Boxoffice November 2016

$6.95 

NOVEMBER 2015 

Pixar’s newest creations 

Arlo and Spot hits screens 

this Thanksgiving 

THE GOOD 

DINOSAUR 

PIXAR’S GREATEST 

CHALLENGE 

LATIN 

AMERICA 

MARKET 

UPDATE 

A QUICK LOOK AT 

THE YEAR’S BIGGEST 

HEADLINES 

YO, ADRIAN 

A PERSONAL LOOK 

AT BOXING AND 

THE ROCKY SAGA 

WHAT 

WOMEN 

WANT 

UNLOCKING 

BOX OFFICE 

REVENUE 

ALTERNATIVE 

CONTENT GOES 

MAINSTREAM 

OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND 

WITH A GREATER ARRAY 

OF PROGRAMMING 

CARMIKE 

ACQUIRES 

SUNDANCE 

CINEMAS 

CIRCUIT NEARS 

3,000 SCREENS 

THE BIG SCREEN 

IN THE BIG RIG 

MOVIE THEATER ON 

WHEELS HELPS REDEFINE 

MOVIE MARKETING 

GENEVA 

CONVENTION 

RECAP 

A LOOK BACK AT 

THE 2015 EDITION 

NATO ELECTS 

NEW OFFICERS 

BYRON BERKLEY 

AMY E. MILES 

JOHN D. LOEKS 

JEFF LOGAN 

The Official Magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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MIT 1

Daniel Loria 

Managing Editor 

BoxOffice Media 

Sitting down for dinner with family on the fourth Thursday in November is 

one of the American traditions I’ve enjoyed the most since moving to this 

country. The meal itself has always been pleasant, but it’s the trip to the movies 

after Thanksgiving dinner that I really look forward to. There’s something about 

walking through the swarm of Black Friday shoppers on my way to the cinema—that 

same faceless throng that scared me so much as a kid watching George 

A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead—that makes going to the movies seem like an 

enlightened decision. No matter how good the sales are, I never understand why 

someone would want to buy a new TV in the thick of awards season—the Super 

Bowl’s not until February; everything else worth watching until then is on the 

big screen. 

This year is no exception, something I’m especially thankful for during a presidential election cycle— 

hopefully keeping family dinner-table arguments on Katniss and Peeta instead of Clinton and Bush. I’ve 

always found that a film is only as good as the conversation you have with friends and family after seeing 

it; love it or hate it, the pleasure of talking about going to the movies is an integral part of the experience—so 

much so that BoxOffice makes a point of asking filmmakers we interview for their favorite 

movie theater memories. It’s one of the few questions that often catches these seasoned PR veterans off 

guard, and often elicits the most interesting responses in the story. Shawn Robbins didn’t get to include all 

those responses in this month’s cover story on Disney Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur. As you’ll learn from his 

in-depth coverage of the film, he spoke with way too many people to include them all. The Good Dinosaur 

will be the second Pixar release of 2015, the first year in history with more than one new Pixar title in 

theaters, with exhibitors and audiences alike anxiously waiting for the studio’s follow-up to Inside Out. 

On the business side, we highlight the current state of the alternative content market in North America, 

drawing from the insights of leaders in the space such as Carmike’s Bud Mayo and Fathom CEO John 

Rubey. We’re also happy to include a guest feature from our friends at Movio, who presented a white 

paper on some of their latest data findings at TheWrap’s TheGrill event in Los Angeles this past October. 

The white paper, titled “What Women Want: Unlocking Box Office Revenue,” acts as a great complement 

to the annual Women in Exhibition & Distribution coverage we featured in our pages last month. 

With the holidays quickly approaching, everyone here at BoxOffice wishes you and your families many 

more good memories for the rest of the year. 

Daniel Loria 

daniel.loria@boxoffice.com 

NOVEMBER 2015 BoxOffice ® Pro 3

NOVEMBER 2015 VOL. 151 NO. 11 

THE GOOD 

DINOSAUR 

WE SPEAK WITH PIXAR 

ABOUT THEIR MOST 

CHALLENGING 

PROJECT TO 

DATE 

by Shawn Robbins 

Hello by Daniel Loria 3 

Exhibition Briefs Edited by Laura Silver 6 

Executive Suite NATO’s annual meeting by John Fithian 12 

Communiqué NATO elects new officers 14 

Alternative Content Opportunites abound amid bigger 

audiences and a greater array of programming by Daniel Loria 

Mobile CInema The big screen in the big rig: How a movie 

theater on wheels is helping redefine movie marketing in 19 

the age of immersive cinema Interview by Daniel Loria 

Box Office Breakouts The balance of light and dark at ther 

box office: Dark films don’t always fail, and happy films 20 

don’t always succeed by Phil Contrino 

Convention Recap The Geneva Convention celebrates its 

2015 edition by Daniel Loria 

22 

World Box Office Latin America market update: A quick 

look at some of the year’s biggest headlines in Latin 

24 

America by Daniel Loria 

Guest Column What women want: unlocking box office 

revenue by Bryan Smith, Chief Data Scientist, Movio 

28 

3d Release Calendar Sponsored by RealD 34 

Timecode Yo, Adrian: The Rocky saga by Kenneth James Bacon 40 

on screen Capsule previews by Jonathan Papish 48 

booking guide Compiled by Daniel Garris 58 

classifieds 64 

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EXHIBITION BRIEFS 

B&B GETS BUSY 

n B&B Theatres has completed and will be 

completing several remodels and new builds 

in the coming months. This fall B&B completed 

recliner remodels in Clinton, Missouri, and Dodge 

City, Kansas. These remodels included major 

upgrades to the lobby with self-serve soda and 

butter, new carpet, new sound-fold, digital signage, 

and new concessions counters. B&B also 

took over operation of the Vicksburg Mall 6 in 

Vicksburg, Mississippi, with a remodel scheduled 

for this winter. B&B will also begin a recliner 

remodel in Bolivar, Missouri, this winter. Lastly, 

B&B will be opening its brand-new Wentzville 

Tower 12 in Wentzville, Missouri. This complex 

will feature all recliner seating, food to go, a 

marquee bar and grill, two PLF Grand Screens 

and Christie VIVE 7.1 surround sound. This will be 

B&B’s most ambitious theater to date and their 

first to feature two PLF Grand Screens. 

6 BoxOffice ® Pro NOVEMBER 2015

CARMIKE ACQUIRES SUNDANCE CINEMAS 

The Sundance Kabuki 

Cinemas at the Japan 

Center, Japantown, San 

Francisco 

n Carmike Cinemas, a digital cinema, alternative 

programming, and 3-D motion picture presenter, 

has entered into a definitive purchase 

agreement under which Carmike acquired all 

of Sundance Cinemas for $36.0 million in cash, 

subject to customary working capital and other 

adjustments. Carmike now operates 274 theaters 

with 2,909 screens in 41 states. 

Carmike’s President and 

Chief Executive Officer 

David Passman (pictured) 

says, “Sundance 

has been enormously 

successful in creating a 

compelling consumer 

experience and shares 

our mission and vision 

of offering a world-class 

moviegoing experience.” 

SUNDANCE THEATERS ACQUIRED 

Theater Location Screens 3D Screens 

Sundance Kabuki San Francisco, CA 8 2 

Sundance Cinemas 

Houston 

Houston, TX 8 2 


Madison 

Madison, WI 6 0 

Sundance Sunset 

West Hollywood, 

CA 

5 0 


Seattle 

Seattle, WA 10 3 



SCREENVISION NAMES 

JOHN PARTILLA CEO 

n Screenvision has named John Partilla 

(pictured) as its new chief executive officer, 

concluding a search to replace former 

CEO Travis Reid. Partilla, most recently 

the CEO of Olson and an executive 

vice president of ICF International, will 

focus on elevating Screenvision’s position 

in the broader video media landscape, 

integrating new and emerging technology, 

strengthening the preshow advertising 

platform, and creating tentpole programs 

for brands. 

Under Partilla’s leadership, Olson grew 

20 percent, making it the third-largest 

independent digital agency in the U.S. 

before it was acquired by ICF in 2014. 

He also held several senior leadership 

roles at media agencies and properties 

such as Dentsu Network West, Clear 

Channel Communications, and Time 

Warner. Partilla began his career at Young 

& Rubicam, where as managing partner 

he formed Brand Buzz in 2000, a digital 

division of the agency. 

Fandango to Launch R&D Group 

n Fandango has announced it will form FandangoLabs, 

a new research and development 

unit dedicated to innovating moviegoing 

products and services. FandangoLabs will 

explore new ways for consumers to experience 

movies on the big screen and share 

new audience conveniences that will increase 

advanced ticketing and theater attendance. 

FandangoLabs has enlisted inaugural 

members to its advisory board from the 

film and technology industries, including 

Dave Hollis, Walt Disney Studios; George 

Dewey, 20th Century Fox; David Doyle, 

Regal Entertainment Group; Alwyn Hight 

Kushner, TCL Chinese Theatres; Jason 

Blum, Blumhouse Productions; and Jennifer 

Panasik, IDEO. Global design firm IDEO 

will serve as a Fandango innovation partner 

in the new venture. 

FandangoLabs hopes to release its first 

moviegoing products in 2016. 

Sony Teams Up with ADDE in France 

n Sony Digital Cinema 4K is working with 

ADDE as its new solutions specialist to 

distribute Sony Digital Cinema projectors to 

cinema operators in France. 

“ADDE has the technical know-how, and 

customer satisfaction runs in their blood. 

Together with ADDE, we want to give operators 

solutions that meet their needs, along 

with unfailing technical support,” says Oliver 

Pasch, head of European digital cinema sales, 

Sony Digital Cinema 4K. 

A designer, manufacturer, and integrator 

of cinematographic equipment for more than 

30 years, ADDE is a family-owned company 

deeply rooted in digital cinematography, 

with more than 1,500 theaters where it manages 

installation, maintenance, and technical 

support. The company works with independent 

operators as well as with multiplex 

cinemas such as Gaumont-Pathé. 

“Sony Digital Cinema products have 

been at the top of their game for several years 

now, and so it seemed perfectly natural to 

continue our relationship in this area. Sony 

Digital Cinema projectors mean we can 

offer our customers a top-quality high-tech 

alternative,” says Marion Rosset, managing 

director of ADDE. 

Regal Offers Ultimate Ticket to 

Mockingjay 

n Regal Entertainment Group will offer its 

Regal Ultimate Ticket for The Hunger Games: 

Mockingjay—Part 2. Fans with the Regal 

Ultimate Ticket can see the final film in the 

franchise every single day while the movie 

is in theaters. There are only 1,000 of these 

limited edition, stainless steel Hunger Games: 


Mockingjay—Part 2 tickets available on a first-come, 

first-served basis. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 

2, based on the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins 

and distributed by Lionsgate, will be released in theaters 

on November 20. 

“Regal prides itself on marketing innovation, and 

with the success of the recent launch of the Regal 

Ultimate Ticket, we wanted super fans to have the 

chance to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2 

every single day,” says Ken Thewes, chief marketing 

officer at Regal. 

Regal is also offering a collectible card with the redscreened 

revolutionary Mockingjay symbol for $100. 

The Regal Ultimate Ticket is only available for sale on 

Regal’s website. 

Landmark Theatres Announces Atlantic 

Plumbing Cinema 

n Landmark Theatres has opened Atlantic Plumbing 

Cinema, the newest movie theater and lounge in 

Washington, D.C. The premiere film was Steve Jobs, 

starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, and Seth 

Rogen, which was featured on all six screens. 

Located in Washington’s historic U Street Corridor, 

a recently revitalized neighborhood, the Atlantic 

Plumbing Cinema is dedicated to offering its guests 

engaging and exciting film programming in a state-ofthe-art 

theatrical environment. 

Each of the auditoriums at Atlantic Plumbing 

Cinema will feature plush leather oversized seats in 

stadium settings, with large screens, digital projection, 

and Dolby 7.1 surround sound. The theater will offer 

reserved seating for pre-purchase. A full bar menu and 

craft beers will be available with both classic concessions 

and edgier fare. 

“I want to thank Robin Mosle and her team at JBG 

who had the vision to rebuild this community with an 

entertainment component. We are excited to partner 

with them in this innovative bar and theater,” says Ted 

Mundorff, CEO Landmark Theatres. 

Rendering of Landmarks’s 

Atlantic Plumbing 

Cinema in Washington, 

D.C. 



Cine Colombia Selects Cielo Platform 

n Cine Colombia, the largest circuit in Colombia and 

fourth largest circuit in Latin America, has selected 

Cinema Equipment and Supplies’ Cielo platform for 

remote monitoring and equipment support across their 

280-screen, 42-site circuit. Cine Colombia also purchased 

Unique Digital’s RosettaBridge theater management 

system for deployment across their entire circuit. 

“We chose CE+S because they are able to provide 

a comprehensive solution as full-service integrators,” 

says Munir Fallah, CEO of Cine Colombia. “There are 

other monitoring and support options in the market 

and we chose to stay with CE+S. They are a trusted 

partner, and Cielo is a prime example of how CE+S 

continues to innovate in this industry.” 

“We introduced Cielo to the industry determined 

to address the frustrations of exhibitors,” says Guillermo 

Younger Jr., president, CE+S. “Monitoring was 

this mysterious black box to them. Cielo is giving Cine 

Colombia the visibility they need so they can operate 

their theaters more efficiently. We’re honored to continue 

supporting Cine Colombia’s business.” 

Poland’s Helios Embraces 4K Cinema 

n Poland’s largest cinema operator, Helios, has become the latest cinema chain 

to embrace a fully immersive large-format experience, opening a new multiplex 

in Lodz with 4K visuals along with Christie’s Vive Audio with Dolby Atmos. 

“It’s fitting that the new Helios complex is in a city famous as being the Polish 

center of cinematography, because the audiences here will get a world-class 

experience,” says Adil Zerouali (left), Christie director of cinema for Europe. 

The new flagship multiplex in Sukcesja Retail Park has 9 screens with 2,000 

seats and lobby air-touch screens where visitors can watch the latest trailers or 

have a coffee in a cozy seating area. Helios is also extending Vive Audio to its 

Wroclaw and other cinemas. 

The grand opening of the new Helios complex in Lodz in September was 

timed for the launch of King of Life, which is the first Polish film made for Dolby 

Atmos sound. The director and actors from the film attended the first screening 

along with some VIP guests and members of the public. 

Helios has 35 cinemas across Poland; the company was awarded the Created 

in Poland Superbrands title in 2013/2014 in the Free Time category. 


Silverspot Cinema Plans Chapel 

Hill Opening 

n Silverspot Cinema will open a Chapel 

Hill, North Carolina, location, the 

circuit’s third in the United States, joining 

their Naples and Coconut Creek, 

Florida, locations. Plans to open theaters 

in Downtown Miami and Beachwood, 

Ohio, are in progress for 2016. 

With 13 screens at its new University 

Place venue, Silverspot Cinema 

will showcase alternative programming 

including independent films, award-winning 

foreign films, and a cultural arts 

program featuring ballets, concerts, 

and a global opera series including Live 

from the Met, in addition to traditional 

Hollywood fare. 

Silverspot has partnered with restaurant 

company David Burke Group to 

create Trilogy, a contemporary American 

café. In addition to dining before or after 

the show, guests may order dishes, cocktails, 

wine, and beer from Trilogy to enjoy 

during the film for an enhanced cinema 

experience. This location is Trilogy’s second 

outpost in the United States. n 


EXECUTIVE SUITE 

NATO’s Annual Meeting 

by John Fithian, President and CEO, NATO 

On October 7 and 8, more than 100 exhibition company 

representatives gathered in Washington, D.C., 

for NATO’s annual meetings. On day one, members 

met in various committee and task force meetings 

food and beverage, and other government relations 

issues. On day two the association held its annual 

meetings of members, the Advisory Board, and the 

Executive Board of Directors. 

to discuss issues related to technology, conventions, 

building codes, membership development, independent 

theater owners, regional NATO associations, 

Here are some of the important highlights of those 

meetings: 

NATO’s Strategic Plan is Complete 

The development of a strategic plan was first 

requested during NATO’s annual meetings in 2014. 

From there, detailed member surveys produced input 

and data to be considered. A task force of volunteer 

members discussed the data and conducted additional 

analysis, all leading to a draft of a plan that was then 

discussed, modified, and formally adopted by the 

Executive Board. 

The plan reveals that preservation of the theatrical 

release window and government relations constitute 

the association’s top two priorities, followed by 

cinema presentation technology. Lower in priority, 

but still considered important, were industry 

promotion, theater security, movie theft, 

and ratings. Given those conclusions, 

the members discussed how NATO’s 

budget, staff time, travel, volunteer 

member support, and other 

resources will shift to emphasize 

the higher priorities. 

Randy Smith, 

Regal 

Priority #1: Members Voice Concern over 

Shrinking Theatrical Release Window 

During the meetings, NATO staff reported 

on theatrical release window tracking data, which 

demonstrate a continued shrinkage in the average 

window. The average theatrical-to-DVD window 

year-to-date (as of September 22, 2015) is 3 months 

and 20 days, down from 3 months and 26 days in 

2014 and 4 months and 1 day in 2013. Shorter 

still, the average theatrical-to-EST (electronic sellthrough) 

window YTD is 3 months and 1 day, down 

from 3 months 11 days in 2014, and 3 months 22 

days in 2013. 

NATO’s Executive Board approved funds for 

research on this important topic. The Advisory Board 

members discussed the continuing need for outreach 

with the creative community to build alliances in 

support of robust windows. NATO leaders emphasized 

that exhibitors and distributors should engage in 

continuing dialogue in support of sophisticated but 

reasonable windows models. (Members were reminded, 

of course, that the association does not take any 

position on specific terms of distribution, including 

specific windows, terms of compensation, etc.) 

Priority #2: Exhibition Tackles Myriad 

Government Policy Challenges 

At both the federal and local level, NATO members 

confront many government policy challenges 

that could directly affect the business. At the federal 

level, issues include implementation of the health 

care laws; disabilities access regulations from the 

Department of Justice; menu labeling; and wage, 

hour, and mandated leave laws. At the local level, 

challenges continue in the area of admissions and 

film rental taxes, minimum wages, and food and 

beverage taxes and regulations, while new issues have 

risen recently, including “predictable scheduling” 

legislation and proposed requirements for theaters to 

have metal detectors. 


To address the various issues, NATO has a professional 

government relations staff that is supported by 

active member volunteers. (At dinner on October 7, 

NATO recognized the most active member volunteer, 

Randy Smith of Regal, with a tribute reel and awards.) 

NATO also maintains a growing political action committee 

(PAC) to support candidates for federal election. 

During the meetings the board also voted to create a 

formal Government Relations Committee of members. 

Priority #3: NATO Provides Member 

Education, and Strives for Open Standards, on 

New Technologies 

With the completion of the digital transition, the 

industry now considers many additional technologies 

that have been enabled by the advent of digital 

technologies, such as immersive audio, satellite distribution, 

high frame rates, high dynamic range, and 

laser-illuminated projection. The association’s mission, 

under the strategic plan, is to educate members and 

vet new technologies while encouraging a balancing of 

costs and benefits to prioritize technologies that can 

drive ticket sales. The association works with studios, 

service providers, and equipment manufacturers in understanding 

and refining exhibitor requirements. And 

perhaps most importantly, the association supports, 

evaluates, and develops open technology standards. 

NATO’s Technology Committee and Advisory 

Board discussed these issues in Washington. NATO 

works with a retained expert technology consultant, 

assigned staff, and member volunteers. 

Though the top three priorities received the greatest 

attention during the annual meetings, NATO members 

also discussed additional topics. A guest speaker from the 

Department of Homeland Security offered resources and 

educational programs on security issues, while the NATO 

staff and a task force of member volunteers described the 

development of additional resources on crisis communication. 

Members assessed the current movie rating system 

and debated possible modifications to the rules governing 

that system, and similarly assessed industry procedures 

and practices in the fight against movie theft. n 


COMMUNIQUÉ 

NATO ELECTS NEW OFFICERS 

Left to right: Byron 

Berkley, Amy E. Miles, 

John D. Loeks, Jeff Logan 

n The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) 

announced the election of new officers to two-year terms by 

the Executive Board of Directors at the association’s annual 

meeting, October 7–8, 2015, at the Park Hyatt hotel in 

Washington, D.C. 

John D. Loeks, CEO of Celebration! Cinemas, Inc., Grand 

Rapids, Mich., was elected as chairman; Amy E. Miles, CEO 

of Regal Entertainment Group, Knoxville, Tenn., 

was re-elected as vice-chairwoman; Byron Berkley, 

president of Foothills Entertainment Co., Kilgore, 

Texas, was re-elected as treasurer; and Jeff Logan, 

president of Logan Luxury Theatres, Mitchell, S. D., 

was elected as secretary. 

NATO president and CEO John Fithian noted, 

“On behalf of our members, I want to thank our 

outgoing officers and Executive Board members and 

our new officers and board members for their service. 

NATO’s strength comes from its volunteer leaders, 

and we are fortunate to have the dedicated service of 

the most talented people from across our industry.” 

The Executive Board of Directors is the governing 

body of NATO and is made up of 17 leaders in the 

domestic exhibition industry. The four volunteer 

officers of the association are elected from and by the 

members of the Executive Board. 

NATO’s structure is designed to encourage member 

participation in the activities, benefits and deliberations of the 

association. An advisory board, comprising more than 100 

representatives of the domestic and international exhibition 

community, deliberates on exhibition issues and makes policy 

recommendations to the Executive Board of Directors. n 

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ALTERNATIVE CONTENT 

Opportunities abound amid bigger audiences 

and a greater array of programming 

ALTERNATIVE CONTENT GOES MAINSTREAM 

by Daniel Loria 

U.S. midfielder Mix 

Diskerud challenges for a 

ball during a U.S.–Mexico 

friendly played in April. 

photo: Robin Alam/ISI Photos 

n There are moments that are just meant to be seen on the big 

screen. The score was tied after 118 minutes of a grueling playoff 

final between soccer archrivals Mexico and the U.S. played 

on October 10, with the winner set to qualify for the 2017 

FIFA Confederations Cup. Two minutes before the end of 

extra time, Mexican defender Paul Aguilar chased down a ball 

as it innocently floated inside the U.S. 18-yard box. There was 

nothing U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan could do as the resulting 

volley hit the back of the net and broke the hearts of U.S. fans 

everywhere. There are few things that passionate Mexico fans 

(such as, for example, the author of this article) could enjoy 

more on the big screen. Fortunately, those moments promise to 

become more common in the coming years, not only because 

of Mexico’s on-field dominance against the United States, but 

also due to the growing adoption of alternative content by 

North American exhibitors and its embrace by audiences. 

The Mexico–U.S. match was made available live in North 

America through Fathom Events, the inaugural program in 

its partnership with Fox Sports 1. Live sport has long been 

considered the golden goose of alternative content, its overwhelming 

potential mired in the legal swamp of broadcast 

rights. “The rights are a minefield, but we’re slowly getting 

it figured out,” says Fathom CEO John Rubey. “We’ve done 

British Premier League soccer, we’ve done several events with 

Floyd Mayweather Jr., the NHL stadium series. You see a lot 

of audiences coming out for those who want to experience 

the scale of the cinema together as a family; parents don’t 

want to take their kids to a bar with people smoking and 

drinking. We can provide an experience where there’s scale in 

a family-friendly environment.” 

Fathom’s business has grown since spinning out from 

its previous majority owner, NCM, in late 2013. While 

NCM still owns a minority share of the company (4%), the 

majority is split between top exhibitors Regal, AMC, and 

Cinemark. “In 2013 we had 2 million admissions, in 2014 

we had 2.5 million, and we’ve already blown through 3 million 

this year with an entire quarter left to go,” says Rubey, 

addressing the rapid rise of alternative content in North 

America. The pace of growth is in line with the global growth 

of the business as a whole. The latest IHS report on alternative 

content (termed “event cinema” in the report) signals a 

32.1 percent year-over-year growth in 2014 that resulted in 

a global gross of $277.2 million. At that pace it will reach $1 

billion worldwide by 2019. 

Alternative content found a foothold in North America 

through arts and culture programming like live opera and 


theater. In many ways, Fathom’s transformation into a market leader can be traced to its fruitful 

partnership with the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series. Already in its 10th season, The 

MET: Live in HD combines core content (live opera performances) with special features exclusive 

to cinemas, becoming an experience in itself as opposed to a simple broadcast. “They give 

you an experience that you can only see in the theater,” says Rubey. “It really sets the standard 

for the live cinema experience.” 

Several other companies are following a similar blueprint, approaching alternative content 

as an event and experience in its own right. Arts Alliance, specializing in arts and culture 

programming and events with a broader popular appeal, scored a huge hit working with boy 

band One Direction. Brad Carroll, managing director of North America at Arts Alliance, cites 

the band’s “passionate and engaged fan base” as crucial to the event’s success. “Their fans were 

eager to get to the theater and share an experience with other fans as soon as they were aware 

the opportunity was available. It did not take a lot of convincing that they wanted to go; they 

just needed to know it was there.” 

Bud Mayo, president of Carmike’s Alternative Programming and Distribution division 

since Digiplex, the circuit he founded, was acquired by the Georgia-based exhibitor last year, 

has also been busy offering viewers a premium, exclusive event experience at the movies. Carmike 

has recently paired up with distributor Nehst Out to create DigiNext, a direct-to-consumer 

movie-release platform that can be a key to the further growth of alternative content 

in North America. DigiNext will be screening the concert film American Saturday Night: Live 

from the Grand Ole Opry, a country music show featuring backstage moments for cinema audiences, 

in select cinemas December 4–10. Mayo points out that these special events are quickly 

expanding beyond the opera and concert stage. “We are seeing traction with Bollywood and 

Macaulay Culkin stars as 

Kevin McCallister in Fox’s 

Home Alone. Fathom 

Events celebrates the 

film’s 25th anniversary 

with special nationwide 

screenings on Nov. 8 

and 11. 


ALTERNATIVE CONTENT 

Kristine Opolais starred in 

Puccini’s Manon Lescaut 

earlier this year for 

Fathom Events’ The MET: 

Live in HD 

photo: Kristian Schuller 

other ethnic product,” says Mayo, adding that “anime and 

faith-based features” are also making an impact. Rubey sees 

the same trend with Fathom: “Our audience has never been 

wider or more diverse.” 

Gaming is one of those new, surging categories. “We think 

gaming potentially offers more promise than 

anything else we’re looking at right now,” says 

Rubey. U.K. exhibitor Vue Entertainment 

took a bold stance in its support of competitive 

gaming, or eSports as it’s come to be 

known, earlier this year with the opening of a 

dedicated eSports gaming arena in London’s 

Fulham neighborhood in alliance with GFinity, 

one of the biggest eSports companies in 

the world. “Thirty of our sites are committed 

to showing that content,” said Johnny Carr, content manager 

of Vue, at a panel at CineEurope this summer. Vue partners 

with gaming companies that already come in with significant 

sponsorships, like League of Legends—sponsored by Coca-Cola. 

“We can’t just put it on screen and expect people to turn 

up. We have to give them an incentive to come out of their 

bedrooms. We have to partner a gaming company; we have to 

create an event.” 

Despite the diversity of product, alternative content at the 

cinema doesn’t have to stray too far from traditional moviegoing 

fare to find success. Fathom partnered with Fox to present 

The Night Before Our Stars, a special screening event of The 

Bud Mayo 

Fault in Our Stars, on the eve of the film’s release in 2014. 

The event included a live Q&A with stars Shailene Woodley, 

Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff, along with author John Green 

and director Josh Boone, with audiences submitting questions 

via a Twitter hashtag; performances by artists from the 

soundtrack; and a commemorative charm 

bracelet for all those in attendance. The $25 

ticket price contributed to at least $5 million 

in additional box office for Fox, according 

to Fathom. The company returned to the 

concept this summer with a similar prerelease 

event for Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. 

Bud Mayo still believes there is room to 

grow in the immediate future. “Progress is 

being made with major, well-marketed releases,” 

he explains, citing several high-performing programs, 

“but theaters have not fully committed to marketing and 

audience building for smaller, more targeted titles.” He considers 

2 to 3 percent of admissions in North America to be 

a realistic benchmark for alternative content, setting the bar 

on his team at Carmike higher, 4 to 5 percent of admissions, 

as goals to reach in the coming years. John Rubey echoes that 

sentiment in his own analysis of what alternative content can 

mean for the industry. “It’s not going to overtake theatrical,” he 

says, “but if you put a good alternative content title on Monday 

through Thursday, it will likely make more money than all 

the other auditoriums combined.” n 


MOBILE CINEMA 

How a movie theater on wheels is helping redefine 

movie marketing in the age of immersive cinema 

THE BIG SCREEN IN THE BIG RIG 


n The spread of the multiplex concept 

in Mexico revolutionized the exhibition 

business in one of Latin America’s most 

important markets. Perhaps most notably, 

it tied the industry’s growth to the 

development of shopping centers around 

middle-class cities—riding a wave of 

consumer spending in the wake of the 

recovery from a debilitating financial 

crisis. While large circuits like Cinépolis, 

Cinemex, and Cinemark all focused on 

expanding their reach in the country 

throughout the late ’90s and early 

aughts, the team at Cinetransformer saw 

a different approach to capitalizing on 

Mexico’s underscreened communities. 

While mobile cinemas aren’t new in 

the exhibition industry, Cinetransformer was born out of a 

commitment to provide the closest possible alternative to a 

movie theater. Rather than simply fitting a big screen inside a 

trailer, Cinetransformer carefully conceived their experience 

to have the feel of a movie theater that happens to be mobile, 

incorporating traditional moviegoing elements like a lobby 

area and concessions stand. “We took the cinema experience 

directly to these rural communities with all the comfort of 

a luxury cinema,” explains Cinetransformer chief operating 

officer and founding partner, Raul Fernandez. Today, patrons 

can count on some of their amenities, like stadium seating 

and 3D and 4D screenings. According to Fernandez, a pair 

of Cinetransformer staff members can set up the space and be 

ready for exhibition within an hour. 

Cinetransformer currently operates a fleet of 26 mobile 

cinemas worldwide, with at least two maintained in the 

U.S. at any given time. They’ve outfitted their vehicles with 

top-of-the-line equipment, including Barco projectors; RealD 

3D; screens from providers like Harkness, Stewart, and 

Northview; seating from Mexico-based Mobiliario Seating; 

JBL speakers and QSC amplifiers; and 4D integration 

through Media Mation and ButtKicker. 

While the company cut its teeth on rural Latin American 

filmgoers with no easy access to cinemas, it has since grown 

to serve a variety of different sectors that benefit from the 

quality of its presentation. The standard cinema configuration 

of a Cinetransformer has 91 seats, while 4D and showroom 

configurations (for interactive presentations) can seat up to 

45. A host of top brands have counted on Cinetransformer 

for major product releases, as have companies that screen 

educational content for employees. Film festivals, attracted to 

the ease of adding screens within a single location, have also 

shown interest in the company. 

Cinetransformer has also grained traction from television 

networks and film studios looking to offer engaging and 

immersive marketing opportunities to audiences nationwide. 

What better than a mobile cinema to reach audiences? 

Earlier this year, Warner Bros. enlisted Cinetransformer to 

provide filmgoers a taste of San Andreas in the buildup to 

the film’s release. Star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was so 

impressed with Cinetransformer’s presentation that he took 

to Twitter and Instagram to tell his millions of followers 

about the marketing campaign. An effects-driven film 

like San Andreas, which can drum up additional interest 

through 3D and immersive seating screenings, can benefit 

greatly from having viewers get a taste of its immersive 

experience—a marketing angle that trailers alone aren’t able 

to fully exploit. Cinetransformer promoted San Andreas 

across its fleet, giving the film an international experiential 

marketing tour across North and South America and Europe. 

The movie went on to gross $150 million domestically and 

$470 million worldwide. 

“Cinetransformer provides a unique mobile experiential 

marketing solution that allows the studios to take their 

films directly to the people by creating cross-country movie 

preview tours,” explains Michael Pine, VP of business 

development. “Studios have capitalized on experiential 

marketing with Cinetransformer while combining traditional 

social media marketing.” 

As the film industry continues to focus on overseas 

markets, Cinetransformer is prepared to follow suit. European 

vehicle regulations require modifications to Cinetransformer’s 

patented system, a minor hurdle that the company has 

already addressed. Expansion in Asia continues to be on their 

agenda, and the company has expressed interest in exploring 

bourgeoning markets in the Middle East and Africa. As long 

as there’s a road and an audience, Cinetransformer is ready to 

help drive audiences back to the cinema. n 

IntegraSV operates more 

than 23 Cinetransformer 

units throughout the 

U.S., Mexico, and Brazil 

for experiential mobile 

marketing tours and 

events for the most 

recognized brands. 


BOX OFFICE BREAKOUTS 

In Sicario, Emily Blunt, 

Josh Brolin, and Benicio 

del Toro star as federal 

agents tasked with taking 

down the Mexican drug 

cartel responsible for a 

massacre on American 

soil. Sicario translates as 

“hitman.” 

Dark films don’t always fail, 

and happy films don’t always succeed 

THE BALANCE OF LIGHT 

AND DARK AT THE BOX OFFICE 

by Phil Contrino 

“And they all lived happily ever after.” 

Conventional wisdom says that if you can utter that phrase about the characters 

in a film, chances are it will be a hit with the public. People go to the movies for 

escapism; they don’t want to pay money for a downer. 

Wrong. 


n Like anything else in this industry, it all comes down to 

the execution. An unhappy ending doesn’t necessarily mean 

failure. Just ask James Cameron after Titanic became the No. 

1 film of all time and effortlessly snagged the Best Picture 

Oscar. When I saw that film in 3D a few years back, people 

were still crying and yelling at Rose to let Jack onto her 

makeshift life raft. You could also talk to Clint Eastwood. He 

had the biggest hit of his career with American Sniper, a bleak 

flick that takes an uncompromising view of the perils of war. 

Nothing released in 2015 could beat American Sniper—and 

there was certainly no shortage of happily-ever-after stories. 

The second half of 2015 has been filled with a handful of 

dark films. Some have succeeded, others haven’t. 

As of this writing, Sicario is coming off a strong nationwide 

expansion, and it’s poised to show healthy staying power in the 

weeks to come. Sicario is one of the best films of the year, but 

it’s not easy to sit through. Not only is it incredibly violent, 

but it doesn’t offer a lot of hope when it comes to stopping 

the drug trade in Mexico. That’s a double downer. Yet when 

you combine Denis Villeneuve’s tight direction with Roger 

Deakins’s brilliant cinematography and a great performance 

from a talented ensemble, you have a film that moviegoers can’t 

resist, even if it doesn’t send them out of theaters with a spring 

in their steps and a smile on their faces. 

In a rare miss for Universal this year, Everest failed to 

make dark work. I remain baffled as to why this film wasn’t 

a bigger hit. It has the same I-just-want-to-reach-throughthe-screen-and-stop-this-character-from-making-a-stupiddecision 

moments that Titanic has. Also, it’s not entirely 

bleak. Some people do make it back, after all. The suspense 

is top notch, and the character development is impressive 

for a film that crams in a lot of characters. Still, Everest 

didn’t catch on the way it could have despite an early release 

on IMAX screens that delivered strong box office and solid 

word of mouth. 

It’s definitely possible that Everest was overshadowed a bit 

by anticipation for The Martian. SPOILER WARNING (not 

that it matters at this point; you’ve probably seen it): Would 

The Martian be as successful if Mark Watney didn’t make it 

back from Mars? I doubt it. Watney goes through so much 

in the film that audiences would certainly pelt the screen 

with popcorn if he died. The Martian boasts one of the most 

emotionally satisfying endings of the year, and a huge portion 

of its success is thanks to that. But what if Watney were 

trapped on Mars with his wife and had to sacrifice himself 

so that she could live? Well, that might have resulted in even 

more box office than the sci-fi flick is already generating. 

People would now be calling it Titanic in Space instead of 

Cast Away in Space. 

The fall/holiday season will bring more dark films. If The 

Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2 sticks close to the book, 

then it will prove again that dark can work on a blockbuster 

scale. Many Star Wars fans are already theorizing that a major 

cast member will die, and fans of the Rocky franchise are 

predicting the same fate for the Italian Stallion. Are we worried 

about the commercial prospects of those films? Absolutely not. 

Does it mean Hollywood has finally figured out how to make 

dark commercially viable every time? Far from it. n 

Ridley Scott put Matt 

Damon’s Mark Watney 

through his paces on 

“Mars”—in actuality, Wadi 

Rum, Jordan. The Martian 

is a rousing crowdpleaser 

in the mold of 

Apollo 13, a study in 

problem solving with no 

villain other than the task 

at hand. 


CONVENTION RECAP 

The Geneva Convention celebrates its 2015 edition 

LAKE GENEVA IN SEPTEMBER 


n The Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 

once again welcomed exhibitors from the Midwest 

in the latest edition of the Geneva Convention. 

Three days of activities, seminars, panels, and studio 

screenings and presentations were complemented with 

a robust trade show featuring 99 booths from vendors 

from across the industry in an annual event that continues 

to be a bright spot on the convention calendar. 

The 2015 edition kicked off with several activities 

over the course of the first day, including a two-hour 

sightseeing cruise on Lake Geneva and the traditional 

Variety–The Children’s Charity Golf Classic. The Will 

Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation led a walk 

along the Lake Geneva lakefront, a great opportunity 

for attendees to enjoy the cool autumn breeze before 

an evening screening of Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of 

Spies ahead of the film’s official premiere at the New 

York Film Festival. 

The relaxing first day set the stage for a business-focused 

day two. David Sikich, an adjunct professor 

at Columbia College Chicago and a 30-plus-year 

veteran of the film industry, led a panel discussion on 

the dollars and cents of today’s exhibition business. 

Sikich was joined onstage by Chris Johnson, CEO of 

Classic Cinemas; Paul Silk, principal of Paul Silk Film 

Buying; and Bill Campbell, managing director of the 

Cinema Buying Group and owner of the Orpheum 

Theatre in Sheridan, Wyoming. Sikich, whose 2012 

book, Movies and Money: Lessons for the Motion Picture 

Marketplace for the 21st Century, tracked the 52 weeks 

of the 2009 box office season through interviews with 

industry experts and observers, shared his insight on 

today’s hottest topics in exhibition, from the importance 

of maintaining theatrical windows to the rising 

popularity of luxury seating and the looming potential 

of alternative content. 

NATO Manager of Government Relations Esther 

Baruh and State Government and Regional Liaison 

Belinda Judson joined President John Fithian to 

deliver an informational briefing for the audience, 

a fitting precursor for the afternoon’s BoxOffice 

panel moderated by Phil Contrino. Former NATO 

President Bill Kartozian joined Fithian in a conversation 

covering a slew of hot-button topics from today 

and years past. Kartozian singled out the battle against 

blind bidding as the biggest of his tenure and one that 

yielded a victory for the industry at large. “It showed 

the power of the association better than anything else 

in those days,” he said. “It was such an unfair practice 

and it seemed so wrong that we couldn’t convince 

studios that they shouldn’t be doing it, that we went 

to the state legislators and they understood. We started 

on a state-by-state basis passing anti-blind-bidding 

legislation. When we got to a critical number of states, 

the handwriting was on the wall and that practice 

ceased. To me, it showed that when you are able to act 

in concert together for a good purpose, you can get a 

great result.” 

Regarding the future, John Fithian stressed the 

growing role of big data, calling it “an incredibly 

important and rapidly growing part of our business.” 

Fithian continued, “It’s amazing to see what we did or 

did not know about our customers ten years ago: we 

knew how many tickets we sold, how many soft drinks 

we sold, but we had no idea about the demographics 

of our customers. We’re learning more and more about 


our customers, not only the demographics, but things like their age 

ranges and movie preferences.” 

After ending day two with a steak dinner and screening of Warner 

Bros.’s Our Brand is Crisis, the 2015 Geneva Convention capped off 

its final day with a special management seminar led by Eric Coryell, 

owner of Milwaukee-based management consulting firm Core 

Connections. Coryell’s presentation, titled “Cultivating Leadership, 

Accountability, and Teamwork,” proved to be especially interesting 

for theater owners and managers in attendance. 

With another successful three-day event in the books, the Geneva 

Convention will be returning to the Grand Geneva Resort September 

13–16, 2016. n 

Above: Timiney Mayhew and Christina Blumer with the Will Rogers 

Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation / Below: BoxOffice’s own 

Susan Uhrlass, Daniel Loria, and Phil Contrino 


WORLD BOX OFFICE 

A quick look at some of the year’s biggest 

headlines in Latin America 

LATIN AMERICA MARKET UPDATE 2015 


Marcelo Lima, CEO of 

Tonks and publisher of 

Exhibidor 

ExpoCine 2014 

Brazil 

“2015 has been a difficult 

year for Brazilians 

because of economic 

and political crises. For 

exhibition, however, it’s 

been a very good year— 

one of the few industries 

that isn’t in crisis,” says 

Marcelo Lima, CEO 

of Tonks, a company 

specializing in exhibitor 

websites in Brazil and 

publisher of Exhibidor, 

Brazil’s leading exhibition 

trade publication. Lima 

specifically highlights 

Universal’s terrific year 

in helping exhibition 

survive Brazil’s economic 

recession, with films like 

Minions ($38.4M), Jurassic World ($29M), Furious 7 

($46.5M), and Fifty Shades of Grey ($30.7M) ranking 

among the year’s biggest hits. 

Brazil has also benefitted from several domestic hits 

in recent years to anchor their growing film industry. 

The first half of the year saw the runaway success of romantic 

comedy Loucas Pra 

Casar ($17M), while the 

second semester saw local 

title Vai Que Cola top the 

box office against fellow 

opener The Martian. 

ANCINE, Brazil’s 

national film board, 

expected the country to 

reach 3,000 screens by 

the end of the first half of 

2015, a benchmark that 

was delayed because of the country’s financial crisis. 

“Brazil depends on shopping malls in order to open new 

cinemas, and with the economic crisis we’ve had many 

shopping malls postponed,” explains Lima, adding 

that the country should nevertheless reach the figure 

before the end of the year. Lima considers this more 

of an opportunity than a setback: “This is a chance to 

think outside the box. Once you don’t have the chance 

to open a new theater in a shopping mall, and you still 

have money in your pocket because of the success we’ve 

had in recent years, this might create the necessary environment 

to start seeing stand-alone cinemas.” 

ExpoCine, the exhibition convention organized 

by Lima in São Paulo, will celebrate its latest edition 

November 17–19. Lima expects this year’s edition to 

be at least three times bigger than last year’s, with the 

three-day event featuring nine industry-related panels, 

immersive sound demonstrations from Barco Auro and 

Dolby Atmos, studio presentations using the latest laser 

projection technology, and a trade show with twice as 

many booths as it featured last year. 

Among the panels and seminars, Lima cites a 

session on premium large format as one of the most 

talked about ahead of the event. “We’re going to spend 

the entire first morning of ExpoCine talking about 

premium large format: box office, upcoming titles, and 

associated costs. In my opinion, it’s the future here in 

Brazil: bigger screens with 4k projectors, more 4D and 

immersive experiences. I think the best cinemas here 

will have around five screens, two VIP auditoriums, and 

one premium large format.” 

ExpoCine is already primed for further growth in 

2017, with the likely addition of a fourth day of programming 

catering exclusively to the Brazilian market to 

complement the three days of LatAm-focused sessions. 

It’s a reflection of the Brazilian exhibition market’s 

sustained potential. Fandango recently closed a deal to 

acquire online ticketing provider Ingresso.com, marking 

the company’s first foray outside of North America. 

Exhibition in Brazil continues to be dominated by Cinemark 

and Cinépolis, but Lima also sees more opportunities 

ahead for smaller, regional outfits from Brazil in 

the coming years by concentrating in smaller cities that 

remain under-screened. “They have the space to grow, 

and I believe they are going to have good business for 

the next 10 years,” he says. 

Mexico 

The big news from Mexico continues to occur 

overseas. 2015 will be looked back upon as a key 

year for the international expansion of Cinépolis; the 

Mexican exhibitor extended its reach in the United 

States while looking to surpass 400 screens in India by 

2017 and strengthening its reach in Central and South 

America. The company’s biggest headline, however, 

was the acquisition of Spain’s Cines Yelmo, marking 

the company’s arrival in Europe. 

Back in domestic territory, the Mexican box office 

enjoyed another strong year led primarily by family-focused 

titles like Minions ($45.7M) and Inside 

Out ($31.7M) and cross-quadrant fare like Furious 7 

($51.4M) and Avengers: Age of Ultron ($51.4M). 

(continued on page 26) 


WORLD BOX OFFICE > LATIN AMERICA 

In September, the Cinépolis Acoxpa Mexico City 

location became the first Latin American cinema to 

offer the immersive Barco Escape format (left) with 

the release of Fox’s Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. It 

might very well prove to be more than just a simple 

expansion for Barco Escape; Mexico has proven itself 

to be a pioneer of several of today’s trends in U.S. 

exhibition, with amenities such as 4D, luxury seating, 

and cinema dining already being firmly established in 

the market. As we’ve seen with several other immersive 

formats, audiences best respond to innovations inside 

cinemas when they deliver with the product on screen. 

In this context, introducing Barco Escape into the region 

with a film like Fox’s Maze Runner sequel, which 

was crafted specifically with this format in mind, 

might prove to be a driving force in the expansion of 

the immersive-screen concept across Latin America. 

South America 

It’s an up year across the board for territories covered by Ultracine, 

the Argentina-based box office data tracking company that 

has emerged as one of the leading sources for exhibition 

news in Spanish-speaking South America. Ultracine currently 

provides coverage for Argentina, 

Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru and is 

working to expand to Brazil and Mexico 

ALFA FILMS 

2.68 % 

1,181,417 

FOX FILM DE LA 

ARGENTINA 

17.10 % 

7,551,515 

in 2016. The company WARNER BROS. 

saw various admissions 

SOUTH INC. 

records shattered this 10.01 % 

year since it began 

4,421,823 

collecting data in 1997, 

in large part thanks to the success 

of UIP, the distribution outfit 

representing films from Universal, 

Paramount, and others, 

depending on the country. “The 

only other company that was able 

to claim a significant portion of 

the market share was Disney, with 

hits like Inside Out and Avengers: Age 

of Ultron,” reports Ultracine Director of 

Content Gabriel Giandinoto. 

Minions was a force to contend with 

across South America, breaking admissions 

records in Argentina (4.94M) and Chile (2.1M) 

while registering as the top grosser so far this year in Uruguay 

and the second biggest film of the year in Paraguay. Fellow UIP 

release Furious 7 claims the top spot in Paraguay while Avengers: 

Age of Ultron takes the same honor in Bolivia. The Hollywood 

dominance wasn’t unanimous, however, with a domestic title, 

OTHER 

7.47 % 

3,298,720 

DISNEY 

23.06 % 

10,182,350 

Asu Mare 2, coming in as the biggest film of the year in Peru by 

reaching 2.7 million admissions. 

The big news of the year on the exhibition front comes from 

the continued expansion of regional players Cinemark and 

Cinépolis. “They are competing at a continental level,” stresses 

Giandinoto, highlighting the sale of Hoyts locations in both 

Argentina and Chile. The Argentine government finally approved 

the deal this year, giving Cinemark control 

of around 45 percent of the market. “A 

similar situation is developing in Chile,” 

continues Giandinoto. “Cinépolis’s 

UNITED 

INTERNATIONAL 

PICTURES 

39.68 % 

17,523,751 

Top 5 Distributors in Argentina 2015 

(market share with admissions) 

Resultados por película (01/01/15 al 13/10/15) 

acquisition of Hoyts locations in the 

country will increase its presence to 

around 40 percent of the market.” 

The growth in Latin America 

is reflected in the success of 

Ultracine’s annual exhibition 

convention, Vista, which is preparing 

to celebrate its sixth edition 

in Buenos Aires on November 24 

and 25 of this year. The event, traditionally 

held in May, will be moved 

permanently to November beginning in 

2016. “Having the event scheduled between 

CinemaCon and Cannes required executives 

to spend too much time away from 

the office and made it difficult for people wanting to make 

the trip down south,” explains Giandinoto. “Moving the event to 

November solves that problem and will allow studios to showcase 

films for the holiday season and their slates for the following year. 

It will also create an exciting synergy with our friends at ExpoCine 

in São Paulo.” n 

Data provided by ULTRACINE 

TOP FIVE FILMS IN ARGENTINA RANKED BY ADMISSIONS 

Results from (01/01/1997 to 08/09/2015) 

RANK FILM RELEASE DATE DISTRIBUTOR ADMISSIONS SCREENS 

1 Minions 7/2/15 UIP 4,940,251 360 

2 Titanic 2/5/98 FOX 4,722,664 94 

3 Ice Age 4 6/28/12 FOX 4,495,422 310 

4 Wild Tales 8/21/14 WARNER 3,938,419 338 

5 Furious 7 4/2/15 UIP 3,357,158 452 


GUEST COLUMNIST 


What 

Women 

Want 

UNLOCKING BOX OFFICE REVENUE 

by Bryan Smith, Chief Data Scientist, Movio 

THE BOX OFFICE CHALLENGE 

Two of the all-time top-10 North American Domestic 

movies, Jurassic World and The Avengers: Age of Ultron, 

were released in 2015. Despite the nearly $2 billion earned 

by these two films, however, the unadjusted cumulative 

box office for the year is up only 6 percent over 2014 

and less than 1 percent over 2013. This suggests that 

successful big-budget tentpole films are not sufficient 

for driving an increase in overall moviegoing. Due to 

the large production budgets, it’s also not feasible to 

simply produce more of these types of films, and this 

may be counterproductive as it simply divides the same 

viewership over a larger number of movies. 

Therefore, we would like to ask these questions: 

• Are there groups of moviegoers that attend the cinema 

regularly but avoid tentpole films? 

• If so, what do these groups look like? 

• What types of content do they prefer? 

• Would it make sense to spend more resources 

producing and/or marketing content to these groups? 


GUEST COLUMNIST > WHAT WOMEN WANT 

METHODOLOGY 

Movie Clusters 

In order to better understand the preferences of 

different segments of moviegoers, we first construct 

an audience-based network of the movies released 

between January 1, 2014, and September 15, 2015. 

To build the network, we take advantage of the Movio 

Media Research platform. This platform contains data 

describing the demographics and moviegoing history 

of over eight million moviegoers throughout North 

America, and it provides studios, distributors, and 

advertisers with a variety of tools to develop a better 

understanding of how movie audiences behave. In 

particular, Movio Media’s Similarity Rating provides 

us with a measure of the audience similarity between 

each pair of movies under consideration. This rating is 

based on a similarity score, which is an estimate of the 

likelihood of the size of the audience intersection for a 

particular pair of movies given the size of each movie’s 

individual audience as well as the size of the total 

population. The similarity score is given by: 

Where p1, p2, and p12 are the proportions of the 

population that saw movie 1, movie 2, and both movies, 

respectively. The similarity rating is calculated by 

normalizing the similarity scores so that the similarity 

rating varies between zero and 10, and the average 

movie’s best match has a rating of five. 

Once we have a matrix of pairwise similarity ratings, 

we create the graph by placing an edge between 

each movie and each of its 10 most similar movies. 

Each edge is weighted by the similarity rating between 

the pair. Using these edges as an affinity matrix, we 

apply a spectral graph partitioning algorithm4 to break 

the set into k clusters, selecting the value of k that 

maximizes the modularity of the partition. We then 

create subclusters by applying this algorithm again to 

each cluster, once again selecting the number of clusters 

using a maximum modularity condition. However, 

if the resulting modularity would be less than 0.2, the 

partitioning into subclusters is unlikely to add much 

information, so we leave the cluster intact. 

Audience 

Once we have constructed a network, we would 

like to profile the audience for each of the clusters in 

order to better understand the differences between the 

various segments of the moviegoing population. To 

create these profiles, we take a sample of one million 

moviegoers from the Movio Media Database who 

watched at least two of the movies in the network. 

The sampling is performed so that the age and gender 

distribution of the resulting population is consistent 

with the general moviegoing population described in 

the latest MPAA Theatrical Market Statistics Report. 

The sample has an average age of 40, is 52 percent 

female, and watched an average of 8.0 movies in the 

database at a rate of 6.4 movies per year (the frequency 

is greater than the number of movies / the total time, 

as not all members were in the program over the entire 

period). 

Preferences 

An important component of each moviegoer 

profile is the moviegoer’s preference for each cluster 

or subcluster of movies. In order to estimate this 

preference, we take an empirical Bayesian approach, 

using a Beta (a, β) prior, with ai =pi, βi =1-pi, where 

pi is the proportion of total movie views associated 

with the i th cluster or subcluster. This ensures that 

we only assign strong preferences to moviegoers 

for which we have a large amount of information, 

and therefore we assume that moviegoers who have 

only seen a couple of movies are most likely to have 

average preferences. 

About the Author 

Bryan Smith has a B.S.E. degree in biomedical engineering and mathematics from Tulane University and 

master’s and Ph.D. degrees in applied mathematics from Northwestern University. He heads all research 

in statistics, science, and analytics at Movio, concentrating on the development of new products 

that use Movio’s global moviegoer database to generate analytical insights. Movio is the global 

leader in marketing data analytics and campaign management software for cinema exhibitors, 

film distributors, and studios. The Movio Media technology offers the most powerful and 

most accurate real-time film market research platform in the United States. www.movio.co 


WHO DOESN’T GO TO BLOCKBUSTERS? 

310 movies released between 1 Jan 2014 

and 15 Sept 2015, clustered by audience 

intersection 

After eliminating movies with very small audiences, 

our resulting movies dataset contained 310 movies 

released between January 1, 2014, and September 15, 

2015. The first pass of the clustering algorithm 

described in the Methodology 

section resulted in 10 clusters. 

The 10 clusters are described 

as: tentpole, animation, tough 

action, drama, comedy, horror, 

indie pop, art-house, faith-based, 

and Bollywood. A second pass of the 

clustering algorithm was then applied, 

which resulted in the breakdown of the 

tentpole, drama, comedy, and indie pop clusters into 

subclusters. 

Once we had identified the clusters, we evaluated 

each moviegoer’s preference for each one. Tentpole was 

the most popular cluster, with an average preference 

value of 37 percent, meaning that the likelihood that 

the next film they will see is a tentpole is roughly 

two in five; followed by animation (16%), drama 

(14%), comedy (14%), and tough 

action (11%). 

The most popular clusters. The likelihood is 

approximately 2 in 5 that the next film an average 

moviegoer sees will be a Tentpole. 

THE MAP TO THE STARS 

TENTPOLE 

TOUGH ACTION 

ANIMATION 

HORROR 

BOLLYWOOD 

COMEDY 

INDIE POP 

ARTHOUSE 

DRAMA 

FAITH-BASED 


GUEST COLUMNIST > WHAT WOMEN WANT 

A comparison of the 

mainstream and niche 

groups’ audience 

profiles 

38% 

18% 

20% 

12% 

15% 

2% 

13% 

4% 

MAINSTREAM GROUP 

NICHE GROUP 

In order to profile the audience that avoids 

blockbuster films, we partitioned our sample of one 

million moviegoers into two groups by their tentpole 

preference. We concentrate on the group, which we’ll 

call “niche,” whose preference for these films was significantly 

less than average; for this research, we chose 

the cutoff to be half of the average preference value, or 

18.5 percent. The niche group comprises 27 percent of 

the total sample, and compared with the “mainstream” 

group—those members with an average tentpole preference 

greater than 18.5 percent—is older (average age of 

46 vs. 37), more female (64% vs. 47%), and go to the 

movies less often (5.5 times per year vs. 6.7). 

The next step was to identify clusters and subclusters 

that were overrepresented in the preferences of the 

niche group. We identified these clusters by sorting the 

niche group based on their “favorite” subcluster, i.e., 

the subcluster associated with each member’s highest 

preference. 

This identified four significant groups: 

Animation: 38 percent of the niche group vs. 18 

percent of the mainstream group 

Tough action: 20 percent of the niche group vs. 12 

percent of the mainstream group 

Dramas appealing to female baby boomers: 15 

percent of the niche group vs. 2 percent of the 

mainstream group 

Comedies appealing to millennial 

women: 13 percent of the niche group 

vs. 4 percent of the mainstream 

group 

ANIMATION 

TOUGH ACTION 

DRAMAS APPEALING TO 

FEMALE BABY BOOMERS 

COMEDIES APPEALING TO 

MILLENNIAL WOMEN 

A comparison of mainstream 

and niche groups’ preferences. 

As we outlined in the introduction, 

the purpose of this 

research was to identify areas 

where there were opportunities 

to expand the moviegoing 

population to populations 

that are underserved by 

content or marketing. For 

this reason, we eliminated 

the first two groups from 

consideration as the animation 

cluster contains movies 

such as Minions and Inside Out, 

which are simply another class of 

blockbuster, and the tough action 

cluster contains a significant number 

of movies (34) that are well served by 

marketing campaigns. Therefore, the remainder of this 

work will focus on subclusters 3 and 4—dramas appealing 

to female baby boomers and comedies appealing to 

millennial women. 

First we consider the subcluster dramas appealing 

to female baby boomers. This subcluster consists of 

23 movies, including titles such as The Hundred-Foot 

Journey, Gone Girl, A Walk in the Woods, The Second Best 

Exotic Marigold Hotel, and The Imitation Game. In order 

to profile the audience for this genre, we selected only 

the moviegoers from our sample that saw at least two 

movies within the subcluster. This group comprised ~13 

percent of the total sample, had an average age of 55, 

and is 59 percent female. On average this group goes to 

the movies almost once a month and prefers to go early 

in the day (54% of visits before 5 p.m., compared to 

42% for the total population). 

In addition to profiling the audience, we also collected 

statistics on budget and domestic and international 

gross whenever they were publicly available. Based on 

the 23 movies in this subcluster for which we could 

find this information, the average budget for a movie 

in this genre is $20 million, while the average worldwide 

gross is $73 million, and the average gross-tobudget 

ratio is 4.1. 

DRAMAS APPEALING TO FEMALE 

BABY-BOOMERS 

Audience profile 

Age and gender distribution 

Gross to budget ratio 


COMEDIES APPEALING TO MILLENNIAL WOMEN 

Audience profile 

Age and gender distribution 

Gross to Budget Ratio 

Next, we consider the comedies appealing to 

millennial women. This subcluster consists of 12 

movies, including Spy, Trainwreck, and Fifty Shades 

of Grey. The group of moviegoers that saw at least 

two of these films made up ~13 percent of the total 

sample, had an average age of 38, and is 60 percent 

female. Like the group above, these moviegoers go 

to the movies almost once a month, but they prefer 

to go later in the evening, with only 34 percent of 

visits before 5 p.m. It is also worth noting that while 

the overall audience for this genre is predominantly 

female, the subcluster does include more male-focused 

films such as Neighbors and A Million Ways to 

Die in the West. 

These films performed even better than the previous 

group, with an average budget of $33 million, 

an average worldwide gross of $191 million, and an 

average gross-to-budget ratio of 6.3. 

SHOULD STUDIOS TARGET WOMEN? 

We identified two clusters of movies with the following characteristics: 

• They appeal to an audience that is not attracted to traditional tentpole 

films. 

• They attract an audience that is a significant (>10%) fraction of moviegoers. 

• And they are relatively profitable. 

The two clusters appeal to very different audiences: 

• One older and more likely to see movies during the day 

• One younger and more likely to go at night 

• But both audiences are avid moviegoers and both are predominantly 

women. 

This leads us to ask the question: 

Should studios shift some of their resources to targeting women 

in order to increase box office success? 

It is well known that women are responsible for making many 

household financial decisions, and across the cinema chains that 

participate in Movio Media, 60 percent of the loyalty-card holders 

are women. In addition, they are primarily responsible for introducing 

children to the cinema, as women make up 57 percent of the 

animated-film audience. Further analysis of the financial information 

that we’ve collected shows that of the 203 movies for which we 

could find financial data, 45 had an audience that was more than 

60 percent men, while 40 had an audience that was greater than 60 

percent women. 

The male-dominated films had an average budget of $81million, an 

average domestic gross of $66 million, and an average worldwide gross 

of $209 million, for an average gross-to-budget ratio of 2.3, whereas 

the female-dominated films had an average budget of $25 million, an 

average domestic gross of $55 million, and an average worldwide gross 

of $106 million, for an average gross-to-budget ratio of 5.1. 

This trend is true even when we consider blockbusters, with 

the male-focused superhero subcluster generating an average global 

gross-to-budget ratio of 2.9, while the female-focused action subcluster 

centered on the Hunger Games franchise returned an average 

gross-to-budget ratio of 4.4. This suggests that a shift in focus toward 

producing and marketing films to women could pay off not only in 

incremental box office, but in blockbuster returns as well. n 

A comparison of the 

financial performance 

of movies appealing to 

predominantly male or 

female audiences. 


COMING SOON IN 3D 

THE PEANUTS MOVIE 

NOV. 6 · FOX 

CAST Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller 

DIR Steve Marino 

GENRE Ani/Com/Fam 

SPECS 3D/Dolby Atmos 

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY—PART 2 

NOV. 20 · LIONSGATE 

CAST Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson 

DIR Francis Lawrence 

GENRE Act/Adv/SF 

SPECS 3D/IMAX/Dolby Atmos 

THE GOOD DINOSAUR 

NOV. 25 · DISNEY 

CAST Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright 

DIR Peter Sohn 


SPECS 3D/Quad 

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 

DEC. 11 · WARNER BROS. 

CAST Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker 

DIR Ron Howard 

GENRE Adv/Dra 


STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 

DEC. 18 · DISNEY 

CAST Daisy Ridley, John Boyega 

DIR J.J. Abrams 

GENRE Act/Adv/SF 


POINT BREAK 

DEC. 25 · WARNER BROS. 

CAST Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey 

DIR Ericson Core 

GENRE Act/Thr 

SPECS 3D/Dolby Dig 

KUNG FU PANDA 3 

JAN. 29 · FOX/DREAMWORKS ANIMATION 

CAST Jack Black, Angelina Jolie 

DIR Jennifer Yuh, Alessandro Carloni 



THE FINEST HOURS 

JAN. 29 · DISNEY 

CAST Chris Pine, Casey Affleck 

DIR Craig Gillespie 

GENRE Dra/Thr 

SPECS 3D/IMAX/Dolby Dig 

ZOOTOPIA 

MAR. 4 · DISNEY 

CAST Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin 

DIR Byron Howard, Rich Moore 

GENRE Ani/Adv/Fam 



ALSO UPCOMING IN 3D 

2016 

APR 15 DISNEY THE JUNGLE BOOK 

APR 29 DISNEY/IMAX A BEAUTIFUL PLANET 

APR 29 FOCUS / GRAMERCY RATCHET & CLANK 

MAY 6 DISNEY CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR 

MAY 20 SONY/COLUMBIA THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 

MAY 27 DISNEY ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS 

JUN 10 UNIVERSAL WARCRAFT 

JUN 17 DISNEY FINDING DORY 

JUN 24 FOX INDEPENDENCE DAY RESURGENCE 

JUL 1 WARNER BROS. TARZAN 

JUL 8 UNIVERSAL THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 

JUL 22 FOX ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE 

JUL 22 WARNER BROS. KING ARTHUR 

AUG 5 WARNER BROS. SUICIDE SQUAD 

AUG 12 DISNEY PETE’S DRAGON 

AUG 12 UNIVERSAL SPECTRAL 

AUG 19 FOCUS FEATURES KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS 

SEP 23 WARNER BROS. STORKS 

NOV 4 DISNEY DOCTOR STRANGE 

NOV 4 FOX/DREAMWORKS ANIMATION TROLLS 

NOV 11 SONY/TRISTAR BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK 

NOV 18 WARNER BROS. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 

NOV 23 DISNEY MOANA 

NOV 23 UNIVERSAL THE GREAT WALL 

DEC 16 DISNEY ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY 

2017 

JAN 13 WARNER BROS. GEOSTORM 

FEB 10 WARNER BROS. THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE 

MAR 10 FOX/DREAMWORKS ANIMATION BOSS BABY 

MAR 10 WARNER BROS. KONG: SKULL ISLAND 

MAR 17 DISNEY BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 

MAR 31 DISNEY/DREAMWORKS GHOST IN THE SHELL 

MAR 31 SONY/COLUMBIA GET SMURFY 

APR 7 FOX FERDINAND 

MAY 5 DISNEY GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2 

MAY 26 DISNEY STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII 

JUN 16 DISNEY CARS 3 

JUL 7 

DISNEY 

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: 

DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES 

JUL 28 SONY/COLUMBIA UNTITLED SPIDER-MAN FILM 

SEP 22 WARNER BROS. THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE 

OCT 6 WARNER BROS. JUNGLE BOOK: ORIGINS 

NOV. 3 DISNEY THOR: RAGNAROK 

NOV 22 DISNEY COCO 

DEC 22 FOX/DREAMWORKS ANIMATION THE CROODS 2 

2018 

FEB 9 WARNER BROS. UNTITLED WARNER ANIMATION PROJECT 

FEB 16 DISNEY BLACK PANTHER 

FEB 16 FOX/DREAMWORKS ANIMATION LARRIKINS 

MAR 9 DISNEY GIGANTIC 

MAR 23 FOX ANUBIS 

MAY 4 DISNEY AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART I 

MAY 18 WARNER BROS. THE LEGO MOVIE SEQUEL 

MAY 25 DISNEY UNTITLED HAN SOLO PROJECT 

JUN 15 DISNEY TOY STORY 4 

JUN 29 FOX/DREAMWORKS ANIMATION HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3 

JUL 6 DISNEY ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 

NOV 21 DISNEY UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION FILM 1 

2019 

MAR 8 DISNEY CAPTAIN MARVEL 

MAY 3 DISNEY AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART II 

JUN 21 DISNEY THE INCREDIBLES 2 

JUL 12 DISNEY INHUMANS 


2020 

MAR 13 DISNEY UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION FILM 1 

JUN 19 DISNEY UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION FILM 2 



BEHIND THE SCENES 

PIXAR’S LONG ROAD TO 


By Shawn Robbins 

Early 

design for 

caveboy 

Spot 

n Pixar wouldn’t be Pixar if it didn’t 

continually challenge itself. That’s 

exactly what the venerable studio 

is doing by releasing two films 

in the same calendar year in 

2015, the first time they’ve 

ever attempted such a feat. 

Following summer’s beloved 

Inside Out, their attention 

has now shifted to The Good 

Dinosaur—a project with great 

potential from the outset, but 

one that the world almost didn’t 

get to see. 

If the title sounds familiar, it’s 

because The Good Dinosaur has been in the 

works since 2009. Even for animation, 

that’s an unusually long gestation period 

(something director Peter Sohn himself 

admits upfront). When the project wasn’t 

quite jelling a few years ago, Sohn, with 

his experience working as an animator 

on Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, 

WALL-E, Brave, and Ratatouille—and as writer 

and director of the studio’s 2009 short film Partly 

Cloudy—was tapped to “refocus and simplify” the 

film. He took over the reins as director in 2013, 

setting out to give the story a new voice. 

Sohn specifically credits his work on Pixar veteran 

Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant with preparing him for 

The Good Dinosaur. The 1999 hand-drawn animated 

film, which unfortunately never found much commercial 

success, won over critics and has an enduring 

legion of fans to this day. “That experience taught me 

a lot about priorities. Because that movie didn’t have 

a lot of money, it was always about trying to do whatever 

idea is the best. It can come from anywhere—if 

you’re hungry, you get the work.” 

Sohn’s admiration for Pixar is underscored by 

the fact that “the executives are all filmmakers, and 

they’ve all been on that journey.” Having the trust 

and support from producers who felt like family, 

Sohn says, allowed him and his team to approach the 

project with confidence and a fresh perspective. 

Andrew Stanton, director of Finding Nemo and 

WALL-E, impressed upon Sohn the difficulty of 


developing a story. He said, “Try and fail as fast as 

you can,” Sohn recalls. “When you follow the whatifs 

and they don’t pan out, reinvest your heart into 

something else and keep going.” 

Sohn, who grew up working in his dad’s grocery 

shop, says family is very important to him, and The 

Good Dinosaur has evolved around that value. He 

adds that he’s always loved family-centric movies; he 

includes the films of David Lean and Steven Spielberg 

among his influences. 

Refusing to let a great concept falter, and working 

in a place where ambition and creative freedom are 

both encouraged and practically required, Sohn and his 

team did what Pixar tends to do best: work minor miracles. 

By all accounts, it was his and his team’s passionate 

drive that willed the final product into existence. 

The movie’s concept is more than just another 

family-themed narrative from the animation giant. At 

its heart The Good Dinosaur is a classic boy-and-hisdog 

tale—except they’ve turned it on its head. In a 

reversal of the genre, a young and adorably vulnerable 

Apatosaurus named Arlo is cast in the traditional 

boy’s role. When he’s separated from his family, he 

must learn how to navigate the frontier world of the 

dinosaurs in his trek to reunite with them. In the 

process, he encounters a human boy named Spot who 

has no family but knows how to survive on his own 

in the wild. Together, their journey begins. 

Along with the usual one-two punch of heart and 

humor that we’ve come to know, love, and expect 

from Pixar projects, the studio has set new benchmarks 

in animation throughout production. For 

example, by using United States Geographical Survey 

data and Google Earth, the art department created 

digital sets more complex than anything they’d 

attempted previously. Sets Supervisor David Munier 

boasts, “You can see as far as 50 miles out in the 

background of certain scenes.” 

Those USGS surveys were based on locations 

in the northwestern United States, and Sohn and 

his team spent time in the wilderness themselves to 

research what would become the setting of the film 

in an alternative past. (The premise of the film: What 

if a giant meteor never killed Earth’s dinosaurs?) 

From braving rapids to hiking, horseback riding, and 

exploring the vast landscapes of the tranquil Grand 

Teton National Park in Wyoming, the crew gained a 

firsthand experience of what Arlo and Spot’s arduous 

adventure might look and feel like. 

One particular and crucial scene early in the film 

depicts Arlo caught up in a strong river current. 

One trick they used to aid the virtual workload was 

to recycle and relight certain renderings of flowing 

water. Effects Supervisor Jon Reisch loosely compared 

the method to one used in Spielberg’s Duel, 

which featured a car chase spanning far more than 

the simple mile or two of road they actually used and 

continually repurposed to shoot on. 

He further explained that “getting water right is re- 

(continued on page xx) 

Bronx-born Peter Sohn, 

director of The Good 

Dinosaur, was the model 

for Russell, the young 

Wilderness Explorer who 

travels in a flying house 

with Carl Fredricksen in 

Pixar’s UP. 


BEHIND THE SCENES > THE GOOD DINOSAUR 

SECRET SAUCE 

HOW TO MAKE A PIXAR FILM 

Storyboards are drawn by story artists for the purpose of pre-visualizing 

the film and to convey a rough sense of how the story unfolds. 

This storyboard, from a sequence called “Above the Clouds,” 

is one of approximately 154,061 boards drawn for the film, of which 

87,748 were delivered to the Editorial team. 

Once the storyline for a sequence is completed, concept art is 

created by the Production Designer and Art department to determine 

the look and feel of the film. This storyboard showcases the 

exploration of color, light and the design of new characters and 

environments. 

Using art reference for guidance, the basic environments needed 

for a shot are translated into the computer by the sets department 

during what’s called the modeling process. The Sets team for The 

Good Dinosaur used data from the U.S. Geological Survey to inform 

much of their work and help to create 360° sets. Once the set for 

a scene is built, it then needs to be “dressed,” which is where the 

Shading team comes in. Technical artist use a combination of painting, 

programming and photo reference, to apply textures, colors, 

patterns and other material properties to the sets, giving them 

complexity and appeal. This is a wireframe image of one of the 

landscape environments, showing the underlying modeling. 

Once the storyline for a sequence is completed, the scene is created 

in the computer. This frame shows the phase known as Layout, 

in which a virtual camera is placed into a shot. Once the camera has 

been placed, the characters and set are then “staged” or placed 

into positions that work visually within the chosen camera angle. 

The look of the set is simplified during this phase, but is then seen 

fully built in the next stage of production. Layout precedes character 

animation. 

After the Layout team has completed their work, the characters 

are animated and brought to life by the Animation department. 

Animators create the personality and “acting” of the characters. 

Any secondary motion such as hair, fur, or feathers is added by the 

Simulation department, and this simulation allows the hair or fur to 

move naturally with a character’s movement. 

The Lighting department is responsible for integrating all of the 

elements—characters, sets, cloth and hair, and effects—into a final 

image. The lighting process involves placing virtual light sources 

into the scene to illuminate the characters and the set. Technical 

artists set up the lighting to draw the audience’s eye to story points 

and to create the correct mood in a scene. The images are then 

rendered at high resolution. For every second of the film, there are 

24 lit frames, each including over 2 million pixels. 


ally tough” in animation 

because of the density, 

physics, motion, lighting, 

and other elements 

crucial to providing 

realism. The footage they 

screened looked spectacular, 

though. Reisch 

went on to note that The 

Good Dinosaur crushed 

the studio’s previous 

record for storage of 

effects data, taking up a 

whopping 300 terabytes 

(over 300,000 gigabytes), 

or about 10 times the 

amount used on Monsters 

University. “Just the rivers 

themselves are bigger 

than the entirety of Cars 

2 with all the characters, 

environments, and 

effects.” 

Pushing new technical 

boundaries allowed 

the creators to build 

a massive set to play in. Virtual location scouting 

provided a wealth of settings ranging from breathtaking 

and beautiful to mysterious and dangerous. The 

result appears to be the widest visual scope yet for 

Pixar, with the team repeatedly mentioning that only 

Brave has come anywhere close. 

The expansion of the team’s digital playground 

turned out to be a boon to the storytelling too. “In 

the past, we would only linger on shots every so often. 

Here, Peter wanted the scenery to be a character itself,” 

says Story Supervisor Kelsey Mann. Because the plot 

revolves around Arlo’s emotional and physical struggles 

against nature, the marriage of his journey with Pixar’s 

biggest canvas to date is a match made in heaven. 

Mann and screenwriter Meg LaFauve, both of 

whom have previous experience on Pixar films, joined 

the project shortly after Sohn was named director. 

“We were both fresh eyes coming in,” says LaFauve. 

Although there was need for an expedited production 

schedule at that point, both view it as a benefit to the 

movie’s development. “The fast pace created a lot of 

camaraderie,” she says. 

Reflecting on some of the broader enhancements 

they brought to the story, Mann adds, “We were 

building a mood; a quiet and poetic way to tell the 

story was a big change.” 

LaFauve adds, “The immersive feeling is probably 

the biggest change. It used to be a quest movie, and 

now it’s a ‘get home’ movie. It became more able to 

focus on the relationship of these two boys.” 

“There were a lot of discussions about Arlo and 

who he is,” LaFauve continues. “We had to layer 

him up because you can’t just say ‘he’s afraid’ or ‘he’s 

incapable.’ That only goes so far. It has to also become 

about ‘what does he want?’ Yes, he wants to get 

home, but what does he want as a boy? Part of why 

he’s going on this journey is to grow up and become 

that man he wants to become, but it’s also because 

he’s been wounded, and at this age he can’t find the 

psychological or emotional way to come to terms 

with it. So this ‘dog’ comes into his life to help him 

open his heart again.” 

The team’s respect for Peter Sohn was another 

recurring theme in our conversations. Discussing the 

process of storyboarding with a roomful of writers, 

editors, and animators, Mann stresses that “when you 

really love something, you give it your all. It’s a vulnerable 

state to be in, especially when you’re working 

in an environment like this, because you’re reworking 

it over and over. It’s hard not to have your heart 

broken, but you have to put yourself in it to make a 

great film. Pete allowed that kind of safe environment 

to bring yourself—every fiber of your being—into 

what you do. It was a fantastic way to work.” 

Pixar has never shied away from heart, humor, or 

ambition—the recipe of their undeniably winning 

formula—and the time and effort it took to achieve 

those things come across in early footage. With its 

depth of visual scope and genre twisting, both driven 

first and foremost by the story, The Good Dinosaur 

looks to hold up the studio’s revered cinematic 

reputation while simultaneously introducing us to 

yet another talented young feature director with the 

ability to harness a creative vision. 

Indeed, the long wait for Pixar’s 16th film in 20 

years looks to be well worth it. 

The Good Dinosaur is in theaters November 25, 

2015. n 

Pixar’s Sanjay’s Super 

Team is about a firstgeneration 

Indian- 

American boy whose love 

of western pop culture 

comes into conflict with 

his father’s traditions. He 

embarks on a journey he 

never imagined, returning 

with a new perspective 

they can both embrace. 

Directed by Sanjay Patel, 

the new short opens 

in front of The Good 

Dinosaur on Nov. 25. 


TIMECODE 

THE 

ROCKY 

SAGA 

I THINK WE 

MAKE A 

SHARP 

COUPLE OF 

COCONUTS— 

I’M DUMB, 

YOU’RE SHY, 

WHADDYA 

THINK, HUH? 

ROCKY 1976 


Before pay-per-view ruined boxing—and we can argue about that another time—the most famous man on earth 

was Muhammad Ali. There was no corner of the globe—and we can argue why globes have corners another 

time—where “The Greatest” wasn’t known. His face was the most recognizable face worldwide, right alongside 

that of Mickey Mouse. 

by Kenneth James Bacon 

On March 9, 1971, I skipped class with some 

mates to listen to the first fight between Ali and 

World Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier. Boxing 

fans will tell me that the fight was on the evening of 

March 8, a Monday, at New York’s Madison Square 

Garden. True—but I was listening to the fight 9,000 

miles away in Nelson, New Zealand, behind Nayland 

College’s gymnasium, where it was already Tuesday 

afternoon. Yes, I am from the future 

Ali was coming back from a four-year suspension 

stemming from his refusal to be inducted into the U.S. 

Army to fight in Vietnam. As he stated at the time, 

“I ain’t got nothing against no Vietcong; no Vietcong 

never called me n-----.” Earlier, two boxing associations 

stripped him of his titles for joining the Nation 

of Islam (when he changed his birth name from 

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.). 

After just two fights, victories against “Irish” Jerry 

Quarry and Argentinian Oscar Bonavena, Ali was 

both beloved and hated as he prepared to fight the 

bruising undefeated champion Joe Frazier. Madison 

Square Garden was a hectic and electric venue for 

what was billed as “The Fight of the Century.” It was 

such a carnival atmosphere, actor and former circus 

acrobat Burt Lancaster was the color commentator. 

Famed Playboy artist LeRoy Neiman sat ringside and 

illustrated the fight as it unfolded (Neiman recreates 

this in Rocky III). 

The fight lived up to the hype as the two exchanged 

tremendous blows—Ali hit the canvas twice—and at 

the conclusion of the 15-round slugfest, Frazier won 

in a unanimous decision. As an Ali fan—we all were 

(continued on page 43) 

WHAT WE SAID ABOUT ROCKY > Fight pictures being rare, Rocky succeeds as an offbeat entry by 

combining a Cinderella story with a rich character study of a man who boxes because he doesn’t know 

much else. Sylvester Stallone, who stars in his own original screenplay and choreographed the bouts, is 

being named for Oscar consideration. Dumb but basically decent, Rocky really can’t hurt anyone unless 

provoked. By a fluke, he is matched with the heavyweight champion (Carl Weathers in a variation on 

Muhammad Ali). The acting is generally fine and Stallone and Burgess Meredith are superb. One of the 

oldest plot devices in films, that of the plain-looking girl who becomes a beauty, also works: in the case 

of female lead Talia Shire, it’s something audiences will be quite willing to believe. John G. Avildsen’s 

direction is sharp and plays the satiric ingredients, as well as the more poignant qualities, to maximum 

effect. The Irwin Winkler–Robert Chartoff production has several original songs in the score by Bill 

Conti. The character of Rocky and the host of Italian characters, some played by non-Italians, will take a 

bit of time to accept. Once past that, audiences will undoubtedly be touting Sylvester (Sly) Stallone as a 

new star.—Nov. 22, 1976, BoxOffice 

Writer/director Ryan 

Coogler (Fruitvale 

Station) helms this 

month’s Creed, which 

stars Michael B. 

Jordan (above with 

Sly Stallone’s iconic 

Rocky Balboa) as 

the orphaned son of 

former champ Apollo 

Creed. 


TIMECODE > THE ROCKY SAGA 

I JUST GOT 

ONE THING 

TO SAY…TO 

MY WIFE AT 

HOME: 

YO, ADRIAN! 

I DID IT! 

ROCKY II 1979 

JOHN G. AVILDSEN DESCRIBES ROCKY 

AS A CLASSIC CAPRA-TYPE PICTURE 

by Ralph Kaminskey / Boxoffice Magazine 

Dec. 20, 1976 

John G. Avildsen, director of United Artists’ Rocky, says 

he found the experience “very satisfying and somewhat 

surprising” when preview audiences stood up and cheered his 

picture and began predicting long before the feature opened 

in New York that it would be a leading contender for Academy 

Award nominations. But contemplating the predictions of 

future glory and the anticipation that Rocky could be “the 

sleeper of the year,” Avildsen said, “It’s still hard to get used 

to the feeling.” He knew he had the basics for a good picture 

when he first read the script, Avildsen acknowledged. “I said, 

‘Let’s do it.’ I opted for it right 

after reading it,” he commented. 

“I realized it was a classic Frank 

Capra–type story. Rocky has a 

big boxing sequence, but boxing 

is just about the dumbest thing 

in the world—and I saw this as a 

sensitive story about a man who 

is not exactly what you would call 

a winner.” The script by Sylvester 

Stallone also captured the minds 

of producers Robert Chartoff and 

Irwin Winkler, who mortgaged 

their homes to put up cash as a 

completion bond, risking personal 

loss if Avildsen went over budget. 

Even before the picture opened to 

Boxoffice Magazine 

Feb. 28, 1977 

the public, it had become a wellpublicized 

story how Stallone, an 

actor whose career had gone nowhere, wrote the script with 

the hope that he could play the lead role. “He was a starving 

actor who was going from the unknown to oblivion,” Avildsen 

observed. But when United Artists offered him a substantial 

sum for the script—but indicated they wanted a “name” star in 

the lead, Stallone held out for the acting job, even if it meant 

a sizable cut in his script fee. UA finally went along with the 

young actor and approved a $1 million budget for the project. 

With the production Avildsen added to his existing reputation 

for bringing in films under budget. He spent only $960,000 

on the picture. Previously he had made the well-received 

Joe; Save the Tiger, which won Jack Lemmon an Academy 

Award; Cry Uncle; and W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings with 

Burt Reynolds. Working with an actor who had written his own 

script proved to be a happy collaboration. Avildsen stated, 

“We were able to shape the story, to bring out things just 

because the actor and the writer were there on the scene in 

one person who understood what a scene needed. We were 

able to bounce ideas off each other. And Stallone showed 

himself to have a deep sensitivity for the part he was playing.” 

Stallone worked three months on the final climactic fight scene 

in which Rocky fights Carl Weathers for the world heavyweight 

championship. He and Weathers choreographed every blow 

and, finally, to make sure it worked, Stallone took Avildsen’s 

advice and wrote out each move and each punch, with the 

result that the fight probably will be regarded as one of the 

most authentic boxing matches ever filmed. Avildsen is quick 

to admit that Frank Capra is his hero and he is “very gratified” 

that people are comparing Rocky to Capra’s films. Rocky is a 

film in which a common man finally triumphs over the universal 

human experiences in life—happiness, fear, loneliness, and 

love—projecting a keen sense of personal values. n 


in my school days—I was as upset with the result as 

I would be decades later, when my beloved Seahawks 

would call a bonehead play in the Super … well, let’s 

not get into that. 

Ali won the rematch three years later in a non-title 

bout at the Garden. In the rubber match, the Thrilla in 

Manilla on the morning of October 1, 1975, Ali won 

when Frazier’s corner wouldn’t let him come out for 

the 15th round, so battered was he. Ali later said it was 

the closest he ever came to dying. It is this fight that 

appears to be the model for the ferocious battle between 

Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed (Creed: “Ain’t 

gonna be no rematch.” Rocky: “Don’t want one.”). 

I was a university student for this fight in Dunedin, 

N.Z., and though we had a small television, we got no 

reception—the radio once again was our salvation. 

In 1976, after finishing my final year at the University 

of Otago, I traveled to the U.S., the first leg of 

a planned trip to watch some track and field friends 

compete in the Montreal Olympics. (I would be 

sitting in the stands—as a high jumper the only thing 

I could reliably clear was my throat.) My parents lived 

in Corvallis, Oregon, where I had spent my elementary 

school years, so some free meals were on my mind 

when I stopped in for a week or two prior to what was 

going to be a thumb-assisted trek to Montreal. (Why 

I never got there is a story I’ll tell after you buy me 

drinks at CinemaCon 2016.) 

On Corvallis’s Second Street, next to the Hotel 

Julien apartments, sits the Majestic Theatre, now a 

venue for live productions, but when I was a little kid 

it was known as the Varsity, a movie house. Two other 

theaters existed in this college town (Go Beavers!) at 

the time, The State (now a parking lot) and the Whiteside 

(now listed on the National Register of Historic 

Places). I saw one of my favorite movies, Jason and the 

Argonauts, at the Whiteside in 1963, some years before 

our family moved to New Zealand. But I never saw a 

movie at the Varsity—my memory was that it showed 

Fellini and Visconti films where my tastes were more 

Hammer horror and Harryhausen monsters. 

Several months after my return to the U.S. in 

1976, I got a job at a Corvallis bookstore that had a 

huge magazine rack. Magazines! I love magazines. I designed 

the one you’re holding. And I specifically recall 

paging through the Time and Newsweek movie reviews 

every week while I sold a metric ton of Harlequin 

romance novels to housewives. In a December issue, 

Time’s Richard Schickel—who’s still at it at 82—wrote 

a review called “The Contender,” about a little boxing 

movie titled Rocky starring and written by a young 

(29) unknown actor, Sylvester Stallone. Review in 

hand, I asked my mother if she wanted to see it: it was 

playing at the Varsity. So rather than take an Oregon 

State coed to Rocky, like any normal 22-year-old with a 

sexy accent, I took my mum. 

There have been six Rocky movies (and a highly 

regarded Broadway musical). In this month’s Creed, 

Stallone plays Rocky for the seventh time. So iconic 

is the character that you can shout “yo, Adrian” to 

anyone from Singapore to Sydney, and they’ll know. 

But in 1976, the same year as All the President’s Men, 

Network, and Taxi Driver, the miniscule-budgeted 

Rocky was a colossal hit and was nominated for 10 

Oscars (winning three, including Best Picture). It’s 

difficult to get modern audiences to really grasp the 

initial reaction to the film. At the Varsity that December 

evening, my mother and I sat near the back—the 

small theater was packed—when the curtain opened 

(remember them?) and without trailers Bill Conti’s 

opening fanfare exploded from the screen. Great 

movie—funny and rather schmaltzy, underplayed by 

everyone except Burgess Meredith and Burt Young 

(both Oscar nominated). But the fight—I haven’t been 

to a film since that has had the impact of the final 12 

minutes of Rocky.* The crowd we saw it with could not 

stay in their seats. They were as invested in it as we had 

been as boys, ruining our school uniforms by sitting 

in the grass with a transistor radio and screaming for 

Ali to throw another haymaker. The 1975 Ali–Chuck 

Wepner fight was clearly the model for the story. 

Wepner, derisively called the Bayonne Bleeder, was a 

relatively unknown boxer who had lost several fights 

to high-profile heavyweights like George Forman and 

an aging Sonny Liston and was given a shot at the title 

by the flamboyant and confident Ali. Wepner floored 

Ali in the ninth round in front of a stunned Cleveland 

crowd. Ali recovered and hammered the former 

bouncer into submission in the 15th round to retain 

the title. 

As we were going to press, I rewatched 

Rocky I through V—in a single day 

(don’t do that). I had forgotten 

that each takes place immediately 

after the previous entry, 

even repeating the last five or 

so minutes at the beginning of 

each new film. Some YouTuber 

has probably made a nine-hour 

supercut. 

I only went to the movies 

with my mother one 

more time, the following 

year, when 

after seeing Close 

Encounters of the 

Third Kind I ran to 

my parents’ home 

and told her she 

had to see it—right 

now. A decade ago 

I took a date to the 

Seattle Symphony 

to see Oscar-winning 

composer Bill Conti 

(The Right Stuff) conduct 

the orchestra in some of 

his famous film themes. 

Which do you think they 

performed first? n 

*The Death Star trench run by Luke Skywalker the following year comes close. 

I DON’T HATE 

BALBOA. 

I PITY DA 

FOOL. 

ROCKY III 1982 



I CAN NOT BE 

DEFEATED. 

I BEAT 

ALL MAN. 

SOMEDAY, 

I WILL BEAT 

A REAL 

CHAMPION. 

IF HE DIES, 

HE DIES. 

ROCKY IV 1985 

Boxoffice Magazine 

November, 1985 

BoxOffice Review (Feb. 1986): Rocky IV is a sensitive study of human 

relationships subtly related through thoughtful scenes of … just kidding. It doesn’t 

matter what we or anyone else says in print, because Rocky IV was destined to 

be a hit long before it ever hit the screen. The series may have long ago lost its 

charm, and Sylvester Stallone now shows every indication of having lost his sense 

of humor. But Rocky IV has a built-in audience of enormous proportions that’s 

ready to eat up this corn and violence and doesn’t care a whit that it has all the 

style and grace of a train wreck. Not the Rocky we once knew—and liked. But no 

matter how much we grouse and groan it’s still a gargantuan moneymaker. During 

its first five days it grossed an amazing $31.7 million. The movie opens with Rocky 

III’s final fight between Rocky and Mr. T (and what proves to be the movie’s first 

of umpteen montage sequences! While Rocky enjoys his semi-retirement, Apollo 

Creed (Carl Weathers) hears about a Soviet boxer named Drago (Dolph Lundgren) 

who has been turned into an invincible fighting machine by Russian sports 

technology. Apollo, who misses boxing and being the center of attention, 

challenges the giant, silent Drago and convinces Rocky to be his trainer. 

Finally, in a Las Vegas exhibition that’s introduced with showgirls, 

glitter, and a performance by none other than Mr. James Brown 

himself, Apollo meets Drago. Apollo doesn’t stand a chance, and 

after a few rounds Drago throws a blow that kills him. (Notice how 

the cast keeps getting smaller and smaller? By Rocky VII, Stallone 

should be playing a fighting hermit.) Rocky now feels he must take 

revenge for his friend’s death and face Drago in a bout, even though 

it will mean giving up his title and, most probably, his life. (Is this guy 

noble, or what?) He says goodbye to Adrian (Talia Shire) and flies 

to Russia to train, taking along Paulie (Burt Young) for low-comedy 

relief. For his training camp he chooses a remote, snow-covered farm. 

While Rocky gets in shape by chopping wood, running in the snow, 

and pulling wagons filled with stones, Drago continues to train with 

his coaches and their machines. At the bout. Rocky is all but alone as 

the rabid anti-America audience (complete with the Soviet Politburo 

and Mikhail Gorbachev, fresh from the summit) cheer for Drago 

and jeer Rocky. Rocky manages to stay in the ring and 

on his feet with Drago, despite the pummeling he 

receives. By the eighth round the audience is on 

Rocky’s side (no, it doesn’t make much sense). 

Finally Rocky wins the match. He quiets 

the cheering crowd and gives a speech 

on how our two countries can change 

for the better and live in a friendlier 

world (take that, Rambo). Probably 

only old-timers can remember back 

when Sylvester Stallone played likable 

characters and wrote charming, 

funny scripts. They were corny and 

sentimental, sure, but they were 

also unpretentious and enjoyable. 

All that’s gone now, though, as 

Stallone’s movies become louder, 

flashier, and colder and he writes 

parts for himself that are noble 

and tragic. Stallone has also 

directed and written Rocky IV 

like it was a rock video album. 

What seems like four-fifths 

of the movie is taken up with 

fast-cutting montage sequences 

that are backed up with loud, 

tuneless music (and which contain 

more extreme close-ups than a year’s worth of 60 Minutes). 

Between these sequences, which illustrate Rocky training. 

Rocky arriving in Russia, and Rocky driving a car, we have 

the quick bridges of dialogue. You can say one thing for the 

dialogue: It makes you appreciate the montages. But so what 

if Rocky IV is noisy, pretentious, and dumb and leaves you 

deaf and weak-kneed? That will mean nothing except in the 

long run, when Rocky IV is making its second $100 million 

and audiences grow tired of Rocky’s flash-and-angst. But 

until then, business should be booming.—Jimmy Summer 


THE FIGHTS OF ROCKY BALBOA 

opponent date location result round prize notes 

I 

Spider Rico Nov. 25, 1975 Philadelphia won KO 3rd $40.55* Rocky’s 64th bout 

Apollo Creed July 4, 1976 Philadelphia lost 

split 

15th 

$150,000 

World Heavyweight 

Championship 

II Apollo Creed Nov. 22, 1979 Philadelphia won KO 15th 


Championship 

Six title defenses 

including: Joe Czak, Big 

Yank Ball, and an unnamed 

German champion 

1979–1982 

New York, Las Vegas, 

London 

6 wins KO 


Championship 

III 

Thunderlips (wrestler) 1982 Philadelphia draw 1st 

charity 

match 

$75,00 raised for youth 

club 

Clubber Lang 1982 Philadelphia lost 

KO 

2nd 


Championship 

Clubber Lang 1982 New York 

KO 

3rd 


Championship 

Apollo Creed 1982 Philadelphia unknown held in secret 

IV Ivan Drago 1985 Moscow won 

KO 

15th 

Prior to this fight, Apollo 

Creed is killed in the ring 

by Drago 

V Tommy “Machine” Gunn 1990 Philadelphia won KO 

RB 

Mason “The Line” Dixon 2006 ESPN won 

Mason “The Line” Dixon 2006 Las Vegas lost 

KO 

11th 

split 

15th 

charity 

match 

bare knuckle 

street fight 

computer simulation 

exhibition 

*after deduction of $24.45 in expenses 

OCTOBER 2015 BoxOffice ® Pro 45 



SO, WHEN 

I SEE YOU 

HAVING 

ALL THESE 

THINGS THAT 

I DIDN’T HAVE, 

I, LIKE, LIVE 

THROUGH 

YOUR EYES. 

I ENJOY IT 

A LITTLE 

BIT. IT’S LIKE 

HAVING IT ALL 

OVER AGAIN. 

ROCKY V 1990 

BLAST FROM THE PAST 2006 

STILL ROCKY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS 

Stallone at 60: He’s older, wiser and—contrary to his wife’s 

advice—battled time and tide to bring Rocky back into the ring 

for a sixth bout. 

By Kim Williamson (BoxOffice Dec. 2006) 

It’s an early winter morning and Rocky Balboa wakes alone, surrounded by 

the hour’s natural yet unsettling blue light. By his bedside is an old blackand-white 

picture of his dead wife, Adrian. For pets he has two turtles, floating 

down in their brine. In the kitchen, he opens a pane and pours cereal for birds 

into a window planter; the fowl don’t even pay him the respect of showing up. 

In the backyard of his rundown house there’s a chinning bar; coat on, Rocky 

steps into the cold and manages all of five reps. He stops, and looks at the bar. 

He is, one might say, a mook with memories. Rocky’s unease only increases when 

he travels from South Philadelphia to the impressive office building where his son, 

Rocky Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia), works. People in tailored attire pass the one-time 

heavyweight champion of the world, hanging to the side; a few call out hellos, 

knowing who he is, and he, dressed in workingman’s garb, tries to respond in 

kind. His conversation with his son is stressful; Rocky wants them to get together, 

his son seems eager to get away. But, then, magic: 

Rocky goes to an open-air market, and everything changes; here he is a man 

with the people, a member of the gathering, and they are as joyful to see him as 

he is to be with them. It is, in a sense, the first championship moment of MGM’s 

Christmas release, Rocky Balboa. 

In an exclusive Boxoffice interview, the man known as Sly reveals what he 

believes is key to the character of Rocky. “He is of the people, and he has no sense 

of entitlement or superiority. Actually, he gets his power from being simplistic. I 

find that when you’re not so consumed with who you are, your own image, and 

your look and everything else, you really start to be ‘in’ the moment.” 

Sylvester Stallone, the once struggling screenwriter and actor who took a 

shot in Hollywood in the mid-1970s with a script he called Rocky, is sitting 

on a cool autumn afternoon at a patio table at the Belvedere in Beverly 

Hills' posh Peninsula Hotel. He seems energized, remembering his new film’s 

marketplace scene. “You see, he’s completely without guile. He’s ‘there’—he 

really hasn’t changed. He’s just a guy who was very tough, who could take 

it, who understood the relationship he has with pain but more the passion. 

But he didn’t flaunt it—he didn’t think of himself as any better than the 

person who’s selling a fish or flowers. And I think I was trying to get that 

there is no egoism, at all. Nothing! He is completely, like, back to where he 

started.” 

And in a key way this sixth and purportedly final film in the Rocky series 

takes Stallone back to where he started, in that this, like the original, is far 

more a deep character study than the story of a frothy fight night in Vegas. 

“I was taking a chance on that,” Stallone says. “The usual sequel formula is, 

more is better. And if you remember back to the first one there is not that 

much boxing. There really isn’t. There’s a lot of walking and talking, whatever. 

And I was wondering. Do I try to make a film for today’s sensibilities? 

Film is quicker today. Or try to harken back to the pace of the first one? And 

I think it’s important not to abandon my generation, and try to do something 

that is, mmm, ‘pandering,’ if you want. Or trying to conform. It’s not that 

kind of film—it wouldn’t ‘cut.’” 

It’s something of a surprise, even to Stallone, that Rocky Balboa exists 

at all. Box-office revenues for the later sequels—the last was 1990’s Rocky 

V—had declined compared to their predecessors, as had the tenor of the 

reviews. Although in the late 1970s Stallone had said he’d like to follow the 

career of Rocky through his 40s and 50s and even to the grave, by 2000 

Stallone was saying, “They asked me to make a new Rocky, and I was like, 

‘Well, who would I be fighting—arthritis, a slipped disc?” (Reminded of the 


quote, he laughs; “I was trying to be coy on 

the subject,” he explains.) Trouble with the 

studio over Stallone’s and MGM’s competing 

boxing reality shows in 2004 had to get 

sorted out, and a script—after a succession 

of previous attempts—had to get greenlighted. 

But perhaps the greatest hurdle 

was himself. Almost out of his 50s as he 

contemplated making the film, what could 

he expect audience reaction to be? 

“I knew that I would be, you know, 

mocked. And held up to ridicule,” Stallone 

says. His wife was “very instrumental in 

this performance”—but only in that “she 

was dead set against it. There’s a line that I 

have in the movie, that is kind of buried. 

[Rocky is asked] why are you doing [another 

fight]? He goes, ‘I’d rather do something I 

love badly than to feel bad about not doing 

something that I love. …’ 

So I am willing to take the embarrassment 

or whatever, even if it fails. But I gotta 

at least try. And that’s pretty much what 

the character is all about.” So, like Rocky, 

well past 50, he persevered, well past 50. 

“That’s all the more reason I wanted to do 

it, because I think a lot of people of that age 

feel as though they still have something to 

tell. But because of their age society automatically 

assumes that you kind of peaked 

at 40—you know, time to move on and be 

graceful, and age gracefully. That’s the word 

they use. Which means, keep your mouth 

shut and get out of the way. And I thought, 

You know, I did good. I’ve talked to people 

of my generation—they’re like kids with 

gray hair. A lot of them still have this fire in 

their gut, but there’s no forum for it, there’s 

no arena. And I thought, if 1 could tap into 

that. ...” 

The story Rocky Balboa tells taps exactly 

into that. An in-his-prime heavyweight 

fighter, Mason “The Line” Dixon (Antonio 

Tarver, from Stallone’s The Contender TV 

show), has run out of worthy opponents, 

to the great dissatisfaction of fight fans and 

the networks. After ESPN runs a segment 

on whether Dixon would have beaten 

Balboa in his prime—judgement: Rocky 

wins—Dixon’s handlers persuade the aging 

Rocky to leave behind the restaurant he now 

owns (called Adrian’s, of course) and engage 

Dixon in a low-round exhibition. Rocky, 

who has battled through the years despite 

every hurt, every sorrow, summons the inner 

courage once more to go through a final, 

formidable training gauntlet. 

“I just decided if we could somehow 

get all that stuff going on, and the disillusionment— 

God! No one prepares you for 

the beating you can get by life. 

Oh my God! It’s like stepping in 

there with Mike Tyson. Every day. 

It’s like bing! bang! boom! That’s 

why Rocky goes, ‘I never knew it 

could be so tough.’ Life outside 

the ring is what’s beating him up, 

not inside the ring. A lot of people 

feel that.” 

It’s also something of a surprise 

that a Hollywood star of Stallone’s 

caliber would be so brutally 

honest. He’s like the Rocky he 

describes when he says, “Rocky 

never stops having this [dialogue]. 

He talks so much—it’s why I’ll 

miss the character, because I’ll 

never have one like that. He just 

says it without any filter, he just 

pours out—there’s a childlike 

innocence about him. No matter 

how old he is. You know, a lot of 

people [think] that, well, it shows 

how uneducated he is or foolish 

or maybe even stupid. But it’s like, 

out of the mouth of babes.” 

Rocky Balboa is replete with 

simple words—but some of bodyblow 

power. Yet, when asked about 

an insightful 1974 quote about the 

writing art (“Modern screenwriters 

rely too much on trick 

camera styles and not enough on 

the word”), Stallone sighs; it was 

another real-life hurt. “Sometimes 

I talk out of turn. ‘Who is this 

fledgling guy who just happened 

to get a little bit of traction—all 

of a sudden he’s [preaching] to 

the Writers Guild.’ Those are the 

kind of quotes that … created a 

‘Stallone’s ego is out of hand’ [impression]. 

Sometimes it’s better just to say something 

very generic.” 

Which, in a way, Stallone does in his 

Rocky Balboa script: “I remember when she 

was standing there” (recalling a long-ago 

moment with Adrian); “the last thing to 

age on somebody is your heart”; about his 

inner drive, that makes him want to be 

“standing toe to toe, saying, ‘I am.’” It’s all 

simple language, but when spoken—thanks 

to Stallone’s no-holds performance, to carefully 

considered lensing, and to everyone’s 

knowledge of the history of the man named 

Rocky—the language of Rocky Balboa can 

be breathtaking—or heartbreaking. Clearly, 

it came out of his soul, deep in his justturned-60-year-old 

body. To which, during 

the interview, he points: “This is all weather; 

LOTTA PEOPLE 

COME TO VEGAS 

TO LOSE … 

I DIDN’T. 

ROCKY BALBOA 2006 

this has been exposed to the elements. [But] 

inside there—you don’t know what beats 

inside the chest.” 

Stallone has a final surprise. As much as 

he is identified with Rocky, the filmmaker—who 

next moves on to a fourth take 

on Rambo—says he himself is on to a new 

personal persona. 

Thanks to Rocky Balboa, he’s been “able 

to get one more opportunity to let it out. 

Just like Rocky: To let it out. So, to me, the 

beast is out. 

“We’re still carrying a lot of bags, but we 

also bought a new bag. And I’m at the best 

place I’ve been in my life. You know: happy 

wife, happy life. Great children. And I’m doing 

something I think—I know—I should 

have been doing many, many years ago. 

Which is just telling stories.” n 


THE 33 

November 13 

n The 33 is a Spanish-language film based 

on the true story of the 2010 Chilean mining 

disaster. Antonio Banderas portrays Mario 

“Super Mario” Sepúlveda, the public face 

of the accident, who sent daily videos to the 

rescue team to keep them informed about 

the miners’ situation. The 33 was released 

throughout Latin America in August, and its 

$1.6M opening weekend in Chile was the 

second biggest opening ever for a local film. 

DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. Pictures 

CAST Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, 

Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, 

Lou Diamond Phillips, Mario Casas, 

Adriana Barraza, Kate del Castillo, Cote 

de Pablo, Bob Gunton, Gabriel Byrne 

WRITERS Mike Medavoy, Craig Borten, 

Michael Thomas DIRECTOR Patricia Riggen 

GENRE Drama RATING PG-13 for a 

disaster sequence and some language 

RUNNING TIME 120 min. 

FILM CAPSULES BY JONATHAN PAPISH 

BY THE SEA 


n Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt play an American 

couple who travel throughout France during 

the mid-1970s in a last-ditch effort to save their 

crumbling marriage. This is the first onscreen collaboration 

between the real-life husband and wife 

in a decade, since Mr. & Mrs. Smith ($186.3M). 

By the Sea is Jolie’s third directorial effort after In 

the Land of Blood and Honey ($1.2M) and Unbroken 

($115.6M). 

LOVE THE COOPERS 


n National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Pieces of April, The Family Stone—it ain’t the 

holiday season without a movie about a dysfunctional family putting aside their hangups 

for a nice Christmas Day ham. This particular ham, however, looks to be drenched 

in honey, with Diane Keaton as the cloying matriarch bemoaning in the trailer, “Why 

can’t everyone just get along?” 

DISTRIBUTOR CBS Films/Lionsgate CAST Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Ed Helms, 

Diane Keaton, Jake Lacy, Anthony Mackie, Amanda Seyfried, June Squibb, 

Marisa Tomei, Olivia Wilde WRITER Steven Rogers DIRECTOR Jessie Nelson 

GENRE Comedy RATING PG-13 for thematic elements, language, and some 

sexuality RUNNING TIME TBD 

DISTRIBUTOR Universal Pictures CAST Brad 

Pitt, Angelina Jolie Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, 

Niels Arestrup, Melvil Poupaud WRITER 

Angelina Jolie Pitt DIRECTOR Angelina Jolie 

Pitt GENRE Drama / Romance RATING R for 

strong sexuality, nudity, and language RUN- 

NING TIME TBD 


MY ALL-AMERICAN 


n “Hope Never Quits” is the tagline for this inspirational 

true sports story; if only the same could not be said of its tired 

genre. From Rudy to Hoosiers—both written and directed by 

My All-American’s Angelo Pizzo—there’s nothing Americans 

love more than a good old-fashioned underdog triumph. This 

one features “4-foot-nothing” Freddie Steinmark (actor Finn 

Wittrock), a high school safety whose pluck and determination 

somehow impress the coach of the mighty University of Texas 

enough to hand him a full college scholarship. Steinmark went 

on to win the national championship with the Longhorns, but 

his career was cut short by cancer at the young age of 22. 

DISTRIBUTOR Clarius Entertainment CAST Aaron Eckhart, 

Finn Wittrock, Robin Tunney, Sarah Bolger, Rett Terrell, 

Juston Street WRITER Angelo Pizzo DIRECTOR Angelo 

Pizzo GENRE Drama / Biography RATING PG for thematic 

elements, language, and brief partial nudity RUNNING TIME 

118 min. 

SECRET IN THEIR EYES 


n A remake of the 2009 Argentine film of the same 

name that went on to win the Academy Award for Best 

Foreign Language Film, Secret in Their Eyes follows two 

of the FBI’s top investigators, Ray (Chiwetel Eljiofor) 

and Jess (Julia Roberts), along with their supervisor 

Claire (Nicole Kidman), who are suddenly torn apart 

when they discover Jess’s daughter has been murdered. 

Thirteen years later, Ray has found the culprit and 

comes to Jess with evidence that can put the murderer 

away forever. Jess, on the other hand, has her own 

revenge plans. 

DISTRIBUTOR STX Entertainment CAST Chiwetel 

Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Dean 

Norris, Michael Kelly WRITER Billy Ray DIRECTOR 

Billy Ray GENRE Mystery / Thriller RATING Rated 

PG-13 for thematic material involving disturbing 

violent content, language, and some sexual 

references RUNNING TIME TBD 


ON SCREEN > NOVEMBER 

THE HUNGER GAMES: 

MOCKINGJAY - PART 2 

November 20 (3D/IMAX 3D) 

n The Hunger Games book trilogy finally comes to a close in this 

fourth and final film installment. Will Katniss Everdeen ruin 

President Snow’s perfectly coifed silver mane of hair and liberate the 

citizens of war-torn Panem? Will she end up with the interminably 

boring Peeta or the endlessly dull Gale? Stay tuned to Mockingjay: 

Part 2! 

DISTRIBUTOR Lionsgate CAST Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, 

Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, 

Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, 

Stanley Tucci, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Donald Sutherland 

WRITERS Danny Strong, Peter Craig DIRECTOR Francis 

Lawrence GENRE Adventure / Sci-Fi / War RATING PG-13 for 

intense sequences of violence and action, and for some thematic 

material RUNNING TIME 136 min. 


CREED 


n Sylvester Stallone refuses to hang up Rocky Balboa’s gloves, this 

time returning to the ring as coach to Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), 

the son of his onetime opponent-turned-friend Apollo Creed. 

Stallone last appeared as the classic Philly boxer in 2006 when he 

came out of a 16-year retirement for Rocky Balboa, which grossed 

$155.7M worldwide. The entire series has grossed more than 

$1.27B worldwide over six installments. 

DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Sylvester Stallone, Michael 

B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad WRITERS 

Ryan Coogler, Aaron Covington DIRECTOR Ryan Coogler 

GENRE Drama / Sport RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 95 min. 

THE NIGHT BEFORE 


n On the brink of contracting middle-aged-boredom syndrome, 

aka fatherhood, three childhood friends set out to find the Nutcracka 

Ball—the Christmas party to end all Christmas parties—and get 

in one last night of debauchery and general tomfoolery. Director 

Jonathan Levine reunites with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, 

who all last worked together on Levine’s 50/50, which grossed 

$39.2M in 2011. 

DISTRIBUTOR Columbia Pictures CAST Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 

Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie WRITERS Evan Goldberg, Kyle 

Hunter, Jonathan Levine, Ariel Shaffir DIRECTOR Jonathan 

Levine GENRE Comedy RATING R for drug use and language 

throughout, some strong sexual content and graphic nudity 

RUNNING TIME TBD 


November 25 (3D) 

n Pixar is back after this summer’s global hit Inside Out ($800M 

worldwide) with The Good Dinosaur, the studio’s first-ever dual 

release in a single calendar year. The film had been in the works for 

several years at Pixar when director Peter Sohn was brought in to 

replace Bob Peterson and completely revamp the plot, which now 

tells the story of a friendly herbivore named Arlo who befriends a 

human caveboy. A great piece of family counter-programming over 

the Thanksgiving holiday by Disney. 

DISTRIBUTOR Walt Disney Pictures CAST Raymond Ochoa, 

Jack Bright, Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, A.J. Buckley, Steve 

Zahn, Jeffrey Wright WRITER Meg LeFauve DIRECTOR Peter 

Sohn GENRE Animation / Adventure RATING TBD RUNNING 

TIME TBD 



VICTOR 

FRANKENSTEIN 


n The legendary tale gets a 

new twist from 20th Century 

Fox this holiday season, and 

while the title suggests the star 

to be James McAvoy’s Victor 

Frankenstein, moviegoers will 

instead see the story from the 

perspective of Victor’s laboratory 

assistant, Igor (Daniel 

Radcliffe). Paul McGuigan 

(TV’s Sherlock) directs from 

a screenplay penned by Max 

Landis (Chronicle). 

KRAMPUS 

December 4 

n Now this looks like a fun spin on the typical 

dysfunctional family Christmas film (see Love 

the Coopers). A young boy whose Christmas is 

ruined by his bickering relatives accidentally 

summons an evil Christmas spirit to the family 

home. Judging by the performance of versatile 

Adam Scott in the trailer, Universal should 

have faith that director Michael Dougherty (the 

critically acclaimed Trick ’r Treat) can pull off 

the tricky black comedy–horror-holiday hybrid 

thing he’s going for. 

DISTRIBUTOR 20th Century 

Fox CAST Daniel Radcliffe, 

James McAvoy, Jessica 

Brown Findlay, Andrew 

Scott, Charles Dance 

WRITER Max Landis 

DIRECTOR Paul McGuigan 

GENRE Drama / Horror / 

Sci-Fi RATING PG-13 for 

macabre images, violence, 

and a sequence of 

destruction RUNNING TIME 

109 min. 


December 11 (3D/IMAX3D) 

n Based on the real-life maritime disaster that inspired Herman Melville’s Moby 

Dick, Ron Howard’s film focuses on the aftermath of the mammoth whale attack 

as the ship’s surviving crew battle Mother Nature, starvation, panic, and despair. 

The film itself is adapted from Nathaniel Philbrick’s historical account about the 

loss of the whale ship Essex, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction 

in 2000. 

DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. Pictures CAST Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin 

Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson 

WRITER Charles Leavitt DIRECTOR Ron Howard GENRE Drama RATING PG-13 

for intense sequences of action and peril, brief startling violence, and 

thematic material RUNNING TIME 121 min. 

DISTRIBUTOR Universal Pictures CAST Adam 

Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, 

Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay 

Anthony, Stefania Owen, Krista Stadler 

WRITERS Todd Casey, Michael Dougherty, 

Zach Shields DIRECTOR Michael Dougherty 

GENRE Comedy / Fantasy / Horror RAT- 

ING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD 


10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE: 

THE NELLIE BLY STORY 


n Perhaps drawing inspiration from Comedy Central’s 

Drunk History, which tackled the same subject 

matter (and judging by the trailer, had better production 

values and acting), this is the true-life story of 

23-year-old reporter Nellie Bly, who feigned insanity 

to go undercover and expose the rampant corruption 

and abuse at a New York women’s insane asylum. 

Bly’s article led to the closing of the asylum, and she 

is regarded as one of the most important journalists 

in history. 

DISTRIBUTOR Café Pictures CAST Caroline Barry, 

Christopher Lambert, Julia Chantrey, Kelly 

LeBrock WRITER Timothy Hines DIRECTOR 

Timothy Hines GENRE Drama RATING Rated R for 

some disturbing content RUNNING TIME 111 min. 

INGRID BERGMAN IN 

HER OWN WORDS 

November 13 (NY) / December 11 (LA) 

n In 2011, Director Stig Björkman was approached 

by Ingrid Bergman’s daughter Isabella Rossellini 

to make a film about her mother. The result is this 

intimate, celebratory portrait of the young Swedish 

actress painted in captivating strokes through 

interviews with her children as well as Bergman’s 

own journals, pictures, and home videos. The film 

premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. 

DISTRIBUTOR Rialto Pictures WRITER Stig 

Björkman DIRECTOR Stig Björkman GENRE 

Documentary RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 114 min. 

CAROL 


n Director Todd Haynes returns 

once again to the repressed decade of 

the 1950s that he explored in 2002’s 

phenomenal Far from Heaven, this 

time tackling a lesbian love story in 

Carol. Young aspiring photographer 

Therese (Rooney Mara) falls for older 

woman Carol (Cate Blanchett), while 

her conservative husband Harge (Kyle 

Chandler) complicates matters. The film 

competed for the Palme d’Or at this 

year’s Cannes Film Festival, and Mara 

tied for the Best Actress award. 

DISTRIBUTOR The Weinstein 

Company CAST Cate Blanchett, 

Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle 

Chandler WRITER Phyllis Nagy 

DIRECTOR Todd Haynes GENRE 

Drama / Romance RATING R for a 

scene of sexuality/nudity and brief 

language RUNNING TIME 118 min. 



LEGEND 


n Mob boss Whitey Bulger of South Boston 

is getting the biopic treatment in Black Mass 

this fall, so why not Reggie and Ronnie 

Kray, two of London’s most notorious 

criminals? Brian Helgeland writes and 

directs based on the book The Profession of 

Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins, 

which follows the East Ender identical twins 

(both played by Mad Max’s Tom Hardy). 

The film opened to mixed reviews across the 

pond, where it premiered September 9 and 

grossed $9 million on its opening weekend. 

DISTRIBUTOR Universal Pictures CAST Tom 

Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, 

Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri, 

Tara Fitzgerald, Taron Egerton WRITER 

Brian Helgeland DIRECTOR Brian Helgeland 

GENRE Biography / Crime / Thriller 

RATING R for strong violence, language 

throughout, some sexual and drug material 

RUNNING TIME 131 min. 

MUSTANG 


n In their remote northern Turkish village, five orphaned teenage sisters with a 

shared common passion for freedom, life, and innocent flirting struggle with their 

community’s more traditional values of homemaking and arranged marriages. 

Mustang will represent France for this year’s Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. 

DISTRIBUTOR Cohen Media Group CAST Günes Sensoy, Doga Zeynep Doguslu, 

Elit Iscan WRITERS Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour DIRECTOR 

Deniz Gamze Ergüven GENRE Drama RATING PG-13 for mature thematic 

material, sexual content, and a rude gesture RUNNING TIME 97 min. 

THE DANISH GIRL 


n Seemingly crafted for the awards season, The 

Danish Girl follows artist couple Gerda and Einar 

Wegener (Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne) 

in 1920s-era Copenhagen. When Gerda asks her 

husband to stand in for a female model, the resulting 

portrait of “Lili” soars in popularity, and Einar begins 

to feel as if he’s trapped inside a man’s body. With the 

support of his wife, Lili becomes the first recipient 

of gender reassignment surgery (the film is based on 

a fictionalization of a true story), but will the love 

that once sustained the couple remain after Gerda no 

longer recognizes her husband? 

DISTRIBUTOR Focus Features CAST Eddie 

Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, 

Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, Matthias 

Schoenaerts WRITER Lucinda Coxon DIRECTOR 

Tom Hooper GENRE Biography / Drama RATING 

R for some sexuality and full nudity RUNNING 

TIME 120 min. 


HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT 

December 2 

n Any serious student of cinema should be familiar with the seminal 

1966 book Cinema According to Hitchcock, in which the North 

by Northwest director discusses anything and everything related to 

movies with François Truffaut. Inspired by this book, documentarian 

Kent Jones sets out to see how it has inspired legions of 

filmmakers today, including Wes Anderson, Olivier Assayas, David 

Fincher, and Martin Scorsese. Film geeks rejoice! 

DISTRIBUTOR Cohen Media Group WRITERS Emmanuel 

Leconte, Daniel Leconte DIRECTOR Kent Jones GENRE 

Documentary RATING PG-13 for suggestive material and 

violent images RUNNING TIME 90 min. 

THE LADY IN THE VAN 

December 4 

n Director Nicholas Hytner, writer Alan Bennett, and actress Maggie 

Smith reunite in this film adapted from their hit 1999 stage play of 

the same name. Based on a true story, The Lady in the Van stars Smith 

as ornery Mary Shephard, an eccentric homeless woman whom 

Bennett befriends and allows to live temporarily in his driveway in a 

parked van; she ends up staying 15 years. This crowd-pleaser would 

be a smart piece of counter-programming for the older crowd over 

the holidays. 

DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Classics CAST Maggie Smith, Alex 

Jennings WRITER Alan Bennett DIRECTOR Nicholas Hytner 

GENRE Biography / Drama RATING PG-13 for a brief unsettling 

image RUNNING TIME 104 min. 

YOUTH 

December 4 

n Italian director Paolo Sorrentino follows up his Academy 

Award–winning film The Great Beauty with this English-language 

film about a pair of aging friends vacationing in the 

Swiss Alps. Mick (Harvey Keitel), a filmmaker working on 

his next screenplay, and Fred (Michael Caine), a famous 

composer content to never pick up the baton again, reflect 

on their past and contemplate the wisdom they’ve gained 

and the loves they’ve lost. American musician Mark Kozelek 

of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters contributes his 

distinctive voice to the soundtrack and appears as himself in 

the film. 

DISTRIBUTOR Fox Searchlight Pictures CAST Michael 

Caine, Harvey Keitel, Paul Dano, Rachel Weisz, Jane 

Fonda, Mark Kozelek WRITER Paolo Sorrentino DI- 

RECTOR Paolo Sorrentino GENRE Drama RATING R for 

graphic nudity, some sexuality, and language RUNNING 

TIME 118 min. 



MACBETH 

December 4 

n A ferocious and poetic retelling 

in which director Justin Kurzel 

(Snowtown) joins the likes of Akira 

Kurosawa and Roman Polanski in 

successfully adapting Shakespeare’s 

tragedy for the big screen. Both 

Michael Fassbender and Marion 

Cotillard were praised for their 

gripping performances after the 

film premiered at this year’s Cannes 

Film Festival. This one is bound for 

Oscar nods. 

DISTRIBUTOR The Weinstein 

Company CAST Michael 

Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, 

Paddy Considine, Sean Harris, 

Jack Reynor, Elizabeth Debicki, 

David Thewlis WRITERS Todd 

Louiso, Jack Koskoff, Michael 

Lesslie DIRECTOR Justin Kurzel 

GENRE Drama / War RATING 

TBD RUNNING TIME 113 min. 

THE DARK HORSE 

December 11 

n Cliff Curtis plays the charismatic real-life New Zealand chess 

champion Genesis Potini who, despite battling his own adversity, 

finds purpose in passing on his gift and love of the game to children 

in his community. The Dark Horse nearly swept last year’s New 

Zealand Film Awards, capturing Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best 

Director, and Best Film of the year. 

DISTRIBUTOR Broad Green Pictures CAST Cliff Curtis, James 

Rolleston WRITER James Napier Robertson DIRECTOR James 

Napier Robertson GENRE Drama RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 

124 min. 

THE BIG SHORT 

December 11 / December 23 (WIDE) 

n From the best-selling nonfiction book by Hollywood-friendly 

author Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Blind Side) comes the story 

of the buildup to the world financial crisis and those who saw it 

before it happened. The Big Short follows Michael Burry (Christian 

Bale), one of the first investors to recognize the impending crisis, 

Steve Eisman (Steve Carrell), who bet against subprime mortgages, 

Gregg Lippmann (Ryan Gosling), a banker with insider knowledge, 

and Ben Hockett (Brad Pitt), another outsider who won big. 

DISTRIBUTOR Paramount Pictures CAST Christian Bale, Steve 

Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Melissa Leo WRITERS Charles 

Randolph, Adam McKay DIRECTOR Adam McKay GENRE 

Drama RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD 


FOCUS ON 

LUXURY 

SEATING 

INCLUDING 

IMMERSIVE AND 

INTERACTIVE SEATING 

UPDATE ON 

THE ASIAN 

MARKET 

Chris Hemsworth stars in 

Ron Howard’s In the Heart of 

the Sea opening Dec. 11 

BONUS DISTRIBUTION 

CineAsia DEC. 8–10, 2015

BOOKING GUIDE 

Compiled by Daniel Garris 

TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS 

DISNEY 818-560-1000 Ask for Distribution 

THE GOOD DINOSAUR Wed, 11/25/15 WIDE Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright Peter Sohn NR 

STAR WARS: THE FORCE 

AWAKENS 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

Fri, 12/18/15 WIDE Daisy Ridley, John Boyega J.J. Abrams NR Act/Adv/SF 

3D/Quad 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

THE FINEST HOURS Fri, 1/29/16 WIDE Chris Pine, Casey Affleck Craig Gillespie NR Dra/Thr 3D/IMAX/Dolby Dig 

ZOOTOPIA 

Fri, 3/4/16 WIDE 

Jason Bateman, Ginnifer 

Goodwin 

Byron Howard, Rich 

Moore 

NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D/Dolby Dig 

THE JUNGLE BOOK Fri, 4/15/16 WIDE Neel Sethi, Bill Murray Jon Favreau NR Adv/Fan/Ani 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

A BEAUTIFUL PLANET Fri, 4/29/16 LTD. Toni Myers NR Doc 3D/IMAX 

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL 

WAR 

ALICE THROUGH THE 

LOOKING GLASS 


Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. 

Anthony Russo, Joe 

Russo 

NR 

Act/Adv 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

Fri, 5/27/16 WIDE Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska James Bobin NR Adv/Fan 3D/IMAX 

FINDING DORY Fri, 6/17/16 WIDE Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks Andrew Stanton NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D/IMAX/Dolby Dig 

THE BFG Fri, 7/1/16 WIDE Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill Steven Spielberg NR Adv/Fan/Fam Dolby Dig 

PETE’S DRAGON 

Fri, 8/12/16 WIDE 

Oakes Fegley, Bryce Dallas 

Howard 

David Lowery NR Fan/Fam/Ani 3D 

DOCTOR STRANGE 

Fri, 11/4/16 WIDE 

Benedict Cumberbatch, 

Chiwetel Ejiofor 

Scott Derrickson NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX 

MOANA 

Wed, 11/23/16 WIDE 

Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne 

Johnson 

Ron Clements, John 

Musker 

NR Ani/Mus/Fam 3D 

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS 

STORY 

Fri, 12/16/16 WIDE Felicity Jones, Diego Luna Gareth Edwards NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX/Dolby Dig 

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Fri, 3/17/17 WIDE Emma Watson, Dan Stevens Bill Condon NR 

Mus/Rom/ 

Fan 

EUROPACORP FILMS, USA 310-205-0255 Ask for Distribution 

SHUT IN Fri, 2/19/16 WIDE Naomi Watts, Oliver Platt Farren Blackburn NR Thr 

NINE LIVES Fri, 4/29/16 WIDE Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner Barry Sonnenfeld NR Com 

THE LAKE 

Fri, 7/15/16 WIDE 

Sullivan Stapleton, J.K. 

Simmons 

Steven Quale NR Act/Thr 

FOCUS FEATURES 424-214-6360 

THE DANISH GIRL Fri, 11/27/15 EXCL NY/LA 

Eddie Redmayne, Alicia 

Vikander 

Tom Hooper R Dra Dolby Dig 

THE FOREST Fri, 1/8/16 WIDE Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney Jason Zada NR Hor/Thr 

RACE Fri, 2/19/16 WIDE Stephan James, Jeremy Irons Stephen Hopkins NR Dra/Sport 

LONDON HAS FALLEN Fri, 3/4/16 WIDE Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart Babak Najafi NR Act/Thr Dolby Dig 

THE YOUNG MESSIAH 

Fri, 3/11/16 WIDE 

Adam Greaves-Neal, Sara 

Lazzaro 

Cyrus Nowrasteh PG-13 Dra Dolby Dig 

RATCHET & CLANK 

KUBO AND THE TWO 

STRINGS 

A MONSTER CALLS 

FOX 310-369-1000 / 212-556-2400 

THE PEANUTS MOVIE 

Fri, 4/29/16 WIDE 

Fri, 8/19/16 WIDE 

Fri, 10/14/16 WIDE 

Fri, 11/6/15 WIDE 

James Arnold Taylor, David 

Kaye 

Art Parkinson, Matthew 

McConaughey 

Lewis MacDougall, Liam 

Neeson 

Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle 

Miller 

Jericca Cleland, Kevin 

Munroe 

PG Ani/SF/Adv 3D 

Travis Knight NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D 

J.A. Bayona NR Dra/Fan 

Steve Martino 

G 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

3D/Dolby Atmos 

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN Wed, 11/25/15 WIDE Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy Paul McGuigan PG-13 Hor/SF Dolby Dig 

ALVIN AND THE 

CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD 

CHIP 

Fri, 12/18/15 WIDE Jason Lee, Justin Long Walt Becker PG 

Com/Fam/ 

Ani 

Dolby Dig 

JOY 

Fri, 12/25/15 WIDE 

Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De 

Niro 

David O. Russell NR Com/Dra 

THE REVENANT Fri, 12/25/15 LTD. Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy Alejandro G. Iñárritu R Wes/Act/Adv Dolby Dig 

KUNG FU PANDA 3 Fri, 1/29/16 WIDE Jack Black, Angelina Jolie 

Jennifer Yuh, 

Alessandro Carloni 

NR 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

3D/Dolby Dig 



DEADPOOL 

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE 

DOOR 

Fri, 2/12/16 WIDE 

Fri, 2/26/16 MOD. 

Ryan Reynolds, Morena 

Baccarin 

Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeremy 

Sisto 

Tim Miller NR Act/Adv Dolby Dig 

Johannes Roberts NR Hor 

EDDIE THE EAGLE Fri, 4/1/16 WIDE Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman Dexter Fletcher NR 

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE 

INDEPENDENCE DAY 

RESURGENCE 

Fri, 5/27/16 WIDE 

Fri, 6/24/16 WIDE 

James McAvoy, Michael 

Fassbender 

Liam Hemsworth, Jeff 

Goldblum 

Com/Dra/ 

Sport 

Bryan Singer NR Act/Adv 

Roland Emmerich NR Act/Adv/SF 3D 

MIKE & DAVE NEED 

WEDDING DATES 

Fri, 7/8/16 WIDE Zac Efron, Adam DeVine Jake Szymanski NR Com 

ICE AGE: COLLISION 

COURSE 

Fri, 7/22/16 WIDE Ray Romano, John Leguizamo Mike Thurmeier NR 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

A CURE FOR WELLNESS Fri, 9/23/16 WIDE Dane DeHaan, Mia Goth Gore Verbinski NR Hor/Thr Dolby Dig 

GAMBIT Fri, 10/7/16 WIDE Channing Tatum, Lea Seydoux NR Act/Adv 

TROLLS 

Fri, 11/4/16 WIDE 

Anna Kendrick, Justin 

Timberlake 

Mike Mitchell 

NR 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

WHY HIM? Fri, 11/11/16 WIDE Bryan Cranston, James Franco John Hamburg NR Com 

ASSASSIN’S CREED 

Wed, 12/21/16 WIDE 

Michael Fassbender, Marion 

Cotillard 

Justin Kurzel NR Act/Adv Dolby Dig 

MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME 

FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN 

Sun, 12/25/16 WIDE Eva Green, Asa Butterfield Tim Burton NR Adv/Fan 

HIDDEN FIGURES Fri, 1/13/17 WIDE Ted Melfi NR Dra 

THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN 

US 

MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH 

CURE 

Fri, 2/10/17 WIDE 

Rosamund Pike, Charlie 

Hunnam 

Hany Abu-Assad NR Dra/Rom 

Fri, 2/17/17 WIDE Wes Ball NR SF/Thr 

WOLVERINE Fri, 3/3/17 WIDE Hugh Jackman James Mangold NR Act/Adv 

BOSS BABY Fri, 3/10/17 WIDE Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey Tom McGrath NR 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

3D 

FOX SEARCHLIGHT 212-556-2400 

BROOKLYN 

Wed, 11/4/15 LTD. 

Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall 

Gleeson 

John Crowley PG-13 Rom/Dra 

YOUTH Fri, 12/4/15 LTD. Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel Paolo Sorrentino R Dra 

DEMOLITION Fri, 4/8/16 LTD. Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts Jean-Marc Vallée R Dra/Rom Dolby Dig 

A BIGGER SPLASH Fri, 5/13/16 LTD. Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton Luca Guadagnino NR Dra/Thr 

LIONSGATE 310-309-8400 

LOVE THE COOPERS Fri, 11/13/15 WIDE John Goodman, Diane Keaton Jessie Nelson PG-13 Com/Dra 

THE HUNGER GAMES: 

MOCKINGJAY - PART 2 

Fri, 11/20/15 WIDE 

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh 

Hutcherson 

Francis Lawrence PG-13 Act/Adv/SF 

NORM OF THE NORTH Fri, 1/15/16 WIDE Rob Schneider, Ken Jeong Trevor Wall NR 

DIRTY GRANDPA Fri, 1/22/16 WIDE Zac Efron, Robert De Niro Dan Mazer NR Com 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

THE CHOICE Fri, 2/5/16 WIDE Teresa Palmer, Benjamin Walker Ross Katz PG-13 Dra/Rom 

3D 

3D 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: 

ALLEGIANT 

Fri, 3/18/16 WIDE Shailene Woodley, Theo James Robert Schwentke NR Act/Adv/SF 

GODS OF EGYPT Fri, 4/8/16 WIDE Gerard Butler, Brenton Thwaites Alex Proyas NR Act/Adv/Fan 

CRIMINAL Fri, 4/15/16 WIDE Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds Ariel Vromen NR Act/Cri/Thr 

NOW YOU SEE ME: THE 

SECOND ACT 

Fri, 6/10/16 WIDE Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg Jon M. Chu NR Cri/Thr 

LA LA LAND Fri, 7/15/16 WIDE Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone Damien Chazelle NR Mus/Rom Quad 

THE SHACK 

Fri, 8/12/16 WIDE 

Sam Worthington, Octavia 

Spencer 

Stuart Hazeldine NR Dra 

MECHANIC: RESURRECTION Fri, 8/26/16 WIDE Jason Statham, Jessica Alba Dennis Gansel NR Act/Thr Dolby Dig 

DEEPWATER HORIZON 

Fri, 9/30/16 WIDE 

Mark Wahlberg, Gina 

Rodriguez 

Peter Berg NR Act/Dra 

POWER RANGERS Fri, 1/13/17 WIDE Dean Israelite NR Act/Adv/Fam 


BOOKING GUIDE 


OPEN ROAD FILMS 310-696-7504 

SPOTLIGHT Fri, 11/6/15 LTD. Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton Thomas McCarthy R Dra Dolby Dig 

FIFTY SHADES OF BLACK Fri, 1/29/16 WIDE Marlon Wayans, Kali Hawk Michael Tiddes NR Com 

TRIPLE 9 

Fri, 2/19/16 WIDE 

Woody Harrelson, Chiwetel 

Ejiofor 

John Hillcoat NR Cri/Thr 

MOTHER’S DAY Fri, 4/29/16 WIDE Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston Garry Marshall NR Rom/Com 

PARAMOUNT 323-956-5000 

THE BIG SHORT Fri, 12/11/15 LTD. Christian Bale, Steve Carell Adam McKay NR Dra Dolby Dig 

DADDY’S HOME Fri, 12/25/15 WIDE Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg Sean Anders NR Com 

ANOMALISA 

13 HOURS: THE SECRET 

SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI 

Wed, 12/30/15 EXCL 

NY/LA 

Fri, 1/15/16 WIDE 

David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason 

Leigh 

James Badge Dale, John 

Krasinski 

Charlie Kaufman, 

Duke Johnson 

NR 

Ani/Com 

Michael Bay NR Act/Thr/War Dolby Dig 

ZOOLANDER 2 Fri, 2/12/16 WIDE Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson Ben Stiller NR Com 

BEN-HUR Fri, 2/26/16 WIDE Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell Timur Bekmambetov NR Dra 

UNTITLED BAD ROBOT 

FILM 

Fri, 3/11/16 WIDE NR Thr 

MONSTER TRUCKS Fri, 3/18/16 WIDE Jane Levy, Lucas Till Chris Wedge NR Ani/Adv/Fam Dolby Atmos 

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME Fri, 4/15/16 WIDE Blake Jenner, Tyler Hoechlin Richard Linklater NR Com/Sport 

SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT 

AS ME 

Fri, 4/29/16 WIDE Djimon Hounsou, Greg Kinnear Michael Carney NR Dra 

FRIDAY THE 13TH Fri, 5/13/16 WIDE David Bruckner NR Hor 

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA 

TURTLES 2 

Fri, 6/3/16 WIDE Megan Fox, Stephen Amell Dave Green NR Act/Adv 

STAR TREK BEYOND Fri, 7/22/16 WIDE Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto Justin Lin NR Act/Adv/SF Dolby Atmos 

JACK REACHER 2 Fri, 10/21/16 WIDE Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders Edward Zwick NR Act/Cri/Thr 

RELATIVITY STUDIOS 310-724-7700 Ask for Distribution 

KIDNAP Fri, 2/26/16 WIDE Halle Berry, Lew Temple Luis Prieto NR Act/Thr 

SONY 212-833-8500 

SPECTRE Fri, 11/6/15 WIDE Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz Sam Mendes PG-13 Act/Adv/Thr 

IMAX/Dolby Atmos/ 

Quad 

THE NIGHT BEFORE 

Fri, 11/20/15 WIDE 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth 

Rogen 

Jonathan Levine R Com Quad 

CONCUSSION Fri, 12/25/15 WIDE Will Smith, Alec Baldwin Peter Landesman PG-13 Dra/Sport Quad 

THE 5TH WAVE 

Fri, 1/15/16 WIDE 

Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick 

Robinson 

J Blakeson NR Adv/SF/Thr Quad 

RISEN Fri, 1/22/16 WIDE Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton Kevin Reynolds NR Act/Dra 

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND 

ZOMBIES 

Fri, 2/5/16 WIDE Lily James, Sam Riley Burr Steers NR 

Hor/Com/ 

Rom 

GRIMSBY 


Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark 

Strong 

Louis Leterrier NR Com 

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN Fri, 3/18/16 WIDE Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers Patricia Riggen NR Dra 

MONEY MONSTER Fri, 4/8/16 WIDE George Clooney, Julia Roberts Jodie Foster NR Dra/Thr 

THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE Fri, 5/20/16 WIDE Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad 

Clay Kaytis, Fergal 

Reilly 

NR 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

THE SHALLOWS Fri, 6/24/16 WIDE Blake Lively Jaume Collet-Serra NR Thr 

GHOSTBUSTERS Fri, 7/15/16 WIDE Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig Paul Feig NR Com/Hor 

SAUSAGE PARTY Fri, 8/12/16 WIDE Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill 

Greg Tiernan, Conrad 

Vernon 

NR Ani/Com 

UNTITLED ALVAREZ / RAIMI 

HORROR FILM 

Fri, 8/26/16 WIDE Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto Fede Alvarez NR Hor/Thr 

PATIENT ZERO Fri, 9/2/16 WIDE Matt Smith, Natalie Dormer Stefan Ruzowitzky NR Hor/Thr 

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS Fri, 9/16/16 WIDE Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall Jon Cassar NR Dra/Thr 

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Fri, 9/23/16 WIDE Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt Antoine Fuqua NR Act/Wes 

INFERNO Fri, 10/14/16 WIDE Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones Ron Howard NR Thr 

UNDERWORLD 5 Fri, 10/21/16 WIDE Kate Beckinsale, Theo James Anna Foerster NR Act/Hor 

3D 

BILLY LYNN’S LONG 

HALFTIME WALK 

Fri, 11/11/16 WIDE Joe Alwyn, Garrett Hedlund Ang Lee NR 

Com/Dra/ 

War 

3D 



PASSENGERS Wed, 12/21/16 WIDE Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence Morten Tyldum NR SF/Adv/Rom 

JUMANJI Sun, 12/25/16 WIDE Zach Helm NR Adv/Fan/Fam 

THE DARK TOWER Fri, 1/13/17 WIDE Nikolaj Arcel NR Act/Wes/Fan 

RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL 

CHAPTER 

Fri, 1/27/17 WIDE Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter Paul W.S. Anderson NR Act/Hor 

BAD BOYS 3 Fri, 2/17/17 WIDE NR Act/Thr 

BABY DRIVER Fri, 3/17/17 WIDE Lily James, Ansel Elgort Edgar Wright NR Act/Com 

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS Tom Prassis 212-833-4981 

I SAW THE LIGHT 

Fri, 3/25/16 LTD. 

Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth 

Olsen 

Marc Abraham R Dra 

THE LADY IN THE VAN Fri, 12/4/15 EXCL NY/LA Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings Nicholas Hytner PG-13 Dra 

SON OF SAUL Fri, 12/18/15 EXCL NY/LA Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár László Nemes R Dra Dolby Dig 

STX ENTERTAINMENT 310-742-2300 

SECRET IN THEIR EYES Fri, 11/20/15 WIDE Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman Billy Ray PG-13 Thr Dolby Dig 

THE BOY Fri, 1/22/16 WIDE Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans William Brent Bell PG-13 Hor/Thr Dolby Dig 

THE FREE STATE OF JONES Fri, 3/11/16 WIDE 

Matthew McConaughey, Gugu 

Mbatha-Raw 

Gary Ross NR Act/Dra Dolby Dig 

UNIVERSAL 818-777-1000 

BY THE SEA Fri, 11/13/15 WIDE Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Pitt Angelina Jolie Pitt R Dra/Rom Quad 

LEGEND Fri, 11/20/15 LTD. Tom Hardy, Emily Browning Brian Helgeland R Cri/Thr Quad 

KRAMPUS Fri, 12/4/15 WIDE Adam Scott, Toni Collette Michael Dougherty NR Com/Hor Quad 

SISTERS Fri, 12/18/15 WIDE Tina Fey, Amy Poehler Jason Moore R Com Quad 

UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE 

HORROR FILM 1 

Fri, 1/8/16 WIDE NR Hor 

RIDE ALONG 2 Fri, 1/15/16 WIDE Ice Cube, Kevin Hart Tim Story PG-13 Act/Com Quad 

HAIL, CAESAR! Fri, 2/5/16 WIDE Josh Brolin, George Clooney 

Joel Coen, Ethan 

Coen 

NR Com Dolby Dig 

MY BIG FAT GREEK 

WEDDING 2 

Fri, 3/25/16 WIDE Nia Vardalos, John Corbett Kirk Jones NR Rom/Com 

THE BOSS Fri, 4/8/16 WIDE Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell Ben Falcone NR Com 

THE HUNTSMAN 

Fri, 4/22/16 WIDE 

Chris Hemsworth, Charlize 

Theron 

Cedric Nicolas-Troyan NR Adv/Fan 

NEIGHBORS 2 Fri, 5/20/16 WIDE Seth Rogen, Zac Efron Nicholas Stoller NR Com 

TOP SECRET UNTITLED 

LONELY ISLAND MOVIE 


Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer 

Akiva Schaffer, Jorma 

Taccone 

WARCRAFT Fri, 6/10/16 WIDE Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel Duncan Jones NR Act/Adv/Fan 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

THE PURGE 3 Fri, 7/1/16 WIDE Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell James DeMonaco NR Hor/Thr/SF 

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS Fri, 7/8/16 WIDE Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet Chris Renaud NR 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

3D/Quad 

UNTITLED NEXT BOURNE 

CHAPTER 

Fri, 7/29/16 WIDE Matt Damon, Alicia Vikander Paul Greengrass NR Act/Adv/Thr 

SPECTRAL 

Fri, 8/12/16 WIDE 

James Badge Dale, Emily 

Mortimer 

Nic Mathieu NR Act/Thr 3D 

MONSTER HIGH Fri, 10/7/16 WIDE NR Com/Hor 

KEVIN HART: WHAT NOW? Fri, 10/14/16 WIDE Kevin Hart Leslie Small NR 

Com/Con/ 

Doc 

OUIJA 2 Fri, 10/21/16 WIDE Annalise Basso, Henry Thomas Mike Flanagan NR Hor/Thr 

A MEYERS CHRISTMAS Fri, 11/11/16 WIDE David E. Talbert NR Com 

THE GREAT WALL Wed, 11/23/16 WIDE Matt Damon, Andy Lau Zhang Yimou NR Act/Adv/Thr 3D 

LET IT SNOW Fri, 12/9/16 WIDE NR 

Rom/Com/ 

Dra 

UNTITLED ILLUMINATION 

ENTERTAINMENT 2016 

PROJECT 

Wed, 12/21/16 WIDE 

Matthew McConaughey, John 

C. Reilly 

NR 

Com 

Garth Jennings NR Ani/Com 

MENA Fri, 1/6/17 WIDE Tom Cruise, Sarah Wright Doug Liman NR Cri/Thr 

UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE 

PRODUCTIONS PROJECT 

Fri, 1/27/17 WIDE 

NR 

FIFTY SHADES DARKER Fri, 2/10/17 WIDE Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan James Foley NR Dra/Rom 


BOOKING GUIDE 


WARNER BROS. 818-977-1850 

THE 33 

Fri, 11/13/15 WIDE 

Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo 

Santoro 

Patricia Riggen PG-13 Dra Dolby Atmos 

CREED 

Wed, 11/25/15 WIDE 

Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester 

Stallone 

Ryan Coogler NR Dra/Sport Dolby Dig 


Fri, 12/11/15 WIDE 

Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin 

Walker 

Ron Howard PG-13 Adv/Dra 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

POINT BREAK Fri, 12/25/15 WIDE Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey Ericson Core NR Act/Thr 3D/Dolby Dig 

UNTITLED NEW LINE 

HORROR FILM 1 


HOW TO BE SINGLE 

Fri, 2/12/16 WIDE 

Dakota Johnson, Nicholas 

Braun 

Christian Ditter NR Rom/Com 

ARMS & THE DUDES Fri, 3/11/16 WIDE Miles Teller, Jonah Hill Todd Phillips NR Com/Dra 

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL 

Fri, 3/18/16 LTD. 

Michael Shannon, Joel 

Edgerton 

Jeff Nichols PG-13 SF/Thr 

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: 

DAWN OF JUSTICE 

Fri, 3/25/16 WIDE Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck Zack Snyder PG-13 Act/Adv 

BARBERSHOP 3 Fri, 4/15/16 WIDE Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer Malcolm D. Lee NR Com 

KEANU 

Fri, 4/22/16 WIDE 

Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan 

Peele 

Peter Atencio NR Com 

GOING IN STYLE 


Morgan Freeman, Michael 

Caine 

Zach Braff NR Com 

THE NICE GUYS Fri, 5/20/16 WIDE Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe Shane Black NR Cri/Thr 

ME BEFORE YOU Fri, 6/3/16 WIDE Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin Thea Sharrock NR Dra/Rom 

3D/IMAX/Dolby 

Atmos 

THE CONJURING 2 Fri, 6/10/16 WIDE Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson James Wan NR Hor/Thr 

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE Fri, 6/17/16 WIDE Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart 

Rawson Marshall 

Thurber 

NR Act/Com 

TARZAN 


Alexander Skarsgård, Margot 

Robbie 

David Yates NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX 

KING ARTHUR 

Fri, 7/22/16 WIDE 

Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Bergès- 

Frisbey 

Guy Ritchie NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX 

SUICIDE SQUAD Fri, 8/5/16 WIDE Will Smith, Margot Robbie David Ayer NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX 

PROJECT XX Fri, 8/19/16 WIDE NR Com 

UNTITLED NEW LINE 

HORROR FILM 2 


STORKS 

Fri, 9/23/16 WIDE 

Andy Samberg, Kelsey 

Grammer 

Nicholas Stoller, Doug 

Sweetland 

NR 

Ani/Com/ 

Fam 

THE ACCOUNTANT Fri, 10/7/16 WIDE Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick Gavin O’Connor R Act/Thr 

BASTARDS Fri, 11/4/16 WIDE Ed Helms, Owen Wilson Lawrence Sher NR Com 

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND 

WHERE TO FIND THEM 

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE 

SOUL 

Fri, 11/18/16 WIDE 

Eddie Redmayne, Katherine 

Waterston 

David Yates NR Adv/Fan 3D/IMAX 

Fri, 12/16/16 WIDE NR Dra 

GEOSTORM Fri, 1/13/17 WIDE Gerard Butler, Abbie Cornish Dean Devlin NR SF/Act/Thr 3D/IMAX 

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE Fri, 2/10/17 WIDE Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis Chris McKay NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D/IMAX 

KONG: SKULL ISLAND Fri, 3/10/17 WIDE Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson Jordan Vogt-Roberts NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX 

WEINSTEIN CO./DIMENSION 646-862-3400 

CAROL Fri, 11/20/15 LTD. Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara Todd Haynes R Dra/Rom Dolby Dig 

MACBETH 

Fri, 12/4/15 LTD. 

Michael Fassbender, Marion 

Cotillard 

Justin Kurzel NR Dra Dolby Dig 

THE HATEFUL EIGHT Fri, 12/25/15 LTD. Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell Quentin Tarantino NR Wes/Act 

VIRAL 

AMITYVILLE: THE 

AWAKENING 

Fri, 2/19/16 WIDE 

Fri, 4/15/16 WIDE 

Sofia Black-D’Elia, Analeigh 

Tipton 

Bella Thorne, Jennifer Jason 

Leigh 

Ariel Schulman, Henry 

Joost 

NR 

Hor/Thr 

Franck Khalfoun R Hor/Thr 

THE FOUNDER Fri, 11/25/16 LTD. Michael Keaton, Laura Dern John Lee Hancock NR Dra Dolby Dig 

3D 

BOXOFFICE ® PRO (ISSN 0006-8527), Volume 151, Number 11, November 2015. BOXOFFICE ® PRO is published monthly by BoxOffice Media, LLC, 60 Broad St, Ste. 

3502, New York, NY 10004, USA. corporate@boxoffice.com. www.boxoffice.com. Basic annual subscription rate is $59.95. Periodicals postage paid at Beverly 

Hills, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to BOXOF- 

FICE PRO, P.O. Box 16015, North Hollywood, CA 91615-6015. © Copyright 2015. BoxOffice Media, LLC. All rights reserved. SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 

BOXOFFICE PRO, P.O. Box 16015, North Hollywood, CA 91615-6015, USA, Phone (818) 286-3108, Fax (800) 869-0040, bxpcs@magserv.com, www.boxoffice.com. 

BoxOffice ® is a registered trademark of BoxOffice Media LLC. 


This month’s Creed which stars Michael 

B. Jordan (with Sly Stallone’s iconic 

Rocky Balboa) as the orphaned son of 

former champ Apollo Creed. 

BOXOFFICE ® MEDIA 

CEO 

Julien Marcel 

CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

Kenneth James Bacon 

BOXOFFICE ® PRO 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Daniel Loria 

COPY EDITOR 

Laura Silver 

INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTORS 

Patrick Corcoran 

John Fithian 

Bryan Smith 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 

BALBOA 

AT THE BOX OFFICE 

AMERICAN COMPUTER 

OPTICS 

240 Goddard 

Irvine, CA 92618 

www.portwindowglass.com 

PG 14 

CARDINAL SOUND & 

MOTION PICTURE SYSTEMS 

6330 Howard Ln. 

Elkridge, MD 21075 

www.cardinalsound.com 

PG 64 

CAIZ OPTRONICS 

Room D2, 13/F., Block I 

Kin Ho Industrial Building 

14-24 Au Pui Wan Street, Fo Tan, 

Shatin,New Territories, HongKong 

www.calzcorp.com 

PG 15 

MOTION TECHNOLOGY 

10 Forbes Rd. 

Northborough, MA 01532 

www.mtiproducts.com 

PG 8 

CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS 

10550 Camden Dr. 

Cypress, CA 90630 

www.christiedigital.com 

INSIDE BACK COVER 

DOLPHIN SEATING 

313 Remuda St. 

Clovis, NM 88101 

www.dolphinseating.com 

PG 27 

ENPAR AUDIO 

www@enparaudio.com 

PG 17 

HARKNESS SCREENS 

Unit A, Norton Road 

Stevenage, Herts 

SG1 2BB UK 

www.harkness-screens.com 

PG 9. 11 

MAROEVICH, O’SHEA & 

COUGHLAN 

44 Montgomery St., 17th Fl. 

San Francisco, CA 94104 

www.mocins.com 

PG 5 

MOVING IMAGE 

TECHNOLOGIES 

17760 Newhope St. 

Fountain, Valley, CA 92708 

www.movingimagetech.com 

PG 2, 4 

Year 

Domestic 

Gross 

in millions 

READY THEATRE SYSTEMS 

4 Hartford Blvd. 

Hartford, MI 49057 

www.rts-solutions.com.com 

PG 13 

REALD 

100 North Crescent Dr., 

Ste. 200 

Beverly Hills, CA 90210 

www.reald.com 

PG 34–35 

RETRIEVER SOFTWARE 

7040 Avenida Encinas 

Ste. 104-363 

Carlsbad, CA 92011 

www.retrieversoftware.com 

PG 45 

SCREENVISION CINEMA 

NETWORK 

1411 Broadway, Fl 33 

New York, NY, 10018 

www.screenvision.com 

PG 1 

SENSIBLE CINEMA 

SOFTWARE 

7216 Sutton Pl. 

Fairview, TN 37062 

www.sensiblecinema.com 

PG 64 

adjusted to $8.17 

2015 average 

ticket price 

Rocky 1976 $117.2 $449.7 

Rocky II 1979 $85.2 $281.8 

Rocky III 1982 $124.1 $344.9 

Rocky IV 1985 $127.9 $294.4 

Rocky V 1990 $40.9 $79.2 

Rocky Balboa 2006 $70.3 $87.7 

$565.6 $1,537.7 

SONIC EQUIPMENT 

COMPANY 

900 W Miller Rd. 

Iola,KS 66749 

www.sonicequipment.com 

BACK COVER 

ST. JUDE’S CHILDRENS 

RESEARCH HOSPITAL 

262 Danny Thomas Pl. 

Memphis, TN 38105 

www.stjude.org 

PG 25 

USHIO AMERICA, INC. 

5440 Cerritos Ave. 

Cypress, CA 90630 

www.ushio.com 

PG 23 

WILL ROGERS MOTION 

PICTURE PIONEERS 

FOUNDATION 

10045 Riverside Dr., Third Fl. 

Toluca Lake, CA 91602 

www.wrpioneers.com 

INSIDE BACK COVER 

Phil Contrino 

Daniel Garris 

Jonathan Papish 

Shawn Robbins 

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT 

Ally Bacon 

BOXOFFICE.COM 

VP, CHIEF ANALYST 

Phil Contrino 

OVERSEAS EDITOR 

Daniel Loria 

NORTH AMERICAN GROSSES 

EDITOR 

Daniel Garris 

ADVERTISING 

VP, ADVERTISING 

Susan Uhrlass 

60 Broad St., Ste. 3502 

New York, NY 1004 

susan@boxoffice.com 

310-876-9090 

SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Lucia Borja 

Stark Services 

12444 Victory Blvd., 3rd Floor 

North Hollywood, CA 91606 

lucia@starkservices.com 

818-985-2003 

CORPORATE 

BoxOffice Media 

60 Broad St., Ste. 3502 

New York, NY 1004 

corporate@boxoffice.com 


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 

BUYING & SELLING 

MARQUEE LETTERS. Buying and selling. 

New and Used marquee letters 

all types. We buy old. We sell new. All 

styles. Trade in your old letters and get 

new letters. Turn those old letters into 

cash. Your source for new Pronto, Zip- 

Change, Snap Lok, Slotted. mike@pilut. 

com 800-545-8956 

LOOKING TO PURCHASE 3-8 screen 

venue in California or south western 

United States. Contact: Atul Desai 949- 

291-5700 

DRIVE-IN CONSTRUCTION 

DRIVE-IN SCREEN TOWERS since 1945. 

Selby Products Inc., P.O. Box 267, Richfield, 

OH 44286. Phone: 330-659-6631. 

EQUIPMENT WANTED 

ASTER AUDITORIUM SEATING & AU- 

DIO. We offer the best pricing on good 

used projection and sound equipment. 

Large quantities available. Please visit 

our website, www.asterseating.com, or 

call 888-409-1414. 

AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT PROD- 

UCTS LLC is buying projectors, processors, 

amplifiers, speakers, seating, 

platters. If you are closing, remodeling 

or have excess equipment in your warehouse 

and want to turn equipment into 

cash, please call 866-653-2834 or email 

aep30@comcast.net. Need to move 

quickly to close a location and dismantle 

equipment? We come to you with 

trucks, crew and equipment, no job too 

small or too large. Call today for a quotation: 

866-653-2834. Vintage equipment 

wanted also! Old speakers like 

Western Electric and Altec, horns, cab- 

inets, 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 

USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS, (5) complete 

booths including sound equipment. 

Three years old. Contact seller at 

moviescope1000@gmail.com. 

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 

APPROXIMATELY 2,000 SEATS FOR 

SALE. MOBILIARIO high-back rockers 

with cup holders. Located in Connecticut. 

Contact (203)758-2148. 

MOVIE THEATRES FOR SALE Established 

boutique movie theater chain in 

major midwest market. Long term leases 

in A plus locations.All digital projection 

and liquor licenses. Consistently nets 

over $500k a year. Outstanding opportunity 

for energetic entrepreneurs, expanding 

chain or foreign investor. Send 

inquiries to :movietheatersforsale@ 

gmail.com. Principal only. 

HELP WANTED 

TRI STATE THEATRE SUPPLY in Memphis, 

TN has openings for experienced 

Digital Cinema Techs nationwide. Please 

send your resume to include qualifications, 

certifications and salary requirements 

to fred@tristatetheatre.com 

THEATRE MANAGEMENT POSITIONS 

AVAILABLE Pacific 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. 

POSITIONS AVAILABLE 

Paragon Theaters has THEATER MAN- 

AGEMENT POSITIONS available at multiple 

locations. If you have previous management 

experience, please send your 

resume to robert.fronckoski@paragontheaters.com.. 

SERVICES 

DULL FLAT PICTURE? RESTORE YOUR 

XENON REFLECTORS! Ultraflat repolishes 

and recoats xenon reflectors. Many 

reflectors available for immediate exchange. 

(ORC, Strong, Christie, Xetron, 

others!) Ultraflat, 20306 Sherman Way, 

Winnetka, CA 91306; 818-884-0184. 

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.

Boxoffice November 2016

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