Weekend Estimates: Angel Has Fallen ($11.6M/$14.6M 3-Day/4-Day) and Good Boys ($10.1M/$12.6M) Pacing to Lead the Labor Day Frame

Saturday Report: Lionsgate’s Angel Has Fallen added $2.886 million on Friday for an updated domestic haul of $32 million through eight days of release as it looks to win its second consecutive weekend at the box office. Meanwhile, Good Boys claimed $2.33 million yesterday for a new 15-day total of $49.3 million.

In third place, Ready or Not added $1.53 million for a ten-day sum of $16 million, while The Lion King grabbed $1.5 million in fourth place Friday. The latter title stands at $515.7 million domestically through Friday and should win out for third over the long weekend.

Also of note yesterday, Spider-Man: Far From Home re-entered the top ten with $1.15 million from 3,162 locations as Sony expanded the film with a 4-minute extended cut in IMAX theaters. It’s earned $381.6 million domestically to date.

This weekend’s only semi-wide opener, Don’t Let Go, pulled $751K from 922 locations on opening day yesterday.

Our preliminary four-day estimates for the top ten are immediately below, followed by the usual three-day estimate chart rounded out with more titles.

4-Day Estimates
1. Angel Has Fallen ($14.6 million)
2. Good Boys ($12.6 million)
3. The Lion King ($9.7 million)
4. Hobbs & Shaw ($7.9 million)
5. Overcomer ($7.8 million)
6. Angry Birds 2 ($7 million)
7. Ready or Not ($6.7 million)
8. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ($5.7 million)
9. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood ($5.6 million)
10. Spider-Man: Far from Home ($5.5 million)

Early Weekend Estimates (Domestic)
FRI, AUG. 30 – SUN, SEP. 1

WIDE (1000+)

#	TITLE	WEEKEND		LOCATIONS		AVG.	TOTAL	WKS.	DIST.
1	Angel Has Fallen	$11,600,000	-46%	3,336	50	$3,477	$40,714,221	2	Lionsgate
2	Good Boys	$10,100,000	-13%	3,458	105	$2,921	$57,107,965	3	Universal Pictures
3	The Lion King	$7,300,000	-9%	3,190	-110	$2,288	$521,529,294	7	Walt Disney Pictures
4	Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw	$6,000,000	-26%	2,972	-340	$2,019	$156,812,350	5	Universal Pictures
5	Overcomer	$5,700,000	-30%	1,827	104	$3,120	$17,246,629	2	Sony Pictures
6	Ready or Not	$5,400,000	-33%	2,957	102	$1,826	$19,876,573	2	Fox Searchlight
7	Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark	$4,700,000	-20%	2,747	-180	$1,711	$57,320,246	4	CBS Films / Lionsgate
8	Once Upon a Time In Hollywood	$4,500,000	-10%	1,993	-216	$2,258	$130,122,549	6	Sony Pictures
9	Spider-Man: Far from Home	$4,400,000	162%	3,162	2154	$1,392	$384,852,588	9	Sony / Columbia
10	Dora and the Lost City of Gold	$4,300,000	-19%	2,477	-366	$1,736	$49,757,691	4	Paramount Pictures
11	47 Meters Down: Uncaged	$2,400,000	-39%	2,224	-659	$1,079	$19,148,977	3	Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
12	The Peanut Butter Falcon	$2,400,000	-19%	1,249	253	$1,922	$7,386,297	4	Roadside Attractions
13	Toy Story 4	$2,300,000	87%	2,715	1895	$847	$429,645,899	11	Disney
14	The Art of Racing in the Rain	$1,300,000	-38%	1,475	-565	$881	$23,877,298	4	20th Century Fox
15	Blinded by the Light	$1,100,000	-45%	1,673	-634	$658	$10,088,872	3	Warner Bros

LIMITED (100 — 999)

#	TITLE	WEEKEND		LOCATIONS		AVG.	TOTAL	WKS.	DIST.
1	Don’t Let Go	$2,800,000	—	922	—	$3,037	$2,800,000	1	OTL Releasing
2	Tod@s Caen	$1,100,000	—	371	—	$2,965	$1,100,000	1	Lionsgate / Pantelion
3	Aladdin	$440,000	115%	230	45	$1,913	$354,409,665	15	Disney
4	Mission Mangal	$350,000	-47%	151	-112	$2,318	$3,291,003	3	FIP
5	John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum	$90,000	31%	139	10	$647	$170,916,873	16	Lionsgate
6	Avengers: Endgame	$80,000	59%	110	-5	$727	$858,339,001	19	Disney
7	Rocketman	$55,000	-23%	102	-16	$539	$96,330,295	14	Paramount Pictures

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

#	TITLE	WEEKEND		LOCATIONS		AVG.	TOTAL	WKS.	DIST.
1	Tel Aviv on Fire	$40,000	-34%	32	-5	$1,250	$40,000	5	Cohen Media Group

The post Weekend Estimates: <em>Angel Has Fallen</em> ($11.6M/$14.6M 3-Day/4-Day) and <em>Good Boys</em> ($10.1M/$12.6M) Pacing to Lead the Labor Day Frame appeared first on Boxoffice.

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Long Range Forecast: Black and Blue, Plus More It: Chapter Two, Hustlers, and Other Updates

This week’s update welcomes the addition of one new release slated to open Friday, October 25 as part of our look at the final weekend before holiday movie season kicks off in November. We also provide key updates on September’s high profile releases below.

Black and Blue
Opening Weekend Range: $10 – 15 million

PROS:

• Stars Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson provide star presence in this LAPD cop drama that won’t face direct competition during its key release window in late October/early November. Strong reviews and word of mouth could push it as a counter-programming option.
  
  
• Sony / Screen Gems have a solid track record with past autumn releases like When the Bough Breaks, The Perfect Guy, and No Good Deed.

CONS:

• Some of the more controversial comparisons between this film’s narrative and real life cultural events could limit the overall potential of this film relative to those more escapism-leaning Screen Gems releases.

Notable Updates This Week

• Following last week’s revision, forecasts for It: Chapter Two continue floating down to earth as our most recent models indicate the sequel/finale is trending below its 2017 predecessor. Still, it’s pacing well ahead of any other horror release on record and we can’t rule out a last minute pop of interest after the Labor Day weekend ahead — especially since the first film’s pre-sales began at an incomparable period before release relative to this chapter’s.
  
  
• Conversely, STX’s Hustlers is looking more and more like a breakout candidate with a strong female interest base and healthier-than-expected metrics from male audiences of varying ages.
  
  
• Recent industry tracking for Ad Astra and Rambo: Last Blood suggest it may not be as much of a runaway for the former title that weekend as we’ve been expecting — and could even switch. That said, we’re holding off on significant changes until after the Labor Day market has cleared and signs begin to firm up with both pics targeting older males (but Astra having a stronger chance to win over adult female moviegoers). Among the two, Astra‘s marketing push remains more impressive at this stage, and it will have the aid of an IMAX release.
  
  
• Following the comedy’s first trailer release last week, our initial forecast for Jexi is available in the chart below. Based on preliminary trends, we’re expecting films like Long Shot, Stuber, and Don Jon to be close comps for the Lionsgate/CBS Films release. Some upside exists with regard to staying power if reviews prove positive, although Zombieland 2 will be its main competitor for moviegoers in search of laughs.

8-Week Forecast

Release Date	Title	3-Day (FSS) Opening Range	3-Day (FSS) Opening Forecast	% Chg from Last Week	Domestic Total Forecast	% Chg from Last Week	Estimated Location Count	Distributor
9/6/2019	It: Chapter Two	$90,000,000 – $130,000,000	$105,000,000	-12%	$255,000,000	-12%	4,400	Warner Bros. / New Line
9/13/2019	The Goldfinch	$7,500,000 – $12,500,000	$9,000,000	-5%	$29,000,000	-6%	3,000	Warner Bros.
9/13/2019	Hustlers	$20,000,000 – $30,000,000	$27,000,000	29%	$73,000,000	22%	3,100	STX
9/20/2019	Ad Astra	$17,000,000 – $22,000,000	$20,000,000		$65,000,000			Fox
9/20/2019	Downton Abbey	$14,000,000 – $19,000,000	$15,000,000		n/a			Universal
9/20/2019	Rambo: Last Blood	$17,000,000 – $22,000,000	$17,000,000	17%	$41,000,000	17%		Lionsgate
9/27/2019	Abominable	$19,000,000 – $24,000,000	$22,500,000		$75,000,000			Universal
10/4/2019	Joker	$70,000,000 – $95,000,000	$81,000,000		$180,000,000			Warner Bros.
10/11/2019	The Addams Family (2019)	$16,000,000 – $21,000,000	$18,000,000		$70,000,000			United Artists Releasing
10/11/2019	The Current War (Expansion)	n/a	n/a		n/a			101 Studios
10/11/2019	Gemini Man	$25,000,000 – $30,000,000	$28,000,000		$90,000,000			Paramount
10/11/2019	Jexi	$7,000,000 – $12,000,000	$9,000,000	NEW	$29,000,000	NEW		Lionsgate / CBS Films / Entertainment One
10/18/2019	Maleficent: Mistress of Evil	$30,000,000 – $50,000,000	$37,000,000		$110,000,000			Disney
10/18/2019	Zombieland 2: Double Tap	$24,000,000 – $34,000,000	$30,000,000		$77,000,000			Sony / Columbia
10/25/2019	Black and Blue	$10,000,000 – $15,000,000	$12,000,000	NEW	$35,000,000	NEW		Sony / Screen Gems
10/25/2019	Countdown	n/a	n/a		n/a			STX
10/25/2019	The Last Full Measure	n/a	n/a		n/a			Roadside Attractions

Contact us for information about subscribing to Boxoffice’s suite of forecasting and data services.

Alex Edghill & Jesse Rifkin contributed to this report

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The Sky-Is-Falling Narrative Pops Up Again, Disappears Just as Quickly

by Patrick Corcoran, Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, NATO and Phil Contrino, Director of Media & Research, NATO

We’ve been down this road before: a few high-profile films underperform and suddenly our industry is in dire trouble once again. That’s what happened in May and June when a handful of tentpoles disappointed, causing reporters to panic about the sad state of our industry and how awful the summer box office is. Neither is true. 

Despite the pervasive belief that moviegoing is under constant threat from a shift in how entertainment is distributed and consumed, moviegoing is remarkably consistent, with weekly ups and downs almost entirely a function of the movies then in the marketplace. A flurry of headlines in June bemoaned the underperformance of high-profile sequels and lower-budget counterprogramming and worried about audiences abandoning multiplexes due to “sequel fatigue” and a premonition that comedies no longer work in movie theaters. Strange, though, that in this most excessively covered and data-drenched little industry of ours, reporters missed the most salient facts.

Q2 2018 was the highest grossing quarter in domestic box office history, grossing $3.3 billion dollars—up an incredible 22 percent year over year. And this spring and summer when box office was supposed to be languishing and tumbleweeds rolled through lobbies nationwide? $3.3 billion—the second highest quarterly box office ever and only 3.7 percent off the record. Pending results of NATO’s quarterly ticket price survey, it is likely that admissions were off by less than that and may have equaled Q2 2018.

Year to date, box office remains 9.3 percent behind 2018, causing more fainting spells and more ink spilled on behalf of the industry’s already filed obituary. This ignores the fact that box office at the end of Q1 was down 16.2 percent, due almost entirely to a far smaller carryover of titles from Q4. The real story of Q2 and the summer is a marked improvement relative to 2018. Indeed, this “disastrous” summer is a mere $180 million behind summer 2018. Even better, if we extend summer 2018 and 2019 a week earlier (to capture the opening week of Avengers titles from both years), the difference shrinks to $40 million. The expected comps for the remainder of the year favor 2019. 

In short, the narrow focus on year-over-year comps misses the long-term health and stability of the industry, but also somehow misses what those short-term comps really say.

Our industry will remain healthy as long as there are talented people who value the theatrical experience, and there’s no doubt that the most exciting and talented content creators working today create with the big screen in mind. Plenty of directors and actors continue to be vocal about their desire to have their work shown in theaters first.

In a recent interview with Vulture, The Farewell writer/director Lulu Wang talked about how she asked her mom for advice when deciding whether to go the traditional theatrical route or sell her film to Netflix: “I can buy you a house now. And you can tell all your friends,” Wang told her mother. Mom’s response: “Why would you buy me a freaking house? I already have a house. The film is your baby and you have to give it to the place that is not necessarily the wealthiest, but will give it the most love and joy and bring it into the world in the right way.” 

While promoting Yesterday, Danny Boyle talked to CinemaBlend about how the dynamic between theatrical and streaming doesn’t need to be adversarial, and also why theatrical is so important to him: “We—and by we I mean those who love cinema above all forms—are vulnerable at the moment. Long-form television, or streaming, is obviously in the ascendancy. There’s a lot of money in it and a lot of people are moving into it. For me—and I’m not speaking against long-form television because it’s very important it doesn’t become adversarial—cinema is unique because of the contract of time you have with the audience and what you are allowed to do in that very precious, exclusive time. Somebody buys a ticket and they give you two hours of their time, and what’s extraordinary about it is they give it to you exclusively. It’s very rare that they’ll leave—you have to be doing a really bad job or there has to be an emergency—and you don’t do that with long-form television when you watch it at home. Even when you love long-form television, you’re not giving your exclusive time to it. Your peripheral vision is different, and in long-form television the contract is endless. That’s the point: that it just goes on and on into the distance. There’s the joke that it’s a bit like getting married: you don’t quite know what’s going to happen down the line, but you sort of sign up for it. Then people joke that everybody knows Season 6 is going to be pretty poor, but you go along with it anyway because the finale might be good. I think in film it’s different. The uniqueness of film is that because of that undivided, exclusive time you get, you can experiment with time. That’s what cinema does more than any other art form.”

Boyle added, “As long-form television explodes and becomes more prevalent in people’s lives, it makes me realize more and more how precious those moments of time are for us in cinema, and we should protect them for as long as we can.”

While promoting Stuber, stars Kumail Nanjiani and Natalie Morales weighed in on the importance of cinema:

“I feel like now it’s becoming this thing that only big special-effects movies are for theaters, and I think all movies are better in a theater with a communal experience,” said Nanjiani. “Especially comedies, because you get the energy of people laughing. How often are you in a room with strangers all laughing at the same time?” 

“I love going to the movies. It’s a big reason why I do what I do,” said Morales. “It’s just that experience of being in a room together when it really works and everyone is laughing and everyone is into it. It’s just this release and break from your everyday world.” 

We expect more endorsements in the months and years to come as the conversation about the theatrical/streaming dynamic shows no sign of letting up. The hope is that eventually it will be seen as less of a “war” between the two and more of peaceful coexistence between two distinct platforms that provide different experiences.

As of this writing, the common media narrative for the 2019 box office is already shifting. Right before the release of The Lion King, CNN published an article about how strong the rest of 2019’s slate is and similar articles started popping up elsewhere. And around we go …

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IFP Announces Public Programming for 41st Annual IFP Week

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced its public program for the 41st IFP Week, including a series of over 40 panel conversations, workshops and screenings. IFP Week, one of IFP’s signature annual events, will take place in Brooklyn, New York from Sunday, September 15 through Thursday, September 19.

The week kicks off on September 15th with a series of panel conversations with filmmakers at BRIC, some including:

* Keynote presentation by Tyler Mitchell, head of impact at Imagine Impact

* “An Exciting Time” – a conversation with the creative visionaries behind Time Studios, the recently formed premium content division of Time

* “Politically Charged” – directors Rachel Lears and Alison Klayman discussing the impact of their politically charged documentary films Knock Down the House and The Brink

* “Staying In The Room” -Andrew Chow of Time moderates a conversation on Asian-American representation in Hollywood featuring filmmakers Jon M. Chu, Alice Wu and producer/writer Teresa Hsaio

* “United Artists 100-Year Anniversary” – A panel celebrating the legacy of United Artists featuring special guests to discuss the studio’s esteemed history and lasting impact on the motion picture industry

The day will culminate with a special screening of Amazon Studios’ CIA drama The Report starring Adam Driver, Jon Hamm, Annette Bening, Maura Tierney and Michael C. Hall, followed by a conversation with writer/director Scott Z. Burns.

Additional programming includes newly launched daily “weekday strands,” a series of back-to-back panels with filmmakers, creatives and industry professionals focusing on a common theme each day. Some include:

* “Tête-à-Tête” – Oscar winning documentary filmmakerE. Chai Vasarhelyi (Free Solo) and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller (Apollo 11) discuss their work, filmmaking instincts and contributions to non-fiction storytelling.

* “Killer Ideas” – Oscar nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger (“Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, the Paradise Lost trilogy) and Skye Borgman (“Abducted in Plain Sight”) reflect on the rise of the true crime documentary series.

* “Write, Adapt, Repeat” – Oscar-nominated screenwriter Michael H. Weber (The Disaster Artist, The Fault in Our Stars), producer Riva Marker (Wildlife, Beasts of No Nation) and Marcy Drogin discuss their creative process and literary adaptations.

* “Based On A True Story” – Director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou) discusses the making of her upcoming biographical film Harriet, moderated by Darrien Michele Gipson, executive director of SAGIndie.

* “A Guide To Recognizing Your Options” – Rachel Deahl of Publishers Weekly leads a conversation on the process of optioning book rights. 

* “Where Do We Go From Here?” -Lionsgate EVP of physical production Kelli Konop and John Hadity of Entertainment Partners discuss domestic tax incentives.

* “Multi Multi Media”– Adam Neuhaus from ESPN and Tony Tackaberry from Lion Television discuss multi-hyphenate media companies, moderated by Ari Mark of Ample Entertainment.

* “Case Study: Frankie” – Writer/director Ira Sachs talks about international collaborations, the making of his film Frankie, and shooting in Portugal. 

In addition, IFP Week will host their popular Direct Access program, where attendees have access to seasoned industry veterans for workshops, seminars and intimate panels, and the Meet the Decision Makers program, where attendees interact with top executives at small roundtable talks. Participating companies and representatives include Paul Bernon of Burn Later Productions, Jérôme Paillard, executive director of Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes, RJ Millard of Obscured Pictures, and Ashley Snyder of Steiner Studios.

“Our goal this year is to break through the noise and present a dynamic, compelling and exciting offering of public programs to celebrate storytelling in all of its forms including film, TV, publishing, theatre, VR/AR and podcasting,” said Jeff Sharp, executive director of IFP. “We are excited to share this vision with our invited storytellers, some of whom are alumni of our program, public audiences and distinguished industry guests at our home in New York City, media capital of the world, where IFP Week began over forty years ago.”

Under the new leadership and curation of Sharp, IFP Week producer Jamie Zelermyer, public programs producer Sam Pezzullo, and associate producer Courtney Cox,  the IFP Week Conference public programming takes place in and around Brooklyn, New York at BRIC, The Amazon Studios HUB, The Center For Fiction, neighborhood screening venues, and IFP’s headquarters The Made in NY Media Center by IFP.

For additional detailed information on IFP Week and programming, as well to purchase tickets please visit https://ifpweek.com/conference/.

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Huaxia Film debuts CINITY Cinema with Ang Lee’s Gemini Man Advanced-Format Trailer

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Weekend Forecast: Angel Has Fallen, Good Boys, & The Lion King Look to Lead Labor Day Weekend

This week’s forecast is relatively short and simple with no major studios opting to release a new film on a wide platform. Two notables that could be sleeper candidates to enter the top ten are Yash Raj’s Saaho (opening Thursday) and OTL’s Don’t Let Go, the fourth horror/thriller release to hit theaters this month.

Otherwise, as has become an increasing tradition, holdovers will make up the bulk of the long weekend’s business in theaters as studios wave goodbye to the summer season and the remainder of schools check back into session after Labor Day this coming Monday. Angel Has Fallen should have a clear path to repeat in the top spot after it opened on the high end of expectations with $21.4 million last weekend, while Good Boys is earning strong word of mouth after a solid 46 percent drop in its second frame.

Titles like Overcomer and Hobbs & Shaw (among others) should also post healthy holds this weekend with no fresh competition in the way, but we expect the family appeal of The Lion King to push it back into the top three over the holiday period.

Top 10 vs. Last Year

Boxoffice projects this four-day weekend’s top ten films will decline approximately 3 – 8 percent from the same four-day holiday frame one year ago. That weekend generated $96.3 million across the top ten as Operation Finale opened in the wake of Crazy Rich Asians‘ continued dominance in first place.

Weekend Forecast

Film	Distributor	4-Day Weekend Forecast	Projected Domestic Total through Monday, September 2	% Change from Last Wknd
Angel Has Fallen	Lionsgate	$14,700,000	$43,700,000	-31%
Good Boys	Universal	$13,900,000	$61,000,000	20%
The Lion King (2019)	Disney	$11,600,000	$525,800,000	44%
Hobbs & Shaw	Universal	$9,500,000	$160,500,000	18%
Overcomer	Sony / AFFIRM Films	$8,500,000	$19,500,000	4%
The Angry Birds Movie 2	Sony / Columbia	$7,000,000	$37,000,000	9%
Ready or Not	Fox Searchlight	$6,800,000	$20,900,000	-15%
Dora and the Lost City of Gold	Paramount	$6,400,000	$51,800,000	20%
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood	Sony / Columbia	$6,300,000	$131,900,000	26%
Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark	Lionsgate / CBS Films	$5,500,000	$58,000,000	-6%

Alex Edghill contributed to this report

Forecasts subject to change as location counts are finalized before Friday.

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Rotten Tomatoes Adds More Than 600 Approved Critics in Diversity Initiative

PRESS RELEASE

Los Angeles – August 28, 2019: Rotten Tomatoes, the movie and TV review aggregation site, announced today the results of several year-long initiatives to broaden and diversify the critical voices reflected in its Tomatometer rating system, as well as assist critics from underrepresented groups attend key film festivals and industry events. 

One year ago, in August 2018, Rotten Tomatoes revamped the critics criteria for its popular Tomatometer movie and TV rating system with an increased focus on critics’ individual qualifications, allowing for more freelance critics to be accepted and those working with newer media platforms that go beyond the traditional written review.

Over the past year, Rotten Tomatoes has added more than 600 individually approved critics, whose film and TV reviews now count towards Tomatometer scores. Fifty-five percent of the new critics are women, 60 percent are freelancers, and 10 percent publish reviews on modern platforms including YouTube and podcasts. Rotten Tomatoes says it is also making meaningful progress in increasing ethnic diversity in the Tomatometer critics pool.

“Rotten Tomatoes is connecting audiences with authentic, trusted information from professional critics and fellow fans, to help them discover entertainment and decide what to watch in theaters and at home,” said Paul Yanover, president of Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes’ parent company. “Significant advancements are happening across Rotten Tomatoes, from the team’s work to increase critic diversity in the Tomatometer to expanding consumer confidence with the new Verified Audience Score. We are especially proud to commit to another $100,000 grant in 2020 to support film festivals and industry initiatives that further inclusion in entertainment criticism.”

New critics are spotlighted on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer Critics home page at rottentomatoes.com/critics, so that entertainment fans can discover new voices in criticism from a variety of backgrounds and platforms. 

Rotten Tomatoes recently surveyed the 600 new individually approved Tomatometer critics about their experiences over the past year. Ninety-two percent of the participants said that becoming a Tomatometer-approved critic has helped them amplify and legitimize their voice in criticism and 73 percent have seen an increase in their site traffic, views, and social media followers. However, many identified a number of barriers that still exist for newer critics. Sixty-one percent cited travel costs to festivals as a continuing concern, while 59 percent felt that proving their legitimacy as journalists to publications was their greatest challenge. Forty-three percent said they are still not able to secure invitations to press screenings of films.

“We are encouraged by the progress we’re making towards creating a Tomatometer-approved critics pool that reflects the global entertainment audience and we will continue to build on our momentum,” said Jenny Jediny, Rotten Tomatoes senior manager, critic relations. “We invite our industry colleagues to join us in our effort to create more opportunities for journalists, especially those from underrepresented groups. Our new critics have shared with us the obstacles they still face, such as gaining access to press screenings and film festivals and securing writing assignments.”

To help critics from underrepresented groups gain access to key film festivals, Rotten Tomatoes established a $100,000 grant program in 2018 to assist with travel and lodging expenses associated with festival attendance. Rotten Tomatoes also hosted an in-person workshop and published online resources for critics to help them navigate film festivals, work with publicists, and pitch editors.

Rotten Tomatoes to date has helped more than 160 journalists attend film festivals by donating grant money to the 2018 and 2019 Toronto International Film Festivals’ Media Inclusion Initiative, as well as the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and 2019 SXSW Film Festival and Conference. Rotten Tomatoes is renewing its grant program in 2020, by designating another $100,000 for donations to film festivals and other industry initiatives that are committed to increasing inclusion in criticism.

According to Rotten Tomatoes’ consumer research, fans value both the Tomatometer score, representing critical opinion, and the Audience Score when determining what to watch. To increase consumer confidence in its Audience Score, Rotten Tomatoes in May introduced Verified Ratings and Reviews. For eligible movies at the time of launch and beyond, Verified Audience Scores are made up of ratings from fans who are confirmed to have purchased tickets to those movies. Those fans’ written reviews display a “verified” badge. 

Since the launch in May, more than 130 movies have received Verified Audience Scores, with over 475,000 Verified Ratings and 88,000 Verified Written Reviews posted by fans. Currently, Rotten Tomatoes users can get their rating and review “verified” if they purchased their movie ticket on Fandango. Top exhibitors AMC Theatres, Regal and Cinemark Theatres plan to participate as ticket purchase authenticators in the future. Visitors to the Rotten Tomatoes site can still rate and review movies regardless of whether or not they are confirmed ticket purchasers and their reviews are posted on the site.

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K-Pop Continues to Break Its Own Event Cinema Records With Trafalgar Releasing’s Bring the Soul: The Movie

Per figures from event cinema distributor Trafalgar Releasing and Big Hit Entertainment, concert film Bring the Soul: The Movie has topped 2.55 global admissions, totalling a worldwide gross of approximately $24.3 million. That figure tops the $18.5 worldwide cume reached by Trafalgar Releasing’s previous high grosser.

That now-broken record belongs to Burn the Stage: The Movie, like Bring the Soul: The Movie a concert film from the Korean pop group BTS. The boy band has gained increasing international prominence over the past handful of years.

Earlier this month, Bring the Soul opened in North America to a $2.3 million haul, cracking the top ten despite only playing in 873 theaters. Encore screenings have brought the film’s domestic gross up to $4.8 million, making it the third-highest grossing documentary of 2019 so far. In the U.K., the film opened at the number nine spot.

In January of this year, BTS concert film World Tour Love Yourself in Seoul set event cinema records for highest single-day global box office ($11.7 million) and widest worldwide event cinema release, with 4,100 locations across 102 territories. Bring the Soul broke those records as well, screening in over 5,000 theaters across 112 territories.

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Andrew Cripps Is Named President of International Theatrical Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures

Veteran film distribution executive Andrew Cripps has been named president, international theatrical distribution, at Warner Bros. Pictures. The announcement was made today by Ron Sanders, president, worldwide distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures and president, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, to whom Cripps will report.

In his new role, Cripps will be responsible for overseeing all matters relating to the international theatrical distribution of the studio’s slate of motion pictures, which includes releases from Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. He’ll also work closely with Sanders on the development of theatrical growth opportunities and additional revenue streams for the division, as well as oversee the team that manages sales and distribution efforts across Warner Bros.’ network of affiliates and licensees in more than 125 territories worldwide.

Cripps has more than three decades’ experience leading overseas theatrical distribution for a number of major Hollywood studios, including United International Pictures, Paramount, Imax and, most recently, Fox.

“Andrew is the consummate distribution executive, with a wide breadth of experience on both the studio and exhibitor side,” said Sanders. “With the continuing growth and importance of the the international box office, having someone with Andrew’s insight and expertise leading our overseas efforts will benefit the entire Warner Bros. Pictures Group. He’s a great addition to an already great team, and I can’t wait to work with him.”

“I am delighted to be joining the very talented team at Warner Bros. and look forward to contributing to the success of the studio’s amazingly diverse slate of motion pictures,” said Cripps. “As the international market continues to expand, this feels like a great time to be joining the team there, and I am excited to get started.”

Prior to Warner Bros., Cripps was president of international theatrical distribution for 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw all strategic and managerial international theatrical distribution activities for the studio. Before Fox, he served as president, Europe, Middle East and Africa for Imax, as well as executive vice president of the Imax Corporation, based in London and responsible for expanding the Imax theater network across the region as well as sourcing content to play across that network. Prior to that, he served five years as president of Paramount Pictures International, having joined the company after almost two decades at United International Pictures, a joint venture distribution company operated by Paramount, Universal and MGM/UA, most recently serving as its president and COO. Cripps began his entertainment career as the representative for Japan and Korea for Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, a British film company.

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Welcome to the New Reality: Theaters Invest in VR for a High-Tech Consumer Experience

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Welcome to the New Reality: Theaters Invest in VR for a High-Tech Consumer Experience

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Atom Tickets 2019 “Equality At The Box Office” Survey Reveals Women’s Movie Preferences

PRESS RELEASE

In celebration and support of Women’s Equality Day, Atom Tickets surveyed women to ask about their movie and genre preferences, as well as their opinions about gender representation in the entertainment industry. In summary, women are more positive of the portrayal of women in the movies as well as believing more women are being hired for filmmaking roles, compared to last year. In terms of what movie women are most excited to see in the remainder of the year, their top pick was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This is the second year the digital ticketing startup has conducted the survey and as a result, in some topics, year over year data is provided.

Cast: Yet again, the majority of women said they prefer to see a diverse cast made up of men and women (91%) in the movies rather than an all-male or all-female cast.  This year more women are feeling satisfied with how females are portrayed in Hollywood blockbusters, up from 60% in 2018 to 72% in 2019.

Filmmakers: In 2018, 95% of women revealed that they would like to see more women in filmmaking careers such as directing, producing, or writing. As a follow up question, Atom asked women if they thought the industry was making a good effort to hire more women in filmmaking roles. 50% of women believe the movie industry is doing better at hiring women in filmmaking careers such as directing, producing, or writing.  However, 17% feel the industry is doing a poor job of it and could be doing better.

Genres: Women ranked their favorite genres as 1) action/adventure, 2) comedy and 3) romance, which replaces last year’s third place preference of sci-fi/fantasy.

Female movie fans revealed their top picks for movies set to release later this year. Overall, women are most excited to see the following top ten films in theaters:

1. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2. Jumanji: The Next Level
3. It Chapter 2
4. Frozen 2
5. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
6. Joker
7. Hustlers
8. The Addams Family
9. Terminator: Dark Fate
10. Downton Abbey

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CineShow 2019 Visionary Award: Brian Schultz, Founder & CEO, Studio Movie Grill

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United Artists Is Still a Name in Exhibition

Our salute to the 100th anniversary of United Artists continues.

For many veteran moviegoers, the name United Artists Theatres is just as familiar as that of the studio that produced so many Oscar-winning films. The separate exhibition company bearing the United Artists name was created in 1924 when Joseph Schenck joined UA as president and partnered with Mary Pickford and Charles Chaplin on the purchase and construction of a chain of movie theaters. In December 1927, United Artists Theatres unveiled its flagship in downtown Los Angeles, a Spanish Gothic movie palace featuring a huge mural depicting an array of Hollywood stars in costume, including Pickford and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, and Gloria Swanson. The tallest privately owned structure in Los Angeles until 1956, the United Artists Theatre is today the Ace Hotel.

At the same time, United Artists Theatres also opened a palace in Detroit and a remodeled cinema in Chicago—the beginnings of a chain that continued to expand.

The UA chain was acquired in the late 1940s by San Francisco exhibitors Robert and Marshall Naify. The UA offices remained in San Francisco until 1988, when the circuit was bought by Tele-Communications Inc., who moved headquarters to Englewood, Colorado. That same year, UA Theatres acquired the Sameric chain of cinemas in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

In 1992, Tele-Communications sold the chain in a leveraged buyout deal with UA management, abetted by Merilll Lynch. In 2001, during a period of financial instability for the cinema business, United Artists Theatres declared bankruptcy, along with several other circuits. Investor Philip Anschutz combined UA’s assets with those of two other bankrupt chains, Regal Cinemas and Edwards Theatres, to form Regal Entertainment Group. Today, the United Artists name lives on at locations such as the Regal UA Berkeley 7 in California; the Regal UA Galaxy 14 in Indianapolis; the Regal UA Snowden Square Stadium 14 in Columbia, Maryland; and the Regal UA Sheepshead Bay Stadium 14 in Brooklyn, New York.

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Studio Weekend Estimates: Angel Has Fallen Rises to $21.2M at No. 1 Over Good Boys ($11.7M); Overcomer Overperforms w/ $8.2M; Ready Or Not Finds $7.6M

Hollywood continued flooding theaters with new releases in the final weekend before Labor Day, pushing out the action threequel Angel Has Fallen, the R-rated horror film Ready Or Not and the faith-based drama Overcomer. Among those titles, Angel was the one to snag the No. 1 spot with an estimated $21.2 million debut from 3,286 screens, demonstrating the continued strength of the Gerard Butler franchise.

Angel Has Fallen was actually the second Lionsgate R-rated action threequel to capture the top spot at the box office this year following John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which launched to $56.8 million back in May. Though obviously not in the same league, Angel Has Fallen managed to outperform most projections, which had it finishing in the mid-teen range heading into the weekend.

With this weekend’s gross, Angel Has Fallen came in roughly even with 2016’s London Has Fallen ($21.6 million), though the first film in the franchise—2013’s Olympus Has Fallen—remains the highest opener of the bunch, having scored $30.3 million in its debut. Reviews were poor–the film scored just 39% on Rotten Tomatoes–but that’s par for the course for a franchise that’s always been more of an audience than a critical favorite. Like its predecessors, Angel Has Fallen came in with a solid “A-“ Cinemascore, while its RT Audience Score currently stands at an excellent 95%.

Second place went to last week’s No. 1 Good Boys, which dipped 45% to an estimated $11.7 million in its sophomore frame. That’s a solid hold for the Universal comedy, which now has a healthy $49 million after 10 days of release.

Debuting in third place with a strong opening was the Christian sports drama Overcomer, which brought in an estimated $8.2 million from 1,723 screens. The Sony/AFFIRM release benefitted greatly from the name value of writer-directors The Kendrick Brothers, who previously minted faith-based hits with films like 2006’s Facing the Giants ($10.1 million in North America off a $100,000 budget), 2008’s Fireproof ($33.4 million), 2011’s Courageous ($34.5 million) and 2015’s War Room, which opened with $11.5 million and went on to gross $67.7 million domestically. Though reviews for the film were mostly negative (38% on Rotten Tomatoes), it clearly won out with its target audience, with opening-day viewers awarding it an “A+” Cinemascore and RT users giving it a near-perfect 99% Audience Score.

After crossing the $500 million domestic mark last week, The Lion King came in fourth with an estimated $8.15 million, bringing the Disney blockbuster to $510.6 million through the end of its sixth weekend. That puts it over the $504 million brought in by the live-action Beauty & the Beast in 2017, making it the top-grossing Disney live-action/CG reimagining to date.

In fifth, Hobbs & Shaw brought in an estimated $8.1 million, bringing the total for the Fast & Furious spinoff to $147.7 million through the end of its fourth weekend. That number puts the Universal release in fifth place all-time among films in the franchise, having surpassed the $144.5 million gross of the first installment not adjusting for inflation.

The weekend’s final new wide release Ready Or Not finished in sixth place with a decent $7.6 million debut Friday through Sunday on 2,855 screens, giving the horror-thriller a total of $10.6 million since opening Tuesday night. Some projections had the Fox Searchlight title released by Disney finishing in the low teens for the three-day period, so it came in slightly below expectations despite good reviews (87% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a good-for-the-genre “B+” Cinemascore. The opening is actually closely aligned with the similar horror film You’re Next, which opened to $7 million in 2013 on its way to a final domestic total of $18.4 million.

Following a disappointing $10.3 million debut last weekend, The Angry Birds Movie 2 eased 38% to an estimated $6.3 million in seventh place, giving the Sony animated sequel a disappointing $27 million after 10 days of release. The followup is currently pacing roughly 59% behind the first Angry Birds, which had grossed $66.4 million by the same point in its run back in 2016.

In eighth, Lionsgate and CBS Film’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark grossed an estimated $6 million, putting the tween-oriented horror flick at $50.4 million through the end of its third weekend.

Ninth place went to Paramount’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, which took in an estimated $5.2 million in its third weekend. The family adventure film now has $43.1 million in North America.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Sony’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which brought in an estimated $5 million in its fifth weekend of release. That brings the total for the Quentin Tarantino title to a very good $123.1 million.

Finishing outside the Top 10 was Roadside’s The Peanut Butter Falcon, which expanded to 991 screens after two weekends of limited release with an estimated $3 million, giving it a per-screen average of roughly $3K. The comedy-drama starring Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson has grossed $3.7 million to date.

Limited Release:

Amazon Studios’ Brittany Runs a Marathon grossed $175K from five screens, giving the well-reviewed comedy a good per-theater average of $35K. 

Overseas Update:

Hobbs & Shaw enjoyed an impressive opening in China this weekend with an estimated $101.7 million in the country, lifting its overall international weekend total to $120.4 million. Its Chinese opening ranks as the third-biggest in the Fast & Furious franchise to date after Fate of the Furious ($192.1 million) and Furious 7 ($182.4 million), the largest August opening ever in the country, the second-largest opening for a Hollywood movie there this year after Avengers: Endgame, and the third-largest opening in 2019 overall behind Endgame and the Chinese title Wandering Earth. The international cume for the Dwayne Johnson-Jason Statham actioner is now $441.2 million and the global total is $588.9 million.

The Lion King crossed the $1.5 billion mark at the global box office this weekend with another estimated $30 million overseas, bringing its international cume to $997.9 million and its worldwide tally to $1.5085 billion. This weekend’s overseas tally included a strong $15.9 million opening in Italy, making it the second-highest debut by a Disney film in the country after Avengers: Endgame. Country totals include $120.4 million in China, $84.8 million in the U.K. and $71.3 million in France.

The post Studio Weekend Estimates: <em>Angel Has Fallen</em> Rises to $21.2M at No. 1 Over <em>Good Boys</em> ($11.7M); <em>Overcomer</em> Overperforms w/ $8.2M; <em>Ready Or Not</em> Finds $7.6M appeared first on Boxoffice.

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Long Range Forecast: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Zombieland 2; Plus It: Chapter Two, Hustlers, & Downton Abbey Updates

This week’s report takes a dive into the middle of October with two of the fall season’s highest profile releases, currently slated to open on Friday, October 18. Read below for our analysis, plus notable updates on other upcoming films.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Opening Weekend Range: $30 – 50 million

PROS:

• The return of star Angelina Jolie is a big advantage considering her presence as one of Disney’s most iconic villains/antiheroes helped the 2014 predecessor power its way to a $69.4 million domestic opening weekend, finishing with a strong $241.4 million / $758.5 million global run.
  
  
• On top of the fact that the Disney brand name is as safe a bet as there is among families, there are very few films — let alone any with built-in appeal — aiming to draw young female audiences between summer’s end and mid-November’s Frozen II. The corridor for a leggy run — smartly timed close to Halloween — certainly exists here.
  
  
• This sequel’s trailers have thus far driven solid online activity across social media platforms, outperforming trends of recent Disney pics like Dumbo and A Wrinkle In Time.

CONS:

• Arriving five years after the first film, there’s reason to wonder if some of the heat from its success has cooled off and left this sequel in a position to experience diminished returns. An early comp in this arena would be the six year gap between Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. The latter sequel dropped 77 percent from its blockbuster predecessor’s domestic total, and this year has similarly seen several family franchises (such as The LEGO Movie 2 and Secret Life of Pets 2) experience sharp drops from their first films.
  
  
• Competition from The Addams Family could be a factor if that animated title generates positive word of mouth among families starting one week before.
  
  
• With Columbus Day landing on the Monday before release, opening weekend won’t be able to take full advantage of a no-school Monday.

Zombieland 2: Double Tap
Opening Weekend Range: $24 – 34 million

PROS:

• The original Zombieland has evolved into a cult classic over the past decade following its strong $24.7 million domestic opening in October 2009, onward to $75.6 million stateside and $102.4 million worldwide.
  
  
• The return of its predecessor’s entire original cast (now even more prodigious thanks to the star careers developed by Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg) — as well as the film’s creative team in director Ruben Fleischer (also fresh off the success of Venom) and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool) — provide encouragement for a worthy sequel.
  
  
• With a near-two-week lead on Halloween, the timing could be perfect for a solid box office run with no direct competition entering the market after this pic’s release date.

CONS:

• Similar to the other film covered in our report this week, it’s worth questioning whether or not the long wait for this sequel will hold back the kind of hype it might have had earlier in the decade. That said, fans will be more than fine with the wait if the sequel proves to be as crowd-pleasing as its predecessor.
  
  
• Opening in Joker‘s third weekend isn’t a major concern, though it is a notable factor given similar target audiences and if the DC title generates significant staying power.

Notable Updates This Week

• It: Chapter Two‘s range continues to fluctuate as this week’s first reactions from critics indicate potential for varying degrees of word of mouth. Combined with the film’s near-three-hour runtime and updated social media models, we’re lowering forecasts for the time being, but we still expect another blockbuster run in the grand scheme of things.
  
  
• STX’s Hustlers is beginning to make its presence known in a big way as the ensemble-driven pic is garnering significant interest from a variety of audiences in multiple pre-release tracking reports. STX’s growing reputation for delivering appealing content to adult female audiences is another consideration in our improved outlook for this film.
  
  
• The Downton Abbey film is off to a roaring start in pre-sales, per Fandango, indicating the fan base should drive a strong opening weekend. While we can’t rule out the possibility of heavy front-loading by the popular series’ most avid viewers, the feature film is making an early case for a solid box office run. We’ll offer more detailed forecasts when Focus Features confirms the extent of the film’s wide release.

8-Week Forecast

Release Date	Title	3-Day (FSS) Opening Range	3-Day (FSS) Opening Forecast	% Chg from Last Week	Domestic Total Forecast	% Chg from Last Week	Estimated Location Count	Distributor
8/30/2019	Don’t Let Go	n/a	n/a		n/a		n/a	OTL
9/6/2019	It: Chapter Two	$100,000,000 – $140,000,000	$119,000,000	-14%	$290,000,000	-6%	4,200	Warner Bros. / New Line
9/13/2019	The Goldfinch	$7,500,000 – $12,500,000	$9,500,000	-5%	$31,000,000	-6%		Warner Bros.
9/13/2019	Hustlers	$15,000,000 – $25,000,000	$21,000,000	62%	$60,000,000	54%		STX
9/20/2019	Ad Astra	$17,000,000 – $22,000,000	$20,000,000		$65,000,000			Fox
9/20/2019	Downton Abbey	$14,000,000 – $19,000,000	n/a	NEW	n/a			Universal
9/20/2019	Rambo: Last Blood	$11,000,000 – $16,000,000	$14,500,000		$35,000,000			Lionsgate
9/27/2019	Abominable	$19,000,000 – $24,000,000	$22,500,000		$75,000,000			Universal
10/4/2019	Joker	$70,000,000 – $95,000,000	$81,000,000		$180,000,000			Warner Bros.
10/11/2019	The Addams Family (2019)	$16,000,000 – $21,000,000	$18,000,000		$70,000,000			United Artists Releasing
10/11/2019	The Current War (Expansion)	n/a	n/a		n/a			101 Studios
10/11/2019	Gemini Man	$25,000,000 – $30,000,000	$28,000,000		$90,000,000			Paramount
10/11/2019	Jexi	n/a	n/a		n/a			Lionsgate / CBS Films / Entertainment One
10/18/2019	Maleficent: Mistress of Evil	$30,000,000 – $50,000,000	$37,000,000	NEW	$110,000,000	NEW		Disney
10/18/2019	Zombieland 2: Double Tap	$24,000,000 – $34,000,000	$30,000,000	NEW	$77,000,000	NEW		Sony / Columbia

Contact us for information about subscribing to Boxoffice’s suite of forecasting and data services.

Alex Edghill & Jesse Rifkin contributed to this report

The post Long Range Forecast: <em>Maleficent: Mistress of Evil</em> and <em>Zombieland 2</em>; Plus <em>It: Chapter Two</em>, <em>Hustlers</em>, & <em>Downton Abbey</em> Updates appeared first on Boxoffice.

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Thursday Night: Angel Has Fallen Captures $1.5M; Overcomer Achieves $775K

Friday Report: Lionsgate updates this morning with news that Angel Has Fallen kicked off its domestic run with $1.5 million from shows in an estimated 2,600 locations last night. By comparison, that registered 50 percent higher than Mile 22 last August ($1 million), 76.5 percent stronger than London Has Fallen ($850K), and 70.5 percent higher than The Expendables 3 ($880K).

Meanwhile, Overcomer debuted to a solid $775K from shows beginning at 4pm in 1,563 locations yesterday. The Sony/AFFIRM release is the latest end-of-summer drama appealing to faith-based audiences, and its early start came in 80 percent above When the Game Stands Tall‘s $430K Thursday launch in August 2014.

Ready or Not also continues its rollout this weekend after a $1.88 million opening day on Wednesday, which included $730K from Tuesday night previews.

More updates to follow.

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Top Women in Global Exhibition 2019: Screenvision Media, Katy Loria and Darryl Schaffer

Earlier this year, Boxoffice partnered with Celluloid Junkie to present the fourth annual list of Top Women in Global Exhibition, published in our CinemaCon issue. Throughout 2019, Boxoffice will continue to honor the women who have an immeasurable impact on the exhibition industry with a series of in-depth profiles.

Katy Loria, Chief Revenue Officer 

Darryl Schaffer, EVP Operations & Exhibitor Relations

Screenvision veterans Katy Loria and Darryl Schaffer have been instrumental in the cinema-advertising company’s success. In 2018 alone, Screenvision was able to sign 35 exhibitor partnership contracts to its cinema-advertising network. The company renewed long-term partnership agreements with leading exhibitors National Amusements and Malco Theatres last year, along with adding new players like California-based Maya Cinemas. Schaffer and Loria lead the exhibitor-relations and sales teams, respectively, and are poised to help Screenvision achieve further growth in 2019. Earlier this year, Screenvision announced its adoption of a pair of initiatives—the GD-IQ Check, developed in collaboration with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media; and the GEM score, a creation of the Association of National Advertisers’ #SeeHer movement—to encourage accurate and equal gender representation in their programming. In addition, Schaffer has been named to the board of Variety – the Children’s Charity of New York.

How has the world of in-theater marketing evolved since you joined Screenvision? How do you see it evolving in the coming years?

Darryl Schaffer: Well, for one thing, in-theater advertising revenue has grown substantially since I joined Screenvision over 25 years ago. It has become an incredibly meaningful part of an exhibitor’s bottom line. In fact, Screenvision’s revenue has actually grown by about 125 percent since I joined! The move from analog to digital delivery was a huge evolution, as well, and an exciting and challenging one to be a part of.

We’ve always been proud of the relationships we have with our network exhibitor partners and the way we work with them to ensure greater innovation and flexibility on both sides. We will continue to do this in the coming years, bringing more solutions and new ideas for how we use on-screen and lobby inventories in addition to how we use data to enhance our offerings to advertisers and, therefore, our exhibitor partners.

What’s your favorite part of your job at Screenvision?

DS: I truly love working with our 170 exhibitor partners. I always look forward to meeting with exhibitors, whether it be to move the business forward, solve a problem, or negotiate a contract. I really enjoy the process of negotiating long-term deals with our exhibitor partners; every time I look back on a negotiation, I feel as if it helped make the relationship stronger and, in the case of new partners, as if it was a way to build a new relationship.

I am also really proud of the exhibitor-relations team, and love working with them day to day. We have amazing tenure on the team, with 16 people averaging 15 years at Screenvision!

Katy Loria: That’s an easy question, but I have a long answer, so I’ll try to abbreviate: the movies, the people, and the value proposition. Everyone’s Monday morning watercooler talk involves the movies, so how lucky are we that a favorite pastime is also our business? I feel incredibly fortunate to work within the Screenvision Media family. I’m inspired on a daily basis by the creativity, hard work, enthusiasm, and just plain smarts that the people around me bring into the building every day. And last but not least, the place Screenvision holds within the media landscape is pretty compelling—we sit at the intersection of the most premium video, a coveted audience of moviegoers, and a giant screen in a very special environment. Stated mildly, the impact of the ads that run in our medium is substantial. We are happy to be part of a brand’s solution in the pursuit of audiences who seek out premium video experiences. 

Can you describe an early moviegoing experience? What made it so memorable for you?

DS: I grew up in the city and I loved going to the movies from a young age. I remember my dad taking me to the theater on 86th Street to see Star Wars and many other movies. We would always go to Papaya King afterwards.

KL: I’m sure most would answer this with their first movie, but my memory isn’t that good. What I do remember clearly is my parents strongly discouraging me from seeing my first rated-R movie. I technically wasn’t old enough, and they knew that not only would I have my eyes closed most of the time, but that the movie would also haunt me. As is usually the case, they were right. The movie was Alien (1979).

Can you talk a bit about some of the mentors you’ve had in this business?

DS: There have been a few CEOs at Screenvision who have certainly been my mentors, including Travis Reid and, most recently, John Partilla. I have definitely learned from each of them in different ways. Also, I have to say that I learn from our exhibitor partners every day: listening to them has undoubtedly taught me how to do my job better. I am so grateful for these relationships.

KL: Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to work with many strong leaders who have also graciously played the role of mentor—and a good number of them have been women and working moms. At Screenvision, I’m honored to work side by side with one of the best and most respected women in exhibition, so I have to say Hall of Famer Darryl Schaffer! She epitomizes patience and impartiality and is an encyclopedia of knowledge. 

What is your proudest achievement of your time so far at Screenvision?

DS: It has been incredibly rewarding to build such a robust network of exhibitor partners, now with over 15,000 screens, and to have a great team of people around me. It has also been extraordinary to be part of such a charitable industry and company. In 2017, Screenvision Media was awarded Vendor of the Year at the Geneva Convention, which was a great honor, and I was inducted in to the ShowEast Hall of Fame the same year. That was certainly one of my proudest moments, because I was surrounded by the Screenvision team and my family.

KL: I have loved being part of Screenvision’s growth within the media marketplace and am proud of the visibility and voice we have in the premium-video landscape. The development of our team into a consultative sales force has been integral to this growth, and I’m especially proud of the partnerships they’ve forged and continue to nurture.

How would you evaluate the progress women have made in the exhibition business in the past few years?

DS: It has definitely been interesting to see this evolution within exhibition. I used to almost only work with men on the exhibitor side, and now it is much more balanced. I think that this list of the top women in global cinema is a testament to that and, needless to say, I am very proud to be included on the list with so many amazing women and friends, including my Screenvision colleague Katy Loria!

What are the key accomplishments you would still like to make during your time at Screenvision?

DS: I hope that we continue to evolve to become even better, more relevant partners for the exhibitors in our network. There is nothing that stands out as a key accomplishment to still achieve, but at the end of the day I want our exhibitor partners to look to us as a material vendor and a key collaborator that they really enjoy working with.

What advice would you give to women just entering the movie exhibition business?

DS: I think that it is an incredibly exciting time to be connected to the movie-exhibition business. With all of the innovation and investments being made, not to mention the record-breaking box office results, I truly believe that the best is yet to come. The advice I would give to anyone entering the business would be to enjoy it, because we are so lucky to be in this exciting industry!

Describe your ideal moviegoing experience.

DS: While the moviegoing experience has evolved and innovated in amazing ways with regard to seating, presentation, and food and drink options, I just like a comfortable seat close to the aisle and a good movie!

KL: When I can get my teenage son and daughter to agree on a movie (!), it’s usually a family experience. We are notorious early to the theater—I have to get settled into my seat before heading to the concession stand for a tub of popcorn. And I don’t share my popcorn.

What can companies like Screenvision do to encourage diversity within the exhibition industry?

DS: I’m proud to say that Screenvision Media values diversity, with women making up half of the executive team. I love what our sales team, led by Katy Loria, is doing to promote the meaningful representation of women in film via a partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in which our Front + Center preshow will give a special look at upcoming films that receive GD-IQ certification. 

KL: Equality should stand for a place where we all belong. It’s incumbent on us to foster an environment where everyone feels not only welcome, but invited and encouraged to participate. If we don’t encourage that dialogue, the workplace and the world will get boring pretty quickly. On a tangible front, it begins with recruiting and carries through to hiring, training, and mentoring diverse team members, from the ground floor all the way through to the board. 

Katy, can you talk a bit about Screenvision’s partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and how it came about?

KL: I can remember attending a panel at Cannes Lions several years back and being shocked to learn that less than 20 percent of women in movies had speaking roles. It seemed impossible. I don’t know whether I was more taken aback by the statistic or that I hadn’t noticed the inequality myself. Because we think Screenvision sits at a pretty cool intersection of film, media, and distribution, it just naturally made sense to use our network to help bring awareness to an initiative that is not only important within our walls, but also those of the brands that we work with. As we learned more about the important research being done at the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in the film industry—as well as efforts within the media industry being heralded by #SeeHer—we grew increasingly excited to introduce content opportunities on the big screen that tie gender equality messaging with the brands in support of it. We hope the moviegoing audience will not only appreciate the content but also continue to support the films that are presenting balanced representation both on screen and behind the camera. 

Daryl: It sounds like Variety – the Children’s Charity of New York is poised to do some really great, interesting work. Can you talk a bit about why you joined the board of directors and what sorts of projects you’re planning?

DS: I’ve always been proud to work in such a charitable industry, and we at Screenvision Media have consistently supported industry charities like Variety and Will Rogers. When the New York branch of Variety was being re-formed, it was an honor to be asked to join the board. In its new formation, Variety –  the Children’s Charity of New York will be focused on freedom and future. The Freedom program delivers vital life-changing equipment and services for mobility, independence, and social inclusion, while the Future program delivers crucial life-enriching communication equipment, services, education, and self-esteem to individual children and children’s organizations. Earlier in June, we gave away an adaptive bike as part of Variety International’s Freedom Day, and I was so thrilled to be part of that opportunity!

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B&B Theatres Expands Fleet of ScreenX Auditoriums

B&B Theatres and South Korea’s CJ 4DPLEX have expanded their partnership by agreeing to install five additional ScreenX panoramic screens across the exhibitor’s circuit. With this deal, B&B Theatres will now count on a total of seven ScreenX systems across its chain of theaters.

The companies began working together in 2018 when B&B announced it would install the largest ScreenX system in the world at its flagship Liberty, Missouri location. Standing at over four stories tall and stretching to seven stories wide, the screen proved successful enough to warrant an additional ScreenX system, scheduled to open in September 2019.

“B&B has been an excellent partner in shaking up the industry to introduce one-of-a-kind ScreenX experiences. We are thrilled to extend our partnership in expanding the ScreenX footprint to bring 5 additional auditoriums across the U.S.,” said JongRyul Kim, CEO of CJ 4DPLEX, in a statement. “With B&B, we look forward to creating more one-of-a-kind ScreenX experiences, elevating the cinema-going experience further, and bring more of these experiences to more theaters and locations in the future.”

B&B Theatres is the seventh-largest exhibition circuit in the United States, counting on 419 screens across 50 locations in Kansas, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas.

“The partnership with CJ 4DPLEX introduced the largest ScreenX in the world with outstanding performance numbers and audience feedback,” said Bob Bagby, President of B&B Theatres, in a statement. “We look forward to continuing this partnership with CJ 4DPLEX in bringing more ScreenX auditoriums across the States and creating more premium in-theater experiences for B&B audiences in the future.”

Developed by South Korean vendor CJ 4DPLEX, ScreenX is the latest iteration of panoramic cinema screen technology. It features a 270-degree panoramic cinema experience through a triptych of screens, surrounding audiences with supporting imagery flanking the primary central screen. To date, there are 235 ScreenX systems installed across 20 countries.

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Malco Theatres to Bring the IMAX Experience To Madison, MS

PRESS RELEASE

(Memphis, TN – August 22, 2019) – Memphis-based Malco Theatres, a 104-year-old family-owned motion picture exhibition company, announced today that guests visiting the Grandview Cinema in Madison, Mississippi, can soon enjoy the world’s most immersive cinematic experience when the IMAX^® theatre opens in time for the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on December 20, 2019. The IMAX theatre, the first and only one in the state of Mississippi, will be custom-designed for use in the existing multiplex theatre and will be the first phase of upgrades to the Madison location.

The new IMAX at the Grandview Cinema will offer moviegoers a truly immersive cinematic experience, allowing them to enjoy the biggest blockbusters like never before. IMAX’s cutting-edge projection system, which delivers crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

“We looked at all of our options regarding a large format solution and came to the conclusion that no one has a better combination of quality, full immersion cinema, and brand awareness than IMAX. We are excited to add The IMAX Experience to the region and hope it will be enjoyed for many years to come,” said David Tashie, Malco President/COO.

“We are excited to welcome another Malco Theatres location to the IMAX business, and together look forward to introducing the world’s most immersive cinema going experience to new audiences across Mississippi,” said Mark Welton, President, IMAX Theatres. 

Additional Phase 1 renovation plan consists of upgrading the concession area to the Malco Cinema Grill, featuring expanded food and drink options, plus installation of space for private events with areas dedicated to emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR). The Phase 2 upgrade will include a full renovation to luxury reserved recliner seats.

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Social Pulse: Little Women Trailer Draws Big Numbers

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Top Women in Global Exhibition 2019: Stacie Tursi, National CineMedia

Earlier this year, Boxoffice partnered with Celluloid Junkie to present the fourth annual list of Top Women in Global Exhibition, published in our CinemaCon issue. Throughout 2019, Boxoffice will continue to honor the women who have an immeasurable impact on the exhibition industry with a series of in-depth profiles.

Stacie Tursi, SVP, Local & Digital Sales 

Part of the National CineMedia family since 2005, Stacie Tursi was named SVP of affiliate partnerships at NCM—the largest cinema-advertising network in the U.S.—in 2016. Since then, Tursi’s team has worked diligently to serve its theater network, which comprises over 20,000 screens in the U.S. In 2018, NCM announced the addition of 300 theaters to its network, including top regional players like Bow Tie Cinemas, Cinergy Entertainment, Megaplex Theatres, and MJR Digital Cinemas.

How has the world of in-theater marketing evolved since you joined National CineMedia? How do you see it evolving in the coming years?

It’s funny; when I look back over the last 20 years, the pitch hasn’t really changed. We have the best content, reach, and engagement there is to offer for advertisers looking to reach people who love entertainment. What has changed are the size of the NCM network—which is the largest cinema network in the U.S. and, I think, the world—and our pre-show and product offerings. We started back in the day with rolling stock and slides that required manual delivery, placement, and execution. Today, NCM connects national, regional, and local brands to movie audiences in our Noovie pre-show, seen on movie screens nationwide. We also offer other forms of cinema advertising and promotions in theater lobbies. In addition, we sell online and mobile advertising through our Cinema Accelerator digital product to reach entertainment audiences beyond the theater. 

As brands, agencies, and partners look to leverage powerful location and audience data to target their audiences in the places and moments that matter most, we will continue to expand our growing NCM Digital products to go beyond the big screen, extending in-theater campaigns into online and mobile marketing programs to reach entertainment audiences. NCM now offers cool movie-related digital experiences including Noovie.com, the go-to digital destination for all things movies, including trailers, show times, tickets, and more; Shuffle, Noovie’s new movie trivia game that movie fans can play anytime, anywhere; Noovie ARcade, the big-screen interactive augmented-reality (AR) game; and Fantasy Movie League, the box office predictions game that combines the fierce competition of fantasy sports with the insanely popular world of entertainment and movies. It’s all about creating a community of movie fans who interact with Noovie at every step in their moviegoing journey.

What’s your favorite part of your job at NCM?

The people. They are our most important asset, and we rely on them to determine the customer experience. Building a strong organizational culture differentiates us from our competitors. Our people, vision, and values are our unique identifiers.

I like to identify and develop talent early in people’s careers, helping to broaden skills by providing access to operating roles and leadership opportunities, both horizontal and vertical moves, in core business functions. 

If our people are happy, then our customers are happy. It’s really that simple. 

Can you describe an early moviegoing experience? What made it so memorable for you?

In the summer of 1969, my mother took me to see my very first film, Bambi. I remember the popcorn and soft drink (a rare treat), finding our seats, waiting in anticipation for the film to start, the lights dimming, and the thrill of having time with my mother. While I can recall every bit of the experience like it was yesterday, what made it so memorable was when Bambi’s life was touched by tragedy. It was the first time I saw my mother cry.

Can you talk a bit about some of the mentors you’ve had in this business?

It’s a long list. I learn every day from people both inside and outside the industry. I look for people who are willing to break from formal roles and titles and are, instead, willing to build common ground as people. Having mentors (both formal and informal) has helped me to shape my character, values, self-awareness, empathy, and capacity for respect. 

What is your proudest achievement of your time so far at NCM?

Generally, I’m most proud of keeping people moving in the right direction. My role, as I see it, is to align people to strategy, vision, and values and prepare the organization for change. Watching people grow and evolve is what keeps me motivated.

Specifically, I am most proud of NCM being included in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2019 Corporate Equality Index, the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to LGBTQ employees. It’s important to me that we have a sense of purpose and believe that the company has a positive impact on our employees, community, and the world at large.

I am proud to be a part of an organization where inclusion and diversity are part of our strategy, and one that looks for ways to support all of its employees. 

How would you evaluate the progress women have made in the exhibition business in the past few years?

I think we’ve seen some progress, but there is no denying there is a dearth of women in senior positions in our industry. I’m happy to say that at NCM, 47 percent of our workforce is female and 48 percent of those serve at an executive or leadership level.

Ultimately, the most important factor in determining success isn’t gender, it’s you! 

What are the key accomplishments you would still like to make during your time at NCM?

I continue to focus on three things:

1. The brains of our business: vision and strategy
2. The bones of our business: organizational structure 
3. The nerves of our business: culture

If we concentrate on making continuous improvements to these three areas, we will be better positioned for whatever comes our way. In the end, I hope to leave the company a little better off than I found it.

What advice would you give to women just entering the movie exhibition business?

If a job description focuses only on title, experience, and responsibilities, it may not speak to the heart of what motivates you. Look for roles (or invent roles) that leverage your skills in a way that makes a difference by adding value to the business through advancing something that both the employees and customers benefit from. 

It’s critical to get comfortable in your own skin. Be willing to take risks. And don’t be afraid to self-promote!

Describe your ideal moviegoing experience.

We all know that the moviegoing experience starts long before we get to the theater. The ideal experience for me starts with buying tickets, selecting seats, ordering (healthy) concessions, and arranging a round-trip Lyft, all in one online/mobile transaction. The Lyft gets me to the theater 20 to 30 minutes prior to published show time. Concessions are delivered to my seat while I play Noovie ARcade and Noovie Shuffle movie trivia, where I earn points and rewards for game play and purchases. 

The theater, of course, is clean, comfortable, and staffed with people who care about my experience. And the movie is one that everyone has been talking about and that I’ve been dying to see—one of Hollywood’s best of the year.

After the film, I can redeem my points/rewards at the theater to purchase film-related and Noovie goods. I’m able to save my choices to my profile for future purchases. 

My Lyft arrives 20 to 30 minutes after the movie ends, and I head home happy and entertained. While I’m in the car, I get new film-release notifications and special offers to start planning my next trip to the movies!

That, I believe, is the future of moviegoing. We’re working hard at NCM and with our exhibitor partners to build that future.

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