

separated at birth, and adopted to different families. 

Their jaw-dropping feel-good story becomes a global 

sensation and a viral hit in the pre-internet age. The 

triplets’ short-lived fairy-tale reunion sets in motion a 

chain of events that will unearth an unimaginable secret 

with radical implications for our very understanding of 

human nature. An exuberant celebration of family that 

transforms into a gripping, juicy conspiracy thriller. 

CAST SILVI ALZETTA-REALI, EDDY GALLAND, RON GUTTMAN 

DIRECTOR TIM WARDLE GENRE DOCUMENTARY RATING PG- 

13 FOR SOME MATURE THEMATIC MATERIAL RUNNING TIME 

96 MIN. 

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS 

UNCLE DREW 

JUNE 29 / LIONSGATE/SUMMIT (WIDE) 

>> After draining his life savings to enter a team in the 

Rucker Classic streetball tournament in Harlem, Dax is 

dealt a series of unfortunate setbacks, including losing 

his team to his longtime rival. Desperate to win the 

tournament and the cash prize, Dax stumbles upon the 

man, the myth, the legend Uncle Drew (NBA All-Star Kyrie 

Irving) and convinces him to return to the court one 

more time. The two men embark on a road trip to round 

up Drew’s old basketball squad and prove that a group 

of septuagenarians can still win the big one. 

CAST KYRIE IRVING, TIFFANY HADDISH, SHAQUILLE O’NEAL 

DIRECTOR CHARLES STONE III WRITER JAY LONGINO GENRE 

COMEDY RATING PG-13 FOR SUGGESTIVE MATERIAL, LANGUAGE, 

AND BRIEF NUDITY RUNNING TIME TBD 

KYRIE IRVING, REGGIE MILLER, NATE ROBINSON, SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, 

LIL REL HOWERY, CHRIS WEBBER, ERICA ASH, AND LISA LESLIE 


ON SCREEN 

MICHAEL GREYEYES AND JESSICA CHASTAIN 

THE FIRST PURGE 

JULY 4 / UNIVERSAL (WIDE) 

>> Behind every tradition lies a revolution. Next Independence Day, witness the rise of 

our country’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Welcome to the movement that began as a 

simple experiment: The First Purge. To push the crime rate below 1 percent for the rest of 

the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents 

aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors 

meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders 

and spread across the nation. 

CAST MARISA TOMEI, MELONIE DIAZ, LEX SCOTT DAVIS DIRECTOR GERARD MCMURRAY WRITER 

JAMES DEMONACO GENRE ACTION, CRIME, HORROR RATING R FOR STRONG DISTURBING VIOLENCE 

THROUGHOUT, PERVASIVE LANGUAGE, SOME SEXUALITY, AND DRUG USE RUNNING TIME TBD 


WOMAN WALKS AHEAD 

JUNE 29 / A24 (LIMITED) 

>> Based on true events, Woman Walks 

Ahead tells the story of Catherine Weldon, 

a widowed artist from New York who, in 

the 1880s, traveled alone to North Dakota 

to paint a portrait of Chief Sitting Bull. Her 

arrival at Standing Rock is welcomed with 

open hostility by a U.S. Army officer, who has 

stationed troops around the Lakota reservation 

to undermine Native American claims to 

the land. As Catherine and Sitting Bull grow 

closer, and as their friendship and his life are 

threatened by imperious government forces, 

Catherine must contend with the violence 

that underlies her position. 

CAST JESSICA CHASTAIN, SAM ROCKWELL, 

MICHAEL GREYEYES DIRECTOR SUSANNA WHITE 

WRITER SUSANNA WHITE GENRE BIOGRAPHY, 

DRAMA, HISTORY RATING R FOR BRIEF VIOLENCE 

AND LANGUAGE RUNNING TIME 101 MIN. 

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU 

JULY 6 / ANNAPURNA (LIMITED) 

>> In an alternate present-day version of 

Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers 

a magical key to professional success— 

which propels him into a macabre universe. 

CAST LAKEITH STANFIELD, TESSA THOMPSON, 

JERMAINE FOWLER DIRECTOR BOOTS RILEY 

WRITER BOOTS RILEY GENRE COMEDY, FANTASY, 

SCI-FI RATING R FOR PERVASIVE LANGUAGE, SOME 

STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT, GRAPHIC NUDITY, 

AND DRUG USE RUNNING TIME 105 MIN. 

LAKEITH STANFIELD AND TESSA THOMPSON 


ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 

JULY 6 / DISNEY (WIDE) 

>> In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil 

War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences 

of his choices as both a superhero and a father. 

As he struggles to rebalance his home life with 

his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted 

by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an 

urgent new mission. Scott must once again put 

on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp 

as the team works together to uncover secrets 

from their past. 

CAST PAUL RUDD, EVANGELINE LILLY, WALTON GOGGINS 

DIRECTOR PEYTON REED WRITERS CHRIS MCKENNA, 

ERIK SOMMERS, ANDREW BARRER, GABRIEL FERRARI, 

PAUL RUDD GENRE ACTION, ADVENTURE, SCI-FI RATING 

TBD RUNNING TIME TBD 


WHITNEY 

JULY 6 / ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS (LIMITED) 

>> Whitney Houston broke more music 

industry records than any other female singer 

in history. With over 200 million album sales 

worldwide, she was the only artist to chart 

seven consecutive U.S. No. 1 singles. She 

also starred in several blockbuster movies 

before her brilliant career gave way to erratic 

behavior, scandals, and death at age 48. The 

documentary feature Whitney is an intimate, 

unflinching portrait of Houston and her family 

that probes beyond familiar tabloid headlines 

and sheds new light on the spellbinding trajectory 

of Houston’s life. The film uses never-before-seen 

archival footage, exclusive demo 

recordings, rare performances, audio archives, 

and original interviews with the people who 

knew her best. 

WHITNEY HOUSTON 

CAST WHITNEY HOUSTON, BOBBY BROWN, BOBBI 

KRISTINA BROWN DIRECTOR KEVIN MACDONALD 

GENRE DOCUMENTARY, BIOGRAPHY, MUSIC RATING TBD 



ON SCREEN 

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: 

SUMMER VACATION 

JULY 13 / SONY/COLUMBIA (WIDE) 

>> Mavis surprises Dracula with a family voyage on a luxury 

monster cruise ship so he can take a summer vacation from providing 

everyone else’s vacation at the hotel, and the rest of Drac’s 

Pack cannot resist tagging along. The monsters are all having a 

great time, indulging in all of the shipboard fun the cruise has 

to offer, from monster volleyball to colossus-sized buffets and 

exotic excursions, but then the unexpected happens as Drac falls 

for the intriguing-yet-dangerous captain of the ship. Balancing 

family, friends, and a budding romance might just be too much, 

even for the most powerful vampire. 

CAST ADAM SANDLER, ANDY SAMBERG, KATHRYN HAHN DIRECTOR GENNDY 

TARTAKOVSKY WRITERS MICHAEL MCCULLERS, GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY GENRE 

ANIMATION, COMEDY, FAMILY RATING PG FOR SOME ACTION AND RUDE 

HUMOR RUNNING TIME TBD 

DON’T WORRY, 

HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT 

JULY 13 / AMAZON STUDIOS (LIMITED) 

>> John Callahan has a lust for life, a talent for off-color 

jokes, and a drinking problem. When an all-night 

bender ends in a catastrophic car accident, the last 

thing he intends to do is give up drinking. But when he 

reluctantly enters treatment with encouragement from 

his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) and a charismatic sponsor, 

Callahan discovers a gift for drawing edgy, irreverent 

newspaper cartoons that develop an international 

following and grant him a new lease on life. Based on 

a true story, this poignant, insightful and often funny 

drama about the healing power of art is adapted from 

Callahan’s autobiography. 

CAST JOAQUIN PHOENIX, JONAH HILL, ROONEY MARA 

DIRECTOR GUS VAN SANT WRITER GUS VAN SANT GENRE 

BIOGRAPHY, COMEDY, DRAMA RATING R FOR LANGUAGE 

THROUGHOUT, SEXUAL CONTENT, SOME NUDITY, AND 

ALCOHOL ABUSE RUNNING TIME 113 MIN. 

JOAQUIN PHOENIX 

EIGHTH GRADE 

JULY 13 / A24 (LIMITED) 

>> Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary 

suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the 

last week of middle school, the end of her thus-far-disastrous 

eighth grade year before she begins high school. 

EMILY ROBINSON 

CAST JOSH HAMILTON, ELSIE FISHER, EMILY ROBINSON DIRECTOR BO 

BURNHAM WRITER BO BURNHAM GENRE COMEDY RATING TBD RUNNING 

TIME 94 MIN. 


DWYANE JOHNSON 

SKYSCRAPER 


>> On assignment in China, 

former FBI Hostage Rescue 

Team leader and U.S. war veteran 

Will Ford finds the tallest, 

safest building in the world 

suddenly ablaze, and he’s 

been framed for it. A wanted 

man on the run, Will must find 

those responsible, clear his 

name, and somehow rescue 

his family who is trapped 

inside the building—above 

the fire line. 

CAST DWAYNE JOHNSON, PABLO 

SCHREIBER, NEVE CAMPBELL 

DIRECTOR RAWSON MARSHALL 

THURBER WRITER RAWSON 

MARSHALL THURBER GENRE 

ACTION, CRIME, DRAMA RATING 

PG-13 FOR SEQUENCES OF GUN 

VIOLENCE AND ACTION, AND 

FOR BRIEF STRONG LANGUAGE 

RUNNING TIME TBD 

DAVEED DIGGS AND RAFAEL CASAL 

BLINDSPOTTING 

JULY 20 / LIONSGATE/COLUMBIA (LIMITED / EXPANDS JULY 27) 

>> Lifelong friends Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal co-wrote 

and star in this timely and wildly entertaining story about the 

intersection of race and class set against the backdrop of a 

rapidly gentrifying Oakland. 

CAST DAVEED DIGGS, RAFAEL CASAL, JANINA GAVANKAR DIRECTOR 

CARLOS LÓPEZ ESTRADA WRITERS RAFAEL CASAL, DAVEED DIGGS GENRE 

COMEDY, DRAMA RATING R FOR LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT, SOME BRUTAL 

VIOLENCE, SEXUAL REFERENCES, AND DRUG USE RUNNING TIME 95 MIN. 

MAMMA MIA: 

HERE WE GO 

AGAIN! 


>> Get ready to sing and 

dance, laugh and love all over 

again. Ten years after Mamma 

Mia! The Movie grossed more 

than $600 million around 

the world, you are invited to 

return to the magical Greek 

island of Kalokairi in an allnew 

original musical based 

on the songs of ABBA. 

CHER 

CAST MERYL STREEP, LILY JAMES, 

CHER, AMANDA SEYFRIED, 

PIERCE BROSNAN, COLIN FIRTH, 

STELLAN SKARSGÅRD DIRECTOR 

OL PARKER WRITER OL PARKER 

GENRE COMEDY, MUSICAL 

RATING PG-13 FOR SOME 

SUGGESTIVE MATERIAL RUNNING 

TIME TBD 


ON SCREEN 

THE EQUALIZER 2 

JULY 20 / SONY/COLUMBIA (WIDE) 

>> Denzel Washington returns to one of his signature roles in 

the first sequel of his career. Robert McCall serves an unflinching 

justice for the exploited and oppressed—but how far will he go 

when that is someone he loves?. 

CAST DENZEL WASHINGTON (PICTURED), BILL PULLMAN, PEDRO PASCAL 

DIRECTOR ANTOINE FUQUA WRITER RICHARD WENK GENRE ACTION, 

CRIME, THRILLER RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD 


BOOKING GUIDE 

TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS 

A24 646-568-6015 

WOMAN WALKS AHEAD 

Fri, 6/29/18 LTD. 

Jessica Chastain, 

Michael Greyeyes 

Susanna White R Dra/His 

EIGHTH GRADE Fri, 7/13/18 LTD. Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton Bo Burnham R Com 

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS 

Fri, 7/27/18 LTD. 

Timothée Chalamet, 

Maika Monroe 

Elijah Bynum R Dra 

NEVER GOIN’ BACK Fri, 8/3/18 LTD. Camila Morrone, Maia Mitchell Augustine Frizzell NR Com 

A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN Fri, 8/10/18 LTD. Joe Cole Jean-Stephane Sauvaire R Act/Dra 

UNDER THE SILVER LAKE Fri, 12/7/18 LTD. Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough David Robert Mitchell R Thr/Cri 

ANNAPURNA PICTURES 

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU 

Fri, 7/6/18 LTD. 

Lakeith Stanfield, 

Tessa Thompson 

Boots Riley R Com/Fan/SF 

WHERE’D YOU GO BERNADETTE? Fri, 10/19/18 LTD. Cate Blanchett, Troian Bellisario Richard Linklater PG-13 Com/Dra 

DISNEY 818-560-1000 Ask for Distribution 

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Fri, 7/6/18 WIDE Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly Peyton Reed NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX 

DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN 

Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE 

Ewan McGregor, 

Hayley Atwell 

Marc Forster PG Fan 

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS Fri, 11/2/18 WIDE Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy Lasse Hallström NR Mus/Fan 3D 

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: 

WRECK-IT RALPH 2 

Fri, 11/21/18 WIDE 

John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman 

Phil Johnston, Rich 

Moore 

NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D/IMAX 

MARY POPPINS RETURNS Fri, 12/25/18 WIDE Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda Rob Marshall NR Fam/Fan 

CAPTAIN MARVEL Fri, 3/8/19 WIDE Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX 

DUMBO Fri, 3/29/19 WIDE Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton Tim Burton NR Fan/Fam 3D 

PENGUINS Fri, 4/19/19 WIDE NR Doc 

UNTITLED AVENGERS Fri, 5/3/19 WIDE NR Act/Adv/Fan/SF 

ALADDIN Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE Will Smith, Mena Massoud Guy Ritchie NR Act/Adv/Com 

TOY STORY 4 Fri, 6/21/19 WIDE NR Ani 3D/IMAX 

THE LION KING Fri, 7/19/19 WIDE Donald Glover, Beyoncé Jon Favreau NR Fan 

ARTEMIS FOWL Fri, 8/9/19 WIDE Ferdia Shaw, Josh Gad Kenneth Branagh NR Fan 3D 

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION 1 Fri, 10/4/19 WIDE NR 

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION 2 Fri, 11/8/19 WIDE NR 

FROZEN 2 Wed, 11/27/19 WIDE NR Ani 3D 

ENTERTAINMENT STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES 

REPLICAS Fri, 8/24/18 WIDE Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve Jeffrey Nachmanoff NR SF/Cri 

GOD BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD Fri, 9/21/18 WIDE Lindsay Pulsipher, Jordin Sparks Harold Cronk PG Dra/Rel 

FOCUS FEATURES 424-214-6360 3D 

BLACKKKLANSMAN 

Fri, 8/10/18 WIDE 

John David Washington, 

Adam Driver 

Spike Lee NR Dra 

THE LITTLE STRANGER Fri, 8/31/18 WIDE Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson Lenny Abrahamson NR Hor/Thr 

BOY ERASED Fri, 9/28/18 LTD Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman Joel Edgerton NR Dra 

ON THE BASIS OF SEX Fri, 11/9/18 LTD Felicity Jones, Mimi Leder NR Dra/Bio 

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS Fri, 12/7/18 LTD Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie Josie Rourke NR Dra/His 

CAPTIVE STATE Wed, 3/29/19 WIDE John Goodman, Ashton Sanders Rupert Wyatt PG-13 SF 



FOX 310-369-1000 212-556-2400 

THE DARKEST MINDS 


Amandla Stenberg, 

Mandy Moore 

Jennifer Yuh Nelson NR SF/Thr 

THE PREDATOR Fri, 9/14/18 WIDE Boyd Holbrook, Jacob Tremblay Shane Black NR Act/SF/Hor 

BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE Fri, 10/5/18 WIDE Drew Goddard NR Thr 

THE HATE U GIVE 

Fri, 10/19/18 WIDE 

Amandla Stenberg, 

Russell Hornsby 

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Fri, 11/2/18 WIDE Rami Malek, Ben Hardy 

George Tillman Jr. NR Dra 

Bryan Singer, Dexter 

Fletcher 

WIDOWS Fri, 11/16/18 WIDE Michelle Rodriguez, Viola Davis Steve McQueen NR Dra 

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL Fri, 12/21/18 WIDE Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz Robert Rodriguez NR Act/Adv/Rom 3D/IMAX 

AD ASTRA Fri, 1/11/19 WIDE Brad Pitt James Gray NR SF/Thr 

DARK PHOENIX Fri, 2/14/19 WIDE Sophie Turner, Jennifer Lawrence Simon Kinberg NR Act/Adv/SF 

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING Fri, 3/1/19 WIDE Joe Cornish NR Fan/Fam/Act/Adv 

BREAKTHROUGH Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE Chrissy Metz Roxann Dawson NR 

SPIES IN DISGUISE Fri, 4/19/19 WIDE Will Smith, Tom Holland Nick Bruno & Troy Quane NR Ani 

GAMBIT Fri, 6/7/19 WIDE Channing Tatum, Lizzy Caplan NR Act/Adv/SF 

THE NEW MUTANTS Fri, 8/2/19 WIDE Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams Josh Boone NR Act/Hor/SF 

DEATH ON THE NILE Fri, 11/8/19 WIDE Sir Kenneth Branagh NR Dra 

FOX SEARCHLIGHT 212-556-2400 

THE OLD MAN & THE GUN Fri, 9/28/18 LTD. Robert Redford, Casey Affleck David Lowery PG-13 Cri/Com/Dra 

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? 

Fri, 10/19/18 LTD. 

Melissa McCarthy, 

Richard E. Grant 

NR 

Bio/Mus 

Marielle Heller R Bio/Com/Dra 

THE FAVOURITE Fri, 11/23/18 LTD. Olivia Colman, Emma Stone Yorgos Lanthimos R Dra 

THE AFTERMATH 

Fri, 4/26/19 WIDE 

GLOBAL ROAD FILMS 310-696-7504 

Keira Knightley, 

Alexander Skarsgård 

James Kent R Dra/War 

A.X.L. Fri, 8/10/18 LTD Alex Neustaedter, Becky G Oliver Daly NR Fam/Adv 

CITY OF LIES Fri, 9/7/18 WIDE Johnny Depp, Forest Whitaker Brad Furman NR Bio/Cri/Dra 

THE SILENCE Fri, 12/7/18 LTD Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka John R. Leonetti NR Hor 

PLAYMOBILE UNCHARTED Fri, 1/18/19 WIDE NR Ani 

LIONSGATE 310-309-8400 

UNCLE DREW Fri, 6/29/18 WIDE Kyrie Irving, Lil Rel Howery Charles Stone III PG-13 Com 

BLINDSPOTTING Fri, 7/27/18 LTD. Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal Carlos Lopez Estrada NR Com/Dra 

THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon Susanna Fogel NR Com/Act 

KIN Fri, 8/31/18 WIDE Myles Truitt, Jack Reynor 

YA VEREMOS 

Fri, 8/31/18 MOD 

Mauricio Ochmann, 

Fernanda Castillo 

Jonathan Baker, Josh 

Baker 

NR 

Act/SF 

Pitipol Ybarra NR Dra, Com 

A SIMPLE FAVOR Fri, 9/14/18 WIDE Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively Paul Feig NR Sus 

HELL FEST 

Fri, 9/28/18 WIDE 

Amy Forsyth, Reign Edwards, 

Bex Taylor-Klaus 

Gregory Plotkin NR Hor 

HUNTER KILLER Fri, 10/26/18 WIDE Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman Donovan Marsh NR 

ROBIN HOOD Fri, 11/21/18 WIDE Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx Otto Bathurst PG-13 Adv 


BOOKING GUIDE 


HELLBOY Fri, 1/11/19 WIDE David Harbour, Milla Jovovich Neil Marshall NR Act 

FLARSKY Fri, 2/8/19 WIDE Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron Jonathan Levine NR Com 

CHAOS WALKING Fri, 3/1/19 WIDE Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley Doug Liman NR Adv/SF 

TYLER PERRY’S A MADEA FAMILY FUNERAL Fri, 3/1/19 WIDE Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis Tyler Perry NR Com 

FIVE FEET APART 

Fri, 3/22/19 WIDE 

Haley Lu Richardson, 

Cole Sprouse 

Justin Baldoni NR Dra/Rom 

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER THREE Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE Keanu Reeves NR Act 

MGM 

OPERATION FINALE Fri, 9/21/18 WIDE Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley Chris Weitz NR Dra 

CREED 2 

Fri, 12/21/18 LTD. 

Sylvester Stallone, 

Michael B. Jordan 

Steven Caple Jr. NR Dra/Act 

FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY 

Fri, 3/1/19 LTD. 

Florence Pugh, Vince Vaughn, 

Dwayne Johnson 

Stephen Merchant NR Dra/Bio 

THE HUSTLE Fri, 5/10/19 LTD. Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson Chris Addison NR Com 

THE ADDAMS FAMILY Fri, 10/11/19 WIDE Conrad Vernon NR Ani 

UNTITLED JAMES BOND 25 Fri, 11/8/19 WIDE Daniel Craig Danny Boyle NR Act/Thr 

NEON 

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS Fri, 6/29/18 LTD. Tim Wardle NR Doc 

ASSASSINATION NATION Fri, 9/21/18 LTD. Odessa Young, Hari Nef Sam Levinson NR Thr 

MONSTERS AND MEN 

Fri, 10/5/18 LTD. 

Anthony Ramos, 

John David Washington 

Reinaldo Marcus Green NR Dra 

PARAMOUNT 323-956-5000 

MISSION: IMPOSSILBE - FALLOUT Fri, 7/27/18 WIDE Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson Christopher McQuarrie NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX 

OVERLORD Fri, 10/26/18 WIDE Wyatt Russell and Jovan Adepo Julius Avery R War/Thr 

UNTITLED TYLER PERRY MOVIE Fri, 11/2/18 WIDE Tyler Perry NR 

BUMBLEBEE Wed, 12/21/18 WIDE Hailee Steinfeld, Pamela Adlon Travis Knight NR Act/Adv/SF 3D 

ELI Fri, 1/4/19 WIDE Ciaran Foy NR Hor 

WHAT MEN WANT Fri, 1/11/19 WIDE Taraji P. Henson NR Com 

INSTANT FAMILY Fri, 2/15/19 WIDE Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne Sean Anders NR Com 

RHYTHM SECTION Fri, 2/22/19 WIDE Blake Lively Reed Morano NR Thr 

WONDER PARK Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE Mila Junis, Jennifer Garner Dylan Brown NR Ani/Adv/Com 

PET SEMATARY 


Kevin Kolsch and Dennis 

Widmyer 

NR 

Hor 

ROCKETMAN Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE Taron Egerton Dexter Fletcher NR Bio/Dra 

LIMITED PARTNERS Fri, 6/28/19 WIDE Tiffany Haddish NR Com 

TOP GUN Fri, 7/12/19 WIDE NR Act/Adv 

DORA THE EXLPORER Fri, 8/2/19 WIDE Isabela Moner James Bobin NR Adv 

GEMINI MAN 

Fri, 10/4/19 WIDE 

Will Smith, 

Mary Elizabeth Winstead 

Ang Lee NR Act/Thr 

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? Fri, 10/19/19 WIDE NR Hor 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Fri, 11/15/19 WIDE James Marsden Jeff Fowler NR Ani/Adv/Com 

SONY 212-833-8500 

SICARIO, DAY OF THE SOLDADO Fri, 6/29/18 WIDE Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner Stefano Sollima R Dra, Cri 



HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: 

SUMMER VACATION 

Fri, 7/13/18 WIDE Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez Genndy Tartakovsky PG Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

THE EQUALIZER 2 Fri, 7/20/18 WIDE Denzel Washington Antoine Fuqua NR Act/Thr 

SEARCHING Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE John Cho, Debra Messing Aneesh Chaganty NR Act/Thr 

ALPHA Fri, 8/17/18 WIDE Kodi Smit-McPhee, Leonor Varela Albert Hughes PG-13 Act/Dra/Thr 

SLENDER MAN Fri, 8/24/18 WIDE Joey King, Julia Goldani-Telles Sylvain White NR Hor 

WHITE BOY RICK 

Fri, 9/14/18 LTD 

Matthew McConaughey, 

Richie Merritt 

Yann Demange NR Dra/thr 

VENOM Fri, 10/5/18 WIDE Tom Hardy Ruben Fleischer NR SF/Act 

GOOSEBUMPS: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN Fri, 10/12/18 WIDE Rob Letterman NR Com/Fam/Hor 

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB Fri, 11/9/18 WIDE Claire Foy Fede Alvarez NR Dra/Thr 

ESCAPE ROOM Fri, 11/30/18 WIDE NR 

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Fri, 12/14/18 WIDE Shameik Moore 

Bob Persichetti, 

Peter Ramsey, Rodney NR 

Ani/Act/Fam 

Rothman 

HOLMES AND WATSON Fri, 12/21/18 WIDE Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly Ethan Cohen NR Act/Thr 

A DOG’S WAY HOME 

Fri, 1/11/19 WIDE 

Ashley Judd, 

Edward James Olmos 

NR 

Dra 

THE NIGHTINGALE Fri, 1/25/19 WIDE Michelle MacLaren NR Dra 

MISS BALA Fri, 1/25/19 WIDE Gina Rodriguez Catherine Hardwicke NR Act/Dra/Thr 

GREYHOUND Fri, 2/8/19 WIDE Tom Hanks Aaron Schneider NR Dra/War 

THE ROSIE PROJECT Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE NR Rom/Com 

CHARLIE’S ANGELS Fri, 6/7/19 WIDE Elizabeth Banks NR Act/Com 

MEN IN BLACK SPINOFF Fri, 6/14/19 WIDE NR SF/Act/Com 

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2 Fri, 7/5/19 WIDE Tom Holland, Michael Keaton NR Act/Adv/SF/Com 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD Fri, 8/9/19 WIDE Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt Quentin Tarantino NR Dra 

GRUDGE Fri, 8/16/19 WIDE Nicolas Pesce NR Hor 

OVERCOMER Fri, 8/23/19 WIDE NR Dra/Rel 

THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2 Fri, 9/20/19 WIDE NR Ani 

THE CROW Fri, 10/11/19 WIDE Corin Hardy NR Act/Thr/Fan 

YOU ARE MY FRIEND Fri, 10/18/19 WIDE Tom Hanks Marielle Heller NR Dra 

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS Tom Prassis 212-833-4981 

PUZZLE Fri, 7/27/18 NY/LA Kelly Macdonald, Irrfan Khan Marc Turtletaub R Dra 

THE WIFE Fri, 8/17/18 NY/LA Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce Björn Runge R Dra 

AMERICAN CHAOS Fri, 9/14/19 LTD Jim Stern R Doc 

THE HAPPY PRINCE Fri, 10/5/18 NY/LA Rupert Everett, Colin Firth Rupert Everett NR Dra/Bio 

CAPERNAUM Fri, 12/14/18 NY/LA NR 

STX ENTERTAINMENT 310-742-2300 

MILE 22 Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich Peter Berg NR Act 

THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS Fri, 8/17/18 WIDE Melissa McCarthy Brian Henson NR Com 

PEPPERMINT Fri, 9/7/18 WIDE Jennifer Garner Pierre Morel NR Act 

SECOND ACT Fri, 11/21/18 WIDE Jennifer Lopez, Milo Ventimiglia Peter Segal NR Rom/Com 

UNTITLED STX ACTION/THRILLER Fri, 1/25/19 WIDE NR Act/Thr 

UGLYDOLLS Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE Robert Rodriguez NR Ani 


BOOKING GUIDE 


UNIVERSAL 818-777-1000 

THE FIRST PURGE Wed, 7/4/18 WIDE Y’Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis Gerard McMurray R Hor 

SKYSCRAPER Fri, 7/13/18 WIDE Dwayne Johnson 

Rawson Marshall 

Thurber 

PG-13 Act 3D 

MAMMA MIA: HERE WE GO AGAIN! Fri, 7/20/18 WIDE Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep Ol Parker PG-13 Mus/Com 

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS Fri, 9/21/18 WIDE Jack Black, Cate Blanchett Eli Roth PG Fan/Hor/Mys 

NIGHT SCHOOL Fri, 9/28/18 WIDE Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish Malcolm D. Lee NR Com 

FIRST MAN Fri, 10/12/18 WIDE Ryan Gosling, Kyle Chandler Damien Chazelle NR Dra/Bio 

HALLOWEEN Fri, 10/19/18 WIDE Jamie Lee Curtis David Gordon Green NR Hor 

DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH Fri, 11/9/18 WIDE Benedict Cumberbatch 

Peter Candeland, Yarrow 

Cheney 

NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

WELCOME TO MARWEN Wed, 11/21/18 WIDE Steve Carell Robert Zemeckis NR Dra 

MORTAL ENGINES Fri, 12/14/18 WIDE Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan Christian Rivers NR SF 3D 

GLASS Fri, 1/18/19 WIDE James McAvoy, Bruce Willis M. Night Shyamalan NR Thr 

UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE HORROR PROJECT Thu, 2/14/19 WIDE NR Hor 

THE TURNING Thu, 2/22/19 WIDE Floria Sigismondi NR Hor/Thr 

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: 

THE HIDDEN WORLD 

Fri, 3/1/19 WIDE Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler Dean DeBlois NR Ani/Com/Fam 

US Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE Jordan Peele NR Thr 

THE VOYAGE OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE Robert Downy, Jr., Ralph Fiennes Stephen Gaghan NR Com 

DETECTIVE PIKACHU Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith Rob Letterman NR Adv 

A DOG’S JOURNEY Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE Gail Mancuso NR Fam 

UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS 

PROJECT 

Fri, 5/31/19 WIDE NR Hor 

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 Fri, 6/7/19 WIDE Chris Renaud NR Ani 

COWBOY NINJA VIKNIG Fri, 6/28/19 WIDE Chris Pratt NR Act/Adv/Com 

UNTITLED FAST & FURIOUS SPIN-OFF Fri, 8/2/19 WIDE NR Act/Adv 

GOOD BOYS Fri, 8/16/19 WIDE Jacob Tremblay 

UNTITLED DANNY BOYLE/RICHARD CURTIS 

COMEDY 

Lee Eisenberg & Gene 

Stupnitsky 

Fri, 9/13/19 WIDE Lily James, Himesh Patel Danny Boyle NR Com/Mus 

LITTLE Fri, 9/20/19 WIDE Marsai Martin Tina Gordon NR Com 

ABOMINABE Fri, 9/27/19 WIDE Tim Johnson NR Ani 

THE HUNT Fri, 9/27/19 WIDE Craig Zobel NR Act/Thr 

UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS Fri, 10/18/19 WIDE NR Hor 

WARNER BROS. 818-977-1850 

TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES Fri, 7/27/18 WIDE Will Arnett, Kristen Bell 

Aaron Horvath, Peter 

Rida Michail 

THE MEG Fri, 8/10/18 WIDE Jason Statham, Bingbing Fan Jon Turteltaub PG-13 Act/Hor/SF 

CRAZY RICH ASIANS Wed, 8/15/18 WIDE Constance Wu, Henry Golding Jon M. Chu PG-13 Com 

THE NUN Fri, 9/7/18 WIDE Taissa Farmiga, Bonnie Aarons Corin Hardy NR Hor 

SMALLFOOT Fri, 9/28/18 WIDE Zendaya, Channing Tatum 

Glenn Ficarra, Ryan 

O’Loughlin, John Requa 

NR 

PG 

NR 

Com 

Ani 

Ani/Com/Fam 

A STAR IS BORN Fri, 10/5/18 WIDE Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga Bradley Cooper NR Dra/Mus/Rom 



MOWGLI Fri, 10/19/18 WIDE Rohan Chand, Andy Serkis Andy Serkis PG-13 Adv/Dra 3D 

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES 

OF GRINDELWALD 

Fri, 11/16/18 WIDE Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp David Yates NR Act/Adv/Fan 

AQUAMAN Fri, 12/21/18 WIDE Jason Momoa, Amber Heard James Wan NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX 

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART Fri, 2/8/19 WIDE Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks Mike Mitchell NR Ani 

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC Fri, 2/14/19 WIDE Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth Todd Strauss-Schulson NR Com 

SHAZAM! Fri, 4/5/19 WIDE Zachary Levi, Asher Angel David F. Sandberg NR Act/Adv/Fan IMAX 

UNTITLED NEW LINE HORROR FILM Fri, 4/19/19 WIDE NR Hor 

THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE NR 

MINECRAFT: THE MOVIE Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE NR 

GODZILLA 2 Fri, 5/31/19 WIDE NR SF/Act 

SHAFT Fri, 6/14/19 WIDE NR Act 

UNTITLED CONJURING UNIVERSE FILM Fri, 7/3/19 WIDE NR Hor 

UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM Fri, 8/2/19 WIDE NR 

IT SEQUEL Fri, 9/6/19 WIDE NR Hor IMAX 

THE KITCHEN Fri, 9/20/19 WIDE NR Cri/Thr 

THE GOLDFINCH Fri, 10/11/19 WIDE NR Dra 

OUR SPONSORS 

20th Century Fox 23 

Arts Alliance Media 9 

Proctor Companies 21 

QSC 15 

Atom Tickets 

back cover 

Ready Theater Systems 61 

Barco (Cinionic) 5 

Camatic Seating 19 

Cardinal Sound 72 

RealD 52–53 

Retriever Systems 65 

Screenvision 1 

Christie 

inside front cover 

Sensible Cinema 72 

Cy Young Industries 72 

Dolphin Seating 31 

Sonic Equipment 17 

Spotlight Cinema Network 27 

Enpar Audio 65 

Telescopic Seat Systems 

inside back cover 

Geneva Convention 13 

LightSpeed/Depth Q12 72 

MOC Insurance 3 

VIP Cinema Seating 7 

Webedia Movies Pro 11 

Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation 29 

NCM 39 


MARKETPLACE 

HELP WANTED 

SENIOR LEVEL CHANNEL ACCOUNT MANAG- 

ER wanted by NEC Display Solutions for expanding 

Digital Cinema group. Seeking minimum 8 

years’ experience within hi-tech, cinema or Pro 

A/V industry to drive strategic growth. Fieldbased, 

travel throughout US & Canada required. 

Apply: www.necdisplay.com/careers 

FOR SALE 

USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS AND SOUND 

EQUIPMENT. 3 Solaria One Plus projectors 

with NAS and projector base. 14 JBL stage 

speakers, 12 JBL surround speakers. Processors 

and monitors. Contact: boothmw@chakerestheatres.com 

or call Mark at (937) 323-6447. 

PRESTIGIOUS SOUTHAMPTON NEW YORK. 

Four screen multiplex on two acres in the heart 

of the village. Tremendous upside potential. 

Email Southoldproperties@gmail.com or Call 

Ken 516-642-3116. 

BISTRO CHAIRS FOR SALE: (392) Red vinyl 

and (328) gray vinyl seven year old Seating 

Concepts Palermo style in-theatre bistro chairs 

to be available in early Spring 2018. All chairs 

equipped with tray tables. Some of the seats will 

require covers/repairs. Please contact mhooker@ 

aztcorporation.comor 972-428-2943 for more 

information. 

USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS, Five complete 

booths including sound equipment. Three 

years old. Contact seller at moviescope1000@ 

gmail.com. 

TWO BRAND NEW 3000 watts Christie Xenon 

lamps for 35mm projectors. Contact: Atul Desai 

949-291-5700. 

PREFERRED SEATING COMPANY, your source 

for new, used and refurbished theater and stadium 

seating. Buying and selling used seating 

is our specialty. Call toll-free 866-922-0226 or 

visit our website www.‐preferred-seating.com. 

18 SETS OF USED 35MM AUTOMATED PRO- 

JECTION SYSTEM (comes with Projector, Console, 

Automation Unit and Platter) comprising 

of 10 sets of Christie and 8 sets of Strong 

35mm system available on ‘as is where is’ basis 

in Singapore. Contact seller at engthye_lim@ 

cathay.com.sg 

APPROXIMATELY 2,000 SEATS FOR SALE. 

MOBILIARIO high-back rockers with cup holders. 

Located in Connecticut. Contact (203)758- 

2148. 

6 PLEX EQUIPMENT PACKAGE. Six complete 

booths digital projectors/sound, 72 speakers, 

seats, screens/frames, concession equipment, 

computers, led signs/marquees, safe/ 

misc equipment. Serious inquiries only. For 

equipment list email contact@digitalequipmenttechnologies.com 

or call 801-548-0108 or 

fax 801-281-0482. 

HELP WANTED 

TRI STATE THEATRE SUPPLY in Memphis, TN 

has openings for experienced Digital Cinema 

Techs nationwide. Please send your resume to 

include qualifications, certifications and salary 

requirements to fred@tristatetheatre.com 

THEATRE MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AVAIL- 

ABLE Pacific Northwest Theatre Company. 

Previous management experience required. 

Work weekends, evenings and holidays. Send 

resume and salary history to movietheatrejobs@gmail.com 

POSITIONS AVAILABLE 

The three-screen Stavros Niarchos Foundation 

Parkway Film Center in Baltimore is seeking an 

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR to oversee all aspects 

of running the theater and concessions. 

The Film Center, a partnership among the 

Maryland Film Festival, Johns Hopkins University 

and MICA will open in spring of 2017 and 

offer a broad range of the world’s best arthouse, 

independent, documentary, and classic 

cinema. The full job description and application 

instructions are found at mdfilmfest.com/ 

about-the-festival/jobs.php.

Boxoffice - June 2018

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