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Industry
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August 8, 2008
Alex Theatre holds tribute to projectionist
GLENDALE, CA — Last weekend, there was a memorial afternoon of film at the Alex Theatre for their recently deceased longtime projectionist, George Crittenden.
More than 300 people attended a free cartoon and movie showing on Sunday afternoon at the Alex Theatre dedicated to the theatre’s late chief film projectionist, George Crittenden.
Filmgoers watched a Warner Bros. cartoon of Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird, which were Crittenden favorite animated characters, Alex Film Society President Randy Carter told theater audience members.
Crittenden died June 4 in his childhood Glendale home of a brain tumor, his friends said. He was 80.
Read the full story in the Glendale News-Press.
(Thanks to DonnaGrayson for providing the photo.)
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August 7, 2008
The case for a downtown movie theater
ORLANDO, FL — It’s still up for debate whether Orlando will land a new theater downtown. One local writer thinks the city would be seriously neglecting its cultural landscape without one.
Passing by the still-empty multi-plex space in the downtown Premiere Trade Plaza development, I was struck by how cool it still would be if Orlando could land a downtown movie theater in that space, despite the developer’s setbacks, the general downturn in the economy and the specific fall-off in new theater construction.
Local curmudgeons, including some inside this very paper, have made griping threats about the deals the City of Orlando might yet make (and should not, in their view) to help the new owners of the structure get a theater in there. Some of these same curmudgeons have, in earlier columns, sung the praises of what having a downtown performing arts center will do for the Big O. And I would heartily agree with that. The impact of a new arena for the Orlando Magic pales in comparison to what a performing arts center will do for downtown.
But those poo-pooing City tax breaks and incentives for a movie theater are missing a big part of the equation. Film, and the counter-programming a downtown cinema would have to offer in order to compete, is a vital part of a downtown arts mix.
Read more at the Orlando Sentinel.
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July 30, 2008
Audience preference for downloads may affect marketing
This article in the Independent looks at how Hollywood may require a new marketing approach to handle the changing demand.
Is the Hollywood blockbuster finally eating itself? As cult movies attract a new audience who download more obscure films from the internet, so the marketing machine of the major studios is being called into question.
Every weekend in summer, multi-million-dollar would-be smashes go head to head. But by Monday morning, when the box-office figures are announced, movies that may have taken years to make are either crowned champions, as has just happened with The Dark Knight, or instantly dismissed – the sad fate of Speed Racer.
But a new generation of movie-download sites is offering fans an alternative to the summer blockbuster. Just as iTunes has transformed the record industry, so internet film download services – such as cinemanow.com in the US and vizumi.com in Britain – are beginning to have an impact on Hollywood, offering fans an unprecedented level of choice.
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July 29, 2008
Regal profit falls; digital upgrade advances
Regal profits are down but they’re going to try to make up for it by speeding up the digital rollout.
Regal Entertainment Group , the largest U.S. movie theater owner, posted sharply lower quarterly profit on Thursday and said improvement might not come until the fourth quarter.
But the company also reported progress in a long-delayed digital upgrade expected to boost sagging attendance at movie theaters.Second-quarter net income fell to $13.8 million, or 9 cents a share, from $52.7 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.
Read more at the Guradian.
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July 25, 2008
Box Office Preview: X-Files Debut vs. The Dark Knight
Fox and Fox Mulder will duke it out with Warner Bros. and The Dark Knight this weekend for box office supremacy. If the previous week’s tallies for TDK are any indication, though, it may not be a close race with the Christopher Nolan-directed film aiming to cross the $300 million mark this weekend, according to Variety.
Sony’s comedy Step Brothers will also bow this weekend, while Universal’s Mamma Mia looks to grab additional counter programming dollars after its $27.7 million opening last weekend, the highest grossing opening ever for a musical. According to Variety, Step Brothers will open in 3,094 theaters, while “X-Files” gets a slightly larger launch in 3,185 houses.
Good luck to Mulder and Scully and Farrell and Reilly … and to anyone looking for The Dark Knight IMAX tickets.
Will The Dark Knight break $300 million this weekend?
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July 23, 2008
Trans-Lux sells entertainment division
The company responsible for a small chain of southwest theaters has sold its entertainment assets.
Trans-Lux Corporation, a leading supplier of programmable electronic information displays and operator of cinemas, announced today that the company has sold its Entertainment division as planned to private equity firm Marwit Capital of Newport Beach, CA effective July 15th. Jesup & Lamont Securities Corporation acted as exclusive financial advisor for the Company in connection with this transaction. It is anticipated that Stephen J. DeGroat, former Chairman and CEO of Jesup & Lamont will continue advising on a non-exclusive basis on certain financial matters to assist in the Company’s future growth plan for the Display Division.
Read the full story at Market Watch.
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July 21, 2008
The Dark Knight Beats Estimates
The Dark Knight beat its Sunday estimate and scored $158.3 million over the three-day weekend. The figure is the “best-ever 3-day non-holiday weekend,” according to Deadline Hollywood Daily. “The new industry record made mincemeat of conventional wisdom,” The Hollywood Reporter adds, “that a mid-July session could never pack such a punch.”
To get a sense of the excitement at theaters across the country, IMAX president Greg Forster notes: “We sold out every single ticket in the country at every show. We’re certainly sold out throughout (the weekend), and the majority of our theaters have sell-outs into next weekend and beyond. Our Web site has shut down multiple times.”"
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July 20, 2008
The Dark Knight Breaks Weekend Box Office Record
The Dark Knight has reportedly broken the three-day box office record with $155.3 million, compared to Spider-Man 3’s $151.1 million, according to USA Today and the Associated Press. Scott Bowles writes in USA Today:
There were few records left standing in Batman’s wake by the end of the weekend. With the death of Heath Ledger, who played the Joker, glowing early reviews and director Christopher Nolan’s standing with the comic-book community, it was clear that the second installment of the revitalized franchise was headed for the history books one minute into its opening weekend.
The IMAX screenings have already earned $6.2 million on 94 screens, easily beating Spider-Man 3’s record of $4.7 million.
Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting the same numbers, but she notes that some rival studios are questioning the projected weekend total … stay tuned.
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July 19, 2008
The Dark Knight Sets Single Day Box Office Record
The Dark Knight has set a new single day box office record with $66.4 million (a figure that includes the also record-breaking midnight to 3 am screenings across the country that earned $18.5 million). The film opened in a record-setting 4,366 theaters according to Deadline Hollywood Daily’s Nikki Finke.
Read more from the Associated Press.
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July 18, 2008
Dark Knight presales exceed expectations
It might not be quite breaking records, but the “Dark Knight” online presales have been exceptional.
Here is the most up-to-date sales info regarding Batman: The Dark Knight:
7PM: With two hours still to go until the clock strikes midnight ET, Dark Knight has reached MovieTickets.com’s Top-5 Pre-sale List of All-Time:
1. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
4. Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
5. The Dark KnightRead the full story at Deadline Hollywood Daily.