Boxoffice - December 2014

$6.95 

DECEMBER 2014 

EXECUTIVE SUITE 

JOHN FITHIAN 

ELECTION DAY 2014: 

WHAT IT MEANS 

FOR YOU 

PATRICK 

CORCORAN 

NETFLIX AND 

THE MYTH OF 

INNOVATION 

ART HOUSE 

CONVERGENCE 

Q&A WITH 

THE CONFERENCE 

MANAGERS 

Christian Bale as Moses in 

the 20th Century Fox 

December release 

Exodus: Gods and Kings 

YEAR IN 

REVIEW 

THE 

QUOTABLE 

QUOTES 

THE BOXOFFICE 

INTERVIEWS 

INTO THE WOODS 

DIRECTOR ROB MARSHALL 

THE INTERVIEW 

WRITER DAN STERLING 

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS 

DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT 

ROCK 

RUMBLE 

RECLINE 

OUR SPECIAL REPORT 

ON LUXURY SEATING 

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THEATRE OWNERS

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Julien Marcel 

CEO 

BoxOffice Media 

(NOT JUST) ANOTHER YEAR 

could have been just another year. True, it 

2014 was our 95th in the magazine business— 

we’re enormously proud to say—but nevertheless, it 

might have been just one more. 

Instead it’s been far from ordinary. It was a year of big 

changes, big personalities, and big accomplishments. 

Just one year ago, BoxOffice welcomed its new 

owner, and I moved from Paris to L.A. to take the helm 

of this iconic publication. What a gratifying, humbling, 

exciting journey it’s been! 

Over the past 12 months, more than 100 talented professionals have taken 

time to answer our questions, share their vision, and offer up their insights. I 

hope you’ll enjoy reliving their provocative, amusing, and astute comments in 

“Overheard” on page 32. 

In those same 12 months, the box office has gone through major ups and 

downs, with all the reactions and overreactions one might expect following 

close behind. As 2014 comes to a close, many open-ended questions remain 

that will shape the future of the industry. Michael White tackles those 

questions, along with the year-end domestic box office status, on page 26. 

So, it’s true, 2014 could have been just another year. Or maybe not. Hey, 

this is Hollywood after all! 

Happy holidays to all of you. 

Julien Marcel 

Julien@boxoffice.com 

A Note to Subscribers 

In the past year we have significantly increased the readership of our magazine through a combination of paid-for and complimentary 

subscriptions. This has driven a number of changes in our database and, as a result, some readers have received 

invoices they should not have received. Including me! 

In fact, a number of NATO members have indicated that they received subscription letters and requests for payment over 

the past couple of months. Of course, as the official magazine of NATO, we are and will remain free of charge for all NATO 

members. 

If you or your colleagues encounter any problem receiving the magazine, or if you require a refund for a mistakenly paid 

invoice, please e-mail us at corporate@boxoffice.com. Our apologies for the inconvenience. 

DECEMBER 2014 BoxOffice ® Pro The Business of Movies 3

DECEMBER 2014 VOL. 150 NO. 12 

LIGHTS! 

CAMERA! 

TAKE ACTION! 

We deliver 

innovative 

insurance 

(Not just) another year by Julien Marcel 3 

Exhibition Briefs edited by Laura Silver 6 

Tech Talk: HDR by Jerry Pierce and Patrick Corcoran 12 

Election 2014: What does it mean for motion picture 

exhibitors? by John Fithian 

14 

Netflix and the myth of innovation: Simultaneous 

release is a house of cards by Patrick Corcoran 

18 

Hooray for Hollywood (Florida): Highlights of key 

industry trends from ShowEast 2014 by Daniel Loria 

22 

Art House Convergence interviews by Daniel Loria 24 

Exhibitors focus on mergers, upgrades as 2015 

promises box office revival by Michael White 

26 

Asia Pacific market update by Daniel Loria 29 

ExpoCine recap by Daniel Loria 30 

Overheard on the pages of BOXOFFICE PRO: 

We take a look back at 2014 with some of our 

favorite quotes from this year’s voyage 

32 

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by Michael White 

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by Daniel Loria 

THE BOXOFFICE INTERVIEWS 

Into the Woodsecoo 

interview by Michael White 

42 

The Interviewee 

interview by Daniel Loria 

46 

Exodus: Gods and Kingsecoeco 

interview by Daniel Loria 

48 

3D release calendar sponsored by RealD 52 

December releases capsule previews by Kenneth James Bacon 54 

Booking Guide compiled by Daniel Garris 72 

Classifieds 80 

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EXHIBITION 

BRIEFS 

n Dolby Laboratories Inc. revealed at ShowEast that 16 new Hollywood titles are coming to the 

big screen in Dolby Atmos, increasing the number of announced titles to more than 200 since the 

sound format’s launch with Disney/Pixar’s Brave in 2012. Coming full circle, its 200th confirmed 

title is Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out. 

New Dolby Atmos titles are currently scheduled from major studios including DreamWorks 

Animation, Lionsgate, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion 

Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Pixar Animation Studios. Four Warner Bros. releases are also scheduled 

to be mixed and released in Dolby Atmos. 

UPCOMING DOLBY ATMOS TITLES 

2014 

Book of Life 

Big Hero 6 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1 

Penguins of Madagascar 

Exodus: Gods and Kings 

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb 

Unbroken 

2015 

American Sniper 

McFarland USA 

Kingsman: The Secret Service 

Insurgent 

In the Heart of the Sea 

Avengers: Age of Ultron 

Inside Out 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 

edited by Laura Silver 

LISTEN UP 

DOLBY ATMOS SURPASSES 200-TITLE 

MILESTONE WITH NEW FILMS ANNOUNCED 

AT SHOWEAST 2014 

Fox 

Disney 

Lionsgate 

Fox, DreamWorks 

Fox 

Warner Bros. 

Fox 

Universal 

Warner Bros. 

Disney 

Fox 

Lionsgate 

Warner Bros. 

Disney, Marvel 

Disney, Pixar 

Warner Bros. 


DODD RESPONDS TO UPDATE OF U.S. 

/ CHINA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

AGREEMENT (ITA) 

n Senator Chris Dodd, chairman and CEO 

of the Motion Picture Association of America 

(MPAA) has released a statement regarding the 

agreement reached between the United States 

and China on product scope in negotiations to 

expand the product coverage of the Information 

Technology Agreement (ITA): 

“MPAA commends the United States and 

China for reaching a crucial agreement on expanded 

product coverage in the negotiations to 

update the Information Technology Agreement 

(ITA). Once concluded, this agreement will 

encourage the growth of the U.S. and global 

motion picture industries by eliminating costly 

tariffs—some as high as 30 percent—on a wide 

range of digital and optical media and storage 

devices used in worldwide motion picture production, 

editing, distribution, and exhibition. 

“MPAA is grateful for the hard work and 

leadership of President Obama, U.S. trade 

representative Michael Froman, and the USTR 

team, who have worked tirelessly to narrow the 

differences with China to reach an understanding 

which will lead to a commercially significant 

agreement. MPAA also applauds China for 

contributing to the resumption of negotiations. 

We encourage all ITA participants to seize 

the momentum created by this agreement to 

resume and rapidly conclude the negotiations.” 

The Motion Picture Association of America, 

Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate 

of the American motion picture, home video, 

and television industries from its offices in Los 

Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members 

include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; 

Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures 

Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox 

Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; 

and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. 

ACQUISITIONS 

DOLBY ACQUIRES DOREMI LABS 

n Dolby Laboratories has completed its acquisition 

of Doremi Labs. The acquisition establishes 

Dolby as a leader in audio and video playback 

solutions with a comprehensive product portfolio 

for the cinema exhibition industry. 

“We are thrilled to bring together two teams 

that are committed to delivering the best digital 

cinema processing and playback solutions,” 

says Kevin Yeaman, president and CEO, Dolby 

Laboratories. “Delivering deeply integrated 

audio/video playback solutions will allow us 

to accelerate innovation and deliver amazing 

experiences for exhibitors and audiences.” 

The deal advances Dolby’s mission to 

improve the cinema experience, enable new 

forms of storytelling, and accelerate the delivery 

and deployment of innovative solutions to 

exhibitors. 

6 BoxOffice ® Pro The Business of Movies DECEMBER 2014

EXHIBITION BRIEFS 

SEASON OF GIVING 

VARIETY’S MINIONS GOLD HEART PIN NOW 

AVAILABLE 

n Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment, and Variety—the Children’s 

Charity’s limited-edition Gold Heart pins, featuring Illumination’s beloved Minions, 

are available for a minimum donation of three dollars in movie theaters and 

select retail outlets nationwide now through August 2015. A full list of participating 

locations can be found at usvariety.org. 

Proceeds will benefit Variety programs that provide the gift of independence, 

self-esteem, mobility, and communication; survival, recovery, well-being, and 

health; and education, confidence, and achievement to children who are disabled 

and disadvantaged. 

“Variety believes that every child deserves a limitless future,” says Erica Lopez, 

executive director of Variety—the Children’s Charity of the United States. “We 

encourage everyone to unite with the Minions and help improve the life of a child 

in their community.” 

Since 1991, the Gold Heart Pin Campaign has been Variety’s signature 

fund-raising endeavor. Variety works with one major motion picture studio every 

year, including Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 

Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures to design a pin based on 

a film or character, including universally recognized characters Mickey Mouse, 

Kermit the Frog, E.T., Spider-Man, Shrek, Yogi Bear, Yoda, Darth Vader, R2-D2, 

C-3PO, and now, the Minions. Through this partnership, the Gold Heart Campaign 

has raised millions of dollars to help children in need. 

WALL OF SOUND 

WARNER BROS. DE LANE LEA TURNS 

TO MEYER SOUND FOR DOLBY ATMOS 

UPGRADE 

n Warner Bros. De Lane Lea, a sound postproduction 

facility, has added 24 additional Meyer 

Sound cinema loudspeakers to its primary mixing 

stage as part of a recent upgrade to Dolby 

Atmos. The newly outfitted Stage 1 is Central 

London’s largest stage and also its first to offer 

this format. It has been booked for the mixing 

of major feature films since reopening. 

Stage 1 has used the Meyer Sound 7.1 cinema 

system since its installation in 2010, so the 

selection of additional Meyer Sound components 

was a natural choice for the expansion. 

“Dolby Atmos places intensive demands on 

the monitoring system,” says Chris Burdon, 

staff re-recording mixer at Warner Bros. De 

Lane Lea. “Replaying full-range audio across 

the entire surround array at high levels while 

maintaining accuracy is a new challenge. 

Fortunately, we’ve found that the Meyer Sound 

system provides the necessary audio fidelity and 

output power to mix confidently in Atmos. 

The traditional Meyer strong points of smooth 

frequency response and spatial accuracy really 

come into their own in helping to create a 

continuous sound space.” 

The complete Stage 1 monitoring system 

is anchored by three Acheron 80 and three 

Acheron LF screen channel loudspeakers, one 

of each paired to receive a separate channel. Atmos 

surround sound is provided by 12 HMS- 

10, 10 HMS-12, and 10 HMS-5 surround 

loudspeakers, while five X-800C high-power 

cinema subwoofers in front and two X-400C 

cinema subwoofers in the rear provide low end. 

A Galileo loudspeaker management system 

with one Galileo 408 processor supplies system 

drive and optimization. 

SOUTH OF THE BORDER 

CINEMAGIC SELECTS GDC’S SX-3000 

IMB FOR DIGITAL ROLLOUT OF NEW 

THEATERS IN MEXICO, U.S., AND 

GUATEMALA 

n GDC Technology Limited, a digital 

cinema solutions provider, announced that 

Cinemagic—a Mexican cinema chain— 

has committed to install 180 units of the 

company’s SX-3000 Standalone Integrated 

Media Block (above) over the next three years. 

Founded in 2005, Cinemagic, the 

second-largest independent exhibitor in 

Mexico, currently manages a total of 77 

screens at 15 movie complexes throughout 

Mexico and has confirmed it will expand 

its footprint into the United States and 

Guatemala. The newly purchased IMBs will 

be installed at Cinemagic’s new complexes 

in Mexico, Guatemala, and the United 

States in three phases: they will be fitted in 

60 individual theaters across 10 locations 

in each of the next three years. Cinemagic’s 

expansion will contribute significantly to its 

goal of delivering affordable, high-quality 

entertainment options for all moviegoers. 

Roberto Quintero, CEO of Cinemagic, 

says, “GDC Technology has been a strategic 

partner for Cinemagic. After considering all the 

options in the market, we selected GDC Technology 

based on the server’s quality, in-country 

tech support, and competitive offer.” 

Man-Nang Chong, founder and CEO of 

GDC Technology, says, “In partnering with 

Cinemagic, we are committed to providing 

high quality cinema solutions to help grow its 

business in the years to come.” 

According to GDC, the SX-3000 IMB is the 

industry’s first standalone IMB and significantly 

lowers operation, maintenance, and installation 

costs by eliminating the need for an attached 

server while offering high frame-rate capability 

in both 2D and 3D, live 3D support, digital 

connectivity for alternative content such as 3G 

HD-SDI, and HDMI input with image scaling. 

THAT’S THE TICKET 

MOVIETICKETS.COM INTRODUCES 

NEW MOBILE TICKET, PROMOTES 

TICKET SALES ACROSS TOUCHTUNES 

LOCATIONS 

n MovieTickets.com, an advance movie tickets 

vendor, has introduced a new mobile movie 

ticket that turns a smartphone into a ticket. 

The ticket can be validated by movie theater 

employees without the use of scanners. The 

solution allows moviegoers the convenience 

of skipping the ticket-redemption process 

altogether. The company expects to pilot the 

technology before the end of the year. 


DRIVE-INS 

USA DRIVE-INS SELECTS NEC DISPLAY SOLUTIONS AS 

EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER FOR DIGITAL CINEMA PROJECTORS 

n NEC Display Solutions of America, a provider of commercial LCD display and projector solutions, 

has announced its selection as exclusive supplier of digital cinema projectors of USA 

Drive-Ins, a motion picture exhibition company solely dedicated to the revitalization of 

the classic American drive-in. All NEC digital cinema projectors are Digital Cinema 

Initiatives (DCI) compliant, which allows exhibitors to capitalize on current and 

future growth opportunities and can be centrally managed, freeing up on-site theater 

personnel for more strategic activities. 

The company will exclusively use NEC Display NC3200S and NC3240S digital 

cinema projectors in this initiative to increase the number of drive-in theaters in the 

United States. The locations will present family-friendly films for an all-American 

experience. USA Drive-ins has executed an agreement to partner with the restaurant 

Johnny Rockets. 

“This effort embodies a deep belief that people should have greater access to movies 

and that families should experience the fun of going to the drive-in,” says Bill Dever, 

managing director of USA Drive-Ins. “We are excited about partnering with NEC and 

GDC Technology, a digital cinema solutions provider. These are both cutting-edge companies 

dedicated to providing the best moviegoing experience possible.” 

Besides NEC’s and GDC’s roles in the project, Ballantyne Strong, Inc. is the project’s 

reseller and will provide installation, warranty, and technical services. 

In addition to the traditional drive-in locations set for completion in the spring of 2015, USA Drive-Ins also is deploying “pop-up” driveins, 

for which it will utilize NEC digital cinema projectors. 

The next-generation mobile ticket was 

developed in partnership with Bytemark using 

Bytemark’s V3 (visually verifiable virtual ticket) 

technology. The technology is currently being 

used by ferry and bus company NY Waterway 

in New York City, the South Shore line in Chicago, 

and Cap Metro in Austin, Texas. 

The new process is completed in three steps: 

Users purchase a ticket, a virtual ticket is delivered 

securely to a mobile device, and moviegoers 

go directly to the ticket taker. The ticket is 

visually validated by the theater staff who will 

identify embedded security features uniquely 

customized to the film or the theater itself. Each 

ticket has several security features that include 

animated watermarks, touch animations, and 

color changes. These security features can be 

changed as often as once per show time and are 

concealed from users until the tickets are activated 

prior to the performance. This new technology 

will also include a virtual “tear” feature that 

will allow users’ mobile devices to act as their 

ticket stubs during their visit to the theater. 

In other company news, MovieTickets.com 

and TouchTunes, the largest in-venue entertainment 

and engagement platform in over 60,000 

bars and restaurants across North America, 

have announced an exclusive partnership to 

provide film studios a new way to promote 

movie releases and ticket sales. Through branded 

interactive content powered by MovieTickets.com 

ticketing capabilities, moviegoers will 

be able to learn about new releases and purchase 

tickets through TouchTunes’ interactive 

jukebox displays and its mobile application. 

In August 2014, TouchTunes worked with 

Twentieth Century Fox to promote Let’s Be Cops. 

Using TouchTunes’ on-premises screens and 

mobile app, the studio featured the film’s movie 

trailer at targeted locations nationwide and also 

offered patrons a chance to win a trip to Los 

Angeles to attend the movie premiere. As a result 

Twentieth Century Fox was able to generate 

millions of impressions for the film while also 

capturing consumer e-mail data for future 

promotion and communications. The campaign 

with Twentieth Century Fox followed successful 

promotions with Lionsgate and Starz. 

SCREENING ROOM 

HARKNESS SCREENS LAUNCHES NEW 

CLARUS XC 270 SURFACE 

n Harkness Screens has launched a new higher-gain 

version of its fourth-generation 2D and 

3D screen surface, Clarus XC. 

Shipping in late 2014, the new Clarus XC 

270 screen surface’s d-smooth coating technology 

has properties more commonly seen in white 

screens. This technology enables Clarus XC 

screens to benefit from significantly improved 

light distribution compared to traditional 3D 

silver screens. According to the company, visible 

hot-spotting is reduced and uniformity is greatly 

increased, making compliance with 2D industry 

standards more easily achievable. 

“We developed our new higher-gain Clarus 

XC 270 screen surface to allow cinema exhibitors 

struggling for on-screen brightness, particularly 

in 3D, to benefit from all of the visual 

performance improvements from using Clarus 

XC technology such as contrast, color accuracy, 

image detail, and 3D depth whilst increasing 

center-screen brightness,” says Richard Mitchell, 

head of global marketing at Harkness Screens. 

Clarus XC technology is available in four 

different gain levels, 1.4, 1.7, 2.2, and 2.7, 

designed to suit all digital cinema environments 

from small screening rooms to large-format 

theaters. To date over 500 Clarus XC screens 

have been installed globally. 

GET YOUR TICKETS 

FANDANGO ADDS SEVEN NEW 

EXHIBITORS 

n Fandango recently announced that it has 

added Bow Tie Cinemas, the eighth largest 

U.S. theater circuit, plus leading exhibitors 

Classic Cinemas, Megaplex Theatres, UltraStar 

Cinemas, Dipson Theaters, Cinépolis, and Hollywood’s 

iconic TCL Chinese Theatres, to its 

digital-ticketing network. 

The seven recently signed exhibitor deals 

added hundreds of new-to-Fandango screens in 

13 states across the country, including Arizona, 

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, 

Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, 

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia, lifting 

the company’s total U.S. screen count to more 

than 25,000. Fandango now provides online 

and mobile ticketing services to the majority 

of the nation’s theaters with online ticketing 

capabilities. 

“This is a real milestone for Fandango, as 

these seven new partnerships will significantly 

expand our ticketing reach and consumer 

conveniences to some of the greatest cinemas 

across the country,” says Fandango president 

Paul Yanover. 

Over the past year, Fandango has added 

more than 2,000 screens across the country to 

its network. In May, the company signed Har- 


EXHIBITION BRIEFS 

LIBERTAD Y ORDEN 

CINE COLOMBIA SELECTS MACCS INTERNATIONAL TO 

MANAGE THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION 

n MACCS International, a developer of distribution software for the global 

motion picture industry with over 100 distributors in 37 territories among 

its clientele, has announced that Cine Colombia has licensed MACCS Theatrical 

Distribution Software to run its distribution. Senior vice president 

Jesse Chow made the announcement at ShowEast. 

MACCS Theatrical Distribution Software manages all aspects of a 

motion picture theatrical release including planning, booking contracts, 

inventory, box office data, invoicing, and cash receivables. It interfaces with 

multiple general ledger systems and, through its MaccsBox API services, 

provides a single point of contact to third-party systems including those of 

exhibitors, postproduction houses, and shipping depots. Its automated design 

provides efficiencies and improved business intelligence and is available 

in multiple languages and currencies. 

“I am so pleased that Cine Colombia has chosen MACCS to drive 

distribution,” says Chow. “I have been impressed with the breadth of their 

operation and am excited they chose our leading software as we focus on 

further growth in Latin America.” 

“We are always looking for ways to improve our businesses,” says Munir 

Falah, CEO of Cine Colombia S.A. “MACCS was an easy decision because 

of their industry leadership, experience, and ability to scale with us.” 

MACCS Theatrical Distribution Software is currently available in 

Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and in 33 other territories including 

the United States. 

kins Theatres, the nation’s largest independently owned theater chain and 

top circuit in key southwestern states, plus leading exhibitors, Digiplex 

Destinations and Premiere Cinemas. 

Earlier this year, the company redesigned its website and mobile 

apps. The company also acquired MovieClips, the largest movie trailer 

and content network on YouTube, with more than 9 million subscribers, 

averaging 230 million video views per month. 

SHOWING INITIATIVE 

CHRISTIE LAUNCHES FIRST NATIONAL EXPERIENTIAL 

NETWORKS FOR CINEMA LOBBIES 

n Christie has announced the launch of its new media initiative, Christie 

Experiential Networks (CEN). Based on the theme “From the Street to 

the Screens,” the network features unique digital destinations such as the 

Christie double-sided digital standee, the experiential video wall, and the 

hero screen, some of which were introduced during ShowEast in October. 

With this new initiative, Christie will now supply technologies and 

digital content to exhibitors’ lobbies. Christie provides standard track 

installations at no cost to the exhibitor and can also provide personalized 

concepts for a competitive investment. CEN’s team of media specialists 

will manage advertising sales in a revenue-share model with the exhibitors. 

Christie’s new CEN provides access to a large-scale network of 

refined, multiplatform digital experiences for the consumer that will, for 

example, enable studios to transform a trailer into a 4K gesture experience, 

or brands to create an interactive experience from an app, such as a 

30-second ad or a static poster. Then the experience can be distributed on 

a national scale in designated market areas. 

The Christie Experiential Networks programming will also integrate 

promotional elements such as discounts, special promotions, and giveaways. 

These opportunities extend to studios, product marketers, advertisers, 

and exhibitors, who will be showcased on the new network as well 

as on the legacy systems Christie plans to integrate within the theater. 

“The industry might not be fully aware, but Christie has developed 

a solid track record over the past five years in delivering next-generation 

digital signage applications for our clients and partners,” says Sean James, 

vice president, global professional services, at Christie. “Now, with the 

addition of our media sales services headed by Kevin Romano, who has 

played a key role in the development of brand advertising in cinema, we 

feel we have built the ideal team to accompany the cinema industry in 

this next phase of innovation and growth.” 

PROJECTION CONNECTION 

CINEPLANET COMPLETES EXTENSIVE DIGITAL CINEMA 

CONVERSION WITH BARCO AND BARDAN 

n Barco, the digital cinema projection company, in collaboration with 

Bardan Cinema, a full-service distributor and digital cinema integrator 

serving Latin America, has elevated the entertainment quality of Cineplanet’s 

200-plus movie theaters by outfitting numerous new theaters. 

Cineplanet will now employ a variety of digital cinema projectors 

offered by Barco, from their compact DP2K-10Sx with integrated media 

server for smaller auditoriums to the DP4K-32B for its largest movie 

houses. 

“In placing our trust with Bardan and Barco, we knew that we would 

receive the hands-on attention and unwavering dedication to our needs 

necessary to achieve a smooth conversion of our cinemas,” says Fernando 

Soriano, CEO for Cineplex S.A. “We also highly value their superior customer 

service and support, which will ensure reliable operation of these 

outstanding projectors for years to come.” 

“We are honored to celebrate the completion of Cineplanet’s digital 

conversion, which represents a new era in progressive cinema entertainment 

in Latin America,” says Ney Corsino, senior vice president, international 

sales, for Barco. “We look forward to their next phase of digital 

cinema deployments, which will strengthen our presence here, bringing 

expanded resources to the region for the benefit of all exhibitors.” 


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TECH 

TALK 

NATO ISSUES TECHNOLOGICAL 

REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE 

PROJECTION 

by Jerry Pierce and Patrick Corcoran 

PEAK 

BRIGHTNESS 

BLACK 

LEVEL 

COLOR 

GAMUT 

WHITE 

POINT 

n NATO has released technological requirements for high 

dynamic range (HDR) projection systems for movie theaters. 

The requirements, developed by NATO’s Technology 

Committee and NATO’s technology consultant, Jerry 

Pierce, seek open standards for the technology, so as to 

avoid multiple, incompatible proprietary systems. 

2D 

Open Standard 1 

Brighter / Blacker / 

Standard Color 



Laser Color 

NATO’s technology committees have a mission of 

encouraging new technologies that may benefit the entire 

industry. To that end, we believe new image-presentation 

systems have the potential to bring new experiences to 

our patrons. At this time NATO is not endorsing HDR 

or laser systems, but we believe it is important for NATO 

to identify requirements necessary to bring these new 

technologies into our theaters. We hope to work with 

studios, service providers, and equipment manufacturers in 

understanding and refining our requirements. 

It is critical that there not be multiple proprietary 

solutions for theaters. It is essential that a theater that 

selects one class of HDR or lasers be able to play all movies 

that are released in this class of new technologies. We also 

recognize the complexities of mastering to multiple target 

systems and the added complexity of distribution of multiple 

masters. We also believe it is time to define standards 

for new 2D and 3D projectors. With this in mind, and 

considering the difficulties of achieving high brightness, 

3D 



Standard Color 



Laser Color 

particularly on low-gain screens, there should be an acceptable 

tolerance from either side in achieving these defined 

open standards. There also needs to be consideration of the 

illumination fall-off with age of laser-based projectors. 

Based on the work in Inter-Society and ISDCF 

(Inter-Society Digital Cinema Forum) with participation 

from all sectors, NATO believes that 

there should be no more than four 

open standards for HDR defined— 

two for HDR-2D and two for HDR- 

3D for new HDR/laser experiences. 

We are not proposing the numerical 

standards for the standards. We believe 

the creative and technical groups 

should define the detailed values. We 

believe defining an open standard 

is the most effective way of helping 

guide the industry without constraining 

creativity. 

THE OPEN STANDARDS FOR 

HDR SHOULD BE: 

1. 2D-HDR - Defined maximum 

brightness (to be defined, between 

14ftL and 30ftL), defined black levels 

and white point, standard P3 color 

space 

2. 3D-HDR - Defined maximum 

brightness (to be defined, between 10ftL 

and 14ftL), defined black levels and 

white point, standard P3 color space 

3. 2D-HDR - Defined maximum brightness (to be defined, 

between 14ftL and 30ftL), defined black levels and 

white point, extended laser-based color space 

4. 3D-HDR - Defined maximum brightness (to be defined, 

between 10ftL and 14ftL), defined black levels and 

white point, extended laser-based color space 

SUGGESTED APPROACH 

NATO believes that the industry needs to conduct tests 

and demonstrations for the proposed detailed specifications 

of these open standards, also taking into account 

maintenance requirements and light diminishment over 

time. Working groups in SMPTE may provide a forum to 

standardize specific values and measurement procedures. 

By making these defined open standards, it will allow exhibition 

to embrace new technologies with an understanding 

of the availability of studio-approved masters. n 


NEW QSC PRODUCTS AUDIO

EXECUTIVE 

SUITE 

ELECTION 2014 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR 

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITORS? 

by John Fithian, President and CEO, NATO 

something over the next two years, or risk being 

thrown out by voters. Nonetheless, congressional 

accomplishments over the next two 

years will likely be mainly at the margins. Two 

important elements of this democracy—the 

right of the minority to filibuster in the Senate, 

and the right of the president to veto legislation 

enacted by the Congress—prevent radical 

action by the majority party in the legislature. 

At the same time, the continued divided federal 

government leaves open the window for more 

dramatic action at the state level. 

Consider the application of these general 

principles to specific issues confronting exhibitors: 

The Patient 

Protection and 

Affordable Care Act 

(PPACA) commonly 

called the Affordable 

Care Act (ACA) or 

“Obamacare” is a 

United States federal 

statute signed into 

law by President 

Barack Obama on 

March 23, 2010. 

Republicans may 

advance proposals 

on specific reforms 

to that law. One such 

reform—to broaden 

the definition of a 

“full time” worker 

beyond 30 hours a 

week—could advance 

in the next Congress. 

Similarly, Republicans 

may advance 

a more reasonable 

definition of seasonal 

worker” as that 

term is used under 

the ACA. NATO 

strongly supports 

both of those initiatives. 

n It’s Wednesday morning, November 5, and this author 

sits bleary-eyed at his computer trying to make sense of it 

all. Republicans have seized control of the U.S. Senate for 

the first time since 2007, and they widened their majority 

in the U.S. House of Representatives. Perhaps even more 

telling, Republicans swept most competitive races for governor, 

even in liberal states like Maryland and Massachusetts. 

Meanwhile, the decentralization of policy making in the 

country continued as many important issues—including 

increases in the minimum wage and a municipal soda tax— 

were decided at the ballot box. 

Every author must admit bias, so here it goes. This author 

is a partisan Democrat who was raised by a Democratic 

congressman and has been consistently active in Democratic 

politics. At the same time, the motion picture exhibitors 

represented by NATO span the political spectrum. Theater 

operators are businesspeople who don’t much care for 

regulation or taxes or big government. On the other hand, 

exhibitors value civil liberties, particularly the free-speech 

rights that enable them to show whatever movies they want 

to show. How will the election impact these values? 

One thing is clear: the federal government remains firmly 

divided. An increasingly conservative Republican party 

controls both houses of Congress, and a relatively progressive 

Democrat remains in the White House. Some commentators 

suggest that this formula guarantees absolute gridlock 

in Washington—but not this author. With the majority 

in both chambers, the Republicans really must accomplish 

A DIVIDED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

MAY COMPROMISE ON ISSUES LIKE 

HEALTH CARE AND THE MINIMUM 

WAGE 

At the outset, some in the new Republican 

majority will no doubt propose radical reforms. 

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, for example, will 

offer legislation to repeal entirely the Affordable 

Care Act (ACA). But given the procedural power of the 

minority party in the Senate, and the president’s prerogative 

to veto legislation, those comprehensive initiatives will likely 

fail. Breaking a filibuster in the Senate (called “invoking 

cloture” for the civics nerds), requires a supermajority of 60 

votes out of 100, and overriding a presidential veto requires 

a two-thirds majority in both houses. 

Instead of a complete repeal of the ACA, then, Republicans 

may advance proposals on specific reforms to that law. 

One such reform—to broaden the definition of a “full time” 

worker beyond 30 hours a week—could advance in the next 

Congress. Similarly, Republicans may advance a more reasonable 

definition of “seasonal worker” as that term is used 

under the ACA. NATO strongly supports both of those 

initiatives. Likely incoming Senate majority leader Mitch 

McConnell (R-KY) stated just hours after his re-election 

that expanding the 30-hour workweek definition within 

the ACA is a priority for the 114th Congress, and that full 

repeal of the ACA likely will not happen. 

Before they agree to modifications on the ACA, however, 

Democrats in the Senate are likely to demand initiatives of 

their own. At the top of the Democrats’ list lies a possible 

increase in the minimum wage. Under Republican control, 

the Senate will not approve large increases in the wage rate, 

but compromise on a moderate increase is possible. Senator 

Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican, has proposed 

just such a compromise—making moderate, pro-business 

reforms to the ACA while increasing modestly the 


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ILLUSTRATION BY KENNETH JAMES BACON 

On November 4, 

voters in four states 

approved ballot 

initiatives to raise 

the minimum wage in 

those jurisdictions. 

federal minimum wage. History suggests that compromises 

on the minimum wage can occur in a divided government. 

Wage increases were enacted in 1996 and in 2007, when 

one party controlled the White House and the other party 

led both houses of Congress. 

Another reason why Republicans may consider a moderate 

increase in the federal minimum wage would be to 

“stop the bleeding” in the states, as more and more states 

approve large wage increases either by legislation or by ballot 

initiative. A moderate increase in the federal minimum 

wage could provide an argument against additional, larger 

increases at the state level. 

A REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED CONGRESS MAY 

EXAMINE HOLLYWOOD 

It is no secret that Hollywood, for the most part, loves 

Democrats. Federal Election Commission records in each 

election cycle reveal lopsided campaign contribution 

patterns. Leading movie producers and directors, as well as 

many studio bosses, hold high-profile fundraisers for Democratic 

candidates on a regular basis. And the overwhelmingly 

liberal bias among the famous-actor base can be seen by the 

high-profile causes those actors adopt. 

Republicans do see eye-to-eye with the movie industry 

on important business matters like free trade and corporate 

tax policy. But when it comes to “culture,” the morality 

wing of the Republican Party simply loves to beat up on 

Hollywood. 

In this author’s tenure with NATO, Republicans have 

proposed legislation to write the movie ratings system into 

law and fine theater operators for violations; to tax movies 

with violent content; to censor movies with particular content; 

to regulate the manner in which movies are advertised; 

and a host of other onerous (and likely unconstitutional) 

ideas. Though such legislation does not appear imminent 

in the short term, any high-profile public act of violence 

with an alleged connection to movie content could trigger 

congressional action with the Republicans in control. Short 

of legislation, Republicans could conduct congressional 

“fact-finding” investigations or could pressure federal regulatory 

agencies to take action. 

On Election Day (Tuesday, November 4), an article appeared 

in a Capitol Hill trade paper (The Hill) entitled “The 

MPAA Ratings for Violence and Sex—Useful for Whom?” 

The article concluded with this language: “The Federal Trade 

Commission may not have the regulatory authority to judge 

the rating system. But perhaps it is time for the agency to 

think about stronger measures to bring the industry in line 

with its own ratings system. It appears that the system is primarily 

useful for the industry itself, and not for the country 

or its parents.” The date of publication of that article is not 

a coincidence. 

A DIVIDED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

ENCOURAGES GREATER ACTION AT THE STATE 

LEVEL 

Few would argue that the divided federal government 

of the past few years has been very productive. Indeed this 

author opined in this publication’s January 2014 issue that 

the 112th Congress (2011–2012) was the least productive of 

a lifetime. The 113th Congress (2013–2014) hasn’t been any 

better. In that vacuum, policy makers and voters at the state 

and local levels have been more aggressive. 

On November 4, voters in four states approved ballot 

initiatives to raise the minimum wage in those jurisdictions 

(see illustration above). 

Illinois also had a ballot question on the minimum 

wage—to increase to $10 in January 2015—but that 

initiative was “advisory” and not binding. San Francisco also 

approved a minimum-wage increase: $12.25 in May 2015, 

with gradual increases up to $15 in 2018, and adjusted for 

inflation thereafter. 

These ballot initiatives followed a legislative year in 

which 10 states and the District of Columbia raised their 

minimum wages legislatively. 

Beyond minimum wages, a regular topic in many states 

this election brought a relatively new threat to the movie 

theater business—taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. 

Voters in Berkeley, California, approved by a wide margin a 

ballot measure to impose a penny-per-ounce tax. More than 

two dozen other cities and states had previously attempted 

to impose punitive taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. The 

Berkeley initiative had been heavily lobbied with extensive 

funding as both sides believed a positive vote could set a 

precedent for other jurisdictions. 

In a recent survey of NATO members, government 

relations was identified as one of the association’s top two 

priorities (the other being protection of the theatrical release 

window). Effective government relations require a professional 

lobbying staff, active and informed members, and participation 

in the political process. Exhibitors should join and 

be active in both the national and state NATO units. Those 

members are also encouraged to support the association’s 

political action committee and be involved in campaigns. 

Oh, and congratulations to my (ugh!) Republican 

friends. n 


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NETFLIX AND THE 

MYTH OF INNOVATION 

SIMULTANEOUS RELEASE 

IS A HOUSE OF CARDS 

by Patrick Corcoran, Vice President & Chief Communicaitons Office, NATO 

fexeoeeeexc 

ceceficceeeee 

ocecoeeoeHouse of 

CardsOrange Is the New Blackeo 

eoxoeceOexoe 

cecocoeBeoe 

eceeooeexexceHouse of Cards 

n Netflix got some attention for itself just before its Q3 2014 earnings call by announcing 

a deal with Imax and The Weinstein Company to release Crouching Tiger Hidden 

Dragon: The Green Legend—a sequel to the $128 million–grossing 2000 hit—simultaneously 

on Imax screens and streaming on Netflix. Unsurprisingly, theater owners responded 

less than enthusiastically, with major domestic and international circuits announcing they 

had no intention of booking a title simultaneously released to the home. 

Netflix’s chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, continued to tout the plan, assailing 

theater owners for standing in the way of “innovation.” 

“Movie distribution is pretty stuck in old models. A lot of models that the 

theater owners have kept in place are outdated,” he said at the fifth annual 

U.S. / China Film Summit on November 5. “We need to stop distinguishing 

the experience by access. Many movies are just as good if not better 

at home.” 

This is an old refrain from Sarandos, who a year earlier said at 

the Film Independent Forum, “Theater owners stifle this kind of 

innovation at every turn. The reason why we may enter the space 

and release some big movies ourselves this way is because I’m 

concerned that as theater owners try to strangle innovation 

and distribution, not only are they going to kill theaters, they 

might kill movies.” 

NATO president John Fithian quickly fired back. “Subscription 

movie services and cheap rentals killed the DVD 

business, and now Sarandos wants to kill the cinema as 

well,” he said. “The only business that would be helped 

by day-and-day release to Netflix is Netflix. If Hollywood 

did what Sarandos suggests, there wouldn’t be many 

movies left for Netflix’s customers or for anyone else. 

It makes absolutely no business sense to accelerate the 

release of the lowest value in the chain.” 

Sarandos quickly backpedaled, saying at the 

Bloomberg Tribeca Film Festival Business of Entertainment 

Breakfast a few days later, “I wasn’t calling 

for day-and-date with Netflix. I was just calling to 

move all the windows up to get closer to what the 

consumer wants. I think there’s a better business 

in giving people what they want than creating 

artificial distance between the product and the 

consumer.” 

Sorry, not sorry. 

We have covered numerous times the 

various fallacies inherent in the simultaneous-release 

business model. Movies like 

Margin Call, Arbitrage, and Bachelorette, 

touted as successful examples of the model 

domestically, far underperform theatrically 

in the United States compared to their 

performance internationally. Arbitrage’s 

distributor claims there was no cannibalization 

of theatrical revenues because the 

moviegoing audience is different from 



Boooocc 

cceSnowpiercer 

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officeefeo 

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the home audience, citing surveys that show 

90 percent of moviegoers were unaware it 

was also available on VOD. A business model 

predicated on consumer ignorance does not 

inspire confidence. 

More recently Snowpiercer, released to 

VOD in its third week in theatrical release, fell 

off 37 percent, despite expanding its screen 

count by more than 42 percent. Conversely, 

Boyhood, with a traditional platform release 

(it opened on five screens, then 34, then 107 

in its third week) expanded from 107 screens 

to 310 screens in its fourth weekend (189 

percent increase) and revenues rose 36 percent. 

Further, Boyhood outgrossed Snowpiercer (in its 

third-week expansion) on slightly fewer screens 

($1.76 million to $.63 million). Through seven 

weeks of release, Boyhood had quadrupled 

Snowpiercer’s theatrical gross over nine weeks. 

Yet strangely enough, one of Boyhood’s 

producers, John Sloss, slammed exhibitors at 

the Produced By: New York conference, saying, 

“The real criminals here are the exhibitors. We’re 

creating bad habits. I don’t think people steal 

content because they want content for free. They 

just want it when and where they want it.” 

This, too, is a myth. The leading indicator 

for piracy is, in fact, availability. Illegal downloads 

of movies spike on the Internet almost as 

soon as a movie hits theaters and then trail off, 

mirroring the weekly declines in admissions 

in theatrical release until they are a barely perceptible 

background hum. They spike back up 

again the week before the home release when 

a DVD or two falls off the truck between the 

warehouse and retailers, which again mirrors 

legal availability and popularity. 

The entire argument for simultaneous 

release is founded on bad faith, shoddy data, 

and mysterious bookkeeping. John Sloss made 

waves in the industry with his call for transparency 

in the reporting of VOD revenues. 

It’s long past time for that call to be heeded. 

Netflix doesn’t even provide viewership data per 

title to its own shareholders. 

And, frankly, I don’t think that Ted Sarandos 

believes his own arguments. If he truly 

believed that exclusivity is a curse, “creating 

artificial distance between the product and the 

consumer,” he would make House of Cards and 

Orange Is the New Black available on Hulu, 

Vudu, Redbox, Amazon Prime, cable VOD, 

and next to the checkout counter at Walmart. 

But he doesn’t. 

And why not? Because exclusivity matters. 

Exclusivity works. Because Netflix needs to 

offer its subscribers something its competitors 

don’t to retain them as subscribers and for 

those subscribers to believe they are getting 

something of value that they can’t get from a 

growing number of competitors. 

There are really only two things that matter 

to Netflix’s bottom line: the cost of acquiring 

and delivering content and subscription revenue. 

The importance of keeping costs down led 

to Netflix’s biggest misstep with its customers 

when it tried to separate out the DVD-by-mail 

business from its streaming business. It costs 

Netflix far more to ship DVDs back and forth 

per transaction than it costs to stream over 

the Internet, but subscribers revolted at what 

they saw as an attempt to impose a nearly 100 

percent price increase on those who wished to 

receive their content both ways. The company 

backed down, not only failing to contain costs, 

but also losing them enormous goodwill and 

quite a large number of subscribers. 

And costs continue to rise. Netflix is no 

longer the only streaming player, studios have 

started to pay close attention to the potential 

revenues in the space, and Netflix is no longer 

content to wait at the back of the line of home 

windows. This means to compete with more 

competitors for prime content, which will keep 

their subscribers growing and satisfied, their 

content costs will only go up. At the same time, 

Internet service providers are squeezing Netflix 

for more money to guarantee fast connections 

to their systems. Additionally, Netflix is 

spending large sums to break into international 

markets. 

Simultaneously, the company is seeing a 

slowdown in subscriber growth in the United 

States. Some analysts cite a price increase for 

new subscribers as a reason for that slowdown. 

Current subscriber rates will rise later. With 36 

million U.S. subscribers, the domestic market 

is running out of grow room, and consumer acceptance 

of price increases will become critical 

to revenue growth. 

Netflix truly broke ground with home 

delivery of DVDs and later with on-demand 

streaming (of whatever Netflix had streaming 

rights to). But their first-mover advantage has 

an expiration date. Premium cable channels are 

starting to wade into the streaming space and 

they, like Netflix, will have a mix of exclusive 

self-generated content as well as exclusive 

licensed content, and they are going to have to 

compete for it. 

Consumers have a finite amount of money 

to spend on home entertainment, which is 

why low-cost subscription services like Netflix 

and cheap rentals like Redbox took off in the 

first place. Consumers also have access to an 

enormous variety of free entertainment thanks 

to the broadband connection they already pay 

for to access Netflix. Maybe that connection is 

also bundled with cable services, and that costs 

money, too. There’s a ceiling on what various 

services can extract from in-home customers, 

and Netflix is starting to get a pretty close-up 

view of it. 

Which may be why Ted Sarandos keeps 

talking so loudly about movie theaters. It keeps 

the industry from looking too closely at the 

cards Netflix is actually holding. 

Or maybe he just envies our business 

model. n 


Dec 9–12 

2014 CineAsia 2014 

Jan 11 

2015 

72nd Annual Golden Globe 

Awards 

Feb 2–5 

2015 UDITOA Convention 

Feb 4 

2015 

Feb 22 

2015 

NATO of CA & NV Board of 

Directors Lunch Meeting 

87th Annual Academy Awards 

Show 

Apr 20–23 

2015 CinemaCon 2015 

May 12–13 

2015 

Mid-Atlantic NATO “Cinema Show 

& Tell” 

May 19–20 

2015 North Central States NATO 

Hong Kong 

Convention & 

Exhibition Centre 

Hong Kong 

Beverly Hilton 

Beverly Hills, CA 

Venue TBD 

Kissimmee, FL 

Location TBD 

Dolby Theatre 

Hollywood, CA 

Caesars Palace 

Las Vegas, NV 

Hilton Hotel 

Springfield, VA 

Sheraton Minneapolis 

West 

Minnetonka, MN 

June 2–5 

2015 ShowCanada 2015 

Jun 22–25 

2015 CineEurope 

Jul 21–24 

2015 

NAC Concession & Hospitality 

Expo 

ShowCanada Venue 

TBD 

Quebec, QC 

CCIB 

Barcelona 

Hyatt Regency 

Cincinnati 

Cincinnati, OH 

Sep 15–16 

2015 CineShow 2015 Venue TBD 

Sep 29–Oct 1 

2015 Geneva Convention 2015 

Oct 7–8 

2015 

NATO General Membership and 

Board Meetings 

Oct 12–15 

2015 ShowEast 2015 TBD 

Apr 11–14 


Jul 19–22 

2016 

The National Association of 

Concessionaires (NAC) 

Sep 14–16 


Sep 28–29 

2016 



Mar 27–30 


May 30–Jun 1 

2017 ShowCanada 2017 

Jul 11–14 

2017 

The National Association of 

Concessionaires (NAC) 

Sep 12–14 


Sep 26–27 

2017 



Apr 23–26 


Sep 25–27 


Apr 1–4 


Mar 30–Apr 2 


Grand Geneva Resort 

Lake Geneva, WI 

Park Hyatt 

Washington, DC 


Las Vegas, NV 

The Depot Renaissance 

Minneapolis Hotel 

Minneapolis, MN 



Venue TBD 

Los Angeles, CA 


Las Vegas, NV 

Venue TBD 

Banff, Alberta 

Fairmont Scottsdale 

Princess Resort 

Scottsdale, AZ 



Venue TBD 

Washington, DC 


Las Vegas, NV 




Las Vegas, NV 


Las Vegas, NV 


CONVENTION 

RECAP 


FLORIDA 

n The latest edition of ShowEast kicked off 

with a distinctly Latin American flavor as 

several executives from the region were celebrated 

at the event’s opening-day breakfast. 

Studio presentations also focused on the 

Latin American attendees, with majors dedicating 

highlights from their upcoming slates 

to the region’s representatives. The panels, 

however, offered a more general look at the 

latest market trends that have taken hold of 

the global exhibition industry. 

ONLINE TICKETING 

Online ticketing was initially conceived 

as a way to facilitate advance purchases on 

a film’s opening weekend—a way for movie 

fans to bypass the line snaking around the 

block for a hotly anticipated premiere. 

Fandango’s VP of commerce, Kevin Shepela, 

indicated that efforts from online-ticketing 

retailers have helped shift consumer 

behavior in recent years, noting that over 

50 percent of his service’s ticket sales occur 

after a film’s opening weekend, defying the 

traditional definition of online ticketing 

as a service tailored specifically to opening 

night. Advance ticket purchases not only 

take away moviegoers’ anxiety about being 

shut out, they also give exhibitors a firm 

commitment from potential clients on a 

given night. “It’s good for all of us if we 

can lock them in early,” said Carrie Trotter, 

director of film and theater marketing at 

AMC. “That way people aren’t changing 

their minds as the week goes on, dinner runs late, or they feel too tired.” 

Online ticketing has also evolved with new industry trends. “Reserved seating and alternative 

content weren’t necessarily big factors at the start, when online ticketing was more blockbuster-driven,” 

said Amber Stepper, vice president of marketing and advertising for National Amusements. 

The biggest shift, however, exists with the rise of mobile ticketing. The trend has been so 

significant that MovieTickets.com has begun adding mobile-only features to their service that 

don’t otherwise appear on their website. “Our focus is mobile,” said MovieTickets.com CEO Joel 


Cohen. “We’ll be launching a visually verifiable mobile ticket into the 

marketplace by the end of the year or early next year. That will break 

down the barriers for the need for scanners at the theater and embrace 

smaller exhibitors who haven’t been able to deploy the capital to take 

advantage of print-at-home and mobile ticketing.” 

GLOBAL ROUNDTABLE 

Rolando Rodriguez, Marcus Theatres’ president and CEO, moderated 

a discussion panel that addressed the concerns and challenges facing the 

global exhibition market. The group, made up of executives from major 

multinational exhibition chains and two major studios, tackled several 

issues, concentrating mostly on how distribution strategy can shape the 

global marketplace. 

Jack Ledwith, Universal Pictures International’s senior vice president 

of international distribution, clarified the current role of international 

markets on establishing release patterns. “There was a time when all 

[release] dates were driven by the U.S. There was always a concern of 

something getting back to the U.S. that wasn’t as successful as we hoped, 

that it would be detrimental to the U.S. release—as well as piracy—but 

now international has a place at the table.” 

“The initial rush to global day-and-date releasing was due to piracy,” 

echoed Mark Christiansen, executive vice president of worldwide operations 

at Paramount Pictures. “Secondarily, it was driven by the fact that 

the Internet makes information available to everybody, everywhere, at the 

same time. There was no longer the worry of word-of-mouth filtering out 

to people at different territories; we didn’t have to come up for a campaign 

to do that anymore. However, day-and-date isn’t always the right 

answer; you have to look at each market and their holidays and look at 

the dates of competition in each of them.” 

3D was also on the agenda, with panelists acknowledging the various 

growing pains of implementing the technology. “We adopted contrasting 

strategies to 3D throughout our circuit at the beginning,” said Cinépolis 

COO Miguel Mier. “We started with close to a 70 percent surcharge for 

3D in Mexico but didn’t charge a premium for the format in India. We 

realized we somehow got it wrong in both instances; it was too high in 

Mexico and we were giving away value in India.” 

“There were some missteps when we started out with 3D, notably in 

that there weren’t set standards for it,” said Paramount’s Christiansen. “I 

think on the studio side we probably hurt things by rushing some films 

to 3D. Some installations of 3D probably weren’t as pristine as they 

could have been, either. When 3D looks the way it should, I think it 

looks fantastic and people can communicate with that.” 

While piracy was listed as the primary concern among both studio 

and exhibition executives, Cinemark’s executive vice president of global 

content, Steve Bunnell, noted the rising costs of business as a factor to 

consider. Updating and maintaining the new technology is a relatively 

new expense that exhibitors around the world are just beginning to 

contend with. 

IMMERSIVE SEATING 

ShowEast also took time to highlight new efforts in immersive seating 

just as 3D reaches a maturity level and immersive audio continues its 

global expansion. 

“Immersive cinema should involve more than just sight and sound; 

a true immersion comes from a multisensory experience,” said Theodore 

Kim, SVP, head of theater development and relations, CJ 4Dplex 

Americas. Kim cited the company’s presence across 119 locations in 27 

countries as proof that immersive seating is much more than just the 

latest trend. The company opened its first location in the United States at 

the Regal LA Live in June of this year, producing what Kim claims to be 

a dramatic increase in performance when comparing Q3 year-over-year 

results after the introduction of 4DX technology. Results have come in 

similarly high in other 4DX markets like Japan, Russia, and Mexico, and 

the company expects to finish 2014 with over 60 day-and-date studio 

releases in their format. 

Michel Paquette, vice president of marketing at D-Box Technologies, 

is also a big believer in immersive seating. His company has a 

similarly international presence across 23 countries around the world, 

and he believes immersive seating offers a more complete experience for 

cinema-goers as opposed to being merely a value-added proposition. “We 

believe that audio, video, and motion blended together and artistically 

done, is one of the best [experiences] you can get,” he said. 

Moving Image Technologies took advantage of the platform provided 

by ShowEast to present its new immersive seating product, Cine-Sation. 

An on-site demo of the effects chair was synchronized to an action 

sequence of new release John Wick, and Frank Tees, vice president of 

technical sales support, spoke on behalf of the company at a panel. Tees 

said the Cine-Sation’s mission is to provide an experience that, “emphasizes 

the impact of the feature, builds up the storyline, and brings tactile 

sensation to the movie.” 

MORE TECHNOLOGY ON THE HORIZON 

Exhibitors got a chance to look at more technological advances with a 

number of leading companies offering demos and presentations of their 

latest offerings. Both NEC and Barco are investing in laser projection 

and lobby displays, transforming the moviegoing experience with an added 

level of visual resolution. Barco took the opportunity to host another 

presentation of its Barco Escape offering, a triptych screen setup that 

looks to continue where Cinerama left off. The company is well aware 

that adoption of Escape by filmmakers and studio is vital to the format’s 

future and is making strides to ensure collaboration with Hollywood’s 

creative community for future releases. Attendees to Barco’s Escape presentation 

were treated to several action sequences of Fox’s The Maze Runner 

screened in the Escape format, scenes that were especially designed by 

the filmmakers to ensure maximum effect from the three screens taking 

up spectators’ sightlines. Dolby also presented a demonstration of its Atmos 

immersive audio system by hosting an exclusive early look of Disney 

Pixar’s upcoming short film Lava, which will be screening ahead of next 

year’s theatrical release of Inside Out. n 

SHOWEAST SCREENINGS 

Clouds of Sils Maria 

(Sundance Selects, 

UniFrance Films) 

McFarland, 

USA 

(Walt Disney Studios 

Motion Pictures) 

Annie 

(Sony Pictures Releasing) 

Horrible Bosses 2 

(Warner Bros. Pictures) 

Wild 

(Fox Searchlight Pictures) 

Dumb and 

Dumber To 

(Universal Pictures) 


CONFERENCE 

PREVIEW 

ART HOUSE 

CONVERGENCE 

Independent, nonprofit, missionbased, 

and community-based 

cinemas will once again gather 

in tah during the run-up to the 

undance ilm estival. 

Interview by Daniel Loria 

RUSS COLLINS 

CEO/Executive Director, 

Michigan Theater Conference Director 

BARBARA TWIST 

Conference Manager 

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Russ Collins: This will be the 10th gathering 

of art houses at the Sundance Film Festival. 

In 2005 the Sundance Institute put together 

a group of 14 art houses around the United 

States and invited us to the 2006 Sundance 

Film Festival to celebrate their 25th anniversary. 

The original group ended up staying in touch 

throughout 2006, and Sundance thought it was 

great, so they invited back the 12 theaters that 

came to the first reunion to the 2007 festival. 

For 2008 we had communicated enough and 

stayed in touch that we decided to put on a 

little conference together, so we had our first Art 

House Convergence in 2008. We had 25 people 

at our first conference in 2008 in Salt Lake City, 

and it was a wonderful experience. In 2009 

attendance tripled, and we went all the way to 

75 people, and it created a situation where we 

had outgrown our hotel capabilities for 2010. 

That year, however, there was a huge convention 

for outdoor retail, and it just so happened we 

shared the same weekend with them—all of the 

hotels in Salt Lake City were booked up. We 

couldn’t do it in Park City because those facilities 

were all being prepped for the Sundance 

Film Festival, so we ended up at this charming 

place in Midway, Utah—the town just past Park 

City. We had such a great time; it was a campus 

setting and the conference grew to 125 people. 

We’ve held the conference in Midway since, as 

we have continued to grow. 

After starting with 25 people in your inaugural 

edition, how many people are you 

expecting to attend this year? 

RC: We are expecting 500 people 

for our upcoming conference. People 

attend from all over North America 

and the world. A couple of years ago we 

had some of our European colleagues 

joining us, and we developed a very close 

relationship with the Europa Cinema 

Organization, the organization which 

represents and convenes independent 

cinemas in Europe. 

What are you looking forward to at 

this year’s edition? 

RC: We are really excited about some 

of our keynote speakers. Kerry Putnam, 

the executive director of Sundance, is 

going to be giving one of the keynote 

addresses, celebrating our 10th anniversary 

of working together. We have Anne 

Thompson, one of the Indiewire columnists 

and one of the great film journalists 

of the past couple of decades. We have 

John Fithian from NATO, and we look 

forward to having him there. And Randy Cohen 

from American City Arts, who represents that 

cultural ethos that we believe in. 

Barbara Twist: We make a goal of covering 

a variety of different topics so we can cater to 

our different attendees. We have sessions on 

programming, marketing, community engagement, 

government and management, education, 

fundraising, operations, and a film-festival track. 

RC: Working with our film-festival colleagues, 

we discovered that many of the community-based, 

mission-driven exhibitors have a deep 

involvement with festivals. They either present 

festivals themselves or host festivals at their 

venues. This is the second year that we have a 

festival track, and we found that there is a lot 

of overlap between the exhibition sessions and 

festival sessions. 

BT: We really try to incorporate as many 

topics as we can because there aren’t as many 

professional development opportunities for arthouse 

theaters as there might be for other arts 

organizations. We want to make sure that our 

theaters with smaller budgets get as much out of 

it as they can. 

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BT: Art House Convergence doesn’t mean we 

only focus on theaters that program art-house 

films. We really are about the community-based, 

mission-driven cinemas. If you’re a community-based 

cinema then you are going to show 

what your community asks you and needs you 

to show. A number of our theaters show more 

commercial titles so it doesn’t matter if you’re 

screening Transformers 4 or Birdman; if you’re 

a community-based theater then we want to 

know you and support you. 

RC: Something with the title “Art House” can 

easily come off as snooty, with folks trying to 

outdo themselves with how esoteric their films 

are. But what we’ve found is that we have these 

very knowledgeable folks who are passionate 

about two things: movies and their communities. 

It’s that energy of those people who sometimes 

feel very isolated because they’re either 

operating in a big city with a lot of different 

things going on, or in a small town that feels 

geographically isolated. 

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BT: We started our regional seminars two 

years ago and modeled them off of the LHAT 

(League of Historical American Theatres) and 

NATO regional seminars. A one- or twoday 

session is a great reset button for a lot of 

theaters, and they’re a great access point for 

us to reach new theaters. There are a lot of 

theaters who can’t make the trip out to Utah 

each year; maybe they come out once every 

couple of years or maybe they haven’t had the 

chance to join us yet. The regional seminars 

are an opportunity to go to different areas and 

get to know more theaters in a smaller setting, 

where instead of having 500 people you have 

75 to 80 people. Then there are questions like 

applying for liquor licenses; it’s hard to talk 

about that at a national convention because 

each state has different laws. n 

ART HOUSE CONVERGENCE nJANUARY 19–22, 2015 

MIDWAY, UTAH n FIND OUT MORE ATOONN.O 


YEAR-END 

REVIEW 

EXHIBITORS FOCUS ON MERGERS, 

UPGRADES AS 2015 PROMISES 

BOX OFFICE REVIVAL 


As 2014 draws to a close, 

exhibitors have more to think 

about—like the potential sale of 

the biggest U.S. chain—than the 

disappointing box office returns 

from this year’s movie slate. 

There is a consensus among 

exhibitors and Hollywood 

studios that 2015 will be better, 

with sales possibly reaching a 

record $11 billion or more. 

REGAL ON THE SALES BLOCK? 

With a box office revival a near certainty, other 

issues loom large for exhibition executives. 

Perhaps the biggest is Regal Entertainment 

Group’s surprise announcement in October 

that the Knoxville, Tennessee–based company 

may put itself on the block. 

That’s not all. The U.S. Department of 

Justice has sued to block the merger of the 

industry’s two largest on-screen advertising 

companies, National CineMedia Inc. 

and Screenvision LLC. And Imax Corp. 

and Netflix have challenged the traditional 

release window between theatrical and home 

entertainment with an agreement for a dayand-date 

release of The Weinstein Company’s 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2. 

And, not least, exhibitors are busy making 

improvements, including luxury seating, 

online ticketing, more big-screen auditoriums, 

and better food service. The changes promise 

incremental revenue enhancements that may 

make exhibitors slightly less dependent on 

fluctuating box office sales. 

Despite the hot-and-cold nature of box 

office demand, exhibitors have managed to 

maintain margins through incremental increases 

in ticket prices and by making cinemas 

more appealing to consumers, says Gabelli & 

Co. analyst Brett Harriss. One result is that 

publicly traded exhibition companies have remained 

attractive to investors. Growth among 

companies included in Redwood Capital 

Group’s North American Cinema Exhibitors 

Index outpaced the Standard & Poor’s 500 

Index from 2009 to mid-2014. Through November 

7, 2014, members of the index, which 

includes the four largest U.S. operators, Imax 

Corp., and Canada’s Cineplex and Reading 

International Inc., had a compound annual 

growth rate of 21.6 percent compared with 

14.9 percent for the S&P companies. 

“The capital markets are rewarding what are 

well-managed costs and margins in the context 

of relatively flat revenue growth,” says Gregory 

Bedrosian, chief executive officer and managing 

partner at Redwood. “The multiples have 

ticked up a bit. Stock prices are moving up.” 

A Regal sale would likely become the biggest 

the industry has seen, one that probably 

would surpass the 2012 sale of No. 2 AMC 

Entertainment Holdings to China’s Dalian 

Wanda Group for $2.6 billion. Regal, with 

7,318 screens in 574 locations, would likely 

fetch a higher price with a market cap of 

$3.47 billion as of November 10. 

Regal announced in October that it hired 

Morgan Stanley to review strategic options, 

including a possible sale. The news caught 

Regal’s peers off guard. Among U.S. exhibitors, 

Cinemark said they would take a look at 

Regal, though chief executive Timothy Warner 

stopped short of saying he would make a run 

at the company. Mexico-based Cinépolis, in 

the midst of an expansion in India, also has 

said it would take a look. 

“Regal is a very attractive company,” Warner 

said after Regal’s announcement. “Like 

any other acquisition opportunities, Cinemark 

will evaluate what the announcement means 

to our company.” 

“It makes sense for Regal to test the waters 

to see if there are any buyers before their appetites 

are satisfied,” says B. Riley & Co. analyst 

Eric Wold. 


I’ve got a company to run. Things are working. Our perspective is 

that we want—we need—a steady hand on the tiller because we 

have significantly better weather ahead in . o, we are going 

to remain focused operating the business, executing against the 

strategy that so far has delivered great results for us. 

Gerry Lopez 

O, A 

AMC appears to have little interest in making a run for Regal. That 

is partly because the company is in the midst of a major campaign 

to revamp auditoriums with luxury reclining seats and improve food 

service. In addition, AMC is leery of running into regulatory issues 

that a combination of the two largest chains might raise, chief executive 

Gerry Lopez said after Regal announced its plans. 

“I’ve got a company to run,” Lopez said when analysts asked about 

his interest in Regal. “Things are working. Our perspective is that we 

want—we need—a steady hand on the tiller because we have significantly 

better weather ahead in 2015. So, we are going to remain 

focused operating the business, executing against the strategy that so far 

has delivered great results for us.” 

Whether Regal is sold, consolidation among North American exhibitors 

will continue if executives have their way. Even Regal is scouting 

the landscape for acquisition targets as it explores selling itself, chief 

executive Amy Miles says. 

“M&A will remain a key part of our strategy,” Miles says. 

NCM / SCREENVISION MERGER HITS JUSTICE 

DEPARTMENT ROADBLOCK 

As Regal considers a sale, National CineMedia is fighting a federal 

lawsuit to block its $375 million acquisition of competitor Screenvision. 

The companies argue that the combination, which would 

encompass 88 percent of U.S. screens, would provide advertisers 

better service for the commercials that appear on movie screens before 

previews begin. Publicly traded National CineMedia was founded by 

AMC, Cinemark, and Regal. In its lawsuit, the Justice Department 

raised antitrust concerns, saying that the chains—the largest in the 

United States—would exercise “significant control and influence” over 

the new company. 

Executives of the chains have declined in recent public appearances 

to comment directly on the lawsuit. National CineMedia, meanwhile, 

has expressed confidence that it can successfully defend against the 

lawsuit. The Justice Department has wrongly looked at the merger 

in the narrow context of only the film industry, National CineMedia 

CEO Kurt Hall said after the lawsuit was filed. Instead, the deal should 

be viewed within the broader competitive landscape of an ad market 

that includes hundreds of broadcast and cable outlets and many more 

online and mobile platforms, he said. 

“Their claim that the merger will hurt advertisers is completely 

inconsistent with the reality of an increasingly competitive video-advertising 

market environment,” Hall said. 

Avengers: Age of Ultronoe 

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2015 LOOKS TO BE A BOUNCE-BACK YEAR FOR 

EXHIBITORS 

Exhibitor confidence runs highest when executives discuss a 2015 

release schedule peppered with sequels to hits that propelled 2013 

tickets sales to a record $10.9 billion. The slate includes Avengers: Age 

of Ultron, Furious 7, Star Wars: Episode VII and the final Hunger Games. 

Executives and independent analysts agreed there is a very good chance 

these films and others on tap will push 2014 revenue beyond the $11 

billion mark. 

On paper, at least, the lineup looks like a sure bet. The Hunger 

Games: Catching Fire was 2013’s top performer, taking in $424.7 million 

in the United States and Canada. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 

Part 1 is expected to do well in this year’s holiday season. The final film, 

Mockingjay Part 2, will reach theaters in November 2015. 


xhibitor confidence runs highest when executives discuss a 

release schedule peppered with sequels to hits that propelled 

tickets sales to a record . billion. The slate includes Avengers: 

Age of Ultron, Furious 7, Star Wars: Episode VII, and the final 

Hunger Games. xecutives and independent analysts agreed there 

is a very good chance these films and others on tap will push 

revenue beyond the billion mark. 

Regal’s Amy MIles 

The original Avengers 

took in $623.4 million in 

domestic sales and $1.5 billion worldwide in 2012, 

suggesting strong returns for Age of Ultron, which 

adds The Blacklist 

star James Spader as arch 

villain Ultron. Star Wars, a franchise begun in 

1977, has generated $2.2 billion domestically, 

including re-releases of older installments. 

Globally, the franchise has done $4.5 billion 

in ticket sales. Other new films scheduled 

for release next year include Mad Max: Fury 

Road, a resurrection of the 1980s trilogy with 

Tom Hardy replacing Mel Gibson in the title 

role. 

Fans echo the executives’ enthusiasm. 

For example, Avengers: Age of Ultron 

has 

a 100 percent “want to see” rating on the 

movie-review website RottenTomatoes. 

com. Fury Road, The Hunger Games: 

Mockingjay Part 2, and Star Wars: 

Episode VII 

all have attracted a 99 

percent rating. 

NETFLIX AND IMAX PEN 

AGREEMENT 

Less pleasant for exhibitors 

is an agreement between 

Netflix and Imax, the largest 

provider of big-screen 

technology, to release the 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden 

Dragon 

sequel simulta- 

neously in theaters and 

to Internet-streaming 

subscribers. The film, 

a follow-up to the 

Chinese-language 

action film that took 

in $128 million in 

the United States 

and Canada and $214 

million worldwide in 

2000, is scheduled for release 

in August. Regal, Cinemark, and 

AMC all have said they won’t show 

the film in their theaters. Outside the 

United States, European exhibitor 

Cineworld and Canada’s Cineplex 

also have pledged a boycott. 

“Our position on that type of 

programming is clear, and I think 

we’ve been consistent over the past 

three or four years regardless of when we were approached 

by third party as it relates to a day-and-date,” Regal’s Miles 

says. “We just think there is better programming from our 

screens, and we’re going to continue down that path.” 

The major U.S. chains and AMC parent, Wanda, 

operator of China’s largest chain, license Imax technology 

in agreements that leave them with control over what films 

are shown on the screens, AMC said in a statement. 

“No one has approached us to license this made-forvideo 

sequel in the U.S. or China, so one must assume 

the screens Imax committed are in science centers and 

aquariums,” the AMC statement says. 

Cinemark was more direct, declaring that the chain is 

“opposed to showing day-and-date releases at our entertainment 

complexes.” 

LARGE FORMAT PRESENTATION IS MONEY IN 

THE BANK 

Apart from tension over the day-and-date proposal, 

big-screen, premium-format showings of tentpole 

films was one of the bright spots for cinemas. Cinemark 

reported that third-quarter sales from 3D and large-format 

screenings rose to 25 percent of total admissions 

from 22 percent a year earlier. Exhibitors charge more for 

films shown in large-screen formats, whether with Imax 

technology or proprietary brands such as Cinemark’s XD, 

AMC Prime, Regal’s RPX, Carmike’s BIGD, or Marcus’s 

UltraScreen. AMC also reported improved revenue from 

its large-format auditoriums, although specific numbers 

weren’t provided. 

LUXURY SEATING AND ONLINE TICKETING 

PROVE POPULAR WITH PATRONS 

In addition to recliner seats, executives see online ticket 

sales—and reserved seating—as yet another opportunity 

to attract more patrons by making it easier to get out 

and watch a movie. The sale of tickets online, including 

transactions at exhibitor websites and those of third-party 

vendors such as Fandango and MovieTickets.com, will 

reach $13.7 billion globally by 2017, Redwood Capital 

says, citing data from Global Industry Analysts. 

Although Fandango and MovieTickets dominate the 

market, cinema operators are also getting into the business 

of selling tickets online. Cinemark operates its own online 

ticket engine. AMC rolled out a service in April, Lopez 

says. Overall, Internet sales for the chain rose 30 percent to 

17.7 million tickets, or 13 percent of all tickets sold, in the 

third quarter. The robust results suggest a bright future for 

the technology. 

“Slow box office and weak (2014) slate aside, our business 

on the Internet is booming,” Lopez says. n 

28 BoxOffice ® Pro The usiness of ovies

ASIA PACIFIC MARKET UPDATE 

n China, Japan, and South Korea. The big three markets that dominate 

Asia have once again contributed to the region’s overall growth. 

According to the 2013 Theatrical Statistics Report compiled by the 

MPA, the Asia Pacific region grew by 55 percent in the five-year 

span from 2009 to 2013, making a jump from $7.2 to $11.1 billion 

during the period. China has been leading the charge in recent years 

by rapidly making strides to meet consumer demand in an otherwise 

underserved market. China finished 2013 with $3.6 billion in 

total box office. State news agency Xinhua cited new estimates from 

Chinese Film Producers Association vice president Wang Fenglin that 

would put the 2014 figure at $4.9 billion. Speculation continues to 

stir as to when exactly (no longer if) the Chinese box office will surpass 

North America, a milestone that Fenglin believes will occur within 

three years according to Xinhua. China’s rapid growth joins top-earning 

markets like Japan ($2.4B in 2013) and South Korea ($1.4B) in 

making Asia one of the most dynamic regions at the global box office. 


film outperform North America in China. Need for Speed and The Expendables, 

two films that struggled in North America, improved upon 

their respective domestic showings by about $30 million each. Chinese 

films continued to draw audiences as well, with four titles crossing the 

$100 million mark midway through November. 

JAPAN 

Disney enjoyed a magnificent year in Japan, with Frozen claiming 

the top spot at the box office for 16 consecutive weeks. You read that 

right: Frozen was the No. 1 film at the Japanese box office every weekend 

from March 14 until July 8 ... when Maleficent, another Disney 

title, took over the box office. Frozen finished its run in Japan with 

$250 million while Maleficent went on to gross a total of $63 million 

in the market. Stand by Me Doraemon entered December as the top 

domestic film of 2014 and the No. 2 overall release of the year with 

$78 million. 

CHINA 

Transformers: Age of Extinction developed a number of strategic 

partnerships with local partners across China in hopes of ensuring 

blockbuster returns. The strategy worked, even if producers had to 

deal with a couple of lawsuits stemming from disgruntled on-screen 

advertisers. Transformers broke through the $300 million mark in China, 

outgrossing the film’s North American box office total by over $50 

million. It’s becoming less rare to see the occasional Hollywood studio 

SOUTH KOREA 

Only one film can claim crossing the $100 million mark as the 

South Korean box office enters the final month of the year. Domestic hit 

Roaring Currents swept up $132 million, more than twice the amount of 

the No. 2 domestic film of the year and No. 3 overall release The Pirates, 

which only grossed $64.4 million. South Korean audiences also responded 

to Frozen. The Disney film ranks as the No. 2 overall film of 2014 and 

the top Hollywood import with a $77 million haul. n 

CHINA VS. HOLLYWOOD 

ollywood films find 

new life—and dollars—in 

China 

TRANSFORMERS: 

AGE OF EXTINCTION 

North America $245.4M 

China: $320M 

NEED FOR 

SPEED 


China: $73.3M 

THE 

EXPENDABLES 3 


China: $70M 

BOX OFFICE GROSS: ASIA PACIFIC (IN BILLIONS) 

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 

$7.2 $8.5 $9.0 $10.4 $11.1 

TOP ASIAN MARKETS 2013 

CHINA $3.6 BILLION JAPAN $2.4 BILLION SOUTH KOREA $1.4 BILLION 

MARKET-BY-MARKET BREAKDOWN: 2014 > TOP TITLES FROM LEADING ASIAN MARKETS AS OF NOVEMBER 2014 

CHINA JAPAN SOUTH KOREA 

Transformers: Age of Extinction 

$320 Million 

Breakup Buddies 

$181.8 Million 

The Monkey King 

$178 Million 

Frozen 

$250 Million 

Stand By Me Doraemon 

$79 Million 

Maleficent 

$63 Million 

Roaring Currents 

$132 Million 

Frozen 

$77 Million 

The Pirates 

$64.4 Million 

Hollywood standouts in China: Captain America: The Winter Soldier: $126M 

X-Men: Days of Future Past: $116M / Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: $109.8M 


CONFERENCE 

RECAP 

EXPOCINE CELEBRATES ITS INAUGURAL 

EDITION IN SAO PAULO 


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n It’s been a big 2014 for Brazil. The country 

hosted the World Cup and held national 

elections over a span of four months, a period 

encapsulated by two defining moments: the 

national soccer team’s humiliating defeat at 

the hands of Germany and president Dilma 

Rousseff’s re-election by a slim margin. 

Exhibitors in the country might have taken a 

backseat to both events, but that doesn’t mean 

the Brazilian market is showing any signs of 

slowing down. The inaugural edition of Expocine 

was held in Sao Paulo on November 10 

and 11, bringing industry panels, Hollywood 

studio presentations, and a complete trade 

show to one of Latin America’s most promising 

markets. 

Paramount, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. 

all provided individual presentations of their 

2014 holiday and 2015 slates for the attendees. 

The centerpiece of Expocine, however, proved 

to be a trade show featuring 30 booths from 

some of the world’s leading companies. Christie, 

Barco, NEC, Volfoni, Ushio, and Doremi 

(in what might have been their last trade show 

before appearing as Dolby) are only a sampling 

of companies with dedicated booths. 

The panels catered mostly to the Brazilian 

exhibitors in attendance, covering everything 

from social media trends to local market box 

office tracking—both of which are relatively 

unexplored sectors in the country. Conversations 

on technology primarily focused on 

the stability of the digital transition, with 

an array of speakers discussing how to move 

forward following the big digital conversion. 

According to ANCINE, Brazil’s national 

cinema agency, 57 percent of the market had 

completed the transition to digital by the 

third trimester of 2014. ANCINE director 

Rosana Alcantara expects the country to be 

fully digitized in 2015. With the digital transition 

already well under way, RealD Brazil 

director Sean Spencer expressed confidence 

in the growth of 3D in the market. Spencer 

cited research during his keynote presentation 

that indicates that 57 percent of the Brazilian 

public prefers to watch films in 3D, a strong 

figure when compared to Mexico’s 23 percent. 

Brazilian exhibitors who have already invested 

in 3D are beginning to see a return on their 

investment; the average surcharge of a 3D 

ticket in Brazil ranges between 20 and 30 

percent according to Spencer. 


The national film industry continues to 

make strides as well. ANCINE reports that 

Brazilian films took 18.6 percent of the 2013 

box office market share in 2013. The figure 

should be taken in context, however, as 

Brazilian exhibitors are required to follow a 

screen quota dedicated to national films. The 

policy has inspired a resurgence for Brazilian 

filmmakers and distributors alike; 2013 saw 

the release of 129 Brazilian films—the highest 

number of all time to be given a theatrical run 

in that country. Ten of those films brought in 

more than one million admissions each, and 

another 24 titles recorded admissions above 

100,000. That pace has held this year with five 

Brazilian releases above one million admissions 

and 12 titles recording over 100,000 

tickets sold as of September. 

The Brazilian market continues to show 

signs of growth as local and multinational 

exhibitors begin to focus on addressing the 

under-served areas in the north and south 

regions of the country. The coming years 

will see the development of a more diverse 

and decentralized presence of cinemas across 

Brazil. Expocine will be growing in 2015 as 

well, with the event already scheduled to add a 

third day of panels and events next year. n 


OVERHEARD 

IN THE PAGES 

OF BOXOFFICE 

PRO 

We take a look back at 

2014 with some of our 

favorite quotes from this 

year’s voyage. 

Bill Campbell 

President 

Orpheum Theatres 

“Knowing your population base and what to 

expect, that’s the biggest challenge for independent 

theaters in small towns.” 

Michael Lewis 

Chairman & CEO 

RealD 

“For us the focus is China, Russia, and Brazil. 

China is really interesting. Four of China’s top 

six movies last year were 3D. In Russia, of course, 

Stalingrad was a big hit, and that did north of 

$60 million just in Russia alone. So a market that 

was probably a low single-digit overall percent 

of our revenue at RealD starts moving north of 

double digits. Indigenous filmmaking is clearly a 

growth market.” 

Tom LaForge 

Global Director of Human and Cultural 

Insights 

The Coca-Cola Company 

“A brand can’t be a representative of quality only. 

It has to bring something else so that it is unique 

and special compared to all the other brands that 

are out there. More and more brands are turning 

to the world of social and cultural ideals. In the 

future, I believe each brand is going to have to 

have a position in that space.” 

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Bud Mayo 

Founder, CEO 

Digiplex Entertainment 

“The bottom line objective for every theater operator 

is maximizing capacity utilization. Embracing 

alternative content presents a terrific opportunity 

to improve the bottom line one screen at a time— 

through incrementally increased admissions, 

concessions, and advertising revenue.” 

Suzanne Hansen 

Vice President Exhibitor Relations 

CBS Films 

“I love that our studio is small—less than 100 on 

staff. There is a great deal of satisfaction that comes 

from doing the same work as our competitors with 

a fraction of the staff or resources. I love that we are 

paid to think and talk about movies all day.” 


Will Preuss 

Vice President Exhibitor Relations 

Lionsgate 

“I began working in exhibitor relations at Fox. 

They had an opening as a temp—no sick days, 

no vacation days, no benefits. My paycheck was 

so little I think I actually owed them money every 

two weeks. But it allowed me to get my foot in 

the door and I jumped at the opportunity. I really 

lucked out, working with some very smart, innovative 

people at Fox, which led me on the path to 

Lionsgate.” 

Zach Beebee 

Vice President for Exhibitor Marketing 

Relativity 

“Digital technology is being embraced beyond 

the screens, and we will see lobbies go completely 

digital. No more ticket stock at the box office. No 

more shipping posters to theaters. Exhibition will 

also continue experimenting with the flexibility 

that digital projection allows, offering families 

more showtimes for an animated release during 

the day over spring break and couples more options 

for their date movie on Saturday night.” 

Alec Doherty 

Exhibitor Relations Coordinator 

Sony Pictures Classics 

“Technology has already drastically altered the exhibition 

world in previously unforeseen ways, and that 

trend is undoubtedly going to continue. I envision 

that one day all advertising materials will be sent 

digitally, and digital posters will be the norm at 

all circuits. Physical advertising materials could go 

the way of the 8-track, and virtually all exhibition 

could be done with the push of a button.” 

Eduardo Acuña 

General Manager 

Cinépolis Brazil 

“Brazil is a country with various taxes, strict labor 

laws, and where the government regulates ticket 

prices for students and senior citizens. On top of 

that, there’s a screen quota for domestic films. In 

the words of Tom Jobim, father of the bossa nova, 

‘Brazil is not for beginners.’” 

Javier Sotomayor 

General Manager 

Cinépolis India 

“We learned that Central America was very 

different from Mexico, despite our shared language 

and geography. We had to take into account the 

differences within the region, distinguishing 

the fiscal laws, culture, and customs of all the 

territories. But we also discovered that we were 

a great exhibitor; it was our first foray outside of 

Mexico, and it gave us the confidence to continue 

expanding in other places.” 

Gary Barber 

Chairman, CEO 

MGM 

“The exhibitors have been incredibly supportive of 

MGM and our distribution partners through the 

years, and we’re tremendously indebted to them. 

Simply put, exhibitors have played an integral 

role in the remarkable success of our films, and we 

thank them for their continued collaboration.” 

Craig Dehmel 

Senior Vice President Sales & Strategic 

Planning 

20th Century Fox International 

“One of the highlights of my career was report- 

ing the international numbers on atar. . It’s probably one of the most 

satisfying experiences that I’ll 

ever have in the business. Obviously 

there were a lot of 

expectations for it. I imagine 

it was similar to 

Avwhat 

the team that 

worked on Titanic 

went through: 

a high-pressure 

atmosphere where 

you have this very 

high negative cost 

and you’re not so 

sure how it’s going 

to do. … We really 

believed in the film, 

the organization got 

behind it, and the opening weekend did around 

$150 million internationally.” 

Richard Mitchell 

Global Head of Marketing 

Harkness Screens 

“Modern first-generation 3D might have reached 

its maturity, but the next wave of innovation is 

coming through. We’re in an industry that never 

sits still and is constantly innovating, and we’re 

already seeing a lot of new product development 

and improvement not just in terms of screens, but 

also in 3D technology and sound. Ultimately if 

the offering is strong, the premium price point 

is acceptable, and the quality, both in terms of 

content and presentation, is sufficiently different 

from either 2D or home 3D, then the viewing 

public will buy in. Gravity is a fine example of 

that principle.” 

Chris Dammann 

Director of Communications 

NAC 

“The big picture is that the movie-exhibition 

industry is as strong as ever. [CinemaCon] set an 

attendance record, and the trade-show floor was 

I imagine that in-theater digital displays and 

interactive holograms will greet moviegoers with 

visually stunning, immersive technology that 

will go beyond traditional terms to captivate 

audiences in ways we have only dreamed. 

Pat Gonzalez 

Senior Vice President In-Theater Marketing 

Paramount Pictures 

DECEMBER 2014 33

OVERHEARD IN THE PAGES OF BOXOFFICE PRO 

jam-packed to the delight of the companies who made a significant investment 

to display their goods and services. Everywhere you turned, there were 

substantive conversations and meetings between buyers and sellers. Hats off to 

CinemaCon and NATO for setting the bar high. We are looking forward to a 

continuing partnership with CinemaCon.” 

Julian Pinn 

Managing Director 

Julian Pinn Ltd. 

“Immersive audio for cinema has received a comparatively quick uptake not 

only from exhibition but also from major filmmakers and studios. It’s an 

exciting development that the industry needs.” 

Matthieu Zeller 

Executive Vice-President International Marketing, Distribution & 

Business Development 

StudioCanal 

“We know that U.S. blockbusters and the superhero movies are doing quite well 

and are still [performing]. At least in Europe there is still a demand for 

what I would say, “smarter,” movies for a “movie-lover” audience—those 

frequent moviegoers that are looking for a little bit more elaborative 

movies with more [dialogue] and maybe less action or violence, maybe 

more intrigue or plot, and strong and smart actors, maybe a bit older 

than the actors that we see in the superhero and action movies.” 

Jean Mizrahi 

CEO 

Ymagis 

“The European market is much less concentrated compared to the U.S.; 

we have a handful of large exhibitors. The largest exhibitors in Europe 

manage around 2,000 screens, whereas in the U.S. they are substantially 

bigger. Small circuits and independent cinemas dominate a large faction 

of the market, which basically makes a very big difference—it is 

fragmented, so you need to have a presence in each country, 

with people who speak the local languages.” 

stores, in department stores, all kinds of specialty retail stores. And the reason 

is really simple. When the industry matures—and we certainly are a mature 

industry— the only way you can grow profits for your shareholders is to 

consolidate in order to eliminate inefficiencies in administrative expenses and 

take advantage of better purchasing power than smaller organizations. This 

trend also provides an opportunity for the smaller independents to leave a 

legacy and to secure their family wealth.” 

James Gunn 

Director 

“I think there’s something about going to the movies with an audience, 

whether you are laughing or crying with them. Yes, you are watching the 

movie, but you are also having a communal experience, which is the closest 

thing I know to religion. I love that being a part of my life, and I think it 

makes me a better and warmer person, that makes me feel more a part of this 

world and more a part of society because of being able to go to the movies and 

enjoy the theater with someone else. It isn’t just a passive form of entertainment; 

it’s something you are really able to enjoy as a group, 

and it’s a much warmer experience than just sitting 

and watching a movie at home.” 

Bob Mayson 

Managing Director 

RealD 

“3D is already so vastly different today than even 

just 10 years ago when we started this journey 

with RealD. We’ve seen 3D used in a basic 

conversion form to try to spice up a movie, make 

it look different and better. Today we’re seeing 

filmmakers planning for the use of [the 

S. David Passman III 

President & CEO, Carmike Cinemas 

Chariman, NATO 

“I believe that most mature industries that have many 

individual or small owners find a need to consolidate at 

some point. That happened in sporting goods, in grocery 

A lot of the times when 

we do alternative content 

programming like the 

Met Opera, it brings back 

guests to our theaters who 

probably hadn’t been for 

many, many years. They 

enjoy the experience and 

they start coming back to 

see movies. 

Ellis Jacob 

CEO and President 

Cineplex Entertainment 


technology]. 3D is no longer a gimmick; it’s a creative tool filmmakers are 

using to absorb their audiences more and more into their art and work.” 

Todd Hoddick 

Vice President Global Entertainment 

Barco 

“All the technologies we bring need to accomplish two things: improve the 

audience experience and improve profitability for exhibitors.” 

Adam MacDonald 

Cinema Director Europe 

MasterImage 

“We’ve talked about [brightness] with a lot of key exhibitors here in Europe 

and around the world, and they all want the same level of presentation in 

3D that they get with 2D. They’re not expecting or needing more, but they 

want the bar raised, and it’s what we’re all trying to get to here. It’s the goal 

for everybody in the industry.” 

Jerome Hamacher 

COO 

Volfoni 

“I cannot imagine someone like Peter Jackson not having a vision of a bright 

3D image on the screen. The exhibitors want to get the same satisfaction for 

their audience, but they have also more down-to-earth concerns [associated 

with] day-to-day costs, so there’s a complex equation on the exhibitors’ side.” 

Matt Liszt 

Vice President Marketing 

MasterImage 3D 

“We asked, what were the necessary product innovations to improve premium 

3D viewing? Raising the baseline of how we collectively define high-brightness 

3D was number one.” 

Daniel Borschke 

Executive Vice President 

NAC 

“I know that trends are changing and a lot of preteens and teens are moving 

away from chocolate and going for the sweet-and-sour candy. I grew up 

enjoying a good piece of chocolate, and I don’t take advantage of it as often as 

I should, but I love chocolate at the theater.” 

Tim Warner 

CEO 

Cinemark 

“… Our founder was focused on building new and modern theaters in 

underserved markets. In the U.S. that meant building high-quality theaters 

in smaller, regional cities or in the suburbs of major cities. That translated 

internationally into building modern theaters in some of the biggest cities in 

the world like Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Lima, or Buenos Aires. None of these 

cities had many modern theaters when we entered the market. That’s what I 

believe has distinguished us: entering into underserved markets and our focus 

on Latin America.” 

Jerry Pierce 

Technology Consultant 

NATO 

“Immersive sound has gone from the next best thing to a mature cinema technology 

in a very short time. The next big thing may be high dynamic range 

and wider color gamut. We will keep watching for the evolution.” 

Rolando Rodriguez 

President and CEO 

Marcus Theatres 

“I think there are opportunities for us in the long term; it’s making sure film 

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grosses grow and that attendance grows alongside it. Flat or declining attendance 

is a big cause of concern, and in any healthy business you need to have 

the growth in revenue and attendance. I think a big part of that is making 

sure that our price-value relationship is closely aligned with the consumer. 

It’s important that we place a priority on amenities inside our theaters, so 

consumers can have a great experience inside our cinemas.” 

Ed Albro 

Director, Social Media and Managing Editor 

Dolby 

“We have a pretty diverse audience. Some in our communities are very tech 

savvy. Others are passionate about sound and may work in the entertainment 

industry. Others are hard-core gamers. The thing that pulls them 

all together is an interest in entertainment experiences that really absorb 

them.” 


OVERHEARD IN THE PAGES OF BOXOFFICE PRO 

Chris Sylvia 

Director of Digital Marketing 

Regal Entertainment Group 

“Social media has expanded the window in which we talk about movies. 

There is more going on each week than just the movies releasing that Friday. 

With chatter starting six-plus months before the release, we now have the 

ability to make Regal a part of the dialogue much sooner. From Day One, 

whether debuting a trailer, revealing an image from the set, or breaking movie 

news, Regal maintains top of mind as excitement and buzz grow.” 

Joan Graves 

Senior Vice President, Chair 

Classification and Rating Administration, MPAA 

“We’re charged to rate the film in the way we believe the majority of American 

parents would rate the film. To keep up to date, we survey parents on 

how they feel about violence, drug use, sexuality, and so on. Obviously we do 

this across the country, since different pockets of the U.S. feel differently about 

some of these issues.” 

Brent Cooke 

Vice President Guest & Digital Media 

AMC 

“AMC is the guest-experience leader, and targeted programming is one of the 

key ways we’re delivering an amazing moviegoing experience for our guests 

nationwide. Through our targeted programming strategy, we’re providing 

more titles and diverse content through our AMC Independent program to 

give more guests a reason to come out to the movies.” 

Ann Stadler 

Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer 

Marcus Theatres 

“There is nothing better than our popcorn. You can’t replicate that movie theater 

favorite at home! When I told my younger daughter that I took a job at Marcus 

Theatres, her first question: would I get a popcorn maker in my office?” 

Shelly Olesen 

Vice President Sales and Marketing 

C. Cretors and Company 

“When I received a call 23 years ago from a recruiter telling me that she had 

found the perfect sales job for me, I never imagined that it would involve 

popcorn! I began my career with C. Cretors and Company in 1991 as a 

regional salesperson, and then moved to senior marketing manager and on to 

director of sales and marketing. Today I have the pleasure, as vice president 

of sales and marketing, to direct our domestic and international sales and 

marketing efforts of concession and food-service equipment.” 

Darryl Schaffer 

Executive Vice President, Operations and Exhibitor Relations 

Screenvision 

“I loved going to the movies as a kid. I think my first movie was Dumbo, 

rereleased in the ’70s, and I loved that. Then I remember going to 

My dad was a theater owner in Los Angeles, and 

my mom worked as a cashier in the cinemas. I 

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Radio City Music Hall to see movies! I think those were mostly musicals. 

I also have great memories of going with my dad to the movies, often 

uptown. We would get a hot dog beforehand at Papaya King. We saw 

Jaws, Rocky, Blazing Saddles, Star Wars, Close Encounters—just to 

name a few!” 

Jodi Akers 

Marketing Specialist 

Classic Cinemas 

“The way we are able to communicate with our patrons. Being able 

to inform our guests immediately regarding upcoming events and any 

last-minute activity at our locations. We have the ability to interact and 

respond to any customer questions or issues in a timely manner. Guests 

expect immediate feedback, and social media gives us the ability to meet 

or exceed their expectations.” 

Marcos Barros 

CEO 

Cinesystem Cinemas 

“Brazil has one of the lowest ratios of screens per person; in Brazil we 

have one screen for every 75,000 to 80,000 people. With the economic 

growth we have more shopping malls, and with more shopping malls 

we have more cinemas. The Brazilian market doesn’t have a sustainable 

business model outside of shopping malls. It’s practically obligatory to find 

a spot in a shopping mall in order to build a new cinema.” 

Pete Filiaci 

Vice President, Strategy and Insights Group 

Univision 

“Hispanics are more likely to go to the movies than the general population 

(83 percent vs. 77 percent). In fact, Hispanics make up 15 percent of 

the U.S. population aged 12 and older but buy 19 percent of the movie 

tickets among this demographic. Do the math and it’s clear: appealing to 

Hispanic audiences is key to increasing box office revenues.” 

Miguel Rivera 

Chairman, NATO International Committee 

Director of Programming, Cinépolis 

“I think NATO has done a great job of amplifying its scope to include 

markets outside of the United States. It became a priority for studios and 

exhibitors alike to seek ties with exhibitors outside the U.S. as soon as the 

international box office became so relevant for the studios; we began to see 

the markets with the highest growth begin to sprout outside the U.S.” 

Kathy Conroy 

Vice President and COO 

NATO 

“... Gender inequality is rampant in global films. Not one country is 

anywhere near representing the reality that girls and women comprise 

fully half of humanity. Half. Not 30.9 percent. Half. It is critical that 

exhibition and distribution, with a customer base that is at least half 

female, address this imbalance.” 

Gina Disanto 

Executive Board Member, NATO 

King Theatres of Philadelphia and Frackville, Pennsylvania 

“Small-market independents feed the major markets. They are the 

stepping-stones of a moviegoing experience. By providing a theater, 

small-market independents continue to allow future generations to be 

engulfed in a movie. They help remind people of all ages that watching 

a movie on the big screen, with perfect presentation and sound in a 

crowded auditorium, is a much more exciting experience than watching 

a movie on your laptop with headphones. Movies remind us how to completely 

lose ourselves in a story.” 

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SPECIAL REPORT ON LUXURY SEATING 

EXHIBITORS OFFER LUXURY 

RECLINERS TO LURE PATRONS, 

LIFT BOX OFFICE REVENUE 


n North American exhibitors, challenged by ever improving home-entertainment 

technologies, are fighting back by making the cinema more 

like home. 

Spacious reclining seats—much like those consumers have in their 

family rooms—are proving to be one of the best ways exhibitors can 

increase the allure of a night at the cinema. Larger seats and wider aisles 

eliminate the cramped leg space and battle for elbow room that sometimes 

make moviegoing more annoying than fun. Instead, patrons can 

lean back, stretch out, and concentrate on the film. 

Improved seating embraces the counterintuitive strategy of reducing 

the number of seats in an auditorium to increase attendance. In the right 

location, the tactic is paying off. Among the major U.S. exhibitors, Regal 

Entertainment Corp., AMC Entertainment Holdings, and Cinemark 

Holdings Inc., reported positive results from upgrades. 

At the 48 locations that AMC has converted to recliners, ticket revenue 

increased 14 percent in the quarter that ended September 30, even as 

industry revenue as a whole fell 13 percent, chief executive officer Gerry 

Lopez says. The Kansas City–based company has accelerated improvements 

at its locations since it was acquired by China’s Dalian Wanda 

Group for $2.6 billion in 2012. 

That 27 percent differential “clearly illustrates a tremendous power 

of our reseat program, and the customers are 

not only driven by the slate of movies, but also 

by the experience of seeing those movies in 

comfort and style,” Lopez said during an 

October conference call with analysts. 

Typically, attendance at the toriums increases even though 

audithe 

number of available seats 

is cut by two-thirds. Eventually, 

chains also begin 

introducing higher prices 

for the premium seats. 

Regal, the largest U.S. chain, will finish 

converting 25 of its 574 locations and 

plans changeovers for a similar number 

next year, according to chief executive officer Amy Miles. Marcus Theatres 

offers recliners in 13 of its 55 locations. Cinemark Holdings Inc., 

the No. 3 U.S. chain, is experimenting with recliners in its VIP Room, 

a luxury auditorium at its Palace facility in Kansas City, and Carmike 

Cinemas Inc., the No. 4 chain, offers them at some newer locations. 

Regal has gone a step further, installing 4D motion seats in a small 

auditorium at its L.A. Live multiplex in downtown Los Angeles. Regal 

teamed with the Korean company CJ 4DPlex, whose technology can 

introduce motion, scent, fog, and mood lighting in synch with on-screen 

images. While new to the United States, 4D has been used in several 

countries, including Japan, China, Vietnam, and India. 

Exhibitors look at luxury chairs as one of several ways, including upgraded 

food menus and reserved seating, to improve customer experience 

and push revenue upward. The moves are driven by a decline in admissions 

to 1.34 billion last year from a peak of 1.58 billion in 2002, according 

to investment bank Redwood Capital Group. 

The strategy marks the first major 

effort to redesign cinema seating since 

multiplexes turned to stadium-style 

seating in the 1990s. Lucrative in the 

right locations, luxury seats probably 

will never become the standard, says 

Brett Harriss, an analyst at Gabelli & 

Co. There is no reason, Harriss 

says, to convert traditional, 

higher-capacity auditoriums in 

locations that regularly sell out. 

Luxury seating works best at 

theaters, or with films, that cater 

more to older or better-heeled 

patrons, he said. 

“Premium seating is more 

about segmenting the market than 

increasing demand,” Harriss says. 

“You can get growth by segmenting 

the market.” n 


LEAVING THE LIVING ROOM BEHIND 

SEATING BECOMES THE FRONT LINE IN THE 

FIGHT TO PUT BUTTS IN SEATS 


n The trend is impossible to ignore. Nearly every 

investor presentation from North America’s 

biggest exhibition chains highlights enhanced 

seating options as the best way to maintain 

a competitive edge in the market. Seating 

upgrades are quickly becoming a staple of 

today’s exhibition world as both large circuits 

and local players alike compete in an arms 

race to enhance customer comfort. Luxury 

seating formed part of Marcus Theatres’ $50 

million investment in premium features across 

its circuit, a push that also included large-format 

screens and expanded food and beverage 

concepts. The company plans to continue 

expanding its seating options in 2015 after 

installing its DreamLounger premium recliners 

at eight of its theaters across six states this year. 

AMC is crediting recliner seats as a catalyst for 

enhancing the productivity of existing assets 

after average attendance in theaters with premium 

seating options went up by 76 percent 

despite a seat loss of 62 percent. The company 

has deployed recliner seats across 505 screens 

in 44 locations. Regal, the largest exhibitor in 

the United States, plans to have recliner seats 

at approximately 25 sites by the end of year. 

Seating manufacturers who contributed 

to this story all noticed an uptick in interest 

toward luxury seating around the turn 

of the current decade. Seating Concepts is 

a fifteen-year veteran in luxury-seat manufacturing 

but only began to see more of an 

emphasis in this type of offering over the past 

three years. “The concept was popular among 

exhibitors already active in premium offerings, 

like Cinépolis and iPic, but I started noticing 

a more widespread appeal after AMC installed 

luxury seating and other players saw their 

success,” admits Marixa Flores, cinema sales 

manager for Seating Concepts. Dolphin Seating 

had a similar experience with its premium 

offerings. “Our factory has been making luxury 

seating for the European market for many 

years,” explains Dolphin Seating’s Sam Snell. 

“Now that the U.S. market has become interested 

in luxury cinema seating over the last few 

years, we started focusing on the requirements 

of luxury seating and recliners in the U.S.” 

Krian Cinema is a relative newcomer to 

the luxury-seating scene. The company began 

developing seating this year after noticing that 

premium offerings were more than simply the 

latest fad. Rob Poindexter, international sales 

manager for Krian, points to the central role 

that luxury seating has taken in the exhibition 

world. “The reality for most theaters in the 

current marketplace is either do it now and 

keep the market share you have or let your 

competitor do it first and lose some of your 

market share to them,” he says. The stress of 

keeping up with the competition has especially 

affected smaller exhibitors still recovering from 

the costs associated with the digital conversion. 

After devoting a large investment to keeping 

up with larger players at the projection booth, 

local exhibitors are now facing the challenge 

to upgrade their seating in order to maintain 

a competitive edge. Krian is marketing itself 

to these exhibitors with a low down payment 

with a per-admission-ticket revenue-share program, 

offering financing as low as $99 down 

with 50 cents per ticket sold. “Pretty soon, 

most theaters will be faced with a choice,” continues 

Poindexter. “Either make these seating 

upgrades or be relegated to a discount-theater 

status.” 

Implementing luxury seating comes with 

its share of challenges for exhibitors. Marixa 

Flores from Seating Concepts approximates 

that about 60 percent of a typical auditorium 

space is reduced with the installation of full recliners. 

Richard Murphy, president of Stadium 

Savers, has ample experience dealing with both 

new constructions and retrofits for exhibitors 

who want to install enhanced seating alternatives. 

Murphy gets to the point when advising 

exhibitors on their options. “Luxury recliners 

require more horizontal space than the current 

‘standard’ recliners,” he says. “This added space 

requirement will widen the established floor/ 

platform dimension. As a result, the concrete 

floor/platform will need to be adjusted with 

additional concrete. Two important issue come 

to light: First, will the existing structure allow 

the introduction of the additional weight? 

And two, the widening floor/platform will be 

expanded, preferably with lighter-weight material. 

Lightweight foam is a good material for 

establishing the floor/platform configuration 

with less use of heavy concrete.” 

Murphy says he believes that middle-sized 

theaters work best in incorporating recliners, 

while clarifying that any size auditorium can 

be converted to incorporate enhanced seating. 

“Large theaters would be somewhat less 

desirable to widen because of the greater loss of 

EXAMPLES OF 

LUXURY SEATING 


SPECIAL REPORT > LUXURY SEATING 

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Joe Sorenson 

CEO of RedSeat Entertainment 

seats. The mid-size theaters are the most desirable 

because of less total seat loss with a more intimate 

environment. The small theaters would be the 

least desirable, but can potentially be marketed as 

specialty screens.” 

Gaylord Stanton, VP of sales at First Class Seating and 

a proponent of the concept, cites costs, occupancy rates, 

and competition as prime factors to consider before making 

a decision. “Only upgrade to luxury seating if you are in 

a competitive market,” advises Stanton. “The loss of seats 

could have a negative effect, and the investment may be very 

difficult on an ROI basis.” 

For Stanton, luxury seating has gained popularity in U.S. 

auditoriums because of an ironic cyclical dynamic between 

the home media and theatrical markets. “For years now the 

home-theater market has been trying to bring the movie 

theater experience into the home,” he says. “Now, exhibitors 

are bringing the comfort of home to the theaters.” But the 

seating conversation doesn’t end with rocker backs and recliners, 

however, as immersive and interactive seating continues 

expanding its presence in the United States. These 

options look to bring an entirely different dimension 

to the theatrical experience. 

“The cinemas and the studios are in a constant 

effort to drive people to the theaters. They 

are battling against ever increasing home-based 

and mobile-based entertainment options and are 

constantly looking for consumer-driven enhancements and 

technologies to make the theater experience a destination 

of its own and keep people coming back, as well as drawing 

new people,” says Alison Jamele, president of MediaMation, 

a leading manufacturer of 4D products. The company’s 

Twitter hashtag goes to heart of the matter: #YouCantGet- 

ThisAtHome. “Real 4D Motion EFX theaters such as ours 

add a tremendous value and excitement to the moviegoing 

experience that enhances the visuals, audio, and story to 

bring people into the movie like never before.” 

A panel on the topic at this year’s edition of ShowEast 

outlined the concept’s mission—to stand apart from existing 

technology as the emerging premium format on the big 

screen. “Immersive cinema should involve more than just 

sight and sound; a true immersion comes from a multisensory 

experience,” said Theodore Kim, SVP, head of theater 

development and relations, CJ 4Dplex Americas. The 

company has a strong international presence in key markets 

like Japan, Russia, and Mexico. 

Angela Killoren, senior VP of marketing at CJ E&M 

America, can remember when she started noticing increased 

interest for the format in the United States. “2013 was the 

first year we had a booth at CinemaCon,” she recalls. “I think 

it helped to have a booth sitting next to a lot of the very large 

companies that work with exhibitors around the world, and 

it was when our partnership in Latin America with Cinépolis 

was fairly advanced. Sometimes what’s happening in Asia 

can seem quite foreign and look like it might not translate 

directly to U.S. audiences, and perhaps considering that 

Latin America is closer geographically and maybe culturally, 

it started seeming more tangible.” 

The format’s overall success in Latin America can be 

considered the spark that led to its introduction to the U.S. 

market. “A story we love to tell is one of our Latin American 

customers that signed on for three theaters to be installed 

over the next 18- to 24-month period,” recalls MediaMation’s 

Alison Jamele. “One month after the opening of their 

first theater, they called us up and ordered four more right 

away!” 

The reception north of the border has been just as 

positive. Enhanced seating alternatives form an important 

part of leading Canadian exhibitor Cineplex’s commitment 

to premium offerings. “More than 40 percent of our box 

office revenue is derived from premium tickets, more than 

double our U.S. peers,” says Pat Marshall, the company’s VP 

of communications and investor relations. “Premium charges 

range from three dollars for 3D premiums to as much as 12 

dollars for VIP Cinemas, depending on the day of the week. 

Guests really enjoy the variety of options we offer and the 


varying amenities that go along with them. Reserved seating has been a 

big hit in Canada.” 

Among their premium offerings, Cineplex operates 11 VIP cinemas 

across Canada with seven additional locations scheduled to open by the end 

of 2016. Immersive and interactive seating is also part of Cineplex’s strategy, 

with 21 theaters featuring D-Box MFX seats. The companies recently 

signed an agreement to add D-Box to 20 additional Cineplex locations. 

Moving Image Technology is preparing to start shipping their new 

immersive-seating product, Cine-Sation, early in the first quarter of 2015. 

MiT originally approached talks with Korean-based company Acouve a 

little over a year ago to consider the possibility of a distribution deal. “We 

wanted to take it a step further as soon as we saw the technology and its 

advantages. We started positioning ourselves to do more than just distribution,” 

recounts Joe Delgado, executive VP of sales and marketing at the 

company. “Because the product was developed in Korea, it needed productizing, 

and by that we mean for the Americas you needed to automate 

it. We also needed an American chair, a physical chair. The Korean chairs 

tended to run on the narrow side, cup holders were a bit smaller. Those 

were the things we started to discuss, negotiate, and implement. 

We automated the system and then went on to a sturdier processing platform. 

It runs off a processor that takes the time code from the DCP file, 

and that’s where the effects come from.” 

When it came to manufacturing a chair, MiT went with the experience 

of Irwin Seating Company to design the physical chair for Cine-Sation. 

“For me it was pretty simple: the criteria had to meet certain benchmarks,” 

says Delgado. “A, logistically, we liked the fact they were in the middle of 

the country, that part just made sense. B, I’ve known [Irwin] forever, I’ve 

known the company for about 25 years. And C, as one of the leading seating 

manufacturers in the world, we knew that they could handle the engineering 

involved. There had to be a ton of back and forth on the engineering 

side to get the chair to accept and transmit the effect correctly. [Irwin] 

met all those criteria, so it was a pretty easy decision for us to make.” 

TremorFX is another company that has called upon seating manufacturers 

to help complement the physical design of their product. 

“One of the things that sets TremorFX apart is its lower cost for theaters,” 

says Joe Sorenson, CEO of RedSeat Entertainment. “The price 

for tickets is set and controlled by the theaters, meaning there’s no revenue 

sharing with TremorFX’s parent company, RedSeat Entertainment. 

TremorFX chairs are easily installed and require low voltage, and we’ve 

partnered with some of the leading theater-seat providers to provide 

premium seating and maximum comfort for consumers. TremorFX 

has a patented processing technology that allows chairs to respond in 

real time, meaning the technology works with any movie the day it’s 

released. There’s no programming required, and the technology also 

works with live events and other media. 

“We have worked to make retrofitting a theater with TremorFX chairs 

as simple as possible,” Sorenson continues. “The voltage requirements are 

relatively low (one circuit per 10 chairs), and from there the only requirement 

is to run a data cable (cat5) from the projection room that connects 

to the electronics mounted on a riser behind the chairs. TremorFX chairs 

are also floor-mounted so they are easily installed the same as any other 

theater seats.” 

Dolphin Seating offers an intermediary solution for theaters that want 

to take a more cautious step into the expenses associated with interactive 

seating. The company’s VIB product vibrates from the audio hooked up 

into the sound system and can be added to any Dolphin Seat model for 

$200. While the affordability of implementing interactive seating in a 

theater varies by auditorium size and product type, there appears to be few 

arguments from exhibitors who have embraced the format. “What we’re 

seeing is that it’s driving higher occupancy through the customers’ interest 

in the format, and the surcharge is obviously driving higher revenues,” 

says Angela Killoren. Whether the seat rocks back, reclines, or vibrates, 

it looks as if the focus on seating will continue to surge in the exhibition 

market in the coming years. n 


BOXOFFICE INTERVIEW 

DIRECTOR ROB MARSHALL 

DISCUSSES THE DARK RELEVANCE 

OF INTO THE WOODS 


Director Rob Marshall’s Oscar-winning Chicago helped ignite a revival of musical films 

that has given birth to hits such as Les Mis, another Oscar winner, and Mamma Mia! 

Marshall’s latest production, Into the Woods, is based on the classic fairy tales of German 

brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. In an interview with BOXOFFICE PRO, Marshall 

discussed his film and the relevance of the Grimms’ cautionary tales in today’s world. 

Into the Woods, from The Walt Disney Company, opens in theaters on December 25. 

(continued on page 44) 


Pitch Perfect alumna Anna 

eceee 

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c 


BOXOFFICE INTERVIEW > ROB MARSHALL 

James Corden, who plays The Baker in 

Into the Woods, won a 2012 Tony for 

the comedy One Man, Two Guvnors. 

Corden was last seen as Britain’s Got 

Talent winner Paul Potts in One Chance. 

He has been tapped to replace Craig 

Ferguson on CBS’s The Late Late Show 

next seaon. 

Into the Woods is based on stories that are a couple of hundred 

years old. Most of us have heard them since we were 

toddlers, and yet they remain compelling. Why is that? 

> I guess that’s why they’re classic stories. They’re human stories and 

humanity doesn’t change. These are stories of greed and ambition. They 

deal with the very classic human condition, and that’s why they remain. 

Straying from your path—you’re told not to and then you do and when 

you do, Little Red Riding Hood meets the wolf. In our movie they all 

realize the consequences post–“happily ever after.” Jack learns, maybe 

I shouldn’t have stolen from the giant and Cinderella realizes, maybe 

I shouldn’t have attended the ball. Even though it’s based on classic 

material, it feels very much like today. It’s an incredibly funny, joyous 

piece, but it also deals with reality. 

We talk about Shakespeare and the genius that makes his 

work enduring. Did the Grimm brothers have a similar genius 

that makes these stories so foundational? 

> Yes, I think that’s why Stephen Sondheim turned to these stories in 

the first place. He went to the Grimm story of Cinderella. It’s a much 

more sophisticated story than the [Charles] Perrault version of Cinderella. 

Perrault’s story is about a pumpkin changing into a coach. In the 

Grimm version, Cinderella goes to the ball three times, and she chooses 

to go home each time and there is a very complex question of why she 

does that. And the Stephen Sondheim piece answers the question, was 

that the right thing? There’s a beautiful line in our film in which the 

fairy godmother asks her, “Are you certain that what you wish for is 

what you want?” 

What is the greatest challenge in adapting a stage play to 

fi 

> You want to retain what you can of the elements that work onstage, 

but you want to make sure you’re always serving the film. Obviously on 

the stage you’re sort of in a false place; you’re in a theater where there’s 

a proscenium, usually, so you know you’re not in a real place. You can 

accept people singing, for instance, more easily than you can on film, 

which is a much more realistic medium. So one of the key issues for me 

is explaining, why is this person singing. One of the reasons I thought 

Into the Woods would work as a film is that the opening prologue is 16 

minutes long. It’s a combination of both singing and speaking, all very 

seamless, back and forth, and that’s very helpful because you establish 

the language immediately. I’ve always felt if the audience knows what 

the rules are and how the story’s going to be told up front, they’ll go 

with you. 

There has been a fair amount of discussion about what 

changes were made in adapting Into the Woods for the 

screen. I think Sondheim started that discussion with some 

comments he made in an interview. My understanding is 

that you actually have retained all of the major elements of 

eceeefiee 

darker tone. 

> First, I would say Stephen Sondheim was incredibly upset by that article, 

because it so misrepresented what his feelings were, and he admitted 

that at that point he had not seen the film. It was such a misleading 

piece because it was actually the opposite. We were incredibly careful 

with all of the decision making, not only to retain all of the parts of 

the stage play, as long as they work on film, but also to retain the turn 

of tone in the play; it’s essential that it be there. So the darkness is all 

there. 

Broadway, of course, is not a children’s venue, but Disney 

fieoofeeoeceeee 

happy so that parents will be comfortable bringing their children 

to see Into the Woods? 

44 DECEMBER 2014

I do. To me it’s very much a fairy tale for the 21st century. It’s a fairy 

tale for children and parents post-9/11. It deals with issues that are relevant 

today, specifically with loss. I grew up in a very different time than 

children today, with terrorism and shootings and climate change and all 

the fear, which is represented in the film by the giant; it’s a metaphor for 

fear. And the play deals with how do you move through post–“happily 

ever after.” Children need the tools for how you do that. There is a beautiful 

song called “No One is Alone,” and I think that is one of the central 

messages of the piece, that no one is alone. I very much feel it’s a family 

movie; I think it’s an important discussion. And we’ve been given a PG 

rating. It’s an incredibly joyous, funny, and fantastic piece that also has a 

message and deals with reality and real issues, too. 

foefi 

debut in Into the Woods as Red 

Riding Hood. Crawford was last seen 

on Broadway in the recent revival of 

Annie after having made her debut in 

the stage hit Billy Elliot. 

The Grimm brothers’ stories are dark themselves. 

> That’s because all of those stories are 100 percent cautionary. They all 

began that way. And these really are the grim fairy tales. 

How did you decide what changes were needed? In the play, 

for example, you have the narrator who breaks the wall and 

eoeeceeoefi 

> One of the things that I did, which I was very keen to do, was work 

with James Lapine, who wrote the stage play and 

the screenplay, and work with Stephen Sondheim, 

so that when we made the adaptation we were 

able to maintain the integrity of the piece. I was 

so impressed with James’s and Stephen’s willingness 

to consider changes. So often I found I was 

the keeper of the stage version, saying, “Don’t change that.” 

You have roots in bringing classic material 

from the stage to television, working as 

a choreographer on adaptations such as 

Cinderella. . Did that background make you 

more comfortable with this? 

> With each film, with each time out, you learn more 

and you try to bring that expertise to the next project. 

I do know this was a real passion project for me. 

I met with Stephen Sondheim right around the 

time Chicago opened and I said, “I would really 

love to do a musical of yours on film.” We talked about Swee- 

ney Todd and we talked about Follies, , and he said, “I think Into 

the Woods would be perfect for you.” And that stayed with me 

over the years. I did feel very connected to this piece. I love what 

it says about the parent-child relationship and moving forward. 

ChicagoeficeceoOc 

ecceffioooeeeoofo 

eecfiecoeooee 

productions like Mamma Mia! and Les Mis? ? 

> I would like to think there has been a rebirth of musicals. I felt a 

responsibility to help move that forward, and I am thrilled that more 

musicals are being made. If we did open the door, or kick it open a 

little bit, I’m incredibly proud we were able to do that. 

What is the future for this genre? Do you think it will remain 

part of cinema? 

> I do. It’s an American art form, musicals, and it’s something we 

should hold very dear. Of course they’re very fragile, too, because when 

they’re not done properly, people think the genre’s not good. With 

the scale of a musical, the size and complexity of it, it’s tricky to make 

work. So each time out I try to be as conscious of that as possible and 

make sure it works as a piece. With this piece it’s particularly rewarding 

because the storytelling is so seamless between the music and the 

dialogue. So I felt I had great material in front of me. n 


eoeeco 

ceeooeo 

ooeoeeo 

eeThe Interview 

TV VET DAN STERLING SETS HIS 

SATIRICAL SIGHTS ON NORTH KOREA, 

EVEN IF THE JOKES GET LOST IN 

TRANSLATION 


Dan Sterling might be the only person in the world who can say his first 

produced screenplay was officially called an act of war by a foreign country. 

A simple thumbs-down would have sufficed, but then again the North Korean 

government isn’t a hard one to offend. The veteran television writer of 

shows that include South Park, The Daily Show, and The Office is well versed 

in satire, but he didn’t intentionally set out to cause the White House any 

more headaches when he began writing the screenplay that eventually turned 

into The Interview. BOXOFFICE spoke with Sterling to get a closer look at 

how a TV writer’s debut feature sparked threats from North Korean officials. 

DAN 

STERLING 

AT THE 

MOVIES 

oeoceo The little sour candies, I 

think they’re called Sour Patch—there are different 

brands, but that’s the one snack I’m into right 

now. 

oeeo It’s not really a comedy memory, 

but the biggest moviegoing event of my life was 

going to see Star Wars for the first time of what 

would end up being like five times in the theater. 

I saw it at a drive-in for the first time, and after 

that I was going around trying to dress like Luke 

Skywalker, which was actually not such a hot 

idea. 


How did you come up with the idea behind The Interview? 

> I had another movie that I wrote that Seth Rogen and his partner, 

Evan Goldberg, are attached to as producers, and we’re still looking to 

put that together. While we were looking to get that project going, they 

came to me with this brief idea: what if there was a journalist who got 

an interview with Osama bin Laden? Would he be tempted to kill bin 

Laden in the interview? This was a few years ago, so bin Laden was still 

alive and there was something funny and dramatic in that idea. They 

spoke of making a comedic Frost/Nixon. We knew we couldn’t do a 

story specifically about bin Laden because at that time Sacha Baron Cohen 

had started to make The Dictator and therefore “owned” all of the 

possible jokes you could make about a corrupt leader from that general 

region. So I went off and hacked away at the idea and came back with 

this North Korea setup. 

How do you even approach doing research about North Ko- 

efficecfoofoeee 

ofcoeooeococeeoceoe 

you into the country for a research trip … 

> I never went as far as going into North Korea, but that would have 

been so great to have said for the promotional phase! I read a number 

of books and watched a number of documentaries—some of the Vice 

magazine stuff but also some of the more obscure documentaries— 

none of which were able to penetrate very deeply into North Korea or 

the culture. But what a lot of them show is exactly how difficult it is to 

do that. In some of the books there was some more penetrating journalism 

that painted a better picture of North Korean life. It was a challenge, 

and there are so many reports coming out of the country—a lot 

of them being made by their enemies—that it’s so hard to make sense 

of what is going on there. What’s great about being a comedy writer is 

that the standard for accuracy, since the movie is so clearly ridiculous 

and clearly not trying to be a true authority on what’s happening there, 

we get to get away with more. But we never tried to make a claim to 

any real authenticity. And then finally we had the screenplay looked 

over by a couple of experts, and they felt reasonably good about it. 

eofeeceeooee 

>Do you mean about my own personal safety? The glib answer would 

be that it’s nice to hear my work has had such an impact. To be a writer 

and to write something that puts you in danger, boy, you must really 

be making an impact. But no, I’m not so worried about that. I think 

when people see the movie they’ll see that it’s completely outrageous 

and that it’s not propaganda. I think propaganda is basically something 

that makes one side look awful and the other side look justified and 

righteous, but pretty much everyone in the movie is a jackass. I suspect 

when people see the movie, a lot of the controversy will go away. At 

least in America, I can’t imagine there would be many people who 

would be upset with me. Unless it’s not funny, of course; in that case 

we are in trouble. 

efioefoOcoeeee 

oeoeeeeeeeece 

eecoofecofieceeo 

efiooefeeoeofioce 

ceecoeooce 

> I can’t think of anything better. I was there for every word that was 

written and every shot of the film, so I’m so emotionally close to it, 

and I really feel that it should be a big hit. First of all it has the great 

comedy franchise of Seth Rogen and James Franco. It has a lot of Seth 

Rogen being physically harmed in some way, which is one of my favorite 

things. When I met Seth’s mother I told her, “One of my favorite 

things in the world is to see your son suffer.” There’s a scene we took 

out of the movie where he gets flicked in the forehead with a spoon, 

and it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. n 

eoeeeceeoeeecoceeoooceoeo 

oeefceooecoe 

> I went through a couple of phases. While writing I felt the opposite, 

that I should try to pack in a lot of facts and history of the Korean 

peninsula and the history of the U.S. with both Koreas—and a bit of 

that information did make the movie. As for toning it down, I never 

worried too much about that. I always felt we were hitting the 

right notes. The movie is intended to make buffoons of a lot of 

people—and that includes the main characters and the CIA 

and the people they’re trying to subvert. 

It’s hard to imagine the North Korean reac- 

ooeeeeeofo 

eefiooeexeof 

North Korea’s reaction surprise you? 

> I guess it was a little surprising, but there’s 

a pretty long history of Hollywood making 

movies about provocative issues and dealing 

with real-world situations like this. So far I have 

never heard of a comedy igniting a war. When [South 

Park creators] Trey Parker and Matt Stone made Team America: 

World Police or a TV show like 30 Rock satirized the same subject, I 

feel there was a different reaction. It’s hard to know what to make of 

it. Believe it or not, it was never my aim to get a rise out of them. 

The main aim is to do something that is hilarious and obviously 

provocative and get a lot of people to go to the movies and be 

entertained. 

oeeofoeeefo 

North Korea–US Peace said this 

about The Interview: “There is a 

ecooe 

shows the desperation of the US 

oeeecoce 

Pictured: North Korean 

president Kim Jong-un 


BOXOFFICE INTERVIEW 

RIDLEY SCOTT 


Whatever pressure there was on Ridley Scott to follow up the success of his debut feature, The 

Duellists, a period piece that won for Best Debut Film at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, was 

only multiplied by the release of his second film. Alien hit screens in 1979, only two years after 

Star Wars reignited the blockbuster potential of science-fiction films. Alien was a different kind 

of beast, however, a film many universes away from George Lucas’s nascent family-friendly 

action-adventure saga. Rather than joining the string of derivative space operas immediately 

following Star Wars, Alien ushered in the renaissance of American science-fiction films in the 

1980s by introducing more serious and adult elements. When Blade Runner followed Alien three 

years later, audiences around the world began to recognize Ridley Scott as a singular talent. 

(continued on page 50) 


ecoee 

Alienoe 

eeoeeofExodus: 

Gods and Kingsee 

eeoeof 

eoeeo 


BOXOFFICE INTERVIEW > RIDLEY SCOTT 

cooeBeoe 

Scott is perhaps best known for making 

the sort of films that feature a fully 

realized diegetic world. is settings 

are often painstakingly detailed, 

giving locales otherwise limited to our 

imagination a grounded reality that 

makes them so engrossing on screen. e is a favorite 

among science-fiction aficionados for that very reason, 

but its impossible to overlook how his talent has shaped 

the historical epics hes taken on in his career. The 

directors latest film, Exodus: Gods and Kings, brings 

his vision to ancient gypt through the story of oses. 

Exodus promises to provide audiences with another 

immersive-experience world best suited for the big 

screen. cott spoke to BOXOFFICE about his career 

and the making of Exodus ust a day before he began 

shooting his next proect, The Martian. 

What was it about Exodus: Gods and Kingseoo 

efi 

> The character of Moses is so enormous, and I sat down to read Peter 

Chernin’s screenplay with great curiosity. I didn’t know anything about 

Moses’s extraordinary life, other than the more obvious elements that are 

associated with him. I had no idea he was a military man, a commander 

of the Egyptian army, that he was important in the Egyptian hierarchy. I 

really got into it and found that it could be an amazing film and a great 

challenge to bring it to audiences today. So I climbed onto the project, and 

we went into the typical readjustment and rewriting from the original. 

eoofeBefoeoeofoe 

> I met Christian years ago, and I’ve known him for a while now, and 

I’ve watched his bigger films, Batman and all his other roles that are 

better known. But there’s another side to him that you can see in films 

like Out of the Furnace, where you can see who he is other than Batman. I 

really liked him in that western, 3:10 to Yuma, and watching him change 

over the years into a very powerful actor. What really blew me away was 

American Hustle, watching him really going for the character. By then I 

was already tracking him, and when I approached him with the idea of 

Exodus he just said, “Oh my God, really?” I had no idea if he would go 

for it, but he was challenged by it; it’s a role that he really had to stretch 

himself to get his head around it, so he said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” It turned 

into one of my best relationships in making a film, I think. 


oeeofoc 

ecooofe 

fefeeee 

eeco1492: Conquest of 

ParadiseGladiatorKingdom of 

Heaveneofooe 

oecoeoo- 

ocoExodus? 

> It’s all relative. In fact, Kingdom of Heaven 

is not a million miles from Exodus. Gladiator 

touched on ethnic environments and a 

time that we can only associate with history 

books, and I loved doing 1492 with Gerard 

Depardieu. I love doing these period pieces; 

I love to create the universes. This project 

has the additional strong attraction that the 

Egyptians are architecturally just spectacular. 

It’s the sort of stuff that baffles you and 

makes you say, “Where the hell did that 

come from?” The Greeks didn’t influence 

them, even though Greek architecture has 

influenced almost all forms of Western 

architecture over the centuries. The exotic 

architecture of the Egyptians, I think, is 

tied to their obsession with life and afterlife. 

So how that idealism is expressed through 

the pyramids is magnificent. One wonders 

about the science-fiction elements of that. 

oeofieee 

cooeooo 

ceeoeceoee 

feecceoce- 

oeAlienoee 

exeoeeecc 

oooeeoeoe 

ce 

eoeeo- 

eoeeec 

ooficeof 

efoeBoee 

eeooeo 

eofoefiThelma and 

LouiseG.I. JaneHannibal … 

OBOO 

ADJUSTED FOR CURRENT TICKET PRICES 

1 Gladiator $283,125,254 

2 Alien $266,386,859 

3 Hannibal $237,557,536 

4 

5 

Black Hawk 

Down 

American 

Gangster 

$156,324,424 

$153,813,744 

6 Prometheus $129,178,227 

7 Robin Hood $108,471,851 

8 Black Rain $94,161,405 

9 Blade Runner $90,852,689 

10 

Thelma and 

Louise 

$87,597,206 

11 G.I. Jane $85,319,224 

12 

Kingdom of 

Heaven 

$60,116,863 

13 Matchstick Men $49,759,456 

14 Body of Lies $44,607,052 

15 Legend $33,970,935 

SOURCE: BOXOFFICE.COM/NATO 

> I think it goes back to my mum, 

actually. She was a very powerful mother, 

even if she was only five feet tall. I have 

great respect for my mother for raising 

three boys, but I think she was the kind of 

benchmark for these roles; she could kick 

our ass, you know! She was a very strong 

person, and thereafter I’ve never found 

women challenging, because women have 

always been equal in my estimation. I have 

an office in London, an office in L.A., and 

an office in New York, and they are all run 

by women. 

oeoooexfio- 

oocoeo 

The Martian? 

> The Martian is the definitive maroon story, 

set in the near future and based on the notion 

of just going up to Mars since we already 

know so much about it. To put it very simply, 

it’s about a man who travels up there and 

gets left behind. Matt Damon plays the main 

character, who is the botanist in the expedition 

that gets left behind, and we’ll be able 

to see how he survives with the elements in 

Mars. It’s a great story about using ingenuity 

and science to reconnect with Earth. 

ceoeoecoecececefico 

> [Laughing] This one is more like science 

fact. 

foeoeefi 

eeoo 

oeeoeeeoeexeofe 

oeeoefoeAlien 

eoeBlade 

Runneree 

> They’re both developed and written; the 

only question is which project I’ll decide to 

do next. n 

RIDLEY SCOTT AT THE MOVIES 

oeoceo I have to admit I like 

popcorn with salt, the largest bag I can get! 

oeeo The first film I can remember 

seeing is watching a black-and-white 

film named Gilda with Rita Hayworth. I don’t 

know how my mother got me into that matinee, 

but we were sitting in the balcony so I 

could get a good view. When Rita Hayworth 

starts to sing and sway “Put the Blame on 

Mame,” I must have been around six years 

old, but I got a funny feeling down below. 

It was the first time I got the funny feeling. 

My mother got up to leave, and I asked her 

if we could please stay and finish watching 

it. She just said “No!” Rita Hayworth was 

a spectacularly beautiful woman, even to 

impress a six-year-old child. 


2014 

DEC 12 FOX EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS 

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2015 

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THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: 

SPONGE OUT OF WATER 

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THE DIVERGENT SERIES: 

INSURGENT 

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PUSS IN BOOTS 2 

AVENGERS: 

INFINITY WAR PART II 


Film capsules by Kenneth James Bacon 

DEC 5 n From producer Alexandre Aja (director of the 2003 cult 

fav Haute tension) comes his latest fright film. This time he hands 

the directing reins to fellow Frenchman Grégory Levasseur (2006’s 

reboot of The Hills Have Eyes). Here is how the production company 

describes The Pyramid: “The ancient wonders of the world have long 

cursed explorers who’ve dared to uncover their secrets. But a team 

of U.S. archaeologists gets more than they bargained for when they 

discover a lost pyramid unlike any other in the Egyptian desert. As 

they unlock the horrific secrets buried within, they realize they aren’t 

just trapped; they are being hunted.” Denis O’Hare, currently starring 

in American Horror Story: Freak Show (as the anatomically gifted 

Stanley) co-stars with former Abercrombie & Fitch model Ashley 

Hinshaw. 

DISTRIBUTOR Fox CAST Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O’Hare, James Buckley, 

Daniel Amerman WRITERS Daniel Meersand, Nick Simon DIRECTOR 

Grégory Levasseur GENRE Horror RATING R for some horror, violence, 

and bloody images RUNNING TIME 89 min. 


DEC 12 n Originally called Finally Famous, 

this look at the life of a stand-up 

comedian who tries to reinvent himself 

as a serious actor was written and directed 

by comedian Chris Rock. Unlike the 

edgy satire Birdman, in which Michael 

Keaton plays a once-popular action 

hero who also tries to reinvent himself 

as a serious thespian, Top Five aims for 

the romantic-comedy crowd. The film 

premiered at the Toronto International 

Film Festival to raves and currently 

holds a whopping prerelease score of 92 

percent at RottenTomatoes.com. The 

film boasts a wide array of comic talents: 

Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Cedric the 

Entertainer, J.B. Smoove, Adam Sandler, 

a pre-accident Tracy Morgan, and even 

shock jocks Opie and Anthony. The Top 

Five of the title refers to a scene that 

features a debate on the top rappers of 

all time. 

ocecoee 

eceee 

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DISTRIBUTOR Paramount CAST Chris Rock, 

Rosario Dawson, Hayley Marie Norman, 

Rachel Feinstein WRITER Chris Rock 

DIRECTOR Chris Rock GENRE Comedy RAT- 

ING R for strong sexual content, nudity, 

crude humor, language throughout and 

some drug use RUNNING TIME TBD 


COMING IN DECEMBER > WIDE RELEASES 

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DEC 12 n Sir Ridley Scott has often described himself as a “world 

builder,” and the director’s oeuvre certainly reflects that: Alien, 

Blade Runner, Legend, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Gladiator, Black 

Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, and even the more 

contemporary world depicted in American Gangster. Exodus: Gods 

and Kings covers the same Old Testament events seen in the 1956 

Charlton Heston / Yul Brynner epic The Ten Commandments. 

There’s no doubt the special effects will be stellar. One wonders if 

Cecil B. DeMille wished he’d had computers to part the Red Sea 

instead of building a 360,000-gallon water tank on the Paramount 

back lot. There have been rumblings about the casting of nonethnic 

actors in the leads of Exodus (Edgerton is an Aussie!) and you’ll find 

boycott petitions online. Will that ultimately affect grosses? God 

only knows. 

DISTRIBUTOR Fox CAST Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, 

Aaron Paul WRITERS Steven Zaillian, Jeffrey Caine, Adam Cooper, Bill 

Collage DIRECTOR Ridley Scott GENRE Action | Drama RATING PG-13 for 

violence, including battle sequences and intense images RUNNING TIME 

142 min. 


DEC 17 n The final film of the trilogy 

hits the screen in a number of formats 

with the most interesting and controversial 

being HFR 3D. The hyper-real 

format has as many defenders as it has 

detractors. Shooting and projecting film 

at 48 frames per second gives a real-life 

quality that many describe as having the 

sheen and crispness of high-resolution 

football broadcast—and not in a good 

way. Many find that look to be the antithesis 

of the dreamy quality of motion 

picture film. You can bet 70mm film 

IMAX proponent Christopher Nolan 

won’t be shooting his films in HFR 3D 

(or regular 3D) anytime soon. James 

Cameron, however, is considering HFR 

3D for his upcoming Avatar sequels. 

We’ve seen Douglas Trumbull’s 120 fps 

tests on a big screen, and the word that 

best describes that experience is startling. 

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DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Ian McKellen, 

Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, 

Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch, 

Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace 

WRITERS Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter 

Jackson, Guillermo del Toro DIRECTOR 

Peter Jackson GENRE Adventure | Fantasy 

RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD 



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DEC 19 n The youngest Best Actress nominee of all time, Quvenzhané 

Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) stars in the update of the 

1977 Broadway musical. Though much of the original song score 

has been retained, three new songs have been added. Surprisingly, 

the name of the story’s iconic male lead—Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks—has 

been changed to William Stacks (Jamie Foxx), along 

with some other significant changes to both story and characters. 

The list of credit producers includes Will Smith and Jada Pinkett 

Smith, as their daughter, Willow, was originally cast in the title 

role. As preproduction slowly moved forward, Willow Smith 

dropped out. Some reports indicate that she had grown too old for 

the part (Wallis is three years younger). Willow Smith claims her 

“intuition” told her not to do the film, and she’d rather concentrate 

on her music. It’s a hard knock life. 

DISTRIBUTOR Columbia CAST Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rose 

Byrne, Bobby Cannavale WRITERS Will Gluck, Aline Brosh McKenna, 

Emma Thompson DIRECTOR Will Gluck GENRE Comedy | Drama | Family 

| Musical RATING PG for some mild language and rude humor RUNNING 

TIME 118 min. 


DEC 19 n With five Oscar nominations 

already under her belt (and possibly 

a sixth with Big Eyes also coming out 

this month) it was always unlikely that 

Amy Adams would reprise her role as 

Amelia Earhart in this third outing of the 

Museum series. But on a somber note, 

we do get Robin Williams returning as 

Theodore Roosevelt in one of his final 

roles. He would have been “bully!” in a 

big-screen adaptation of Doris Kearns 

Goodwin’s recent Roosevelt biography. In 

this latest Museum adventure, Ben Stiller’s 

Larry Daley must gather characters both 

new (Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens as 

Lancelot) and old (Owen Wilson as 

cowpoke Jedediah) to renew the fading 

magical powers of the Golden Tablet of 

Ahkmenrah, which gives life to the museum 

characters. Mickey Rooney appears as 

Gus in his final on-screen performance. 

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DISTRIBUTOR Fox CAST Ben Stiller, 

Robin Williams, Owen Wilson WRITERS 

Robert Ben Garant, David Guion, Michael 

Handelman, Thomas Lennon DIRECTOR 

Shawn Levy GENRE Adventure | Comedy 

| Family RATING PG for mild action, some 

rude humor, and brief language RUNNING 

TIME TBD 



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DEC 25 n As with the Sweeney Todd trailers, Disney has been 

a little cagey about the nature of the film; like Sweeney Todd, Into 

the Woods is a full-blown musical. And that’s a good thing. Todd 

grossed $152 worldwide on a $50 million budget and nabbed an 

Oscar nomination for star Johnny Depp. Depp appears in this film 

adaptation of the Broadway hit that earned living legend (and Todd 

composer) Stephen Sondheim a Tony for Best Original Score. For 

those unfamiliar with the story, Into the Woods combines several 

fairy tales into one with appearances by Cinderella, Jack (of beanstalk 

fame), and Little Red Riding Hood. Former choreographer 

Rob Marshall, who directed Chicago to a Best Picture win, returns 

to his musical roots with this film after helming the gigantic production 

that was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. 

DISTRIBUTOR Disney CAST Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, 

Johnny Depp WRITERS James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim DIRECTOR 

Rob Marshall GENRE antasy usical RATING for thematic elements, 

fantasy action and peril, and some suggestive material RUNNING 

TIME 124 min. 


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DEC 25 n After Trey Parker and Matt Stone skewered North 

Korea’s Kim Jong-il in Team America: World Police in song with 

the lament “I’m So Ronery”—writer Dan Sterling has raised the 

stakes with this story of two celebrity-tabloid reporters who plan to 

travel to North Korea to interview the country’s current leader (and 

NBA fan) Kim Jong-un. Learning of their travel plans, the CIA 

attempts to recruit the intrepid duo in a plot to assassinate North 

Korea’s leader. (Was Dennis Rodman not available?) North Korea 

has condemned the film sight unseen and has warned of a “decisive 

and merciless countermeasure” if the film is released, going so far 

as to ask President Obama to intervene. State-run news agency 

KCNS said in a statement: “Our military and our people regard the 

supreme leader as more precious than their own lives.” 

DISTRIBUTOR Columbia CAST Seth Rogen, James Franco WRITER Dan 

Sterling DIRECTORS Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen GENRE Action omedy 

RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 117 min. 



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DEC 25 n Laura Hillenbrand’s 2001 best seller Seabiscuit turned 

out to be excellent source material for a hit movie, and her follow-up, 

Unbroken, is poised to do the same for director Angelina 

Jolie. The remarkable story of Louis Zamperini—Olympic runner, 

castaway, and prisoner of war—is enough for a few films and, 

unlike several of the year-end Oscar hopefuls, there is absolutely no 

buzz on the film. The trailer suggests an epic scope with cinematography 

by 11-time Oscar nominee Roger Deakins. Japanese pop 

star Miyavi makes his film debut as ruthless, sadistic, and quite 

real POW camp guard Mutsuhiro ”The Bird” Watanabe. The Coen 

Brothers, Oscar winners for Fargo and No Country for Old Men, are 

responsible for the rewrites of an earlier script. The real Zamperini 

is pictured here with director Jolie. Sadly, he died this summer at 

the age of 97. 

DISTRIBUTOR Universal CAST Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett 

Hedlund, Miyavi WRITERS Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, 

William Nicholson DIRECTOR Angelina Jolie GENRE Action | Drama | 

Sport RATING PG-13 for war violence including intense sequences of 

brutality and for brief language RUNNING TIME TBD 


DEC 25 n Tim Burton has stepped 

back from the big-budget phantasmagoria 

of Alice in Wonderland to direct this $10 

million biopic of painter Margaret Keane 

and her husband, Walter Keane, who took 

credit for her work for decades. Burton, 

who is an avid collector of Keane’s kitschy 

Big Eyes paintings, has reteamed with his 

Ed Wood collaborators on this intimate 

glimpse into the lives of the Keanes from 

their meeting in the 1950s to their much 

later hotly contested court proceedings 

to determine who really painted the 

extremely popular and lucrative doe-eyed 

children. Two-time Oscar winner Christoph 

Waltz, an Austrian, plays Nebraskan 

Walter Keane, who passed away more 

than a decade ago (still disputing Margaret’s 

account). Amy Adams portrays Margaret 

Keane, who still paints in Northern 

California. You can read more about her 

and see her work at www.keane-eyes.com. 

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DISTRIBUTOR The Weinstein Company 

CAST Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz 

WRITERS Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski 

DIRECTOR Tim Burton GENRE Biography 

| Drama RATING PG-13 for thematic 

elements and brief strong language 

RUNNING TIME 106 min. 


O T A TO O O 

ZERO MOTIVATION 

DEC 3 n Winner of the Best Narrative 

Feature Award at the Tribeca Film 

Festival, Zero Motivation is a portrait of 

everyday life for a unit of young, female 

soldiers in a remote Israeli desert outpost. 

The producers describe it as a cross between 

M*A*S*H and Orange Is the New 

Black. BFFs Zohar and Daffy, who work 

in the unit’s HR office, spend their time 

playing video games and dreaming of Tel 

Aviv. They are minded by their senior officer, 

Rama, who aspires to move up the 

chain of command, but with a platoon of 

unskilled and idle layabouts, she may be 

aiming too high. Zeitgeist Films writes, 

“With shifts of tone that go from slapstick 

to satiric to horrifying with fluid 

ease, and with a superb supporting cast 

of characters, Zero Motivation is destined 

to be one of the most talked-about films 

of the year.” 

DISTRIBUTOR Zeitgeist Films CAST ana 

Ivgy, Nelly Tagar, hani lein WRITER 

Talya avie DIRECTOR Talya avie GENRE 

omedy rama RATING T RUNNING 

TIME min. 

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE 

COMET 

DEC 5 n Justin Long and Emmy Rossum 

play star-crossed lovers whose relationship 

blooms and unravels over the course of six 

years. When a chance encounter brings together 

the cynical Dell (Long) and the quick-witted 

Kimberly (Rossum), the stage is set for a tempestuous 

love affair that unfolds like a puzzle. 

As the film zigzags back and forth in time, a 

portrait of a relationship emerges. 

DISTRIBUTOR IFC Films CAST Emmy Rossum, 

Justin Long WRITER Sam Esmail DIRECTOR Sam 

Esmail GENRE omedy rama omance ci- 

Fi RATING for language including sexual references, 

and some drug use RUNNING TIME 91 min. 

THAT’S A FACT, JACK 

ACTION JACKSON 

DEC 5 n Ajay Devgan (a Javier Bardem look-alike) is one of India’s most popular 

and busiest actors. Since 2014 he has starred in over 40 films including the starring 

role in Main Aisa Hi Hoon, a remake of the Sean Penn-starrer Sam I Am. His co-star 

in Action Jackson, Sonakshi Sinha, also does voice acting and performed Anne Hathaway’s 

role as Jewel in the Hindi version of the recent animated hit Rio 2. Action 

Jackson’s action has the kinetic energy of a Robert Rodriguez Sin City film. And, of 

course, there’s dancing! 

DISTRIBUTOR ros International CAST Aay evgan, onakshi inha, ami autam 

WRITERS rabhudeva, hiraz Ahmed A. . ughil DIRECTOR rabhudeva GENRE 

Action omedy RATING T RUNNING TIME T 

64 BoxOffice ® Pro The usiness of ovies

PACK A LUNCH 

WILD 

DEC 5 n Quebecois director of Dallas 

Buyers Club, Jean-Marc Vallée, returns 

with another true-life tale. Oscar-winner 

Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) 

stars as Cheryl Strayed, an aimless and 

reckless former heroin addict, who, on 

a whim, decides to hike the 1,000- 

mile Pacific Crest Trail—alone—on 

a journey of self-discovery. Strayed 

documented her adventure in the book 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific 

Crest Trail. Laura Dern is featured in 

flashbacks as Strayed’s deceased mother. 

British novelist Nick Hornby (About a 

Boy, High Fidelity, Fever Pitch) adapted 

Strayed’s memoir. 

DISTRIBUTOR Fox Searchlight CAST Reese 

Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski 

WRITER Nick Hornby DIRECTOR Jean- 

Marc Vallée GENRE Biography | Drama 

RATING R for sexual content, nudity, drug 

use, and language RUNNING TIME 115 min. 

Come see us 

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COMING IN DECEMBER > LIMITED RELEASES 

HIS DUDENESS 

INHERENT VICE 

DEC 12 n Reclusive writer Thomas 

Pynchon has finally allowed someone 

to adapt his work for the screen, and 

Paul Thomas Anderson chose what 

most call Pynchon’s least cryptic and 

most mainstream work. Ostensibly a 

detective story set in the Los Angeles 

of the 1970s, Inherent Vice is what 

Anderson himself describes as a Cheech 

and Chong movie. The trailer certainly 

suggests it, with star Joaquin Phoenix 

looking particularly “infused” throughout. 

The film has already been screened 

at festivals and holds a respectable 72 

percent on the Tomatometer. 

DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Joaquin 

Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson 

WRITER Paul Thomas Anderson DIRECTOR 

Paul Thomas Anderson GENRE Comedy 

rime rama ystery omance 

RATING R for drug use throughout, sexual 

content, graphic nudity, language, and 

some violence RUNNING TIME 148 min. 

BULLETS VS. BREASTS 

FREE THE NIPPLE 

DEC 12 n Now there’s a title for you. Based on true events, 

the film follows a group of women who take to the streets of 

New York City topless as a protest against draconian and archaic 

obscenity laws. As the publicity materials point out, it is against 

the law in 35 states to go topless in public, even if breast-feeding 

a child. The film explores the basic question: which is more 

obscene, violence in media or a naked nipple? And yes, we had to 

do that to the film still at right. Ironic? 

DISTRIBUTOR IFC Films CAST Casey LaBow, Monique Coleman, 

Zach Grenier WRITER Hunter Richards DIRECTOR Lina Esco GENRE 

Comedy RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 84 min. 

BACHELOR NUMBER THREE 

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT 

DEC 17 n A newly single dad enters the 30-something singles scene in this 

comedy from Junebug writer Angus MacLachlan. Paul Schneider (Season One of 

Parks and Recreation) stars alongside some solid comic performers in Anna Camp 

(The Mindy Project), Heather Graham (The Hangover), Amy Sedaris (Strangers 

With Candy), and Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men). 

DISTRIBUTOR IFC Films CAST Paul Schneider, Melanie Lynskey, Audrey P. Scott 

WRITER Angus MacLachlan DIRECTOR Angus MacLachlan GENRE Comedy | Drama 

RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 87 min. 


STRANGER IN PARADISE 

P.K. 

DEC 19 n Aamir Khan is a big star. 

We confess, however, that we know 

little about this film other than it is 

highly anticipated in India. Khan’s 

previous efforts have been huge hits. 3 

Idiots (2009) broke box office records 

across India and performed very well 

in overseas markets. Last year’s action 

thriller, Dhoom: 3, collected $65 

million in worldwide rentals in just 10 

days—a record for a Bollywood film. 

The trailer for P.K. can be found online. 

It’s very engaging. 

DISTRIBUTOR UTV Films CAST Aamir Khan, 

Sanjay Dutt, Anushka Sharma WRITER 

Abhijit Joshi DIRECTOR Rajkumar Hirani 

GENRE Comedy | Drama | Fantasy RATING 

TBD RUNNING TIME TBD 



BRUSHES DOWN 

MR. TURNER 

DEC 19 n Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew 

in the Harry Potter franchise) won 

the Best Actor award at Cannes this 

year for his portrayal of famed British 

painter and gallivant J.M.W. Turner 

(1775–1851). The sumptuously filmed 

biography covers the last 25 years of 

Turner’s life as he travels, visits brothels, 

and straps himself to the bow of a ship 

to paint a snowstorm, all the while 

enjoying dalliances with a mistress or 

two. The film will become a high-profile 

art-house hit if Spall nabs an Oscar 

nomination, which many pundits 

predict. 

DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Classics CAST 

Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Paul 

Jesson WRITER Mike Leigh DIRECTOR Mike 

Leigh GENRE Biography | Drama | History 

RATING R for some sexual content RUN- 

NING TIME 149 min. 

NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS 

THE GAMBLER 

DEC 19 n After his highly praised work behind the camera 

for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, director Rupert Wyatt was 

tapped to helm this remake of the 1974 James Caan film. 

Working from a script by William Monahan (Oscar winner for 

The Departed), the producers of the original film selected Mark 

Wahlberg for the James Caan role, a university professor with a 

gambling addiction. There is a bit of an Oscar buzz around this 

one, but nobody knows anything, as The Princess Bride author 

William Goldman famously wrote. 

DISTRIBUTOR Paramount CAST Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, John 

Goodman, Michael K. Williams WRITER William Monahan DIRECTOR 

Rupert Wyatt GENRE Crime | Drama | Thriller RATING TBD RUNNING 

TIME TBD 

EENY, MEENY, MINY, MOE 

BELOVED SISTERS 

DEC 24 n This is Germany’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language 

Film. Its German title is Die geliebten Schwestern. German poet Friedrich 

Schiller (1759–1805) becomes involved in a love triangle with Charlotte and 

Caroline, a pair of aristocratic sisters. The ménage à trois results in his marrying 

one of the sisters, while the other became his biographer. The film has 

been praised for its lavish locations and striking costumes. 

DISTRIBUTOR Music Box Films CAST Henriette Confurius, Florian Stetter, Hannah 

Herzsprung, Claudia Messner WRITER Dominik Graf DIRECTOR Dominik Graf GENRE 

Drama | History | Romance RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 138 min. 


LONG WEEKEND 

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT 

DEC 24 n Belgium’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film, Deux jours, une nuit 

features Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose ) as Sandra, a factory worker who has a 

nervous breakdown and has to take time off from work. While she’s gone, management offers 

the other 16 employees a large bonus if they will agree to have Sandra let go. Sandra has the 

weekend to visit each worker in an effort to convince them not to accept the bonus and let her 

return to work. The film received raves at Cannes this year and earned an extended standing 

ovation. 

DISTRIBUTOR Cinéart CAST Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione WRITERS Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre 

Dardenne DIRECTORS Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne GENRE Drama RATING PG-13 for some 

mature thematic elements RUNNING TIME 95 min. 



I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE 

AMERICAN SNIPER 

DEC 25 n Based on Navy Seal Chris 

Kyle’s autobiography, the film is flying a 

bit under the radar much like its director 

Clint Eastwood’s 2004 award-winning 

Million Dollar Baby. Recently 

screened in Los Angeles for a select 

few to high praise, American Sniper 

looks poised to be a solid performer at 

the box office. Controversy surrounds 

Kyle’s accounts in American Sniper; 

former Minnesota governor and ex- 

SEAL Jessie Ventura successfully sued 

the Kyle estate for defamation, claiming 

that a confrontation between the two 

was false. Kyle was killed last year at a 

gun range in Texas after being shot by 

a companion. Kyle was the most lethal 

sniper in U.S. history (160 confirmed 

kills) and was the recipient of multiple 

medals for heroism. 

DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Bradley 

Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes WRIT- 

ER Jason Dean Hall DIRECTOR Clint Eastwood 

GENRE Action | Biography RATING 

R for strong and disturbing war violence, 

and language throughout including some 

sexual references RUNNING TIME 134 min. 

ROCK THE VOTE 

SELMA 

DEC 25 n Hopes are high after a recent stellar screening for 

Ava DuVernay’s third film, which chronicles the 1965 march 

from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in support of voting 

rights led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Britishers Tom 

Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) and David Oyelowo (Lincoln) costar 

as Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. DuVernay’s 

second film, Middle of Nowhere, won her the Best Director 

Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Noted jazz musician 

Jason Moran composed the score, his first. 

DISTRIBUTOR Paramount Vantage CAST David Oyelowo, Carmen 

Ejogo, Tim Roth, Tom Wilkinson WRITERS Ava DuVernay, Paul 

Webb DIRECTOR Ava DuVernay GENRE Drama | History RATING 

TBD RUNNING TIME TBD 

BOOK OF JOB 

LEVIATHAN 

DEC 25 n The story concerns a man who is at odds with the mayor who wants 

a piece of his land. The producer says, “[The film] deals with some of the most 

important social issues of contemporary Russia; while never becoming an artist’s 

sermon or a public statement, it is a story of love and tragedy experienced by 

ordinary people.” The film has been lauded for its frankness and honesty. Russia 

recently outlawed a slew of obscene words from books, films, and lyrics, resulting 

in this film being unable to snag a permit to screen in its home country. 

DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Classics CAST Aleksei Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, 

Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Roman Madyanov WRITERS Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg 

Negin DIRECTOR Andrey Zvyagintsev GENRE Drama RATING R for language and 

some sexuality/graphic nudity RUNNING TIME 140 min. 


START SPREADIN’ THE NEWS 

A MOST VIOLENT 

YEAR 

DEC 31 n It’s been written that 1981 

was one of the most violent years in 

New York City’s history. J.C. Chandor’s 

follow-up to his nearly wordless All Is 

Lost is set during the winter of that year 

with Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) 

starring as Abel Morales, an immigrant 

who must battle the city and its more 

criminal denizens in order to keep his 

business and his family from being 

destroyed. Jessica Chastain (Interstellar) 

appears as Morales’s wife. Albert Brooks 

(Drive) has a cameo as Morales’s attorney. 

Let’s hope he doesn’t put anyone’s 

eye out with a fork this time. 

DISTRIBUTOR A24 CAST Oscar Isaac, 

Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, 

Alessandro Nivola WRITER J.C. Chandor 

DIRECTOR J.C. Chandor GENRE Action 

| Crime | Drama | Thriller RATING R for 

language and some violence RUNNING 

TIME 125 min. 

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BOOKING 

GUIDE 

Compiled by Daniel Garris 

TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS 

DISNEY 818-560-1000 / ASK FOR DISTRIBUTION 

INTO THE WOODS Thu, 12/25/14 WIDE Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt Rob Marshall PG Mus/Fan/Fam Dolby Dig 

STRANGE MAGIC Fri, 1/23/15 WIDE Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood Gary Rydstrom NR Ani/Mus 

MCFARLAND, USA Fri, 2/20/15 WIDE Kevin Costner, Maria Bello Niki Caro PG Dra/Sport Dolby Atmos 

CINDERELLA Fri, 3/13/15 WIDE Lily James, Richard Madden Kenneth Branagh PG Adv/Dra/Fan Dolby Dig 

MONKEY KINGDOM 

AVENGERS: 

AGE OF ULTRON 

Fri, 4/17/15 WIDE 

Alastair Fothergill, 

Mark Linfield 

Fri, 5/1/15 WIDE Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans Joss Whedon NR Act/Adv 

TOMORROWLAND Fri, 5/22/15 WIDE George Clooney, Britt Robertson Brad Bird NR SF/Adv 

INSIDE OUT Fri, 6/19/15 WIDE Kaitlyn Dias, Amy Poehler Pete Docter NR Ani/Com/Fam 

NR 

Doc 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

IMAX/Dolby 

Dig 

3D/Dolby 

Atmos 

ANT-MAN Fri, 7/17/15 WIDE Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas Peyton Reed NR Act/Adv 3D/Dolby Dig 

THE JUNGLE BOOK Fri, 10/9/15 WIDE Neel Sethi, Bill Murray Jon Favreau NR Adv 

UNTITLED COLD WAR 

SPY THRILLER 

Fri, 10/16/15 WIDE Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan Steven Spielberg NR Dra/Thr 

THE GOOD DINOSAUR Wed, 11/25/15 WIDE Lucas Neff, John Lithgow Peter Sohn NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

STAR WARS: 

THE FORCE AWAKENS 

Fri, 12/18/15 WIDE Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill J.J. Abrams NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX 

ZOOTOPIA Fri, 3/4/16 WIDE Byron Howard NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D 

THE FINEST HOURS Fri, 4/15/16 WIDE Chris Pine, Casey Affleck Craig Gillespie NR Dra/Thr 3D 

CAPTAIN AMERICA: 

CIVIL WAR 

ALICE IN 

WONDERLAND: 

THROUGH THE 

LOOKING GLASS 

Fri, 5/6/16 WIDE 

Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. 

Anthony Russo, Joe 

Russo 

NR Act/Adv 3D 

Fri, 5/27/16 WIDE Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska James Bobin NR Adv/Fan 3D 

FINDING DORY Fri, 6/17/16 WIDE Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks Andrew Stanton NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D 

FOCUS FEATURES 424-214-6360 

BLACK SEA Fri, 1/23/15 LTD. Jude Law, Scoot McNairy Kevin Macdonald R Adv/Thr Dolby Dig 

MAPS TO THE STARS Fri, 2/27/15 LTD. Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska David Cronenberg R Dra Dolby Dig 

A LITTLE CHAOS Fri, 3/27/15 LTD. Kate Winslet, Stanley Tucci Alan Rickman NR Com/Dra 

INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3 Fri, 6/5/15 WIDE Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott Leigh Whannell NR Hor/Thr 

SELF/LESS Fri, 7/31/15 WIDE Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez Tarsem Singh NR SF/Thr 

SINISTER 2 

Fri, 8/21/15 WIDE 

Shannyn Sossamon, James 

Ransone 

Ciaran Foy NR Hor/Thr 

LONDON HAS FALLEN Fri, 10/2/15 WIDE Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart Babak Najafi NR Act/Thr 

THE FOREST Fri, 1/8/16 WIDE Natalie Dormer Jason Zada NR Hor/Thr 

CHRIST THE LORD Fri, 3/23/16 WIDE Cyrus Nowrasteh NR Dra 

RACE Fri, 4/8/16 WIDE Stephan James, Jeremy Irons Stephen Hopkins NR Dra/Sport 

FOX 310-369-1000 / 212-556-2400 

THE PYRAMID Fri, 12/5/14 WIDE Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O’Hare Grégory Levasseur R Hor/Thr Dolby Dig 

EXODUS: 

GODS AND KINGS 

Fri, 12/12/14 WIDE Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton Ridley Scott PG-13 Act/Dra 

3D/Dolby 

Atmos 

NIGHT AT THE 

MUSEUM: SECRET OF 

THE TOMB 

Fri, 12/19/14 WIDE Ben Stiller, Robin Williams Shawn Levy PG Adv/Com/Fam Dolby Atmos 



TAKEN 3 Fri, 1/9/15 WIDE Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace Olivier Megaton NR Act/Thr 

KINGSMAN: 

THE SECRET SERVICE 

Fri, 2/13/15 WIDE Colin Firth, Taron Egerton Matthew Vaughn NR Act/Thr Dolby Atmos 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS Fri, 3/6/15 WIDE Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson Ken Scott NR Com 

HOME Fri, 3/27/15 WIDE Jim Parsons, Rihanna Tim Johnson NR Ani/Adv/SF 3D/Dolby Dig 

THE LONGEST RIDE Fri, 4/10/15 WIDE Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood George Tillman Jr. NR Dra/Rom 

SPY Fri, 5/22/15 WIDE Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham Paul Feig NR Act/Com 

B.O.O.: BUREAU OF 

OTHERWORLDLY 

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Fri, 6/5/15 WIDE Seth Rogen, Melissa McCarthy Anthony Leondis NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

PAPER TOWNS Fri, 6/19/15 WIDE Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne Jake Schreier NR Dra 

POLTERGEIST Fri, 7/24/15 WIDE Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt Gil Kenan PG-13 Hor/Thr 3D 

THE FANTASTIC FOUR Fri, 8/7/15 WIDE Miles Teller, Kate Mara Josh Trank NR Act/Adv 3D 

HITMAN: AGENT 47 Fri, 8/28/15 WIDE Rupert Friend, Zachary Quinto Aleksander Bach NR Act/Thr 

THE MAZE RUNNER: 

SCORCH TRIALS 

Fri, 9/18/15 WIDE Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario Wes Ball NR SF/Thr 

FRANKENSTEIN Fri, 10/2/15 WIDE James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe Paul McGuigan NR Hor/SF 

THE PEANUTS MOVIE Fri, 11/6/15 WIDE Steve Martino NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D/Dolby Dig 

THE MARTIAN Wed, 11/25/15 WIDE Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain Ridley Scott NR SF/Dra 

KUNG FU PANDA 3 Wed, 12/23/15 WIDE Jack Black, Angelina Jolie Jennifer Yuh NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

JOY Fri, 12/25/15 WIDE Jennifer Lawrence David O. Russell NR Dra 

THE REVENANT Fri, 12/25/15 LTD. Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy Alejandro G. Iñárritu NR Adv/Dra 

DEADPOOL Fri, 2/12/16 WIDE Tim Miller NR Act/Adv 

PEREGRINE’S HOME 

FOR PECULIARS 

Fri, 3/4/16 WIDE Tim Burton NR Adv/Fan 

BOSS BABY Fri, 3/18/16 WIDE Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey Tom McGrath NR Ani/Com 3D 

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE 

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WILD 

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Fri, 5/27/16 WIDE 

Fri, 12/5/14 LTD. 

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender 

Reese Witherspoon, Gaby Hoffmann 

Bryan Singer NR Act/Adv 

Jean-Marc Vallée R Dra Dolby Dig 

Fri, 3/6/15 LTD. Judi Dench, Maggie Smith John Madden PG Com 

Fri, 5/1/15 LTD. 

Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts 

Thomas Vinterberg PG-13 Dra/Rom 

SPARE PARTS Fri, 1/16/15 MOD. George Lopez, Carlos PenaVega Sean McNamara PG-13 Dra/Fam 

MORTDECAI Fri, 1/23/15 WIDE Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow David Koepp NR Act/Com 

THE DIVERGENT 

SERIES: INSURGENT 

Fri, 3/20/15 WIDE Shailene Woodley, Theo James Robert Schwentke NR Act/Adv/SF 

CHILD 44 Fri, 4/17/15 WIDE Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace Daniel Espinosa NR Dra/Thr 

THE AGE OF ADALINE Fri, 4/24/15 WIDE Blake Lively, Harrison Ford Lee Toland Krieger PG-13 Dra/Rom 

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THE HUNGER GAMES: 

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Fri, 10/23/15 WIDE Vin Diesel, Elijah Wood Breck Eisner NR Act/Fan 

Fri, 11/20/15 WIDE 

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson 

Francis Lawrence NR Act/Adv/SF 

DIRTY GRANDPA Fri, 12/25/15 WIDE Robert De Niro, Zac Efron Dan Mazer NR Com 

GODS OF EGYPT Fri, 2/12/16 WIDE Gerard Butler, Geoffrey Rush Alex Proyas NR Act/Adv 

3D/Dolby 

Atmos 


BOOKING GUIDE 


THE DIVERGENT 

SERIES: ALLEGIANT - 

PART 1 

Fri, 3/18/16 WIDE Shailene Woodley, Theo James NR Act/Adv/SF 

NOW YOU SEE ME 2 Fri, 6/10/16 WIDE Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg Jon M. Chu NR Cri/Thr 

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LITTLE BOY Fri, 2/27/15 WIDE Kevin James, Jakob Salvati 

Alejandro Monteverde 

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THE GUNMAN Fri, 3/20/15 WIDE Sean Penn, Javier Bardem Pierre Morel NR Act/Cri/Thr 

ROCK THE KASBAH Fri, 4/24/15 WIDE Bill Murray, Bruce Willis Barry Levinson NR Com 

TRIPLE NINE Fri, 9/11/15 WIDE Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck John Hillcoat NR Cri/Thr 

THE NUT JOB 2 Fri, 1/15/16 WIDE NR Ani/Com/Fam 

PARAMOUNT 323-956-5000 

TOP FIVE Fri, 12/12/14 WIDE Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson Chris Rock R Com Dolby Dig 

THE GAMBLER Fri, 12/19/14 LTD. Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson Rupert Wyatt R Cri/Dra 

SELMA Thu, 12/25/14 LTD. David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson Ava DuVernay NR Dra 

PROJECT ALMANAC Fri, 1/30/15 WIDE Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D’Elia Dean Israelite NR SF/Thr 

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Fri, 2/6/15 WIDE Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke Paul Tibbitt NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D/Quad 

Fri, 2/20/15 WIDE Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson Steve Pink R Com 

Fri, 3/13/15 WIDE Katie Featherston Gregory Plotkin NR Hor 

Fri, 4/10/15 WIDE Pierce Brosnan, Kaya Scodelario Sean McNamara NR Act/Adv/Fan 

MONSTER TRUCKS Fri, 5/29/15 WIDE Jane Levy, Lucas Till Chris Wedge NR Ani/Adv/Fam 

TERMINATOR GENISYS 

Wed, 7/1/15 WIDE 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia 

Clarke 

Alan Taylor NR Act/Adv/SF 

SCOUTS VS. ZOMBIES Fri, 10/30/15 WIDE Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller Christopher Landon NR Com/Hor 

FRIDAY THE 13TH Fri, 11/13/15 WIDE NR Hor 

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 5 Fri, 12/25/15 WIDE Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner 

Christopher Mc- 

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JANE GOT A GUN Fri, 2/20/15 WIDE Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor Gavin O’Connor NR Wes/Act 

LAZARUS Fri, 2/20/15 WIDE Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde David Gelb PG-13 Hor/Thr 

DESERT DANCER Fri, 4/10/15 LTD. Freida Pinto, Reece Ritchie Richard Raymond NR Dra 

UNTITLED ARMORED 

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Fri, 8/14/15 WIDE Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson Jared Hess NR Com/Cri 

Fri, 9/25/15 WIDE Kate Beckinsale, Gerald McRaney D.J. Caruso NR Hor/Thr 

KIDNAP Fri, 10/9/15 WIDE Halle Berry, Lew Temple Luis Prieto NR Act/Thr 



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ANNIE Fri, 12/19/14 WIDE Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis Will Gluck PG Mus/Com/Fam Quad 

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Rogen 

NR Act/Com Quad 

THE WEDDING RINGER Fri, 1/16/15 WIDE Kevin Hart, Josh Gad Jeremy Garelick NR Com Quad 

CHAPPIE Fri, 3/6/15 WIDE Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel Neill Blomkamp NR SF/Act/Thr 

PAUL BLART: 

MALL COP 2 

UNTITLED CAMERON 

CROWE PROJECT 

Fri, 4/17/15 WIDE Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez Andy Fickman NR Com/Fam 

Fri, 5/29/15 WIDE Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone Cameron Crowe NR Rom/Com/Dra 

RICKI AND THE FLASH Fri, 6/26/15 WIDE Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline Jonathan Demme NR Com/Dra 

PIXELS Fri, 7/24/15 WIDE Adam Sandler, Kevin James Chris Columbus NR Ani/Act/Com 3D/Quad 

GRIMSBY Fri, 7/31/15 WIDE Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong Louis Leterrier NR Com 

GOOSEBUMPS Fri, 8/7/15 WIDE Jack Black, Dylan Minnette Rob Letterman NR Com/Hor 

KITCHEN SINK Fri, 9/4/15 WIDE Nicholas Braun, Mackenzie Davis Robbie Pickering NR Com/Hor 

HOTEL 

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THE WALK 

Fri, 9/25/15 WIDE Adam Sandler Genndy Tartakovsky NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

Fri, 10/2/15 WIDE 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben 

Kingsley 

Robert Zemeckis NR Dra 3D/IMAX 

BOND 24 Fri, 11/6/15 WIDE Daniel Craig Sam Mendes NR Act/Adv/Thr 

UNTITLED ROGEN 

/ GORDON-LEVITT 

X-MAS COMEDY 

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Wed, 11/25/15 WIDE Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Jonathan Levine NR Com 

Fri, 1/29/16 WIDE 

Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson 

SAUSAGE PARTY Fri, 6/3/16 WIDE Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig 

J Blakeson NR Act/Adv 

Conrad Vernon, Greg 

Tiernan 

NR 

Ani/Com 

UNCHARTED Fri, 6/10/16 WIDE Seth Gordon NR Act/Adv 

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Fri, 12/19/14 EXCL 

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Thu, 12/25/14 EXCL 

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Fri, 1/16/15 EXCL 

NY/LA Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin Richard Glatzer, 

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Fri, 1/23/15 EXCL 

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Fri, 1/30/15 EXCL 

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Fri, 2/20/15 EXCL 

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Fri, 3/6/15 EXCL NY/ 

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Andrey Zvyagintsev R Dra 

PG-13 

Slava Fetisov, Vladislav Tretiak Gabe Polsky PG Doc/Sport 

Gong Li, Chen Daoming Zhang Yimou PG-13 Dra Dolby Atmos 

Ricardo Darín, Oscar Martinez Damián Szifron R Com/Dra Dolby Dig 

Fri, 3/27/15 EXCL 

NY/LA Sebastião Salgado, Wim Wenders Wim Wenders, Juliano 

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Fri, 4/3/15 EXCL NY/ 

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Dolby Atmos/ 

Quad 


BOOKING GUIDE 


BLACKHAT Fri, 1/16/15 WIDE Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei Michael Mann R Act/Cri/Thr Quad 

THE BOY NEXT DOOR Fri, 1/23/15 WIDE Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman Rob Cohen R Thr 

SEVENTH SON Fri, 2/6/15 WIDE Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes Sergey Bodrov PG-13 Adv/Fan 3D/IMAX/Quad 

FIFTY SHADES 

OF GREY 

Fri, 2/13/15 WIDE Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson Sam Taylor-Johnson NR Dra/Rom Quad 

FURIOUS 7 Fri, 4/3/15 WIDE Vin Diesel, Paul Walker James Wan NR Act/Cri IMAX/Quad 

UNFRIENDED Fri, 4/17/15 WIDE Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm Levan Gabriadze NR Hor/Thr 

PITCH PERFECT 2 Fri, 5/15/15 WIDE Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson Elizabeth Banks NR Com/Mus 

JURASSICWORLD Fri, 6/12/15 WIDE Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard Colin Trevorrow NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX 

TED 2 Fri, 6/26/15 WIDE Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane Seth MacFarlane NR Com Quad 

MINIONS Fri, 7/10/15 WIDE Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm 

Kyle Balda, Pierre 

Coffin 

TRAINWRECK Fri, 7/24/15 WIDE Amy Schumer, Tilda Swinton Judd Apatow NR Com 

STRAIGHT OUTTA 

COMPTON 

Fri, 8/14/15 WIDE O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins F. Gary Gray NR Dra 

THE VISIT Fri, 9/11/15 WIDE Kathryn Hahn, Ed Oxenbould M. Night Shyamalan NR Hor 

NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D/Quad 

EVEREST Fri, 9/18/15 WIDE Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin Baltasar Kormákur NR Adv/Dra 3D/IMAX 

CRIMSON PEAK Fri, 10/16/15 WIDE Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston Guillermo del Toro NR Hor IMAX 

JEM AND THE 

HOLOGRAMS 

Fri, 10/23/15 WIDE Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott Jon M. Chu NR Mus/Adv 

KRAMPUS Fri, 12/4/15 WIDE Michael Dougherty NR Com/Hor 

THE NEST Fri, 12/18/15 WIDE Tina Fey, Amy Poehler Jason Moore NR Com 

UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE 

HORROR FILM 1 

Fri, 1/8/16 WIDE NR Hor 

RIDE ALONG 2 Fri, 1/15/16 WIDE Kevin Hart, Ice Cube Tim Story NR Act/Com 

HAIL, CAESAR! Fri, 2/5/16 WIDE Josh Brolin, George Clooney 

THE UNTITLED PETS 

PROJECT 

Fri, 2/12/16 WIDE 

Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet 

Joel Coen, Ethan 

Coen 

Chris Renaud, 

Yarrow Cheney 

NR 

Com 

NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

WARCRAFT Fri, 3/11/16 WIDE Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel Duncan Jones NR Act/Adv/Fan 3D/IMAX 

CLIFFORD THE 

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Fri, 4/8/16 WIDE David Bowers NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D 

Fri, 4/15/16 WIDE Taye Diggs, Nia Long Malcolm D. Lee NR Com/Dra 

THE HUNTSMAN Fri, 4/22/16 WIDE Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron Frank Darabont NR Adv/Fan 

UNTITLED UNIVERSAL 

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WARNER BROS. 818-977-1850 

Fri, 5/13/16 WIDE NR Com 

INHERENT VICE Fri, 12/12/14 LTD. Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin 

THE HOBBIT: 

THE BATTLE OF THE 

FIVE ARMIES 

Paul Thomas Anderson 

R Cri/Com/Dra Quad 

Wed, 12/17/14 WIDE Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman Peter Jackson NR Act/Adv/Fan 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

AMERICAN SNIPER Thu, 12/25/14 LTD. Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller Clint Eastwood R Act/Dra Dolby Atmos 

MAX 

Fri, 1/30/15 WIDE 

Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden 

Church 

Boaz Yakin NR Adv/Fam 

JUPITER 

ASCENDING 

Fri, 2/6/15 WIDE 

Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis 

Andy Wachowski, 

Lana Wachowski 

NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX/Quad 

FOCUS Fri, 2/27/15 WIDE Will Smith, Margot Robbie 

Glenn Ficarra, John 

Requa 

R Rom/Com/Cri Dolby Dig 



IN THE HEART 

OF THE SEA 

Fri, 3/13/15 WIDE Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker Ron Howard PG-13 Adv/Dra Dolby Atmos 

GET HARD Fri, 3/27/15 WIDE Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart Etan Cohen R Com 

HILLSONG - 

LET HOPE RISE 

Wed, 4/1/15 LTD. Michael John Warren NR Doc 

RUN ALL NIGHT Fri, 4/17/15 WIDE Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman Jaume Collet-Serra NR Act/Cri/Thr 

UNTITLED REESE 

WITHERSPOON / SOFIA 

VERGARA COMEDY 

Fri, 5/8/15 WIDE Reese Witherspoon, Sofía Vergara Anne Fletcher NR Act/Com 

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Fri, 5/15/15 WIDE Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron George Miller NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/Quad 

SAN ANDREAS 

Fri, 5/29/15 WIDE 

Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra 

Daddario 

Brad Peyton NR Act/Thr 3D 

ENTOURAGE Fri, 6/5/15 WIDE Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly Doug Ellin NR Com 

MAGIC MIKE XXL Wed, 7/1/15 WIDE Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer Gregory Jacobs NR Com/Dra 

PAN Fri, 7/17/15 WIDE Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller Joe Wright NR Adv/Fan/Fam 3D 

POINT BREAK Fri, 7/31/15 WIDE Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey Ericson Core NR Act/Thr 

THE MAN FROM 

U.N.C.L.E. 

Fri, 8/14/15 WIDE Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer Guy Ritchie PG-13 Act/Adv/Com Dolby Atmos 

ME BEFORE YOU Fri, 8/21/15 WIDE Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin Thea Sharrock NR Dra/Rom 

UNTITLED WHITEY 

BULGER FILM 

Fri, 9/18/15 WIDE 

Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch 

Scott Cooper NR Cri/Dra 

THE INTERN Fri, 9/25/15 WIDE Anne Hathaway, Robert De Niro Nancy Meyers NR Com 

VACATION Fri, 10/9/15 WIDE Ed Helms, Leslie Mann 

John Francis Daley, 

Jonathan M. Goldstein 

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Com 

UNTITLED NEW LINE 

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Fri, 10/23/15 WIDE NR Hor 

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL Wed, 11/25/15 WIDE Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton Jeff Nichols NR SF/Thr 

UNTITLED NEW LINE 

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Fri, 1/29/16 WIDE 

NR 

HOW TO BE SINGLE Fri, 2/12/16 WIDE Lily Collins, Alison Brie Christian Ditter NR Rom/Com 

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: 

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Fri, 3/25/16 WIDE Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck Zack Snyder NR Act/Adv 

THE NICE GUYS Fri, 6/17/16 WIDE Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe Shane Black NR Cri/Thr 

WEINSTEIN CO./DIMENSION 646-862-3400 

BIG EYES Thu, 12/25/14 MOD. Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz Tim Burton PG-13 Dra Dolby Dig 

PADDINGTON Fri, 1/16/15 WIDE Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville Paul King NR Ani/Com/Fam 

THE COUP Fri, 3/6/15 WIDE Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan John Erick Dowdle R Act/Thr 

UNDERDOGS Fri, 4/10/15 WIDE Matthew Morrison, Nicholas Hoult 

CROUCHING TIGER, 

HIDDEN DRAGON: 

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Juan José Campanella 

NR Ani/Com/Fam 3D/Dolby Dig 

Fri, 8/28/15 LTD. Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen Yuen Woo-ping NR Act/Adv IMAX 

REGRESSION Fri, 8/28/15 WIDE Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson Alejandro Amenábar NR Thr 

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900 W. Miller 

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BACK COVER 

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today for a quotation: 866-653-2834. Vintage 

equipment wanted also! Old speakers 

like Western Electric and Altec, horns, 

cabinets, woofers, etc., and any tube audio 

equipment. Call or email: aep30@ 

comcast.net. 

COLLECTOR WANTS TO BUY: We pay 

top money for any 1920-1980 theater 

equipment. We’ll buy all theater-related 

equipment, working or dead. We remove 

and pick up anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. 

Amplifiers, speakers, horns, drivers, 

woofers, tubes, transformers; Western 

Electric, RCA, Altec, JBL, Jensen, Simplex 

and more. We’ll remove installed 

equipment if it’s in a closing location. We 

buy projection and equipment too. Call 

today: 773-339-9035; cinema-tech.com; 

email ILG821@aol.com. 

FOR SALE 

2 BRAND NEW 3000 watts Christie Xenon 

lamps for 35mm projectors. Contact: 

Atul Desai 949-291-5700. 

BARCO 3D/DIGITAL EQUIPMENT FOR 

SALE: Purchase for $55K. Equipment list 

provided upon request. Contact seller at 

mschwartz@pennprolaw.com. 

PREFERRED SEATING COMPANY, 

your source for new, used and refurbished 

theater and stadium seating. 

Buying and selling used seating 

is our specialty. Call toll-free 866- 

922-0226 or visit our website www. 

preferred-seating.com. 

USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS AVAIL- 

ABLE. Barco dcp2000 and others slightly 

used. Don’t close your theater conversion 

is cheaper than you think. Call Stetson 

Snell 505-615-2913 

18 SETS OF USED 35MM AUTOMAT- 

ED PROJECTION SYSTEM (comes with 

Projector, Console, Automation Unit and 

Platter) comprising of 10 sets of Christie 

and 8 sets of Strong 35mm system 

available on ‘as is where is’ basis in Singapore. 

Contact seller at engthye_lim@ 

cathay.com.sg 

HELP WANTED 

THEATRE MANAGEMENT POSITIONS 

AVAILABLE acific Northwest Theatre 

Company. Previous management experience 

required. Work weekends, evenings 

and holidays. Send resume and salary 

history to movietheatrejobs@gmail.com 

THEATRE MANAGEMENT POSITION 

AVAILABLE. Xscape Theatres is forecasting 

rapid expansion adding 2 to 4 sites per 

year. To qualify for possible immediate 

placement previous theatre management 

experience is required. Must be able to 

work evenings, weekends, and holidays. 

Send resumes and references to sbagwell@alianceent.com 

or mail to Aliance 

Management Co. LLC 825 Northgate 

Blvd. Suite # 203 New Albany, IN 47150. 

Compensation based on experience. 

WE CLEAN THEATERS 

EXCLUSIVELY! 

From coast to coast for 35 YEARS. 

Let us give you our references. 

www.maintenancecooperative.com 

or call 770-503-1102 

SERVICES 

DULL FLAT PICTURE? RESTORE YOUR 

XENON REFLECTORS! ltraat repolishes 

and recoats xenon reectors. any 

reectors available for immediate exchange. 

(ORC, Strong, Christie, Xetron, 

others! ltraat, herman ay, 

Winnetka, CA 91306; 818-884-0184. 

ALLSTATE SEATING specializes in refurbishing, 

complete painting, molded 

foam, tailor-made seat covers, installations 

and removals. Please call for pricing 

and spare parts for all types of theater 

seating. Boston, Mass.; 617-770-1112; 

fax: 617-770-1140. 

CONSOLIDATED THEATRE SERVICES, 

LLC has a wide variety of theatre sound 

equipment available at competitive prices. 

Our extensive inventory includes amplifiers, 

processors, speakers and sound 

racks from makers such as JBL, Dolby, 

Ashly, Klipsch, Crown and more. You 

are welcome to call us at 305-908-1613 

for further information. 

THEATER SPACE FOR LEASE 

AN 8,400 SQ. FT. SPACE containing 

two movie theaters is available for lease 

in Frankfort, KY, at a very reasonable 

lease rate. It would be perfect for the 

new concept of eating in the theater. 

The theaters are located in the middle 

of a major shopping center. The center 

owners would prefer an operating movie 

theater rather than convert the space 

into retail use. Contact Alexa at 859-221- 

9921 or email her at alexarkelley@gmail. 

com for more information. 


DOLBY ATMOS® 

With more than 100 titles and counting, 

Dolby Atmos ® 

is transforming the world of 

motion pictures. The CP850 is the complete 

audio solution for today’s digital cinemas. 

AVAILABLE 

NOW! 

SONY PICTURES 

dolby.com/atmos 

Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. Dolby Atmos is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. © 2014 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. S14/27774/28010

Boxoffice - December 2014

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