BoxOffice® Pro - May 2013

executive suite
If you don’t offer
you don’t have
the tastiest popcorn
in town – period.
13 delicious flavors including:
• White Cheddar
• Ranch
• Parmesan Garlic • Nacho Cheddar
• Kettle Corn
…and more!
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866.328.7672 x440
mthunder@kernelseasons.com
talent and directors from their movies, and introductions by their most
important executives.
In addition to the studio presentations and the trade floor exhibits,
the educational sessions offered at CinemaCon also provide great value to
our attendees. This year our seminars cover a wide range of topics including
theater architecture, the Chinese exhibition market, closed captioning,
meeting customer expectations, concessions issues and opportunities,
theater showmanship (with a panel moderated by some guy named Peter
Cane), new and emerging technologies, and many more.
And of course the convention would not be complete without our
Big Screen Achievement Awards honoring the best talent in the movie
industry and the Gala Poolside Party following the awards, generously
sponsored by our great friends at The Coca-Cola Company.
The strength of our convention reflects the growth of our trade association.
NATO has set a new record for membership this year. The association
has grown to represent the vast majority of domestic exhibitors, with
582 company members operating 30,742 screens in all 50 states. Beyond
the borders of the United States, though, NATO has become a truly
global organization with additional members operating in 61 countries
around the world. Our total global screen count now exceeds 51,000
strong! Our members employ more than 200,000 people.
As our membership continues to grow, we want to give our association
a new look. Given the realities of the digital age, we’ve discarded our old
logo with film sprocket holes! And we also believe that our new website
will provide more information and greater functionality to our members
and the industry generally when we roll it out in the near future.
This year we are also working to give our members better tools to
confront industry challenges. At CinemaCon we’re rolling out a new
ratings compaign to educate America’s parents. NATO and our partners
at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) jointly operate
the movie Classification and Rating Administration. Our voluntary
system of ratings enables parents to make informed decisions about the
moviegoing choices of their children. We’re debuting our new ratings
education materials and public service messages that will be running
in cinemas nationwide. This campaign implements a commitment we
made to Vice President Biden and President Obama earlier this year.
We are also announcing a new message to fight movie theft in our
cinemas. The MPAA and NATO partner in our war against the theft and
illegal sale of movies. Part of this important battle involves our education
of cinema patrons. At CinemaCon we unveil a new and fresh campaign
discouraging the recording of movies in theaters.
In the end, all of the efforts of CinemaCon and NATO are designed to
support one primary objective—driving movie ticket sales. The year 2012
set a new record at the movie box office, taking in $10.79 billion in the
United States and Canada, up 5.9 percent from 2011. Domestic admissions
also experienced strong growth at 1.355 billion, up 5.5 percent from the
previous year. Globally, box office receipts also set a new record with $34.7
billion in 2012. International box office is up 32 percent over five years ago.
The cinema industry serves an increasingly diverse audience, by age,
gender, and ethnicity. The record box office, here and abroad, shows that
when we meet that diversity with a broad range of movies and amenities,
cutting-edge technologies and viewing options, our industry thrives. That
broad range of movies is on display here at CinemaCon. As for amenities
and technologies, they’re here too.
The promise of digital cinema has arrived, with the conversion of
more than 85 percent of domestic screens, and steadily growing penetration
overseas as well. Digital cinema has enabled a better, more consistent
image on our screens; a true 3D experience; and much greater diversity
in alternative programming. But even as we wrap up the digital conversion,
other innovations loom on the horizon, from high frame rates to
immersive audio to laser light sources.
All of these topics will be discussed at CinemaCon as we pack as
much content as we can into four days! We are fortunate to work in such
a dynamic industry. Enjoy the show!
16 BoxOffice ® Pro The Business of Movies may 2013