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- Go Big or (Audiences Will) Go Home
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Go Big or (Audiences Will) Go Home
It was nice to see my ideas reflected in the august pages of my frequent bête noire The Hollywood Reporter in their recent piece How Movie Theaters Can Increase Profits — and Win Back Reluctant Audiences:
When considering the challenges faced by the movie industry, the emphasis is often on 45-day windows to premium video on-demand or on costs, marketing and debt. What’s rarely in focus are the practical ways to improve the viewing environment: the actual experience of sitting in a theater and the format an exhibitor offers to the moviegoer.
Wait, what??? What do you mean “rarely in focus”? Is my newsletter the rare focus mentioned above? I’ve been saying this constantly. In fact, I even regularly publish my multi-point plan for improving the theater business, which as a reminder is this:
Extend theatrical windows to 30/45/90 days over time
Reduce theatrical pre-shows to 15 minutes
Expand matinee-pricing hours
Increase repertory screenings
Build more large format venues
Budget for cheaper films that can take bigger swings
Everything in bold is presented in the article like it’s never been discussed before, which is irritating but you know what? If the industry rags are saying it, that’s basically the voice of the industry so I’m happy we’re all on the same page on these items. Sure, it’s clearly written with AI (“These fixes aren’t mysterious — they’re practical, proven, and need operational focus.”) and acts like this stuff isn’t obvious to anyone with half a brain but half-brained guys like me welcome the movie industry to the important task of defending itself from the tech companies who hate theatergoing.
Along these lines, I thought it notable that Sony Pictures Entertainment invested $100 million into Cosm, the immersive entertainment company with its own extremely large format venues. From The Wrap:
SPE said the investment will advance its focus on experiential entertainment, fandom and technology, allowing it to explore new ways to extend its IP through differentiated, tech-forward experiences and deepen audience engagement with the stories and worlds they love.
Why golly gee, here’s me writing about Cosm two years ago:
Longtime readers know that one of my fixations is getting people out of the house and into the theater, one of our best proven methods for making actual money. Taking note of the success of these spaces will be crucial for building a theatrical experience that works for a new generation of audiences.
One of the things I took from the Cosm article was its focus on social connection; obviously we don’t want people talking during a movie, but why is it there are so few spaces in movie theaters themselves for people to enjoyably congregate before and after a movie? You can’t really hang out with your friends in the lobby!
Solving this, making theaters “must-attend” venues is they key to securing a future for the movie theater experience.
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Happy July 4th Weekend!
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Kernels (3 links worth making popcorn for)
Here’s a round-up of cool and interesting links about Hollywood and technology:
How the World Cup became a streaming success story. (link)
Comcast Splits NBCUniversal and Cable. (link)
How The Mandalorian and Grogu shot its miniatures. (link)