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Industry
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March 25, 2011
Cinema City changes big way
Cinema City, recently renowned for its Eastern European deal, was the last large cinema operator in Europe using a 35 millimeter film in its logo. With the acquisition of Palace Cinemas the company has seen a need for change and let create a whole new visual identity. It has been the company’s first redesign since 1997, when it started to expand internationally.
In its press release Cinema City explained: “Whilst we are immensely proud of what we have achieved over recent years, we increasingly felt that our old identity did not reflect our status or ambition for the future. That is why we have created a new identity that reflects the confidence and scale of Cinema City today and repositions us for the future.”
The old fashioned logo was not competitive anymore and was replaced with a simple orange word mark. The traditional corporate color blue disappeared and as a background color now serves black with fuzzy bubbles. Black will be also the main color of the new Cinema City staff uniforms.
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March 21, 2011
Theater chains rally against proposed nutritional information rules
SEATTLE, WA — The nation’s theater chains are filing challenges against new rules proposed by the Food and Drug Administration that would require movie theaters and other businesses that sell refreshments to supply caloric and other nutritional information comparable to that which is currently required on most packaged foods.
“It’s easy enough to blow your whole diet for a week from one snack at the movie theater,” said Margo Wootan, the director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington. “Just because you happen to be watching a movie while you’re eating doesn’t mean you aren’t eating out.”
The chains claim that it was not the intent of Congress to require theaters and food stands to provide this information. At least one member of Congress disagrees.
The full story is in the Seattle Times.
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March 16, 2011
Russian cinema review 2010
Nevafilm Research, a Russian market research company, released latest data about the Russian cinema market, including last year’s box office numbers and information about the country’s exhibition industry.
After a decrease in 2009 box office revenues reached a new record with more than one billion USD and a 30 per cent increase. The admissions did not grow that fast (17.8 per cent), but also were on a high in the modern Russian era with almost 156 million tickets sold.
In the end of the last year 865 theaters were active in the Russian federation: 85 sites with 331 screens were new openings, 23 cinemas were closed. Most of the closings were traditional single screen or two screen cinemas, what means only 34 screens were abolished.
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March 11, 2011
Theater construction booming in China, but what does it mean for Hollywood?
LOS ANGELES, CA — The pace at which new, western-style cinemas are going up all over China is currently very rapid and accelerating. However the implications for films produced by U.S. studios and theater chains is unclear, as China currently has strict limits on the number of films that can be imported into the country and does not allow foreign cinema operators to have a majority interest in any theater ownership.
Still, the main drivers are practical. Unlike in the U.S., where DVD sales can account for as much as 40% of a film’s revenue, rampant piracy has forced studios here to depend almost exclusively on domestic box-office receipts. Bankrolling more pictures and boosting profits requires more screens.
Then there’s boredom. As Chinese workers grow richer and have more leisure time, they’re itching for something to do. The typical ticket costs about $5, slightly less than what many new college graduates earn per day. Still, Chinese movie fans have shown a willingness to pay a premium for better sound, a better picture and swanky venues to hang out with friends.
There is more in this article from the Los Angeles Times.
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March 9, 2011
AMC headquarters may be moving
KANSAS CITY, MO — National movie theatre chain AMC, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, may be jumping from Missouri to Kansas, in a heated battle that has involved Governors from both Kansas and Missouri.
The Downtown Council of business and property owners is joining the bid to keep AMC. The company has 400 employees at the 10 Main tower.
Mike Deggendorf, chairman of the Downtown Council, told the group at its board meeting Thursday that a delegation recently visited Lopez.
“We wanted to know if there was anything we could do to help out,” he said.
Read more in the Kansas City Star.
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March 4, 2011
Hollywood and theaters noticing more boomers turning out for movies
NEW YORK, NY — The movie industry is often one of the last to notice shifts in consumers and respond, but according a an article in the New York Times, both the studios and theater owners are noticing a graying of the audience and responding both in terms of films that are more substantive and in theater amenities. Boomers, in their youth, were raised on film and then moved away as studios catered heavily to the youth market when they reached their middle years. Now, as more and more retire, studios are rethinking the projects to greenlight and theaters are looking at more 21+ services and food offerings.
“There is an older audience that is growing, and it’s an underserved audience, which makes for an obvious and important opportunity,” said Nancy Utley, co-president of Fox Searchlight, whose “Black Swan” has sold over $100 million at the North American box office. If the core audience for a particular film is over 50, she noted, “that’s now a gigantic core.”
The very young still go to the movies more than anyone else — especially on those all-important opening weekends — but distribution executives say they are getting harder to lure in huge numbers. Social networking has sped up word of mouth, turning teenagers and young adults into more discerning moviegoers — a phenomenon pushed along by rising prices. People age 18 to 24 bought an average of seven tickets per person in 2010, down from eight in 2009.
The full story can be read here.
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Article on how to improve movie theaters
The March 4th, 2011 issue of “Entertainment Weekly” tackles “How to Fix the Movies”…and provides advice on how to make better movie theaters in regard to issues such as ticket prices charged, what services, i.e. drinks, meals, reserved seating, etc.
Examples provided of better movie theaters include the Academy in Portland OR, Alamo in Austin TX, AMC Mainstreet in Kansas City MO, Big Picture in Seattle WA, Cinebistro in Miami FL, Cinefamily, LA CA, Rerun Gastropub in Brooklyn NY, Theatres at Canal Place New Orleans LA.
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March 2, 2011
FDA approves Kodak’s new laser projection system
ROCHESTER, NY — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the sale by Kodak of a new laser digital projection system to theaters without requiring individual theater sites to obtain special permits to use it as is typically the case when laser-powered devices are used in places of entertainment. Kodak expects the new system to be available for purchase by theater operators within two years, claiming that the new system promises sharper, clearer images for both 2D and 3D films.
Moore notes that KODAK Laser Projection Technology is a key ingredient to potential improvements in digital cinema picture quality for both filmmakers and movie-goers. “This laser technology is a significant breakthrough that promises to have a positive ripple effect throughout the cinema world,” adds Moore. “We at Kodak have always endeavored to provide filmmakers with the best possible tools with which to tell their stories. That philosophy has served us well for more than a century, and we will continue nurturing that partnership long into the future.”
There is more at Business Wire.com.
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February 28, 2011
The dead-rat-covered truth about movie theater nostalgia
In this great story from IFC, the writer discovers our website and discusses how it changed his perspective on how he looks back on his childhood theaters.
That’s one of the things I love about Cinema Treasures. Each theater’s page is devoted entirely to reader submissions. Most of these readers are employees of those theaters, often writing with lenses just a shade less rose-colored than mine. It’s hilarious to compare the beautiful images in my head with their unflinching accounts of reality.
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February 25, 2011
A new cinema operator in Poland
After a consolidation on the Polish exhibition market in recent years, a new operator entered one of the largest eastern European markets with population of about 38 million habitants and around 39 million cinema admissions (2009). Cinama3D declares in its business plan it will focus on medium-sized Polish cities with less than 100,000 habitants and will offer latest Hollywood blockbusters and local productions.
The first site with this brand opened in the middle of January in Klodzko (the region of Lower Silesia) as a part of the 34 million Zloty (approximately 12 million US dollar) extension of the shopping gallery Twierdza. The cinema has three screens with a total capacity of 720 seats (two screens with 180 seats and one with 360 seats) and forty employees. All three screens are 3D-capable. Technical equipment includes analog projectors Kinoton, digital projectors Barco and Doremi DCP servers.
With significant lower opening prices (up to 45 per cent discount) the site sold more than four thousand tickets in its first weekend, a very good result for this region.