Boxoffice - May 2016

the Industry address, noting that 2015 was a chance to
entice audiences who hadn’t visited a movie theater in
a while and therefore “a great time to show off the new
amenities our members can offer.”
Corrine Thibaut, Coca-Cola’s international
customer director for cinema and leisure, echoed this
sentiment during one of the panels, stressing that an
uptick in admissions creates an incentive to recruit
new audiences by showcasing exhibitors’ focus on the
theatrical experience. For Thibaut, exhibition can only
benefit from reminding audiences that individual cinemas
are part of a unique and memorable experience,
just as important as the movie itself. “We need to
create spaces that sit at the heart of the community,”
agreed Jon Barrenechea, project development manager
of Picturehouse Cinemas, citing Starbucks’ success in
developing a brand concept that consists of people
spending time inside their doors. “We need to create
that for our cinemas: a space that feels like a part of
peoples’ lives.”
This adds up to a more intimate cinemagoing
experience, one that is seeing the rise
of what David Hancock, IHS Technology’s
director of film & cinema, calls “premium
small format”—boutique locations with a
focus on the latest technology and amenities
but without the screen count of a
multiplex. Hancock considers the
future of exhibition closely tied
to the “experience economy,”
offering consumers value-added
premiums to differentiate and
customize their night out at
the movies.
That doesn’t necessarily
mean we’ll be seeing smaller
screens any time soon. IHS
Technology reported nearly
2,000 premium large format
screens worldwide by the end of
2015, a number that is set to increase
in the coming years. Cinema technology
companies Barco and Dolby have
been catalysts of that growth, offering
exhibitors a suite of their premium
offerings—CinemaBarco and Dolby
Cinema—in order to bring the latest in
sight and sound to a theater near you.
Dolby Cinema, for example, has already
racked up more than 200 sites worldwide
(including commitments) with 38 released
or announced titles since its launch
in 2015. Dolby Atmos, the company’s
immersive-sound format, continues to
pick up steam and already numbers more
than 1,600 screens in over 60 countries
(including commitments) with more
than 400 announced titles.
Barco, meanwhile, has been stealing
headlines since announcing its Escape
panoramic-screen format, which it expects to reach
3,000 screens globally in the next five years, counting
on China to represent a big chunk of that growth.
That goal would have seemed lofty before Cinema-
Con, but the company’s efforts in securing high-profile
releases in the Escape format have already begun
to pay off. Barco announced partnerships with two
production companies, Cross Creek Pictures and
Fundamental Films, to produce multiple upcoming
titles in their Escape format. Barco’s big fish, however,
was the announcement that Paramount’s Star Trek
Beyond would be released in Escape this summer. A
sturdy content pipeline will be crucial for the panoramic-screen
format to flourish, and Barco executives
expect Escape releases to create demand for their technology
with eight titles planned for release in 2017
and twelve titles to come in each subsequent year.
South Korean exhibition giant CJ CGV entered
CinemaCon just after acquiring Turkey’s leading
circuit, Mars Cinema, as it plans to increase its
worldwide screen count. CJ’s role in the industry
is largely defined by its innovative cinema
technologies as well as its CJ 4DPLEX division,
which is currently rolling out its own
panoramic-screen format, ScreenX, along
with its established immersive-seating offering,
4DX. ScreenX has since grown to a total
80 screens in South Korea and a
combined 11 screens in the United
States, China, and Thailand since
its 2015 launch. The company
expects that tally to go up to
270 screens worldwide by 2017
and 1,000 by 2020. ScreenX
has focused on Asian titles so
far, a reflection of the company’s
present footprint, but
that can change if CJ CGV
looks to accelerate its activities
in North America—a plausible
scenario considering the circuit’s
ambition.
CJ hopes ScreenX will succeed
as a circuit-agnostic premium
offering, similar to what its immersive-seating
technology, 4DX,
has achieved in recent years. 4DX
is currently available at 233 sites
across 37 countries and is expected
to grow to 800 sites by 2017 despite
strong competition from companies
like D-Box and MediaMation,
which have also experienced significant
growth overseas. MediaMation,
for example, recently announced an
agreement to install its 4D seats in 15
to 20 of Dadi Cinema Group’s China
locations by year’s end.
China is proving
JOHN FITHIAN
to be a crucial market
Filmmaker of the Decade
Frank Marshall holds court
Moshe Greidinger, CEO
Cineworld Group, receives
the Global Achievement
Award in Exhibition and
Duncan Clark, President of
Distribution at Universal
Pictures International
Rich Gelfond, IMAX, and
Veronika Kwan-Rubinek,
President of International
distribution Warner Bros.,
during the International Day
Luncheon
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