Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt Reunite for Live Conversation Streamed to Theaters

Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Brad Pitt will share insights into the making of their hit Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood when the three reunite for a free, live, moderated panel discussion to be livestreamed exclusively to theaters across the country this Saturday, November 2.  At 3:30 p.m. Eastern time and 12:30 p.m. Pacific time across the country (at most locations), moviegoers will gather for a screening of the film, followed by the Q&A streamed live from Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood. The event will be free but will require tickets. Tickets will be distributed only at the theaters showing the event on a first-come, first-served basis. Sony Pictures says the event will not be streamed over the internet. The theaters showcasing the event are: Ann Arbor, MI  Michigan Theatre 603 E Liberty Street Atlanta  Regal Hollywood 24...

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Terminator: Dark Fate Director Tim Miller on Critics, Linda Hamilton and Those Inevitable T2 Comparisons

Spoiler alert: Terminator: Dark Fate isn’t as good as Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Take it from Tim Miller. “I don’t feel like it’s better than Terminator 2 or anything like that,” says Miller, director of the latest installment in the long-running sci-fi/action franchise. “But it was never going to be better than Terminator 2. You can’t go back in time and relive the nostalgia of that moment when you watch those movies for the first time.” Indeed, reviews for the forthcoming sequel–a direct continuation of the first two films that eschews the plots of subsequent follow-ups Rise of the Machines, Salvation, and Genisys–have been mixed, or as Miller...

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Ian Freer Joins QSC as Field Sales Engineer

PRESS RELEASE Costa Mesa, Calif. (October 31, 2019) – QSC announces the appointment of Ian Freer as Field Sales Engineer (Cinema), APAC. In his new role, Ian will be primarily responsible for product support in the Asia Pacific region. Freer brings with him over twenty years of experience in the cinema industry. “I am excited to have Ian Freer join the Cinema team,” says Barry Ferrell, Vice President, Cinema Product Development. “With his extensive technical experience, Ian brings hands-on expertise with a demonstrated history of customer success. He will be essential in providing around-the-clock support on a global scale.” Freer spent the last few years as an audio-video technician at Connect NZ, providing technical support, writing instructional technical documentation, and assisting with project management. Prior to that, Freer acted as a Digital Cinema...

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Emmy-Winning Fleabag Continues to Find Success on the Big Screen

Fleabag may be gone from your television screens, barring a first, second, or fifth rewatch of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Emmy-winning comedy. But it’s still to be found in theaters, thanks to twin efforts from event cinema providers Fathom Events and BY Experience. The BBC series Fleabag, distributed in the United States on Amazon Prime, stars creator/writer Waller-Bridge as the show’s unnamed main character: a confused, angry, honest—and very, very funny—woman living in London. The show had its origins in a one-woman show presented by Waller-Bridge at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013. Following the success of the television show, the play...

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Cinemark Reopens Fully Upgraded San Antonio Theater

PRESS RELEASE The completely remodeled theatre will provide 16 auditoriums and brand-new amenities to the community PLANO, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Cinemark Holdings, Inc., one of the world’s largest and most influential movie theatre companies, announced that the Cinemark Movies 16 theatre, located off of N.W. Loop 410, will officially reopen to the public as the Cinemark San Antonio 16 theatre today. The third Cinemark theatre in the area has been completely remodeled to bring San Antonians the best seat in town with enhanced moviegoing amenities and state-of-the-art upgrades. “After 30 years in the San Antonio community, Cinemark is proud to reopen the former Cinemark Movies 16 as a brand-new, fully upgraded theatre offering a modern experience to our moviegoers,” said Cinemark CEO, Mark Zoradi. “Guests of the new Cinemark San Antonio 16 theatre will...

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Freedom Fighter: Kasi Lemmons’s Biopic Brings the Saga of Harriet Tubman to the Big Screen

She’s a legendary figure in American history, such an icon that the U.S. Treasury has chosen her to be the first person of color to appear on the nation’s currency (in 2028). But how much do we really know about Harriet Tubman? Many know her as a major force in the mid-1800s Underground Railroad, guiding dozens of slaves to freedom after fleeing herself for the safety of Pennsylvania. But did you know that, during the Civil War, she was the first woman to lead an armed expedition, a raid that freed more than 700 slaves? Focus Features’ Harriet, opening on November 1, is the long-overdue biopic of Tubman, brought to life in a magnetic performance by Tony winner Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple) in her first lead movie role. The film co-stars Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. as abolitionist William Still; Janelle Monáe as free-born ally Marie Buchanon; Joe Alwyn (The...

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Bloodshot Gets One Up on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker In a Surprising Social Media Upset

As expected, last week’s big social media story was the new trailer for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. The trailer, the first for the film, crushed it online, especially on Twitter and Instagram. While it still had a strong Facebook showing, it was upstaged by the first trailer for the Valiant comic adaptation of Bloodshot,starring Vin Diesel. Bloodshot had over 150,000 shares—a stat made even more impressive when you consider that the post came from a newly minted social media account and had just a single post the whole week. The only other standout No Time To Die, which along with Star Wars was the only film to chart across all three tracked services. The news here was that the upcoming Bond film had wrapped its principal photography. Twitter Film New Page Likes Posts Post Likes Post Retweets  Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker       ...

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Paul Serwitz Named President And COO of Landmark Theatres

PRESS RELEASE LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Charles S. Cohen, Owner and Chairman ofLandmark Theatres, today announced the appointment of veteran exhibition executive Paul Serwitz as Landmark Theatres’ President and Chief Operating Officer.  Paul Serwitz brings his highly regarded reputation to Landmark after serving 17 years as Vice President of Film for Regal Entertainment Group, the national theatre circuit whose brands include Regal Cinemas, Edwards Theatres and United Artists Theatres.  For the better part of a decade, his role included oversight of Regal’s national art and specialized program, growing that segment of the business to nearly $200M.  Prior to Paul’s 25-year tenure at Regal, he was in Film with Toronto-based Cineplex Odeon in Washington D.C. and originally was in Operations...

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Weekend Forecast: Terminator: Dark Fate, Arctic Dogs, Harriet, and Motherless Brooklyn

Holiday movie season is finally here, in industry terms, as November arrives this Friday and four studios get a jump on the lucrative two-month-plus corridor at year’s end. Leading the pack of openers this weekend is Paramount’s latest resurrection of the Terminator franchise, this time featuring the return of Linda Hamilton alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. Dark Fate has long been hyped as a return to the series’ roots with an R-rated action film that ignores the events of the previous three chapters — 2003’s Rise of the Machines, 2009’s Salvation, and 2015’s Genisys. With James Cameron in a visible producer’s role, fans have hoped for more positive results this time around. Unfortunately, pre-release tracking hasn’t indicated that enthusiasm extends much beyond the target adult male fan base. Despite traditional tracking suggesting an opening weekend near $50 million...

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Off-the-Beaten-Path Horror Continues to Find a Home In Event Cinema

Water is wet. Fire is hot. Horror fans are crazy people who will turn up for—and drop cash on—the genre that they love. (Full disclosure: This Boxoffice Pro writer is speaking as a horror fan herself. Happy almost-Halloween.) As event cinema expands, adding titles and seeing their grosses increase, horror has become one of the genres—along with e-sports, music, faith-based content, and more, in addition to the old standbys like opera, theater, and ballet—event cinema providers have begun to explore with more frequency.  One of those providers, myCinema, sunk their claws into horror throughout the month of October via a partnership with Epic Pictures. The partnership saw myCinema release five horror titles from independent distributor Dread Central, part of the Epic Pictures Group. While myCinema also released classic horror films during the month of October—like...

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American Genre Film Archive And Multicom Announce Theatrical Distribution Partnership

PRESS RELEASE Austin, TX | October 29, 2019 – The American Genre Film Archive, the largest non-profit genre film archive and distributor in the world, is excited to announce a theatrical partnership with Multicom Entertainment Group, Inc., a multi-platform media company with a catalog of films, specials, and series that include over 6,000 hours of broadcast-quality programming featuring countless stars, genres, and formats. AGFA will distribute dozens of films from Multicom’s cult classic movie library to theaters. This is AGFA’s latest collaboration following their distribution partnerships with Arrow Films (Donnie Darko), Severin Films (Santa Sangre), Shout! Factory (Black Christmas), and Vinegar Syndrome (Dolemite). “AGFA is proud to enter into this partnership,” said AGFA Head of Business Affairs Alicia Coombs. “Multicom Entertainment Group holds rights...

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Q3 2019 Review: Domestic Q3 Improves 2.8 Percent over Last Year, Despite Fewer $100M+ Hits

by Shawn Robbins and Jesse Rifkin Led by The Lion King and Spider-Man: Far From Home, it was a strong third quarter at the domestic box office: Theatrical movies earned $2.81 billion in July, August, and September. Here’s a breakdown of top performers, key insights, and what to expect through the year’s end. Q3 2019 Increases from 2018 Q3 was up 2.8 percent over the same quarter last year, when Mission: Impossible – Fallout led with $219.1 million. But in a sense, the quarter’s box office was saved by the bell, or more specifically by The Lion King and Spider-Man, as the slate outside those two smashes yielded fewer big hits than in previous years. This year’s Q3 only saw six films earn $100 million or more. That’s lower than the 10 such films for Q3 last year, the seven such films in 2017, or the eight such films in 2016. Another way of looking at it: The Lion King and...

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Weekend Box Office Key Insights: Sony Hits $1B, Maleficent Leads Actuals after Sunday Studio Estimates Showed Joker Ahead

The 10-Figure Club Sony reached $1B on Sunday, with a total now just over that mark at $1.001B. They become the fourth studio of the year to reach the billion-dollar mark. Disney reached it on Sunday, April 28; Universal reached it on Friday, August 16, and Warner Bros. on Sunday, September 8. A Rare Reversal For Sunday’s studio weekend estimates, Warner Bros.’ Joker led with $18.9M over Disney’s fantasy sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil with $18.5M. But by the time Monday afternoon’s weekend actuals were revealed, those top two had reversed in order. Maleficent was now on top with $19.36M, slightly ahead of Joker with $19.24M. A switch on top from Sunday estimates to weekend actuals is rare, but it does occasionally happen, on average about once or maybe twice a year. With only 0.63% difference between the top two films, that’s the closest difference between the top...

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Geneva Convention 2019 Recap: Diversity—On and Off the Screen—Plays a Big Role in the Future of Exhibition

By Daniel Loria and Rebecca Pahle Diversity and inclusivity emerged as one of the biggest themes at this year’s Geneva Convention. The event played host to the inauguration of a new industry group, Women in Exhibition, composed of female executives dedicated to promoting leadership and mentorship among women in the industry. In a panel session sponsored byBoxoffice Pro, the group’s representatives shared insights based on their experiences as female executives in theatrical exhibition. ”People have to acknowledge that gender diversity is important as opposed to just being the right thing to do,” said Darryl Schaffer, EVP of exhibitor relations...

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