Long Range Tracking: ‘A Star Is Born’ Climbs the Chart; ‘Hunter Killer’ & ‘Johnny English Strikes Again’ First Looks

This week’s report takes an early look at the final weekend of October as a busy month comes to a close before the holiday season officially kicks in. We’re also offering a significant update on a highly anticipated release earlier in the month… A Star Is BornOpening Weekend Range: $35 – 55 million (up from $25 – 35 million) Following up on our initial analysis of the star-driven remake, the film continues to gain momentum as release approaches. Warner Bros. was confident enough to drop the review embargo today — over a full month ahead of opening day — and critics are praising the film, confirming earlier expectations that it could be a strong award season player. From the numbers side, forecast models are even more bullish than before thanks to strong social media activity and interest metrics from our Trailer Impact surveys. On both fronts, A Star Is Born had...

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Thursday Report: ‘Operation Finale’ Reaches $1.7M 2-Day Start; ‘Searching’ Expands with $425K; ‘Kin’ ($250K) and ‘Ya Veremos’ ($50K) Debut

Friday Report: Sony’s Searching began its semi-wide rollout into 1,119 locations last night with an estimated $425,000 gross. Those shows began at 5pm, skewing comparisons with similar titles — particularly given the film’s previous limited release. As of this morning, the studio’s early projection for the four-day take is in line with our previous forecast around $3 million. Lionsgate opened Kin to an estimated $250,000 on approximately 1,800 screens last night. That’s similar to the $271,000 of Hotel Artemis earlier this summer. The studio also debuted Ya Veremos in limited release at 300 locations to the tune of $50,000 last night. Overall, Labor Day weekend remains poised to be dominated by the third frame of Crazy Rich Asians, while Operation Finale will build upon its positive $1.73 million two-day start...

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Trailer Impact: ‘A Star Is Born’ Posts Highest Recall; ‘Venom’ Sparks Most Interest in Cinema Attendance

Top Three Trailers with Highest Recall Score Among Moviegoing Audiences Moviegoers tell us the trailers they most recall seeing at their most recent visit to a cinema. A Star Is Born (Warner Bros.) Friday, October 5 17.8% of moviegoers (230 respondents) saw and recalled this trailer, its peak to date. That’s up from 15.2% last week, its previous peak. The title spends its second week in the top three and second at #1 on the recall metric, after also ranking #1 last week. Star‘s #1 rank the past two weeks is helped by the trailer being played before the similar romance Crazy Rich Asians, the top movie at the box office for the past two weeks. Bradley Cooper stars in the romantic drama about a superstar singer who falls in love with a struggling independent musician played by Lady Gaga in her first starring role. The Nun (Warner Bros.) Friday, September...

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Weekend Forecast: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Eyes Labor Day Dominance as ‘Operation Finale’ & ‘Kin’ Debut, ‘Searching’ Expands

The coming Labor Day weekend is on pace to be one of the strongest in the past few years, thanks in large part to the continued breakout success of Crazy Rich Asians. Following the rom-com’s stunning second weekend hold, word of mouth should continue to drive it over the four-day frame with little in the way of direct competition hitting the market. The film is essentially blazing its own path at the moment, so a four-day frame anywhere between $28-35 million could be on the table. Among the openers, Operation Finale boasts the most potential as a period thriller aimed at adult audiences craving a taste of serious fare after a summer packed with sequels, superheroes, and special effects. With a Wednesday debut, key comparisons at this point include films like The November Man, The Debt, and The American — each of which bowed on the Wednesday...

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CJ 4DPLEX Receives ‘Innovative Technology of the Year’ Award at Big Cine Expo 2018

PRESS RELEASE _______________________________________________________________________ Seoul, South Korea and Los Angeles, CA,  Aug. 29, 2018 — CJ 4DPLEX (www.cj4dplex.com), the world’s first and largest 4D cinema company, has received the “Innovative Technology of the Year” award at Big Cine Expo 2018 for its industry-leading immersive cinema technology, 4DX. First launched in 2009, 4DX has continued to grow into one of the most innovative, successful and award-winning technologies, paving the way for the future of the industry. Through the first seven months of this year, more than 15 million people experienced the motion seats and environmental effects such as rain, wind, snow, bubbles and various scents that accompany and enliven the on-screen storytelling of the world’s biggest blockbusters. The “Innovative Technology of the Year” award is presented...

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Cinemark to Launch ‘Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire’ Hyper-Reality Experience on Sept. 22 in Texas Theater

PRESS RELEASE __________________________________________________________________________ PLANO, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), one of the world’s largest motion picture exhibitors, announced that Sept. 22 will be the opening date of its in-theatre, hyper-reality experience in partnership with The VOID, the critically acclaimed global leader of fully immersive location-based experiences, and ILMxLAB. Tickets for Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire are on sale at the Cinemark West Plano theatre at 3800 Dallas Parkway, Plano, Texas, and online at https://ift.tt/2NtuN5S. “We are excited to open our first in-theatre location in the U.S. with Cinemark, allowing guests to go from enjoying a film in the theatre, to playing an active, starring role in one of The VOID’s immersive experiences.” “At Cinemark, we are passionate about creating the ultimate...

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Intercard Installs Debit Card System in Arcade of Iowa’s Marcus Cedar Rapids Cinema

PRESS RELEASE ____________________________________________________________________ ST. LOUIS (August 28, 2018) — Intercard, the world leader in debit card technology for the attraction and amusement industries, recently completed the installation of a debit card system as part of an upgrade of the arcade at the Marcus Cedar Rapids Cinema in Iowa. Marcus Theatres® is the fourth largest theatre circuit in the United States and currently owns or operates 890 screens at 68 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. “The arcade upgrades are part of the renovation of three Marcus Theatres in the Midwest,”says Jason Mitchell of Intercard’s North America sales group. “Marcus chose Intercard for its reliable cloud-based card system.” BFC Enterprises, a route operator based in St. Louis, owns the games and Intercard system and...

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Speaker Manufacturer Klipsch Adds Distribution Partner American Cinema Equipment

PRESS RELEASE _______________________________________________________________________ INDIANAPOLIS, IND (August 28, 2018) — Klipsch®, a leading premium global audio company, is pleased to announce the addition of distribution partner American Cinema Equipment (ACE). Effective today, the company serves as an official distributor of the brand’s high-performance professional cinema speakers throughout the United States. As a distributor, American Cinema Equipment will act as an extension of the brand in developing new relationships with cinema operators to further enhance the Klipsch brand and its national position in the industry. Given the company’s focus, the distributor will be selling Klipsch’s renowned product line of cinema speakers. “We’re confident that ACE’s immense experience, exemplary service standards, and complimentary products...

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Nearly Half of Current Moviepass Subscribers Plan to Cancel Their Membership, NRG Poll Finds

PRESS RELEASE __________________________________________________________________________ New NRG MoviePass poll highlights major decline in brand trust and surge in cancellations; despite MoviePass challenges, moviegoers still crave innovation in ticket buying. (Los Angeles, August 28, 2018) National Research Group (NRG), a leading global entertainment strategy and polling firm providing data and insights to a wide range of Fortune 500 companies, today released a follow-up survey on the state of MoviePass among current moviegoers and former subscribers to the service. In March, NRG conducted a comprehensive poll to better understand the impact MoviePass was having and could continue to have on the film industry. At the time, NRG found that subscribers were in love with the service, that it was significantly altering moviegoing behavior, and that consumers had a strong...

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20 Years of CineShow

Can you take us back to that first CineShow that you had 20 years ago, in 1998? What led to its creation?  Byron Berkley: President & CEO, Foothills Entertainment: The tradition of having that show came out of a board of directors meeting that was held in 1998 for NATO of Texas. This was before the formation of the South Central States NATO, which was the successor to NATO of Texas. The suggestion was made at that board meeting that we form what was referred to as a mini trade show or a tabletop trade show. The idea had originally been proposed to us by a fellow who’s no longer with us—but was quite prominent at the time—Al Wiggington, who ran Theatre Services Company, based here in Dallas. He did screen cleaning, carpet installations, and other types of theater work. He used to appear at ShoWest often, dressed up as a circus barker. If you remember the guy,...

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Christie cinema projectors and Vive Audio sound systems on the menu at new Moviehouse & Eatery theater complex in Austin, Texas

PRESS RELEASE — CYPRESS, Calif. – (August 27, 2018) – Christie® cinema projectors and Christie Vive Audio solutions  are powering the innovative Moviehouse & Eatery theater complex, opened earlier this year and packing in audiences for what has been an impressive summer of blockbuster movie debuts, in the Lantana Place district of Austin, Texas. Esteemed Christie business partner, Entertainment Supply & Technologies (ES&T), provided a one-stop solution for the 10 theater auditoriums, which include six Christie Solaria® Series CP2220 and four Christie Solaria Series CP2215 digital projectors....

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Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Dips Just 5.6% to $25M in Weekend 2; ‘Happytime Murders’ Underperforms with $10M

Crazy Rich Asians had an extraordinary second weekend at the domestic box office, with the breakout hit bringing in an estimated $25 million in its sophomore frame. That’s a roughy 5 percent dip from the film’s $26.5 million three-day opening last weekend, making it by far the smallest second-weekend drop among 2018 studio releases and one of the smallest second-weekend drops ever for a film in over 3,000 theaters that debuted outside the holiday season. Meanwhile, STX’s The Happytime Murders underperformed while Global Road’s A.X.L. struggled to find an audience as it debuted outside the Top 10 in its opening frame. With $76.8 million in the bank after just 12 days of release, Crazy Rich Asians has officially surpassed all expectations as it continues to dominate all releases at the North American box office. The film has not only effectively tapped into a gravely...

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Long Range Tracking: Will ‘Halloween’ Slash Genre Records This October?

This week’s report moves deeper into October with an early look at the final tentpole candidate release before holiday season officially begins. Halloween (2018)Opening Weekend Range: $50 – 75 million Longtime fans of the venerable horror franchise are ecstatic about John Carpenter’s return to the series in a significant producing role, as well as the involvement of modern horror master Jason Blum. The return of star Jamie Lee Curtis and strong intrigue around the screenplay from Danny McBride and director David Gordon Green have only added to the general hope that this will not only revive the franchise in a significant way, but also benefit from the wave of smart horror films that have continued to exceed even optimistic expectations at the box office. As is typical with common-word titles, Twitter metrics will be volatile for the time being — but it is worth noting...

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Vista Group Signs Multi-Year Contract Extension with Cineworld

PRESS RELEASE — [Auckland, NZ, London, UK; August 24, 2018] —  Vista Group International (‘Vista Group’ NZX & ASX: VGL), has signed a renewed and extended agreement with Cineworld Group plc (‘Cineworld’), which following its £2.4bn acquisition of USA-based Regal Entertainment Group (’Regal’) in March 2018, has become the world’s second largest cinema exhibition chain.  The new agreement continues the relationship in the existing Cineworld territories in which Vista is licensed and installed – the UK, Ireland and the USA, and extends the term for five years.  Now included are a wider range of Vista Entertainment Solutions (‘Vista Cinema’) products, as well as solutions provided by Vista Group companies – Movio, Numero and movieXchange Showtimes, which considerably expands the portfolio of complementary Vista Group products...

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Thursday Night Report: ‘The Happytime Murders’ Posts $950K Start as ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Eyes Another #1 Performance

Friday Update: STX reports this morning that The Happytime Murders took in an estimated $950,000 from last night’s first shows. For comparison purposes, here’s how that stacks up against recent similar films: 28 percent behind Tag ($1.325 million) 5 percent behind Game Night ($1.0 million) 71 percent behind Sausage Party ($3.25 million) 7 percent ahead of A Million Ways to Die In the West ($890,000) No Thursday earnings have been reported for A.X.L. as it also debuts this weekend. As previously reported, Crazy Rich Asians is widely expected to repeat in the top spot at the box office for the penultimate weekend of summer. Follow Boxoffice throughout the weekend for further updates. The post Thursday Night Report: ‘The Happytime Murders’ Posts $950K Start as ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Eyes Another #1...

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Trailer Impact: ‘A Star Is Born’ Posts Highest Recall; ‘Venom’ Sparks Most Positive Interest

Top Three Trailers with Highest Recall Score Among Moviegoing Audiences Moviegoers tell us the trailers they most recall seeing at their most recent visit to a cinema. A Star Is Born (Warner Bros.) Friday, October 5 15.2% of moviegoers (116 respondents) saw and recalled this trailer, its peak to date. That’s up from 12.6% last week, its first week of tracking. The title spends its first week in the top three and first at #1 on the recall metric, after ranking #6 last week. Bradley Cooper stars in the romantic drama about a superstar singer who falls in love with a struggling independent musician played by Lady Gaga in her first starring role. Venom (Sony Pictures) Friday, October 5 14.6% of moviegoers (111 respondents) saw and recalled this trailer, its peak to date. That’s up just the slightest amount from 14.5% last week, its first week of tracking. The...

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Weekend Forecast: Will ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Repeat Ahead of ‘The Happytime Murders’ & ‘A.X.L.’?

The unmistakable end-of-summer box office lull will be increasingly felt this weekend as the major studios begin taking a break from new wide releases until after Labor Day. Still, the strength of holdovers — Crazy Rich Asians, in particular — will at least keep year-over-year comparisons far above where last August’s market stood at the same point. Warner’s breakout rom-com is likely the only film with a chance at hitting $20 million this weekend. If it falls a bit short, though, that would break a 28-week streak at the box office with at least one film earning that amount at the weekend box office. STX’s The Happytime Murders could be a dark horse contender for a semi-breakout, but pre-release signals continue to suggest a debut in the mid-teen million range as per our recent tracking reports. The film’s Facebook growth is more notable than Twitter activity,...

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Deluxe Launches New Digital Cinema Portal, Content & Key Manager

PRESS RELEASE __________________________________________________________________ LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. (Deluxe) today announced the launch of the Content & Key Manager, to replace their existing Cinema Portal platform. The Content & Key Manager has been integrated as a service within Deluxe One – the company’s flagship cloud-based platform that unifies each stage of the content supply chain, creating an end-to-end ability to manage assets and requirements from creation to delivery. Designed to provide major circuits, independent exhibitors, and studios with greater visibility across the Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema (DTDC) theatrical supply chain, the Content & Key Manager simplifies day-to-day management of operations at a time when the release cycle is becoming...

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