Guinness World Records Names Kansas Cinema as the Oldest Purpose-Built Cinema in Operation

There’s more to Kansas movie history than The Wizard of Oz. That’s the first point Rita “Peach” Madl, the current proprietor of the Plaza Cinema, drives home in our conversation. “We’ve been showing movies here years before Hollywood even existed.” Ottawa, Kansas, sits about 55 miles from Kansas City. The town of around 12,000 residents has gone through the same ups and downs as many other small towns in the American heartland. A walk down Main Street brings back memories of days gone by, but there’s one building in particular that conjures a special connection to generations of people who’ve called Ottawa home. The Deco-style movie theater in the Pickerell Building on 211 S. Main Street has been a pillar of the community for over a century. Known today by its current name, the Plaza Cinema, the site has just been named the oldest purpose-built cinema in operation by...

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Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Underperforms with $83.3M 3-Day/$101M 4-Day; ‘Deadpool 2’ Takes 2nd with $42.7M 3-Day/$53.5M 4-Day

Solo: A Star Wars Story may be taking the top spot at the box office this weekend, but its estimated 3-day gross of $83.3 million (and a studio-projected 4-day gross of $101 million) is significantly below even the most conservative industry expectations. Not only is its Friday-Sunday take by far the lowest debut of any of the recent Star Wars installments released by Disney (the second lowest, Rogue One, brought in nearly double that amount with $155 million), it’s less than even the $108.4 million debut of 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which was released at a time when ticket prices were considerably lower. While Solo‘s opening weekend numbers are certainly nothing to sniff at – it ranks as the fourth-highest opening weekend of 2018 after Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Deadpool 2 and the biggest Memorial Day weekend debut in four...

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‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Opens To $65.0M Overseas; $148.3M Global

Disney’s Solo: A Star Wars Story began with a $65.0 million overseas opening weekend, as part of a $148.3 million global opening. This comes in far below the openings of other recent Star Wars films: 2017’s The Last Jedi: $230.8M overseas opening (10th all time), $450.8M global opening (6th all time) 2016’s Rogue One: $135.0M overseas opening (45th all time), $290.0M global opening  (27th all time) 2015’s The Force Awakens: $281.0M overseas opening (5th all time), $529.0M global opening (3rd all time) By contrast, Solo falls entirely outside the top 100 overseas openings ever, while barely cracking that tier as the #96 best global opening ever. The biggest sticking point was China, the world’s largest non-U.S. film market, where the title only opened to $10.1 million. By comparison, Last Jedi opened to $28.1M en route to $42.5M, Rogue...

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Long Range Tracking: ‘Incredibles 2’ Builds Momentum; Early ‘Equalizer 2’ & ‘Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!’ Tracking

This week’s report focuses on the summer’s next tentpole opener on June 15, as well as two counter-programmers set for release on July 20. The Incredibles 2Opening Weekend Range: $125 – 145 million Pixar’s long-awaited sequel continues to build major momentum ahead of its release on Father’s Day weekend three weeks from now. Presales and traditional tracking show the film making gains on the pace of Finding Dory‘s metrics two summers ago, which opened to $135.1 million — the standing record for an animated movie. Social media buzz for Incredibles 2 is very healthy at this stage, although its Twitter footprint is well behind Dory while between that of Inside Out and Minions at comparable points. At this stage, cracking Dory‘s animated record is certainly on the table, although we’ll have a stronger idea on the likelihood...

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Atom Tickets Launches Its First-Ever National Brand Campaign

PRESS RELEASE — SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 23, 2018 – Atom Tickets, the social movie ticketing platform, is launching its first-ever national brand campaign designed to celebrate movies and reignite connections among people who share a love of entertainment. The multimedia campaign debuts May 23, just in time for the summer movie season, with a national TV spot featuring actress Anna Faris, directed by blockbuster filmmaker Peter Berg. Deutsch created the comedic campaign that will span TV, Cinema, Radio, Digital, and OOH. Designed to appeal broadly to all audiences, the campaign positions Atom as a fan’s passport to an elevated experience that can only be delivered by the Atom app: social sharing, flexible advance purchasing of movie tickets and concessions, and digital ticketing. In the commercial titled “Anna’s Night Out,” movie fanatic Faris instigates a...

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Dolby Cinema at AMC Opens Its 100th Location

PRESS RELEASE — SAN FRANCISCO and LEAWOOD, Kan., May 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dolby Cinema at AMC, the total cinema experience, is now available to more movie-going fans than ever, as AMC Theatres (NYSE:AMC) and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) celebrate the 100th Dolby Cinema at AMC location opening at AMC Loews 34th Street 14 in New York City. As a testament to the rapid growth of Dolby Cinema across the United States, 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. Dolby Cinema begins with the filmmakers’ vision—using the full storytelling capabilities that Dolby offers in image and sound production to transform the way movies are made and presented. With state-of-the-art image, sound, and seating, movies come to...

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‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Kicks Off with Memorial Weekend Record $14.1M Thursday Night Launch

Friday Update: Disney reports this morning that Solo: A Star Wars Story launched with $14.1 million from Thursday night’s opening shows, representing an encouraging start to the long holiday weekend ahead. Comparisons aren’t particularly useful at this stage due to a number of factors potentially having deflated presale activity (relative to recent Star Wars films), but just as notably so because Memorial Day weekend and this series especially are significantly driven by family audiences after initial fan-driven opening shows — meaning weekend attendance might be slightly backloaded as summer vacation officially begins for many families. Nonetheless, for those keeping score at home, Solo‘s Thursday night start marks the biggest ever for a standard Friday opener during Memorial Day weekend, topping X-Men: Days of the Future Past ($8.1...

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Christie Served as Cannes 2018 Projection Partner

PRESS RELEASE ______________________________________ CANNES, France – (May 19, 2018) – Christie®, a leader in creating and delivering the world’s best visual and audio experiences, is once again delighted to be the projection technology partner for the Cannes Film Festival. The festival, which takes place on the French Riviera every year for two weeks in May, can lay claim to being, outside of the Oscars, the world’s most celebrated film event. For this year’s festival, which runs from 8-19th May, Christie has supplied 29 projectors from across its digital cinema projection portfolio, including its flagship 4K lamp-based model, the CP4230. The 2018 festival is the 71st in its history and 21 films from around the globe will be shown in competition for the coveted Palme d’Or prize. The prize committee, this year under the leadership of Cate Blanchett, will view all films...

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Opening Hearts & Minds: Studio Movie Grill Focuses on Social Good

On February 26, 2017, Chance the Rapper announced via Twitter that he’d bought out every seat for a showing of Get Out at a theater on Chicago’s South Side, allowing anyone with some free time and an ID to see the blockbuster horror film free of charge. The theater in question: Studio Movie Grill’s Chatham branch, located at 210 W. 87th Street. The gesture of goodwill was just the beginning of Chance’s relationship with the theater chain, which through its Community Outreach Program strives to do good in the communities it serves by partnering with local charities and fund-raising programs. In Chance’s case, the performing artist simply wanted to expose his community to a film he felt was important for them to see, and he has since repeated the gesture with subsequent releases, including last year’s Marshall starring Chadwick Boseman.  Started in 1993 by CEO Brian...

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Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia Join Atom Tickets Advisory Board

PRESS RELEASE — SANTA MONICA, Calif. – May 18, 2018 – Atom Tickets, the first-of-its-kind social movie-ticketing app, today welcomed its newest advisory board members and investors, Hollywood powerhouses and 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 illustrious 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...

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‘Deadpool 2’ Becomes Fox’s Highest Overseas Opener Ever w/ $176.3M

Fox’s Deadpool 2 opened to an estimated $176.3 million overseas and $301.3 million globally this weekend. That sets several new records, including the biggest R-rated overseas opening (beating last year’s Logan with $160 million) and Fox’s largest overseas opening as a studio (beating 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past with $174 million). Fox says the film debuted on top in all 81 of its overseas markets this weekend, and that’s without the benefit of a China release. (It has not yet been announced if the film will be released there.) Top markets this weekend included the United Kingdom with $18.0 million, South Korea with $17.0 million, Russia with $11.8 million, Australia with $11.7 million, and Mexico with $10.0 million. The post ‘Deadpool 2’ Becomes Fox’s Highest Overseas Opener Ever w/ $176.3M appeared first on BoxOffice Pro. from BoxOffice...

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Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Deadpool 2’ Blasts Into No. 1 with $125M; ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Dethroned to 2nd with $28.7M

Deadpool 2 reigned supreme this weekend at the North American box office, dethroning three-time champ Avengers: Infinity War with a sizzling $125 million debut. While it’s an impressive opening, the R-rated superhero sequel came in at the lower end of expectations and failed to unseat its predecessor for the title of top R-rated opening of all time in North America. From its opening day, the 20th Century Fox release was already making its way into the record books. Its Thursday night preview gross of $18.6 million was the highest-ever for an R-rated film (and only a shade behind more family-friendly blockbusters like The Avengers and Jurassic World), and its gross on Friday was also the highest R-rated opening day take in history, topping It‘s $50.4 million (as well as the first Deadpool‘s $47.3 million). The film’s take was boosted by an enormous screen count of...

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Long Range Tracking: ‘Hotel Transylvania 3’ & ‘Skyscraper’ First Outlooks; Key ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Update

This week’s report takes an early look at two films slated for release on July 13, plus a significant update on next week’s Solo. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer VacationOpening Weekend Range: $40 – 55 million Social media activity for the three-quel has been very positive thus far, a strong indicator for an animated title still two months from release. The first two films of the franchise excelled with late September releases in 2012 and 2015, and the move to a mid-summer date recalls the success of multiple Ice Age sequels in years past. The primary competition for Summer Vacation will be straggling audiences from June’s The Incredibles 2, and perhaps more directly, family audiences still checking out Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp. SkyscraperOpening Weekend Range: $40 – 60 million Dwayne Johnson’s star power is almost impossible to argue against...

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HARMAN Professional Solutions Creates an Immersive Cinema Experience at TOHO Cinemas

PRESS RELEASE — TOKYO, Japan—Xebex, Inc. recently installed a JBL by HARMAN cinema audio solution at Tokyo’s TOHO Cinemas Hibiya. With 13 screens and more than 2,800 seats, TOHO Cinemas Hibiya is the first Cinema Complex in Ginza/Hibiya area and the most elaborately decorated movie theatre. In order to ensure an impactful and immersive cinematic audio experience with balanced coverage for every seat in the theater, TOHO Cinemas hired Xebex to install a premium surround sound system. To provide perfect coverage from front to back, Xebex selected JBL Professional 9350 sculpted surround speakers for their superior coverage and brilliant sound quality. “We required a system that would provide exceptional surround sound and ensure an immersive audio experience from any seat in the theater,” said Shunichi Kobayashi, Director at TOHO Cinemas Ltd.“Customers tend to prefer the...

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Weekend Report: ‘Deadpool 2’ Scores $18.6M For Biggest R-Rated Thursday Launch Ever, Best Non-Disney Debut Since 2016

Friday Update: Fox reports that Deadpool 2 landed with a big $18.6 million debut on Thursday night, the third highest launch of 2018 behind Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther, and the highest Thursday night opening of all-time for an R-rated film — besting It‘s $13.5 million last September. Last night’s debut also registers as the largest for a non-Disney film since August 2016’s Suicide Squad ($20.5 million), while coming in well ahead of the first Deadpool‘s $12.7 million (as expected for a highly anticipated sequel). Among other superhero sequels, Deadpool 2 came in slightly above Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s $17 million last May and Thor: Ragnarok‘s $14.5 million. Worth noting in these comparisons is that, like its X-Men “counterparts”, the Deadpool sequel is likely to be more...

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Berlin’s Yorck Kinogruppe Cinemas Integrate Vista Entertainment and Movio Software in All Locations

PRESS RELEASE ______________________________________________ [Auckland, New Zealand & Berlin, Germany; May 16th, 2018] — Vista Group International (NZX & ASX: VGL) companies, Vista Entertainment Solutions, the leading provider of cinema management software for global cinema exhibition, and Movio, the worldwide leader in marketing data analytics, are delighted to announce that they are now live with Yorck Kinogruppe, Germany’s premier arthouse cinema group. Yorck Kinogruppe is the largest cinema association in Berlin with 14 theatres and an open-air cinema. The theatres show a cross-section of films in some of Berlin’s most revered buildings, many of which have been saved from destruction and restored through the efforts of Yorck Kinos. Vista Cinema and Movio supported the launch of Yorck Kinogruppe’s seven-screen arthouse, Delphi Lux, in the heart of Berlin,...

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Marcus Theatres Announces Extensive Renovations to Locations Nationwide

PRESS RELEASE _________________________________________________ MILWAUKEE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 16, 2018– Marcus Theatres®, a division of The Marcus Corporation(NYSE:MCS), today announced that 23 theatres in eight states are welcoming the highly anticipated summer blockbuster season with new amenities. Extensive renovations over the past year added signature DreamLounger℠ 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...

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Fandango FanShop Launches First-Ever ‘Prop Shop’ Featuring ‘Jurassic Park’ Replicas

PRESS RELEASE _____________________________________________ LOS ANGELES  (NATIONAL DINOSAUR DAY/May 15, 2018) – Fandango’s ultimate destination for movie fan merchandise, Fandango FanShop(FandangoFanShop.com), announced today the launch of its first-ever Prop Shop, giving fans a one-of-a-kind opportunity to own official, limited edition prop replicas from popular films and beloved franchises.  In partnership with Universal Studios, Fandango FanShop’s first offerings will feature official prop replicas molded from original on-screen props from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World film franchise, handcrafted on the Universal Studios backlot. “FanShop is delighted to launch its new Prop Shop in collaboration with Universal Studios and their incredible artists,” said Holly Rawlinson, VP Marketing, Merchandising and Licensing...

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