Boxoffice - February 2019

$6.95 

FEBRUARY 2019 

INCORPORATING 

NICK FROST, LENA HEADEY, 

FLORENCE PUGH, DWAYNE JOHNSON, 

AND JACK LOWDEN STAR IN 

FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY 

EXPAT 

EXHIBITOR 

CINEPAX CEO MARIAM EL BACHA 

AND HER GLOBAL CINEMA JOURNEY 

EXCALIBUR! 

DIRECTOR JOE CORNISH’S 

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING 

MOVIE 

MOMENTS 

THE EXHIBITORS HAVE THEIR SAY 

ABOUT THE BEST OF 2018 

MAIN EVENT 

DIRECTOR STEPHEN MERCHANT 

ENTERS THE SQUARED CIRCLE WITH 


The Official Magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners

2019 VOL. 155 NO. 2 

EXPAT EXHIBITOR 32 

CINEPAX CEO MARIAM EL BACHA ON HER 

GLOBAL CINEMA JOURNEY 

GIANTS OF EXHIBITION 34 

PRESENTING THE TOP 50 NORTH AMERICAN CIRCUITS 

GIANTS OF PREMIUM LARGE FORMAT 52 

EXHIBITORS INVESTING IN PLF SCREENS AS 

A TOP-OF-THE-RANGE PREMIUM FORMAT 

EXCALIBUR! 60 

JOE CORNISH RETURNS TO THE BIG SCREEN 

WITH THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING 

TWO YEARS & COUNTING 66 

LAKOTA DRAMA NEITHER WOLF NOR BEAR 

ATTRACTS A SMALL-TOWN FOLLOWING 

2019 BREAKOUTS 78 

10 TITLES WITH THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE 

A BIG IMPACT THIS YEAR 

THE CONTENDERS 80 

BOXOFICE AND FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 

LOOK BACK AT THE BEST FILMS OF 2018 

THE EXHIBITORS HAVE THEIR SAY 86 

INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES SHARE THEIR MOST 

MEMORABLE MOVIEGOING MOMENTS 

TIMECODE COUNTDOWN TO CELEBRATION: PART 2 

AS WE APPROACH OUR 100TH ANNIVERSARY WE DIG DEEP INTO THE 

ARCHIVES. THIS MONTH: THE BOXOFFICE BLUE RIBBON AWARD 

COVER STORY by Rebecca Pahle 

MAIN EVENT STEPHEN MERCHANT STEPS INTO 

THE RING WITH FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY 

5 HELLO 

6 TRADE TALK 

18 EXECUTIVE SUITE 

22 CHARITY SPOTLIGHT 

28 INDIE FOCUS brought to you by Spotlight Cinema Networks 

92 ASK THE AUDIENCE 

96 EVENT CINEMA 

98 INVESTOR RELATIONS 

100 SOCIAL MEDIA 

102 TECHNOLOGY 

104 EVENT CALENDAR 

106 ON SCREEN 

120 BOOKING GUIDE 

128 MARKETPLACE 

Boxoffice Magazine has served as the official publication of the National Association of 

Theatre Owners (NATO) since 2007. As part of this partnership, Boxoffice is proud to feature 

exclusive columns from NATO while retaining full editorial freedom throughout its pages. As 

such, the views expressed in Boxoffice, except for columns signed by NATO executives, neither 

reflect a stance nor endorsement from the National Association of Theatre Owners. 

4 BOXOFFICE ® FEBRUARY 2019

hello. 

>> Movie theater owners and executives love films as much as their customers, and not 

just because presenting motion pictures is their livelihood. For this second issue of the 

New Year, Boxoffice asked exhibitors to select their favorite movie moments of 2018, 

and we were delighted by the responses: passionate, insightful, and appreciative of both 

the wonders of studio blockbusters and the surprising discoveries of the indie world. We 

thank all the participants for what we hope will be an annual tradition. 

Exhibitors also know that in this era of fierce competition for their guests’ entertainment 

dollars, they need to keep enhancing the theatrical experience. Our annual Giants of Exhibition 

survey of the top 50 North American theater circuits not only provides valuable 

data on screen counts, but insights into what the leading chains have accomplished in 

the past year and the innovations and improvements that lie ahead. 

Delivering 

innovative 

insurance products 

for the cinema 

exhibition industry 

INSURANCE COVERAGE 

C O M P A N I E S 

P R I C E 

Speaking of what lies ahead, you’ll be excited by our forecast of the 10 most promising 

studio pictures of 2019. With two new Marvel adventures in the first half of the year, 

sequels to two of the most popular animated films ever, live-action versions of two more 

beloved Disney classics, new Star Wars and Spider-Man episodes, and much more, will 

this year be another record breaker? 

Our merger with Film Journal International augurs exciting changes at Boxoffice 

over the coming year, including more conversations with top filmmakers. Both FJI and 

Boxoffice had the privilege of talking with many of this season’s big award contenders, 

and in this issue we’ve assembled a compilation of their insights into what it takes to 

create a movie for the ages. 

We’re also excited about our ongoing collaboration with Boxoffice France. This edition 

includes an exclusive interview by our France-based colleague Ayşegül Algan with 

Mariam El Bacha, CEO of Cinepax, the top cinema circuit in Pakistan. El Bacha has 

had a remarkable, globe-spanning career, having worked in the UK, Australia, Vietnam, 

and Malaysia. And now she’s leading a 45-screen chain in a fascinating, growing market, 

with plans for 100 new screens in the next five years. 

We hope you enjoy this month’s celebration of a landmark 2018 and exhibition’s 

robust future. 

Daniel Loria, Editorial Director 

daniel@boxoffice.com 

Kevin Lally, Executive Editor 

kevin@boxoffice.com 

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INDUSTRY NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE 

BROOKLYN’S NITEHAWK 

CINEMAS FEATURE CHRISTIE 

PROJECTORS 

>> Christie’s xenon projectors were 

chosen to illuminate the completely redesigned 

and refurbished Pavilion Theatre, 

now named Nitehawk Prospect Park, in 

Brooklyn, New York. The new cinema 

complex has seven separate theaters that 

can accommodate a total of 650 patrons, 

with the two larger theaters equipped with 

Christie CP2220 DLP projectors and the 

five smaller theaters’ screens lit by Christie 

CP2215 projectors. 

Digital Media Systems Inc., a Christie 

business partner, was awarded the 

total audiovisual design and installation 

phase for the new complex as part of the 

redesign and refurbishment of one of New 

York’s legacy movie theaters. 

“Nitehawk put a great 

deal of trust in us to 

ensure the highest-quality 

cinema experience for 

their patrons,” said Gregg 

Paliotta, president of 

Digital Media Systems. 

“To meet the exacting 

technology requirements 

throughout this worldclass 

facility, as well as 

providing unmatched performance 

and continuous 

operation, the only choice 

was the Christie solution.” 

Nitehawk Prospect Park was originally 

known as Sanders Theatre and most 

recently as The Pavilion; the building 

dates back to 1928. “With this exquisite 

restoration, Nitehawk Cinema is 

thrilled to continue the long tradition of 

being an entertainment destination in 

Brooklyn by outfitting Nitehawk Prospect 

Park with the best digital cinema 

projection technology available from 

Christie,” said Matthew Viragh, founder 

of Nitehawk Cinemas. 

Technical Director Max Cavanaugh 

noted that “we consistently receive feedback 

from filmmakers about how amazing 

their films look on-screen. Christie’s rich 

history of consistency, dependability, and 

technical reliability made them our obvious 

choice to transform an outdated system at 

Nitehawk Prospect Park into a state-of-theart, 

seven-screen digital multiplex.” 

ANDREAS PELTRET 

JOINS ECLAIR 

>> Eclair, the content services company, 

has announced the appointment 

of Andreas Peltret (pictured) as its new 

country manager for Germany. He is 

responsible for managing 

Eclair’s content services 

in Germany, including 

theatrical delivery, digital 

distribution, preservation, 

postproduction, and 

restoration, as well as versioning 

and accessibility 

through the Berlin-based 

Eclair Studios and Studio 

7 Synchron und Untertitel 

in Karlsruhe, and 

exhibitor services with 

Cine-Logistics. Peltret 

reports directly to Eclair 

Senior Vice President Pascal Mogavero. 

Peltret started his career in the entertainment 

and gaming industry in 2003 

as co-founder of German online game 

magazine GameVision GbR. In 2008, 

he joined Gameforge AG, one of the 

first free-to-play online game platforms 

in Europe, where he successively held 


the roles of director of sales and partnerships and 

director of business development. He then moved 

into digital marketing and integrated advertising 

campaigns for the gaming industry in 2013, first 

for Crobo before being named chief commercial 

officer at European Games Group AG in 2014. 

Prior to joining Eclair, Peltret was most recently 

international business development director for 

cross-media marketing agency DCMN GmbH. 

“Andreas’s expertise in digital and high-end 

technologies and his passion for growth strategy 

and leadership will be a tremendous asset in increasing 

business momentum across the board for our 

wide range of services in Germany,” said Mogavero. 

Peltret’s appointment follows the departure of 

Michael Krauth, who recently left his executive 

functions by mutual agreement to pursue his own 

projects. Krauth joined Ymagis Group in 2009 

to create and oversee the development of Eclair’s 

activities in Germany. “We’d like to thank Michael 

Krauth for his years of rich collaboration and wish 

him all the best in his new professional endeavors,” 

said Jean Mizrahi, chairman and chief executive 

officer of Ymagis Group. 

THAI EXHIBITOR LAUNCHES ‘SUPER APP’ 

>> Bangkok-based Major Cineplex Group says 

its 2019 marketing plan will fully focus on mobile 

marketing in order to serve the needs and lifestyles 

of its customers in the information age. As a result, 

it recently announced the development of its new 

“Super APP” application, which uses artificial 

intelligence to improve the moviegoing experience. 

Super APP follows on the success of Major 

Cineplex’s Major Movie Plus application, which 

has been ranked by Appsynth as the Thai entertainment 

app with the most downloads in the last 

decade. According to a company statement, Major 

Cineplex Group is confident that the new application 

will increase and expand the number of online 

bookings as well as its customer base. 

Super APP was developed with MTEL, the Hong 

Kong digital solutions provider. It connects services 

such as movie information searches and ticket booking. 

In addition, it offers games, promotions, and 

special offers, including membership rewards. Super 

APP is also equipped with an AI/ML system, which 

is able to determine customers’ favorite movies and 

trailers and provide smarter suggestions. 


TRADE TALK 

SHOWCASE 

CINEMAS 

ANNOUNCES 

STARPASS LOYALTY 

PROGRAM 

>> Showcase Cinemas 

has announced the launch 

of the new Starpass loyalty 

program. Free to use, 

Starpass enables guests to 

earn a 10 percent reward 

for virtually every dollar 

spent, with no blackout 

dates, and flexible options 

to redeem reward value for 

myriad purchases including 

tickets, concessions, 

and at-cinema restaurants and in-seat dining. 

The simplified loyalty program empowers 

members to choose how to spend their rewards and 

allows redemption through ShowcaseCinemas.com 

and the Showcase Cinemas app. Furthermore, as 

part of the program members can make purchases 

with cash and the rewards value earned with their 

Starpass membership. Showcase Cinemas will also 

offer special promotions through the program like a 

20 percent reward boost for certain events or films, 

increased member discounts on bargain days, free 

large popcorn and soda refills, and seasonal promotions. 

And for the first time ever, Starpass will be 

available for use at the Showcase SuperLux location 

in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. 

“We are excited to start the new year by unveiling 

a more flexible Starpass loyalty program to our 

customers,” said Mark Malinowski, vice president 

of marketing for Showcase Cinemas. “The new 

Starpass program empowers our members to 

choose their rewards and redeem them how and 

when they want. Even better, seeing more movies 

means earning more rewards!” 

FATHOM NAMES GOLDMAN VP, 

PROGRAMMING 

>> Event cinema distributor Fathom Events has 

appointed Andrew Goldman as vice president of 

programming. 

Based in New York, Goldman will help Fathom 

grow its cable, broadcast, Broadway, and other verticals 

to acquire high-value content that has broad 

audience appeal. 

Prior to joining Fathom Events, Goldman was 

SVP/head of programming at OWNZONES 

Entertainment Technologies, a global provider of 

technology and media solutions for the motion 

picture, television, and digital-content-creation industries. 

Earlier in his career, he was VP of program 

strategy and planning for HBO/Cinemax and was 

instrumental in the launches of HBO Now, HBO 

Go, Max Go, and Video on Demand. 

“We are thrilled to continue growing our programming 

team with the addition of Andrew,” said 

Nancy Silverstone, Fathom Events VP of programming. 

“His expertise and experience will help Fathom 

further our goal of distributing the best content 

in the event cinema industry.” 

“I am very excited to join the team at Fathom 

Events as we bring exciting, top-notch entertainment 

to theaters that appeals to both broad and 

specialty audiences,” said Goldman. 

DENISE DE ZUTTER RECEIVES 

NAC AWARD 

>> The National Association of Concessionaires 

(NAC) announced that Denise de Zutter, vice 

president, procurement and logistics, for AMC 

Theatres, has been selected as the 2019 Bert Nathan 

Memorial Award honoree. The Bert Nathan Memorial 

Award is given by NAC each year to recognize 

leadership and significant accomplishments in the 

theater concessions industry. 

The award is named after the late Bert Nathan, 

a past president of the association and a leader in 

the industry. De Zutter will be presented with the 

award during CinemaCon at the NAC Bert Nathan 

Reception scheduled for Monday, April 1, at 

Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The recipient is chosen 

by vote of the majority of previous Bert Nathan 

Award recipients. 

CIELO AND SAGAOLOGY PLAN 

CHINESE EXPANSION 

>> Cielo Cinema has formed a strategic partnership 

with Sagaology Beijing Limited to provide 

access to Cielo Cinema, the IoT and M2M device 

monitoring platform, to expand Cielo Cinema’s 

products in the Chinese exhibitor market. 

Sagaology will provide sales, on-boarding, 

training, and technical support for Cielo Cinema 

products in China. Sagaology is a technology 

company that helps exhibitors in the areas of cinema 

projection, operational efficiencies, and overall 

sound processes. 


Lance Gil of Cielo said, “Sagaology is a great 

local partner for us in China. Their core business 

model aligns perfectly with what Cielo Cinema has 

to offer exhibitors. Our platform is all about refining 

processes and providing operational efficiencies 

that in turn provide massive cost savings to Cielo 

users, which is synergistic with what Sagaology 

offers their exhibitors.” 

Wen Chen of Sagaology said, “The Cielo 

Cinema offering will fill the void in the Chinese 

market in terms of an enterprise offering for IoT 

and M2M device monitoring. We at Sagaology are 

excited to be offering this disruptive technology 

to our existing and new potential exhibitors in the 

Chinese market.” 

IPIC ANNOUNCES NEW MEMBERSHIP 

REWARDS PROGRAM 

>> iPic Entertainment Inc., creators of iPic 

luxury theater-and-restaurant destinations, has a 

new Access Membership Rewards program with 

new benefits. 

Until March 1, for $29/year, iPic Access Gold 

members can achieve maximum savings with every 

visit to iPic’s theater-and-restaurant destinations. 

Benefits include 10 percent off all food and beverage* 

purchases at theaters and iPic-owned restaurant 

brands—Tanzy, City Perch Kitchen + Bar, The Tuck 

Room and The Tuck Room Tavern—and up to 40 

percent off ticket prices and one free birthday gift 

ticket, a $25 value. On March 1 the annual membership 

rate will be increased to $45. 

Access Gold members will also receive priority 

ticket access to new film releases and will earn 

points with each dollar spent within the iPic 

luxury circuit. 

The new Access Membership Rewards program 

presents four membership levels: Access Silver, 

which is complimentary with sign-up; Access Gold, 

priced at $29 annually; and two earned levels, Access 

Platinum, and Access Platinum Elite. Full benefit 

details can be viewed at www.iPic.com/Access. 

As part of the circuit-wide launch, nonmembers 

and current iPic Access Silver members may 

sign up for Access Gold membership perks at no 

additional cost until March 1, 2019. 

*Not offered on alcoholic beverages in theater/restaurant locations 

in Texas and Illinois 


TRADE TALK 

B&B THEATRES TO SELL SONIC 

EQUIPMENT COMPANY 

>> In a deal several months in the making, B&B 

Theatres President Bob Bagby (above) has sold all 

ownership stock in Sonic Equipment Company, 

which his family has owned since 1965, as well as 

its companion business Kneisley Manufacturing. 

Sonic Equipment Company sells, installs, and 

services cinema equipment, providing services to 

major chains and independent exhibitors on over 

1,200 screens in 35 states. Kneisley Manufacturing 

produces projector pedestals, self-service 

candy racks, and other cinema hardware. 

Bagby was approached in early 2018 by an 

investment group led by industry colleagues 

Stan Hays, Mike Clement, and Keith Watanabe. 

As the conversations progressed, it became clear 

that the change in ownership would open doors 

for the service company, due to the investment 

group’s contacts in the marketplace. The investment 

group plans to add several hundred new 

screens to Sonic in the coming months and also 

add additional items for Kneisley to manufacture. 

Stan Hays is the new president of Sonic 

and Kneisley. 

The deal stipulates that Sonic remain headquartered 

in Iola, Kansas, for a number of years, 

and significant efforts were taken to ensure that 

employees of both organizations were retained. 

B&B Theatres has also entered into a long-term 

service contract with both companies. 

Speaking of the sale, Bagby said, “I am very 

excited for the Sonic/Kneisley teams as they 

move into this new phase of the business. I have 

not been able to give Sonic and Kneisley the 

attention that they need as my time has been 

focused on growing B&B Theatres. Sonic has 

the best service team in the industry, and I’m 

so happy that they will all be a part of this next 

phase of growth for both companies.” Bagby will 

remain involved in a consultancy capacity for a 

time during the transition. 

Stan Hays has been in the industry for many 

years overseeing over 4,000 digital installs in the 

early stages of the digital conversion. He said, 

“Sonic has a reputation in the industry as a premiere 

service provider, and I am honored to help 

it grow into an even larger company. Ron Hageman 

will remain as executive director of Sonic 

and will continue to lead the company and its 

65 employees. I have no plans for any layoffs but 

instead plan to add seven new employees immediately 

so we can aggressively grow the company.” 

Mike Clement has spent his entire career in 

accounting and finance helping businesses of all 

sizes run efficiently and successfully, including 

seven years with AMC and its subsidiary National 

Cinema Network. Keith Watanabe’s career spans 

over 20 years in the motion picture industry 

with assignments at Eastman Kodak, Christie 

projection, Harkness screens, and CinemaNext. 

Sonic is located in Iola, Kansas, but has 

technicians throughout the country and currently 

services over 1,200 screens in 35 states. 


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TRADE TALK 

ULF QVICKLAND JOINS QSC 

>> QSC, LLC, a global manufacturer of cinema solutions, 

has announced the appointment of Ulf Qvicklund 

as cinema sales manager, EMEA. 

Qvicklund comes to QSC with experience in planning, 

project management, and installation of complete 

cinema sound and projection systems. He began his career 

in cinema as a projectionist for Cinema Biografen in his 

hometown of Stromstad, Sweden. He spent over 20 years 

as sales director and then managing director with Hjalmar 

Wilhelmsen AS, a cinema equipment dealer based in 

Hovik, Norway. After that, Qvicklund was key accounts 

manager with Videvox. In 2016, he started his own business 

as a cinema equipment dealer, Cinema Design. 

“Having spent many years as a cinema equipment 

dealer and installer, I have a strong sense of the specific 

needs of this part of the industry,” said Qvicklund. “I’m 

certain that my background will help me to better support 

the dealer channel and QSC Cinema throughout Europe, 

the Middle East, and Africa.” 

Qvicklund has divested himself from Cinema Design, 

and the company will continue as a cinema equipment 

dealer under new ownership and management. He is 

based in Stromstad, Sweden, and reports to Danny Pickett, 

director, global cinema sales. 


IPIC TO CARRY QUESTLOVE’S 

POPCORN SEASONINGS 

>> This month, iPic members and 

moviegoers can flavor their popcorn with 

Questlove’s new line of SNEAKIES popcorn 

seasonings, developed as part of his 

popcorn collection exclusively for Williams-Sonoma, 

and now making its debut 

at iPic Theaters around the country. 

To announce the launch, Questlove 

filmed an on-site “trailer” for his SNEAK- 

IES at iPic Fulton Market in New York 

City. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved 

going to the movies. But what’s the movies 

without popcorn, and what’s popcorn 

without popcorn flavoring?” said Questlove, 

who is the drummer and co-founder 

of the Grammy Award–winning band The 

Roots and a culinary entrepreneur. 

SNEAKIES come in a variety of 

flavors including Truffle Parm Rosemary, 

Lemon Pepper, and Sunday Morning 

Cereal. Available for purchase both in 

theater and at the iPic Express counter, 

the trio is sold for 

$20 and can be 

enjoyed in-cinema 

with three 

small bags of popcorn 

for guests 

to sample each 

flavor, or saved to 

enjoy at home. 

Every iPic 

Premium Plus 

ticketholder 

receives a complimentary 

pillow 

and blanket along 

with free popcorn 

throughout the 

film—a good way 

to enjoy the new 

SNEAKIES seasonings. 

iPic has previously partnered with 

national and international celebrities and 

chefs, including Jet Tila of “Chopped” 

and “Iron Chef America”; “Top Chef” 

competitor and World Pizza Championships 

winner Elizabeth Falkner; Phil 

Rosenthal of Netflix series “Somebody 

Feed Phil”; and Border Grill’s Mary Sue 

Milliken, among others. 


TRADE TALK 

STUDIO MOVIE GRILL OFFERS 

INVITE-ONLY SUBSCRIPTION 

SERVICE 

>> Studio Movie Grill has launched its 

SMG Access Subscription. As the first 

exhibitor to fully embrace the subscription 

model, SMG has now created an 

SMG-Exclusive mobile app boasting all 

titles and alternate programming, show 

times, and locations for a monthly cost. 

Guests can tailor a plan to suit their 

needs including number of members and 

payment preferences. 

Additionally, SMG Access Subscription 

is set to become the highest tier of 

SMG’s loyalty program, SMG Access, 

which launched in June 2018. The two 

programs will integrate later this year, 

combining features of both programs and 

allowing guests to benefit from the perks 

of SMG Access and its community-driven 

mission in addition to the savings and 

convenience of SMG Access Subscription. 

“After a year of testing and extensive 

guest interviews, SMG is premiering, 

in limited release, our own subscription 

service,” says Founder/CEO Brian 

Schultz. “SMG will continue its fanatical 

commitment to keeping the theatergoing 

experience alive and well. We are committed 

to providing a top-tier moviegoing 

experience and offering our guests the 

very best content, presentation, hospitality, 

comfort, and dining experience in the 

world. SMG Access Subscription further 

aligns our brand to the viewing habits 

of our most loyal guests and encourages 

exploration of a wider range of film 

content, including SMG’s robust lineup 

of alternate programming.” 

Access Subscription offers multiple 

films per month, individual or groups 

plans, all SMG location participation, no 

blackout dates, plans starting at $14.99/ 

month and additional membership may 

be added starting at $13.99/month. The 

program can be downloaded for iPhone at 

the App Store or Android on Google Play. 


TRADE TALK 

MALCO THEATRES TO UPGRADE 

JONESBORO CINEMA 

>> Memphis-based Malco Theatres has 

announced luxury recliner seating and 

upgraded amenities at the Jonesboro 

Towne Cinema (formerly Hollywood 

Cinema), in Jonesboro, Arkansas. 

Renovations to the theater will include 

converting all auditoriums to luxury 

recliner seats with reserved seating and 

upgrading select auditoriums to Dolby 

Atmos sound. Patrons will also have 

access to the new Malco Grill option that 

will include gourmet food selections and 

potentially a full bar with beer and wine. 

“We are excited to bring these new 

amenities to the Jonesboro market. For 

over 50 years we have been a proud 

member of this community and feel 

like it is our second home,” said David 

Tashie, senior VP of operations. “Our 

emphasis has always been on quality and 

we have always stressed the importance 

of staying ahead of the curve in sight and 

sound technology. Now, we’ll be adding 

another layer of excellence by increasing 

the seating comfort for our patrons. Our 

family has been in this business for over 

100 years, and we’ve always embraced 

any new idea that enhances the moviegoing 

experience for our patrons. We 

believe these new amenities will add to 

the already fun and exciting experience of 

going out to the movies.” 

The theater will remain open during 

the transition, with final renovations 

expected to be complete by summer. The 

previously announced premium cinema 

in Greensborough Village, Greensborough 

Studio Cinema, also in Jonesboro, 

is well under way with a planned summer 

2019 completion date. 


THEATRE BOX COMPLEX 

OPENS IN SAN DIEGO’S 

GASLAMP QUARTER 

>> San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter’s new 

luxury theater, dining, and entertainment 

complex, Theatre Box, opened in mid-December 

with a celebration hosted by music 

star Pitbull and TV star Nick Cannon. 

Occupying one city block, two-stories, 

and 73,000 square feet, Theatre Box 

unveiled the first phase, TCL Chinese 

Theatre’s first luxury dine-in cinema, Sugar 

Factory American Brasserie, and the 

Chocolate Lounge. Nick Cannon’s Wild 

’N Out Sports Bar and Arcade and Pitbull’s 

rooftop lounge, iLov305, will open 

later this year as part of a second phase. 

Hollywood movie palace TCL Chinese 

Theatre brings its rich 90-year history, including 

iconic movie star hand and footprints, 

to San Diego with the opening of 

the eight-theater luxury dine-in cinema. 

Sugar Factory’s signature sweets and treats 

fill the lobby, including more than 450 

types of candy and a café counter offering 

gelato, gourmet coffee, freshly baked pastries, 

and other refreshments. The brand’s 

sparkly lollipops, Couture Pops, will also 

be on display. 

Each of the luxury theaters on the 

second story provides plush, reclining 

seating for approximately 75 people. 

Individual theater boxes complete with 

pre-ordered goodies await guests at their 

arrival. At the touch of a button, moviegoers 

may enjoy offerings from Sugar 

Factory’s menu of signature cocktails, 

dishes, and desserts in the comfort of 

their individual leather recliners. Popcorn 

is taken to the next level with several 

different flavors and the option to mix 

and match. 

On the main level, the 14,000-squarefoot 

Sugar Factory American Brasserie 

features an expansive menu for breakfast, 

lunch, and dinner. Sugar Factory’s smoking 

candy goblets are available with and 

without spirits and include the Lollipop 

Passion garnished with unicorn lollipops 

and candy necklaces. 

The 3,000-square-foot Chocolate 

Lounge serves an array of cocktails served 

in chocolate-dipped glassware and hosts 

DJ appearances. n 


EXECUTIVE SUITE 

AN ANALYSIS OF THE RECORD-BREAKING 

YEAR AT THE BOX OFFICE 

by John Fithian, President & CEO, NATO 

>> The movie theater industry experienced a record-breaking 

year in 2018, both domestically and globally. In the U.S., $11.8 billion 

in box office receipts represented a 6.8 percent improvement 

over 2017 and an all-time record. Similarly, though less dramatic, 

the international figure of $29.8 billion also set a record, though 

that number represented smaller growth, at a 1 percent increase 

over 2017. These results certainly put to rest some doomsday 

predictions made during the slow summer of 2017. And given the 

plethora of entertainment choices today, this growth in a mature 

industry has to be reassuring. 

To better understand the state of the 

business, however, a deeper dive may 

be in order. Not all territories achieved 

positive results in 2018. Breaking down 

the numbers in a more granular and regional 

way may offer insights about what 

is working and what isn’t. Though many 

of the following themes have become our 

mantra at NATO, it may be instructive 

to see how they apply to the performance 

of 2018. 

Good and Diverse Movies, Wisely 

Distributed, Drive the Box Office 

The most basic axiom of the exhibition 

business is “content is king,” and 

Hollywood offered an undeniably strong 

slate in 2018. From superhero blockbusters 

like Avengers: Infinity War and Aquaman 

to action movies like Jurassic World: 

Fallen Kingdom and Mission: Impossible 

– Fallout, and from musically themed 

movies like Bohemian Rhapsody and A 

Star is Born to family titles like Incredibles 

2 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 

and senior-skewing movies like The Mule, 

the major studios brought four-quadrant 

tentpoles of mega-proportion. 

But several other, newer developments 

augmented growth. The year 2018 represented 

perhaps the greatest leap forward 

in successful diversity in casting. Black 

Panther, with an entire cast of African and 

African American actors, wore the box 

office crown in the U.S. and did very well 

internationally as well. The strength of 

the title nonetheless varied tremendously 

on a region by region basis. Nowhere in 

Europe did Black Panther come in first, 

and the movie struggled to make the top 

10 in countries like Italy and Spain. Crazy 

Rich Asians also represented the biggest 

success in the U.S. for an all-Asian cast, 

but that movie too had challenges in 

some other territories, including disappointing 

results in China. 

Beyond diversity in casting, the year 

2018 also represented a bit of a breakthrough 

for diversity in genre. Documentaries 

did very well in the U.S., with four 

titles exceeding $10 million in gross (Free 

Solo, RBG, Three Identical Strangers, and 

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) 

Outside the U.S., box office success 

relies as well on local content, not just 

Hollywood fare. Scandinavia, for example, 

experienced tremendous growth with 

particularly strong local titles in countries 

like Denmark and Sweden. Similarly, in 

the United Kingdom, strong admissions 

growth resulted in part from the success 

of UK co-productions including Mamma 

Mia! Here We Go Again and Bohemian 

Rhapsody. And in Poland, Wojciech Smarzowski’s 

Clergy did tremendous business. 

By contrast, Germany’s dismal year was 

driven in part by the lack of any successful 

local movies. 

Distribution patterns also matter a 

great deal. Theater operations continue 

12 months of the year, for all 365 days. 

Yet historically domestic distributors 


EXECUTIVE SUITE 

hesitated to release important titles in the 

“dead months” like January–February and 

September–October, preferring instead 

the months of summer school holidays or 

winter break. At least domestically, 2018 

represents a year when all 12 months 

were successful. Black Panther brought 

records to the month of February, while 

two titles (Halloween and Venom) helped 

produce a record-breaking October. 

The ability to spread movies across the 

calendar was inhibited a bit overseas by 

the scheduling of the World Cup football 

tournament. And in some territories, 

old and bad distribution habits continued. 

Italian cinemas had their worst 

performance in a decade, in part because 

distributors continued to skip the summer 

months for fear that all Italians go to the 

beach and don’t watch movies then. Fortunately, 

it appears that 2019 may represent 

a new day in Italy as at least three major 

titles are set for release in the summer. 

An Enhanced Moviegoing Experience is 

Essential for Growth 

People go to movie theaters to see 

great movies—and to have an enjoyable 

experience like they cannot have at home. 

In 2018, innovation and enhancement in 

the exhibition experience drove growth. In 

the U.S., two developments in particular 

helped to enable the record year. First, the 

penetration of luxury recliners grew substantially, 

offering patrons the most comfortable 

movie-watching environment ever. 

Just listen in to any of the quarterly conference 

calls of the publicly traded companies 

and you can hear the Wall Street analysts 

check in on the pace of re-seating. 

Similarly, domestic operators widely 

expanded the offering of upscale food 

options, and adult beverages too. Upscale 

food and beverage not only drive 

consumption per capita spending but 

increase ticket sales as well. 

Around the world the pace of innovation, 

or lack thereof, also affects box office 

returns. In the U.K., for example, patrons 

are responding to upgraded cinemas. In 

Germany, by contrast, the market has 

BLACK PANTHER HOLDS THE RECORD FOR BEST 

FEBRUARY OPENING WEEKEND WITH OVER $200 

MILLION AND ENDED ITS DOMESTIC RUN WITH OVER 

$700 MILLION, RANKING THIRD ALL-TIME. 

been shrinking in part because the infrastructure 

is aging. Most of the multiplexes 

in the country were built in the 1990s 

and have yet to see the improvements 

that are common in North America or in 

Northern Europe. 

Ticket Prices Matter 

Ticket prices always constitute an 

important factor in the frequency rates 

of moviegoers. Particularly in contrast 

to other out-of-home entertainment options, 

such as sporting events, amusement 

parks, or live performances, the theatrical 

experience remains affordable. Indeed, 

even with the significant capital expense 

associated with infrastructure upgrades 

in recent years, the average movie ticket 

price in the U.S. has risen slightly slower 

than the cost of inflation over the past 

four decades. Though final numbers will 

be announced subsequent to the writing 

of this column, it appears that the average 

ticket price in the U.S. during 2018 was 

approximately $9.15. Though a record 

high, that number actually comes in 

slightly lower than the cost of inflation 

when compared to 1978. 

Outside the U.S., some ticket price 

experimentation in 2018 bears watching 

going forward. In Germany and other 

European territories, greater dynamic 

pricing has begun to take hold. Variable 

pricing based on demand levels, proximity 

to show time, seat location within the 

auditorium, and other factors has shown 

promise. And in the UK, ticket price reductions 

helped produce a 50-year record 

in admissions even though box office 

receipts were essentially flat. 

During 2018 a new development in 

domestic ticket pricing—subscription 

services—may have also played a small 

role in the strong admissions numbers. 

Though early third-party subscription 

models proved unsustainable, exhibitors 

in the U.S. have begun to roll out their 

own subscription services with some significant 

traction. It is also worth noting 

that subscription services have operated 

successfully for years in some other territories, 

such as the U.K. Though NATO 

will not take a position on any particular 

branded model, the trade association has 

stated that subscription services can be 

a useful component of the pricing mix 

when constructed on sustainable models 

that are based on transparent and real 

data, and that respect the privacy of consumers’ 

data as well. 

In some territories, local governments 

can affect ticket prices through unwise 

taxation schemes. In Spain, ticket sales 

have been damaged for years by the government’s 

imposition of a 21 percent tax. 

In 2018, Spain experienced a box office 

recovery in part because the ticket tax rate 

was lowered to 10 percent. In Saudi Arabia, 

meanwhile, the historic news that the 

kingdom would legalize motion picture 

exhibition for the first time in decades 

was coupled with the unfortunate news of 

a 25 percent ticket tax. 

At the end of the analysis, though, it 

cannot be disputed that 2018 was a great 

year for the motion picture exhibition 

business. Commercially relevant movies, 

exhibited in luxurious movie houses at 

affordable prices, drove the industry to 

record numbers. And those trends look 

likely to continue in 2019. 

See you at the movies! n 


CHARITY SPOTLIGHT 

To add events in an upcoming issue, please send announcements to numbers@boxoffice.com 

BRAVE BEGINNINGS 

WILL ROGERS MOTION PICTURE 

PIONEERS FOUNDATION 

Starting this summer, John Cena (pictured) will appear 

on movie theater screens for a different sort of project: 

a 30-second PSA in support of Brave Beginnings. The 

program was founded by the Will Rogers Motion Picture 

Pioneers Foundation in 2006 to help save the lives of 

premature babies. Since that time, it’s given millions of 

dollars in grants to 160 U.S. hospitals, which use the 

money to purchase neonatal care equipment. You can find 

out more about the program at bravebeinnings.org. 

PHOTO: RYAN MILLER/CAPTURE IMAGING 


LOLLIPOP THEATER NETWORK 

>> Founded in 2002, the Lollipop Theater 

Network partners with studios to bring the 

magic of movies to hospitalized children 

across the U.S. This past holiday season, the 

charity—together with Universal Pictures and 

Illumination—screened Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch at 

25 hospitals. The events were paired with red 

carpets, movie tickets, and movie swag, with 

Grinch stars Kenan Thompson, Rashida Jones, 

and Cameron Seely putting in special appearances 

at two of the hospitals. 

Said Jim Orr, president, distribution, at 

Universal Pictures and member of Lollipop’s advisory 

board: “The incomparable work that Lollipop 

does is not only emblematic of the spirit 

of the holidays, but it is also an inspiration to 

us all. We are honored to work alongside the 

network of children’s hospitals and facilities 

to bring joy to these brave children and their 

families during December.” 

DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH STAR RASHIDA JONES HANGS OUT WITH A PATIENT AT ONE OF LOLLIPOP THEATER 

NETWORK’S SPECIAL HOLIDAY EVENTS. 

DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH STARS KENAN THOMPSON AND CAMERON SEELY WORK ON GRINCH-THEMED 

ART WITH PATIENTS 



ON JANUARY 12, VARIETY OF TEXAS HELD A BIKE PRESENTATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 

AMBUCS LONGVIEW AND SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN – HOUSTON. VARIETY OF 

TEXAS GAVE A $10,000 GRANT FOR 13 LOCAL CHILDREN TO RECEIVE ADAPTIVE BIKES. 

VARIETY OF ILLINOIS GRANT RECIPIENT AALIYAH CAN’T WAIT TO GO BIKING WITH HER FAMILY ON HER NEW DUET ELECTRO ADAPTED 

BICYCLE, WHICH VARIETY OF ILLINOIS PRESENTED TO HER AT STUDIO MOVIE GRILL’S SPECIAL NEEDS SCREENING OF MARY POPPINS 

RETURNS IN JANUARY. 

VARIETY OF 

DETROIT 

FRIDAY, 

JANUARY 25 

THE TOWNSEND 

HOTEL 

Variety of Detroit 

brought some heat to 

a chilly January with 

their sixth-annual Variety 

Chili, Wings & 

Soup(er) Bowl. Some 

of Metro Detroit’s 

most talented chefs 

gathered for a friendly 

competition of who 

could cook up the best 

chili, wings, and soup. 



C O M I N G S O O N 

VARIETY OF 

SOUTHERN NEVADA 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24 

BRENDEN THEATRES AT THE PALMS 

CASINO & RESORT / LAS VEGAS, 

NEVADA 

A $35 ticket gets you a seat (plus $25 in 

concessions) at Variety of Southern Nevada’s 

Variety Salutes Hollywood – Oscar Viewing 

Party. Local radio personality Chet Buchanan 

of KLUC hosts the event, which is also set to 

feature a raffle and silent auction. Tickets are 

available at VarietySN.org. 

VARIETY OF DETROIT 

SUNDAY, MARCH 3 

THE SOMERSET COLLECTION 

Tickets are available to Variety of Detroit’s 

SHINE Fashion Show, with proceeds 

benefiting FAR Therapeutic Arts and 

Recreation and Variety’s 4-H Horseback 

Riding Program. 

VARIETY OF TEXAS 

SATURDAY, MARCH 23 

PEACEABLE KINGDOM RETREAT 

FOR CHILDREN 

The Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children 

in Killeen, Texas, opens to the public for Variety 

of Texas’ seventh-annual Kites for Kids. 

The free community event boasts kite flying, 

contests, games, mini-golf, face painting, 

and much more. Visit VarietyTexas.org for 

more information. n 

IMAGINATION, INVENTION AND INNOVATION 

“IS THERE A SMARTER WAY 

TO HANDLE POPCORN?” 

Leave it to Cretors to introduce a smarter way 

to move and store popped popcorn. With the 

patented MOBILE ROC N’ ROLL CORNDITIONER, 

popped corn goes directly from the Pop N’ Roll 

kettle into a removable stainless steel bin that 

can be rolled and plugged into your concession 

stand or anywhere there is a standard outlet. 

Bring fresh popcorn to the crowds! 

Contact Shelly Olesen at 847-616-6901 

or solesen@cretors.com for product details. 


INDIE FOCUS 

b r o u g h t t o y o u b y 

GOLD TOWN NICKELODEON THEATER 

JUNEAU, ALASKA 

Contributor: Collette Costa, Co-Owner 

“… yeah you, reading this magazine … lemme ask you something. Do you think it’s easy being the only art house 

movie theater in the entire state of Alaska? You think it’s hard not to digitally “comply” when you’re the last 35-millimeter 

projection house in the Last Frontier? And how much pressure do you imagine a single-screen 75-seat joint like this must 

be under to ensure they’re properly serving their entire capital city community?? Huh? Well let me tell you something, 

buddy ... we don’t live in Alaska because it’s easy, we sure as hell don’t comply without a fight, and when we’re under 

pressure, honey, we produce black gold!” 

— continued on page 30 – 


INDIE FOCUS 

LOCATION 

Gold Town Nickelodeon theater, in Juneau, 

Alaska (population 32,000), sits at the base of the 

world’s largest glacial ice field to the north and 

east, the world’s largest temperate rain forest to the 

south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west; the only 

way in or out is by boat or plane. Isolated though 

we may be, Gold Town has brought the world 

at large to our tiny capital for the past 20 years 

through the transcendent magic of movies. 

SCREENS 1 

CAPACITY 75 

TOP 2018 TITLES 

RBG 

THE DEATH OF STALIN 

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS 

EIGHTH GRADE 

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME 

LEAVE NO TRACE 

HEREDITARY 

HISTORY 

Lisle Hebert was born at the St. Ann’s orphanage 

in Juneau, Alaska, in 1945 and adopted by a 

loving local family. He developed a deep love for 

movies throughout his life, and after high school 

moved to California to attend film school. After 

graduating, he returned home with a business 

scheme: to make a short, live-action docudrama 

about the early history of Juneau, called Gold 

Town, and screen the film to cruise-ship tourists. 

He opened the theater in 1997, but it became 

obvious that Lisle’s filmmaking skills far surpassed 

his business acumen. It seemed tourists weren’t 

interested in sitting in a dark theater while there 

were mountains, glaciers, bears, whales, fish, eagles, 

and gold mines basking in 18 hours of sunshine all 

around them! 

In true frontier fashion, though, he persevered 

and in 1998 began screening indie films to locals 

all year long, with early titles like The Thin Red 

Line, Croupier, and Pecker. Gold Town quickly 

became a downtown institution, and Lisle lovingly 

ran it for over a decade until his wife threatened 

him with divorce if he kept up his time-consuming 

“hobby.” He wisely sold it to its current owners, 

Mark Ridgway and yours truly, Collette Costa, 

which proved to be a fortuitously wise move, as 

Lisle was diagnosed with ALS just four years later 

and was able to spend many happy hours with his 

family while still enjoying weekly screenings of 

great cinema, where he always insisted on paying 

for his ticket. Since taking over in 2010, Mark 

and I have remained committed to Lisle’s vision 

to entertain, challenge, inspire, represent, and 

inform as wide a range of our neighbors as possible 

by screening the best independent, foreign, and 

documentary films available. 

PROGRAMMING 

Mark and I are both hyper-activated, caf- 


feine-soaked individuals, so we expanded our 

programming to include educational components, 

community events, live shows, musical performances, 

live video Skypes, and anything else that 

anyone needs to share with the city members at 

large. We have found our greatest successes are 

when we collaborate with specialty interest groups, 

from the LGBTQ community to the Southeast 

Alaska Sailing Club to the League of Women 

Voters to the Jewish community to the Girl Scouts, 

and when we work together, we take the labor out 

of “col-labor-ation.” We now screen over 40 new 

films a year, plus we have a new Classic Cinema 

Club, are proud recipients of the Coolidge 

Theater’s Alfred P Sloan Science on Screen grant, 

and two years ago started a membership program. 

In this fertile valley, you gotta keep moving or the 

moss grows quick! 

FOOD & BEVERAGE 

Along with expanding our programming, we 

spiffed up our concessions. Bless Lisle, he always 

had great popcorn with real butter and brewer’s 

yeast, but otherwise it was just an open box of 

candy bars and a 6-pack of Coke on his ticket table 

with a donation jar if you felt like paying. We kept 

the butter and yeast but came up with the Commitment-Phobic 

Candy Bar—bulk jars of candy 

you can mix and match, for folks who can’t make 

up their minds. 

CELLULOID & CINEMA ADVERTISING 

Now squarely in the world of DCP (digital) 

films, Gold Town resists compliance and proudly 

(stubbornly, some would argue) still screens 

35-millimeter films whenever the opportunity 

arises. To make up for the lack of DCP content, 

we have been fortuitously saved from the guillotine 

by two companies: Proludio and Spotlight Cinema 

Networks. Proludio provides content delivery in 

an exemplary fashion, and Spotlight provides us 

the extra (very much) needed revenue to pay for 

it. Both companies have great teams who work as 

hard as I do to create the best experience for my 

patrons, and having the autonomy to choose what 

content is most appropriate for my patrons is truly 

priceless. Anytime I meet an independent theater 

owner, my first question is whether or not they’ve 

heard of these two players, and they both get my 

unhesitating recommendation. Together they are 

the Castor and Pollux of Gold Town, shoring us up 

from below. n 

LISLE HEBERT 


FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT 

EXPAT EXHIBITOR 

CINEPAX CEO MARIAM EL BACHA ON HER GLOBAL CINEMA JOURNEY 

by Ayşegül Algan, Boxoffice France 

(LEFT) JONGRYUL KIM, CEO OF 

CJ 4DPLEX / (RIGHT) MARIAM 

EL BACHA, CEO OF CINEPAX. THE 

PAKISTANI CIRCUIT RECENTLY 

ANNOUNCED PLANS TO ADD 4DX 

IMMERSIVE SEATING TO TWO 

LOCATIONS. 

>> Mariam El Bacha’s career may have started in 

her native Argentina, where she opened multiplexes 

for Village Cines, but her story since has been 

a globe-trotting journey. The executive’s career 

has taken her to multiple international markets, 

including the United Kingdom (Vue Cinemas), 

Australia (Village Cinemas), Vietnam (MegaStar 

Cineplexes, later acquired by CJ CGV), and Malaysia 

(MBO Cinemas). 

In short, El Bacha has pursued one of the most 

intensive and promising international careers in 

exhibition today. That journey will now continue in 

Pakistan, where she has been appointed the chief executive 

officer of Cinepax, the top cinema circuit in 

the country. Boxoffice spoke with El Bacha at the 

Emerging Cinema Markers Conference in Istanbul, 

where she shared her dedication and inspiration to 

“build a family entertainment solution for Pakistani 

families belonging to all classes.” 

A Global Vision of Entertainment 

Today, Cinepax has 13 cinemas, 45 screens, 

and 7,400 seats across Pakistan. Those figures don’t 

include the 100 new screens Cinepax expects to 

introduce into the market within the next five years. 

Presenting state-of-the art cinemas and top-of-theline 

customer service to Pakistan’s moviegoers is only 

part of Mariam El Bacha’s vision for Cinepax. The 

Cinepax group covers various aspects of the national 

film industry, including distribution, production, 

construction, and, as of September 2018, an SVOD 

division providing flexible subscription plans. 

“We founded Excellency Films because we 

understood the importance of the local industry 

in order to sustain the business in the long run,” 

explains El Bacha. “We cannot keep on launching 

locally produced movies which are not well 

promoted and distributed. With such a volatile 

Pakistan-India relationship, we cannot rely on 

Bollywood either, its titles being here one day 

and not the other.” These market conditions were 

behind Cinepax’s decision to tap into Pakistan’s 

long-standing cinema legacy, which counted approximately 

1,150 screens (119 in Karachi alone) 

before being disrupted by the 1977 military coup. 

Today, there are only 146 screens operating in the 

country; roughly one screen per 1.37 million in a 

country with a population of 200 million. 

From “Male” to “Family” Entertainment 

Cinepax was founded by Arif Baigmohamed and 

Pir Saad Ahsanuddin, a duo who returned to Pakistan 

after having studied in the United States, where they 

had enjoyed an American lifestyle. “They had totally 

engaged with cinema and wanted to bring that entertainment 

experience to their country,” says El Bacha. 

“But you should imagine what cinemas looked like 

in Pakistan just 10 years ago: There were a lot of 

beautiful abandoned one-screeners, and most cinemas 

weren’t welcoming families. Not one rightful man 

would have sent his daughter or his wife to those locations. 

So we needed to start moving things around, 

building new locations and refreshing the concept.” 

Nevertheless, there are some areas in Pakistan where 

it remains culturally unacceptable for women to work 

or be seen in cinemas. “For a child of Argentina like 

me, who has been going to the movies since I was 

5 years old, cinema has always been about family 

entertainment,” she says. “There is a lot of work to be 

done in terms of breaking cultural barriers to go back 


to that idea.” Today, Pakistan represents a 

sizable and expanding market, with entertainment 

needs that are ripe for expansion 

“Pakistan offers both opportunity and 

ability to scale,” she continues. “Building 

new locations is our main aim.” 

Regulatory Challenges 

While cinema attendance in an emerging 

market like Pakistan continues to grow, 

steadily redefining the cultural barriers of 

old, local authorities have simultaneously 

begun to level their interventionism. 

Whereas ticket prices had been regulated 

in the 1980s, today pricing is left to the 

exhibitor’s discretion. Heavy entertainment 

taxes have been lifted, with only a single 

agency tasked with collecting them. “There 

used to be a three-shows-a-day limitation 

per screen; today, the only restriction we 

have is to open after Friday’s prayer,” states 

El Bacha. “Of course, there is still a lot of 

work to do on piracy, and a lot of censorship 

on movies, but with over 160 movie 

releases a year in Pakistan, we have plenty 

to work on.” 

Growing Together 

With its presence in eight of Pakistan’s 

cities, among them Pakistan’s biggest screen 

at approximately 79 feet (24 meters) wide, 

Cinepax is the uncontested market leader. 

Yet Mariam El Bacha believes in the value 

of healthy competition and the need for 

exhibition to grow. She says, “There is so 

much potential in Pakistan that the more 

cinemas we have, it doesn’t matter whether 

they’re ours or another’s, it will allow us 

to grow together.” Because Pakistan is a 

country with few landlords ready to invest 

in shopping malls, Cinepax decided to 

grow by developing family entertainment 

centers. These complexes include floors 

dedicated to cinema, children’s play areas, 

and food courts. 

While Indian releases generate a lot of 

customer excitement, Pakistani productions 

have begun to perform better and 

have emerged as the real beneficiaries 

of the new market. In 2007, Bollywood 

films accounted for nearly 70 percent of 

admissions in Pakistan; between January 

2015 and October 2015, they represented 

only 44 percent. During the same span, 

films produced in Urdu, the national 

language of Pakistan, increased from 

one to 29 titles a year. “The potential of 

Pakistani movies in the country is huge,” 

admits El Bacha. “In the last six months, 

the top five movies at the box office were 

Pakistani, the number six [title] being a 

Bollywood film. People are hungry for 

local content. And that makes us understand 

that there is no healthy exhibition 

industry without a very prominent and 

healthy local cinema industry.” n 


A record-setting box office, one that nearly hit the $12 billion mark, was an ideal backdrop to a busy 2018 in the 

exhibition business. While dine-in cinemas and premium amenities expanded their footprints, the hottest trend continues 

to be consolidation. M&A remains a major topic in the industry, as the effects of consolidation continue to make their mark. 

Among the most notable recent acquisitions within the market are some familiar names: Cobb (CMX), Warren (Regal), 

Landmark Theatres (Cohen Media Group), and Movie Tavern (Marcus) are all operating under new ownership. Other 

circuits, like Regal and Landmark Cinemas of Canada, are each now part of a larger European-based network of cinemas. 

This trend can be plainly seen throughout the North American market and makes for a more international industry. Eight 

of the market’s top 25 exhibition circuits have a multinational presence: AMC, Regal (Cineworld), Cinemark, CMX (Cinemex), 

Landmark Cinemas (Kinepolis), Caribbean Cinemas, Reading, and Cinépolis. As the industry continues to grow internationally, 

it is fitting to note that 2018 was a record year not only at the domestic box office but at the global box office as well. 


Kevin Shepela, EVP – Chief Commercial Officer 

Warmest congratulations to the Giants of Exhibition! You 

continue to demonstrate your commitment to consumers through 

new technology, amenities, and services that make the moviegoing 

experience second to none. 

We are proud to be your partner in exploring new ways to help 

consumers discover movies and buy tickets to your theaters. 

We work closely with the biggest consumer platforms, as well 

as our own sites like MovieTickets.com, Flixster, Movieclips, Rotten 

Tomatoes, and many others to ensure fans can purchase tickets to 

your theater on any device. 

Last year, we launched Fandango VIP, our free-to-join rewards 

program, to get fans excited about seeing movies on the big screen 

more often. For every ticket they purchase, Fandango VIP members 

earn points so they can enjoy more movies at a discounted price. 

Looking ahead, we are finding new ways to offer a unique 

theatrical experience to moviegoers. This year, we are planning 

multiple early-access screenings, allowing fans to watch highly 

anticipated movies before anyone else, driving more excitement 

about the big-screen experience and more moviegoers into 

your theaters. 

We can’t wait to help grow your business with the very best 

movie discovery, planning, and ticket-buying innovations. We are 

grateful for your continued support and look forward to supporting 

you as we head into a fantastic year for moviegoing. 

Michael Blatz, Chief Executive Officer 

VIP Cinema Seating is pleased to congratulate the companies 

honored on this year’s Giants of Exhibition list. Your dedication, 

innovation, and focus on the customer experience have made 

moviegoing a vibrant and exciting experience vital to the cultural 

life and imagination of people of every age. 

VIP is proud to be partners with many of the honored 

companies and grateful for the belief shown in the unique concept 

we pioneered over a decade ago with the introduction of luxury 

cinema seating. In the process, we have surprised and delighted 

exhibitors with an entirely new paradigm: namely, that while luxury 

seating means fewer total seats, it also means higher total profits 

and greater moviegoer loyalty. 

Our vision at VIP is directly aimed at delivering an enhanced 

customer experience through new and exciting products that 

seamlessly integrate the needs and wants of exhibitors and 

moviegoers with cutting-edge technology, the finest materials, 

outstanding craftsmanship, and timely service. In order to deliver 

on this vision, we are investing in our infrastructure as well as 

upgrading and building our capability across every discipline so 

that we can be the easiest company to do business with and the 

most preferred partner of customers of all sizes. 

Congratulations once again to the Giants of Exhibition. We thank 

you for your partnership and look forward to working with you to 

continue to deliver a VIP customer experience that is second to none! 

Andrew and Robert Sunshine, 

Co-Managing Directors – CineAsia, CineEurope, ShowEast 

>> On behalf of the entire team at the Film Expo Group, we would 

like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the companies 

being recognized as one of the 2019 Giants of Exhibition. 

We will continue to work diligently to support the theatrical 

moviegoing experience at our annual conventions around 

the world. 

We could not be prouder to be a part of this fantastic industry 

and to be partners with companies like yours globally. 

Looking forward to a great 2019 and beyond. 

See you at the movies! 

Stan Ruszkowski, President 

>> On behalf of our team at Webedia Movies Pro, we would like to 

congratulate the circuits featured in this year’s Giants of Exhibition 

list. Our record year at the domestic box office is a reflection of the 

hard work and investment from these exhibitors, who have helped 

modernize the moviegoing experience for today’s audiences. 

That’s also a key part of our core mission at Webedia Movies Pro: 

helping cinemas better reach and engage with audiences through 

our show-times data, websites & mobile apps, and marketing 

services. As our industry continues to excel, Webedia Movies Pro is 

proud to be a partner of many of the exhibitors on this list and the 

many more who contribute to the diversity of the global cinema 

business. In conjunction with our colleagues at Boxoffice, we look 

forward to another successful year in 2019. 


2019 GIANTS OF EXHIBITION 

PHOTO COURTESY OF NCM 

AMC ENTERTAINMENT 

LEAWOOD, KS 

FOUNDED 1920 

SCREENS 8,080 

SITES 639 

LOCATIONS > AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, 

IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, 

NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, 

WV, WI, WY 

WWW.AMCTHEATRES.COM 

>> 2018 will be remembered as the year AMC launched its in-house 

subscription service, AMC Stubs A-List. With the impact it made, it’s hard to 

believe that its rollout didn’t take place until the second half of the year. 

First available to consumers on June 26, 2018, A-List went on to amass over 

600,000 members in its first six months. The growth rate far exceeded the 

company’s own expectations; AMC admitted to setting a 500,000-subscriber 

benchmark for A-List’s first year. That benchmark was achieved in early 

November, less than five months into its launch. 

A-List is a cinema subscription service integrated into AMC’s Stubs loyalty program as a premium 

tier at a recurring monthly cost of $20. By integrating the offering into its existing loyalty program, 

AMC Stubs, the circuit now counts over 17 million loyalty members—up from 2.5 million in 2016. 

A-List allows moviegoers to watch up to three films a week at any of its locations nationwide, with 

additional benefits like concessions upgrades and waived online-ticketing fees. What sets A-List 

apart from other cinema subscription services is having AMC’s full roster of premium theaters—with 

amenities such as 3-D, recliner seating, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX auditoriums—available to A-List 

members. A booking can therefore be upgraded to a premium experience at no extra cost. It comes 

at a time when the circuit has ramped up its investment on these premium offerings; over a third of 

all AMC locations already offer recliner seating. AMC will be increasing the monthly fee for A-List in 

select markets in 2019. 

AMC continues leading the pack among domestic exhibitors in terms of screen count. The circuit 

operates more than 8,000 screens across the nation, occupying the No. 1 or 2 spot in 22 of the 

country’s 25 biggest metropolitan areas. – Daniel Loria 


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REGAL CINEMAS 

KNOXVILLE, TN 

FOUNDED 1989 

SCREENS 7,227 

SITES 552 

LOCATIONS > AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, GU, 

HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, 

NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, 

WA, WV, NC 

WWW.REGMOVIES.COM 

>> 2018 was a transition year for Regal, as it welcomed a new ownership 

group (the U.K.’s Cineworld) and a new team of executives in key positions. 

The year also brought on a major rebrand as well; the circuit introduced 

a new logo and brand identity in October, part of what it called “a larger 

strategy to commit $1 billion over five years.” 

That investment will be felt well beyond Regal’s new corporate look. In 

what proved to be the year’s biggest cinema tech deal, Cineworld committed to 

installing an additional 145 4DX immersive-seating systems throughout its global network of cinemas. 

Seventy-nine of those new 4DX auditoriums will be Regal locations in the United States, drastically 

increasing Regal’s original commitment of 15 4DX auditoriums over the same time period. Regal’s 

partnership with 4DX parent company CJ 4DPLEX also introduced new ScreenX immersive screen 

auditoriums to the United States—with more installations expected throughout 2019. 

“The entertainment industry is progressing further into the future, driven by cutting-edge 

technology and creativity,” said Regal CMO Ken Thewes in a press release announcing the new logo. 

“We are motivated to adapt and change for the better to make sure our guests have an incredible 

experience from the moment they walk through the door. Regal is an industry trendsetter, and our 

rebranding project is part of that. In order to deliver on its promise, Regal will invest in top technology, 

like IMAX, 4DX, ScreenX, and others, the best cinema design and service, all to ensure that our 

customers enjoy the ultimate cinema experience.” 

Regal is now part of the second-largest exhibition circuit in the world under Cineworld, occupying 

the same position in the domestic market with over 7,000 screens across more than 500 theaters 

nationwide. – Daniel Loria 



CINEMARK USA 

PLANO, TX 

FOUNDED 1984 

SCREENS 4,579 

SITES 340 

LOCATIONS > AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, IA, IN, KS, 

KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MO, MN, MS, MT, NJ, NM, NV, NC, NY, OH, 

OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, AL, CT 

WWW.CINEMARK.COM 

>> Cinemark became the first major U.S. exhibitor to launch a cinema 

subscription plan, introducing Cinemark Movie Club in the final weeks of 

2017. Movie Club grants subscribers one standard ticket per month for 

$8.99, and includes perks such as a 20 percent discount on concessions, 

waived online-booking fees, and companion tickets. The service more 

than doubled Cinemark’s initial projections, finishing 2018 with more 

than 500,000 active members. The circuit claims Movie Club members 

purchased over 10 million tickets in 2018, accounting for 8 percent of its Q3 domestic box office 

revenue. This success kick-started domestic exhibitors’ efforts to provide an alternative to MoviePass 

in the United States. 

Cinemark gained traction through the first three quarters of 2018 (as of this writing, the only 

financial reporting publicly available), reporting year-over-year growth of 8.1 percent through the 

same period. With a presence in 41 states across the nation, Cinemark is a leader in recliner seating 

(covering approximately 55 percent of its domestic circuit). Its food and beverage operations have 

delivered 47 consecutive quarters of domestic concession-per-patron growth, a pace complemented 

by alcohol service across roughly 45 percent of its locations. The F&B performance is also driven by the 

presence of enhanced food and beverage options at approximately 75 percent of its domestic circuit. 

Cinemark is a leading player when it comes to premium large-format theaters, boasting both a fleet 

of IMAX screens and its own PLF offering, Cinemark XD, on a global level. The circuit has also embraced 

immersive seating through its partnership with D-BOX. The latest addition to Cinemark’s domestic 

screen count came this past December with the opening of a five-screen theater in Hayward, California. 

The circuit plans to continue its growth with commitments to open 20 new theaters globally starting in 

2019. – Daniel Loria 


CINEPLEX 

TORONTO, ON 

FOUNDED 1993 

SCREENS 1,692 

SITES 165 

LOCATIONS > CANADA 

WWW.CINEPLEX.COM 

>> Cineplex is by far Canada’s largest exhibition 

circuit: As of Sept. 30, 2018, its market share was 

75.8 percent. The chain welcomes more than 70 

million guests annually, with nearly 44 percent 

of its box office revenue derived from its variety 

of premium experiences. Cineplex’s UltraAVX premium large format, which includes Dolby Atmos 

immersive audio, is available at 90 auditoriums at 75 locations. The circuit also has 25 IMAX screens, 

75 VIP rooms in 20 locations, and 89 D-BOX motion-seating theaters at 78 sites. And this past summer, 

Cineplex announced plans to grow its 4DX motion and effects seating locations from one to as many as 

14 screens. 

Cineplex reported $422.3 million in concessions revenue in 2017, while the third quarter of 2018 

posted a record $6.25 concession sales per person, a 4 percent increase from the prior year’s period. 

Cineplex’s concessions include such popular brands as Tim Hortons, Outtakes, Pizza Pizza, and YoYo’s 

frozen yogurt. Alcohol beverage service is now available at 20 locations in Ontario and Alberta, with 

plans to expand as provincial laws permit. 

Online and mobile ticketing now accounts for 24.8 percent of total admissions. Cineplex recently 

launched a revamped mobile app, with enhancements including VIP guests’ ability to order food and 

beverages from their seats. Meanwhile, Cineplex’s SCENE loyalty program reached 9.4 million members 

on September 30. 

Always on the cutting edge, Cineplex has an exclusive deal in Canada with The VOID, an immersive 

VR experience. The VOID’s “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire” attraction is open at Cineplex Rec Rooms 

in Toronto and West Edmonton, with five more locations in the works. In September, the company also 

announced a strategic deal with VRstudios, a major global provider of turnkey, location-based virtual 

reality systems. – Kevin Lally 


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MARCUS THEATRES CORP. 

MILWAUKEE, WI 

FOUNDED 1935 

SCREENS 890 

SITES 78 

LOCATIONS > IL, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, WI 

WWW.MARCUSTHEATRES.COM 

1,098 screens and 90 sites upon the closing of its 

acquisition of Movie Tavern from Southern Theatres 

>> 2018 was a big year for Marcus Theatres. With the acquisition of 

Movie Tavern from Southern Theatres, the Milwaukee-based chain 

announced that it will become the fifth active North American circuit to 

pass the 1,000-screen milestone in 2019. The deal brings Movie Tavern’s 

22 locations and 208 screens into the Marcus fold, boosting that chain’s 

screen count by 23 percent and extending its reach to 17 states. 

With the acquisition of Movie Tavern, expected to be completed in the 

first quarter of this year, Marcus Theatres doubles down on its commitment to the dine-in experience. 

Founded in 2001, Movie Tavern was one of the first North American chains to fully embrace the dine-in 

experience. Marcus has been no slouch on that front itself, offering a variety of premium food and 

beverage options through a handful of in-theater dining options—in-theater, casual dine-in, and 

lounge—across its locations. 

In addition to expanding its footprint, Marcus spent 2018 improving many of its existing 

locations, adding amenities such as DreamLounger recliner seating, PLF screens (UltraScreen DLX 

and SuperScreen DLX, added to a combined total of 15 locations), and expanded food and beverage 

options. Per Marcus president and CEO Rolando Rodriguez, the amenities proved popular to summer 

moviegoers, many of whom “purchase[s] their tickets well in advance for films like Deadpool 2 and 

Solo: A Star Wars Story. They are eager to reserve their seats in our theaters that offer premier screens, 

seating, and terrific food and beverage!” 

Marcus Theatres moviegoers like what they’re seeing—at least according to the chain’s loyalty 

program, Magical Movie Rewards, which hit 3 million subscribers in December of last year. – Rebecca Pahle 


Celebrating its 85-year anniversary, Harkins Theatres, the 

largest privately owned circuit in the United States, enjoyed a 

2018 full of activity. It all began at the conclusion of Q1, when 

the company announced a $150 million initiative to enhance 

its existing cinemas nationwide. The amenities to take part 

in this rollout include electronic leather recliner seating, a PLF offering labeled CINE1—featuring laser 

projection, Dolby Atmos, and large screens—lobby bars and lounges, reserved seating, expanded 

concessions, and upgraded lobby renovations at several locations. Its commitment to improve the 

moviegoing experience expands beyond its locations; Harkins signed a deal with online-ticketing 

company Atom Tickets to complement its existing online-ticketing presence at third-party platforms like 

Fandango and MovieTickets.com. 

Harkins also welcomed several new names to its executive leadership in 2018. Some of its marquee 

appointments include the promotions of Racheal Wilson to chief operating officer, Tyler Cooper to 

executive vice president, and the hiring of former AMC executive Heather Morgan as its new VP of 

content and programming. 

Giving and community activism has been a long-standing part of Harkins’s corporate identity. 

In September, Harkins partnered with STX Entertainment for its first annual Women’s Equality Film 

Series, a weeklong festival featuring 15 films focusing on the stories of trailblazing women. Tickets to 

the series were accessibly priced at $5 per film, or $30 for a series pass. The circuit donated a portion 

of the proceeds to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Later in the year, as communities 

across California became affected by wildfires, Harkins launched a campaign to donate $1 from every 

popcorn purchased at its theaters on Thanksgiving Day to the American Red Cross California Wildfires 

Relief. – Daniel Loria 

HARKINS THEATRES 

SCOTTSDALE, AZ 

FOUNDED 1933 

SCREENS 515 

SITES 34 

LOCATIONS > AZ, CA, CO, OK, TX 

WWW.HARKINS.COM 



1,098 screens and 90 sites upon the closing of its acquisition of Movie Tavern from Southern Theatres 

SOUTHERN THEATRES 

NEW ORLEANS, LA 

FOUNDED 2003 

SCREENS 474 

SITES 40 

LOCATIONS >LA, AL, MS, NC, TX, SC, FL, GA, KY, OH, VA, CO, PA, NY 

WWW.THEGRANDTHEATRE.COM 

B&B THEATRES 

KANSAS, MO 

FOUNDED 1924 

SCREENS 394 

SITES 48 

LOCATIONS > FL, IA, KS, MS, MO, OK, TX 

WWW.BBTHEATRES.COM 

>> Southern Theatres enjoyed a busy 2018, capping off the year with 

the biggest M&A headline of the domestic market. The New Orleans– 

based circuit announced the sale of the Movie Tavern brand and locations 

to Marcus Theatres in Q4, a deal expected to be completed within the 

coming months that will be reflected in next year’s Giants of Exhibition 

list. Southern had originally acquired the dine-in circuit in 2013 and was 

influential in growing and expanding the brand ahead of its sale this past 

November. The deal reinforces the growing value of dine-in cinemas in 

the United States. Once considered a niche offering, dine-in proved to be 

a valuable commodity for Southern Theatres, which will count more than 

200 screens in its nationwide network once the sale is completed. Southern 

will continue to appeal to its audience through new initiatives, such as its 

recently launched Reel Rewards loyalty program. – Daniel Loria 

>> It was an exciting year for family-owned B&B Theatres. B&B kicked 

off the year with full-scale remodels of existing locations in Lee’s Summit, 

Missouri; Leavenworth, Kansas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company went 

on to unveil 85 screens across eight of its sites through remodels or new 

builds, including a new flagship location in Liberty, Missouri, site of the 

world’s largest ScreenX immersive-screen auditorium. B&B capped off 

the year in December with the opening of its latest theater, a 12-screen 

complex in Ankeny, Iowa. The theater boasts signature B&B amenities like 

family-friendly screenPLAY! auditoriums, MX4D immersive seating, Grand 

Screen PLF auditoriums, and heated recliners—not to mention a 12-lane 

bowling alley. The circuit will continue its commitment to “Bring Hollywood 

to the Heartland” in 2019 with the opening of a new nine-screen cinema in 

Topeka, Kansas. – Daniel Loria 


© Showcase Cinemas 

CMX CINEMAS 

MIAMI, FL 

FOUNDED 1936 

SCREENS 393 

SITES 38 

LOCATIONS > MN, IL, FL, NJ, AL, CO, GA, NC, OH, VA, MD, NY 

WWW.CMXCINEMAS.COM 

NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS 

NORWOOD, MA 

FOUNDED 1936 

SCREENS 376 

SITES 28 

LOCATIONS > MA, NY, OH, CT, NJ, RI 

WWW.SHOWCASECINEMAS.COM 

>> After a busy 2017 that saw the opening of its first U.S. location in April 

and the acquisition of Cobb Theatres in October, CMX settled into its second 

year in the market by further increasing its screen count and bolstering its 

executive roster. CMX named José Leonardo Martí, formerly the head of 

Mexico’s national cinema council, as its new U.S.-based CEO in September. 

Among the year’s most high-profile announcements by the U.S. arm of the 

Mexican circuit were expansion plans in cities like Tallahassee and Chicago, 

along with the opening of its first NYC location on the Upper East Side. The 

New York site welcomed new patrons in December with complimentary 

hot chocolate during the holiday season. A new player in the U.S. dine-in 

cinema space, CMX introduced its grab-and-go market concept in 2018, a 

new spin on expanded concessions at the movies. – Daniel Loria 

>> In November, National Amusements’ Showcase Cinemas brand 

launched its first subscription service, Showcase Subscribe. Starting at 

$16.95 for three movies a month, the program offers advance reserved 

tickets via the app. Movie fans can sign up for either the 2-D or the Premier 

plan, which includes 3-D and the premium XPLUS and IMAX formats. 

Showcase SuperLux, LuxLevels, and Showcase MX4D are not part of the 

subscription offering. Showcase Cinemas also recently renovated three 

of its New York State theaters: Showcase Cinema de Lux Cross County (10 

screens) in Yonkers, Showcase Cinema de Lux City Center 15 in White Plains, 

and College Point Multiplex Cinemas (12 screens) in Whitestone. All three 

locations feature power-operated, fully reclining chairs, swivel tables, and 

the ability to reserve in advance. – Kevin Lally 



MALCO THEATRES 

MEMPHIS, TN n WWW.MALCO.COM 

FOUNDED 1915 

SCREENS 353 

SITES 34 

LOCATIONS > TN, AR, MS, KY, MO, LA 

The Memphis-based chain has its eye toward 

upgrades as the new year gets under way. 

Upcoming renovations to their Jonesboro, 

Arkansas, Hollywood Cinema will transition 

all the multiplex’s auditorium’s to luxury 

seating, with select auditoriums getting 

Dolby Atmos sound as well. The theater’s 

Malco Grill will offer moviegoers expanded 

food and beverage options. – Rebecca Pahle 

LANDMARK CINEMAS (CANADA) 

CALGARY, AB n WWW.LANDMARKCINEMAS.COM 

FOUNDED 1965 

SCREENS 319 

SITES 45 

LOCATIONS > CANADA 

Kinepolis, one of Europe’s major circuits, 

made a splash in its acquisition of 

Landmark Canada in December 2017. The 

Canadian circuit is the first for Kinepolis 

outside EMEA, joining Cineworld as the 

second leading European exhibitor to 

ramp up its North American presence 

through M&A. – Daniel Loria 

STUDIO MOVIE GRILL 

DALLAS, TX n WWW.STUDIOMOVIEGRILL.COM 

FOUNDED 2000 

SCREENS 314 

SITES 30 

LOCATIONS > AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, NC, PA, TX 

Always on the cutting edge of innovation, 

SMG launched its own cinema subscription 

service in January 2019. The plan, SMG 

Access Subscription, is available for $14.99 

per month and is currently accepting users 

on an invite-only basis and is tied into the 

circuit’s loyalty program. – Daniel Loria 

PREMIERE CINEMA CORP. 

BIG SPRING, TX n WWW.PCCMOVIES.COM 

FOUNDED 1993 

SCREENS 312 

SITES 29 

LOCATIONS > AL, FL, MS, NM, SC, TX 

Premiere Cinema Corp. just opened its new 

Premiere Cinertainment Lux Cine, Bowl & 

Pizza Pub in Pell City, Alabama, with 800 

power-recliner seats, a bowling alley, ropes 

course, arcade, and gourmet kitchen. A new 

Lux Cine opens in Birmingham this spring. 

– Kevin Lally 

CARIBBEAN CINEMAS 

SAN JUAN, PR n WWW.CARIBBEANCINEMAS.COM 

FOUNDED 1968 

SCREENS 296 

SITES 34 

LOCATIONS > PUERTO RICO & U.S. TERRITORIES 

Caribbean Cinemas bounced back after a 

difficult 2017, working tirelessly to get its 

circuit back to full force after withstanding 

the effects of natural disasters. The efforts 

of the Caribbean team didn’t go unnoticed, 

with circuit president Robert Carrady 

receiving special honors at CinemaCon and 

ShowEast 2018. – Daniel Loria 


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GOODRICH QUALITY THEATERS 

GRAND RAPIDS, MI n WWW.GQTMOVIES.COM 

FOUNDED 1930 

SCREENS 288 

SITES 31 

LOCATIONS > FL, IL, IN, MI, MO 

Last year saw Goodrich Quality Theaters continue 

a legacy of, well, quality that’s been part of the 

chain since its 1930 founding as a single-screen 

operation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their 

screen and location counts have remained 

steady since they were included in last year’s 

Giants of Exhibition. – Rebecca Pahle 

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE 

AUSTIN, TX n WWW.DRAFTHOUSE.COM 

FOUNDED 1997 

SCREENS 279 

SITES 37 

LOCATIONS > LA, AL, MS, NC, TX, SC, FL, GA, KY, OH, VA, CO, PA, NY 

GEORGIA THEATRE COMPANY 

SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, GA n WWW.GTCMOVIES.COM 

FOUNDED 1992 

SCREENS 264 

SITES 25 

LOCATIONS > GA, FL, SC, VA 

LANDMARK THEATRES 

LOS ANGELES, CA n WWW.LANDMARKTHEATRES.COM 

FOUNDED 1974 

SCREENS 252 

SITES 52 

LOCATIONS > AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NY, PA, TX, WA, WI 

It’s been a year of growth for the Alamo 

Drafthouse, as the ever-hip chain upped its 

theater count from 29 in 2017, with a handful 

of new locations on the way. Over the last year, 

Alamo also installed the U.S.’s first Sony 4K laser 

projection system (at Dallas, Texas, Lake Highlands 

location) and began experimenting with a 

subscription-based ticket service. – Rebecca Pahle 

Georgia Theatre Company is proud to host 

an annual “Cinema for a Cause” event, during 

which 100 percent of all admission ticket and 

concession purchases are donated to 35 local 

charities. Total donations in the past 15 years 

have surpassed $1.5 million. GTC also programs a 

popular “Flashback Cinema” series of film classics. 

– Kevin Lally 

The largest art house circuit in the United 

States was acquired by Cohen Media Group in 

December 2018. The new ownership won’t be 

too much of an adjustment for Landmark; Cohen, 

a specialty distributor with an existing art house 

cinema in New York, keeps the circuit’s indie 

roots intact. – Daniel Loria 

BOW TIE CINEMAS 

RIDGEFIELD, CT n WWW.BOWTIECINEMAS.COM 

FOUNDED 1900 

SCREENS 245 

SITES 39 

LOCATIONS > CT, CO, MD, NY, VA, NJ 

The oldest theater circuit in America—founded 

all the way back in 1900 as a nickelodeon—Bow 

Tie Cinemas kept going strong in 2018. The chain 

continues a string of renovations, branded Bow 

Tie Ultimate, that brings premium food and 

drink options and luxury seating to preexisting 

locations. – Rebecca Pahle 

READING CINEMAS USA 

CULVER CITY, CA n WWW.READINGRDI.COM 

FOUNDED 1993 

SCREENS 245 

SITES 27 

LOCATIONS > CA, HI, NJ, NY, TX, VA, DC 

Reading Cinemas USA, a division of Australia’s 

Reading International, reported that 38 percent 

of its screens would have luxury recliner seating 

by the end of 2018, and 26 percent would feature 

a premium auditorium (its own Titan Luxe and 

Titan XC brands or IMAX). – Kevin Lally 


RNK CIRCUIT SCR LOC 

GIANTS OF EXHIBITION 2019 

22 NCG 

NEIGHBORHOOD CINEMAS GROUP 244 25 

23 EMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT, INC. 237 20 

RNK CIRCUIT SCR LOC 

36 CINEMA WEST 149 15 

36 COMING ATTRACTIONS THEATRES 149 18 

38 CINÉMAS GUZZO 141 10 

24 

PACIFIC THEATRES/ 

ARCLIGHT CINEMAS 219 17 

38 FRANK THEATRES 141 15 

25 CINÉPOLIS USA 211 21 

40 

EPIC THEATRES 

THEATRE MANAGEMENT INC. 132 11 

26 NEW VISION ENTERTAINMENT GROUP 205 19 

27 REGENCY THEATRES, INC. 194 29 

40 ALLEN THEATRES, INC. 121 18 

42 IPIC ENTERTAINMENT 115 15 

28 

LARRY H. MILLER THEATRES 

MEGAPLEX THEATRES 182 16 

43 

CLASSIC CINEMAS 

TIVOLI ENTERPRISES, INC. 111 14 

29 UNITED ENTERTAINMENT CORP. 180 21 

44 MITCHELL THEATRES 107 15 

30 MARQUEE CINEMAS, INC. 175 17 

31 MJR THEATRES 169 11 

44 

46 

PHOENIX THEATRES 

ENTERTAINMENT 107 12 

SOUTHEAST CINEMA 

ENTERTAINMENT 104 9 

32 CINEMA ENTERTAINMENT CORP. 160 20 

33 GALAXY THEATRES, LLC 159 14 

47 SANTIKOS ENTERTAINMENT 102 8 

48 R.L. FRIDLEY THEATRES 100 20 

34 

FP CINEMAS 

FLAGSHIP PREMIUM CINEMAS 157 20 

48 

YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD THEATRE 

BELMONT CAPITAL LLC 100 11 

35 CELEBRATION CINEMA BY STUDIO C 154 11 

50 R/C THEATRES MANAGEMENT CORP. 98 11 


PREMIUM LARGE FORMAT 

2019 GIANTS OF 

PREMIUM LARGE FORMAT 

EXHIBITORS INVESTING IN PLF SCREENS AS 

A TOP-OF-THE-RANGE PREMIUM FORMAT 

by Charlotte Jones, Principal Analyst – Cinema, IHS Markit 

>> Technology continues to redefine 

the cinema experience as well as open 

up further opportunities to refresh and 

revitalize processes and infrastructure. 

This enables exhibitors to target higher 

price points through a range of clearly 

differentiated experiences. 

LEADING EXHIBITOR PLF BRANDS IN NORTH AMERICA H1 2018 

Exhibitor PLF brand Screens (H1 2018) 

Cinemark XD 163 

Regal Cinemas RPX 111 

Cineplex Entertainment UltraVX 88 

Marcus Theatres Ultrascreen, DLX 78 

AMC BigD 30 

Cinema West Cinema West Giant Screen 20 

BB Theatres Grand Screen 13 

AMC Prime 10 

Goodrich GDX 10 

Santikos AVX 10 

SOURCE: IHS MARKIT 

TOTAL PLF SCREENS IN NORTH AMERICA 

2017 H1 2018 

Total PLF screens 1143 1,168 

Exhibitor PLF 630 656 

Global Brand 513 510 

IMAX 401 404 

Dolby Cinema 89 101 

Barco Escape 19 0 

Screen X 3 4 

CGS 1 1 

Premium large-format (PLF) screens have been 

one of the most active areas of growth in new 

technology and seating in the cinema sector over 

the past few years. The PLF market has evolved 

into a reasonably mature one following an earlier 

push of new brands based on new technologies, 

such as RGB laser and HDR, and concepts, such 

as panoramic screens. PLF screens reached a total 

of 3,372 worldwide in H1 2018, after first hitting 

the 3,000-screen milestone in 2017. 

Asia Pacific was again the leading region, accounting 

for a 45 percent share of the total, driven 

by the rapidly expanding Chinese exhibition sector 

and the growing appetite for premium exhibition. 

China reached a new high of 1,129 screens, making 

it the largest PLF market globally and accounting 

for over one-third of the total base, followed by the 

U.S. with 1,035 screens. The Chinese PLF market 

is dominated by global brands that account for over 

87.2 percent of PLF screens. This is led by IMAX 

and local player CGS. This is in contrast to North 

America, where there are proportionately more 

exhibitor-branded PLF screens. China has also seen 

the launch of more local-branded PLF screens such 

as Star Max from Dadi Cinema and Zmax from 

Zone International, but Wanda’s X-Land remains the 

largest Chinese brand with 80 screens as at H1 2018. 

Global PLF brands such as IMAX, Dolby 

Cinema, CGS, or ScreenX accounted for the 

majority, or 57.4 percent, of total PLF screens, 

showing a slight decrease from the same proportion 

in H1 2017. All told, the base of global PLF 

screens increased by 17.5 percent in H1 2018, 

which represents the lower growth rate over the 

past two years, but coming from a base that has 

more than doubled in three years, underlining 

the longer-term growth trajectory. 

In the competitive global-branded space, 

IMAX stands as the market leader with a majority 

64.8 percent share, but a proportion that has 

been declining from 74.2 percent in H1 2016. 


This is partially due to the rise of new global 

formats as well as a more competitive landscape. 

CGS was the second-largest global format 

(15.8%) although it is mostly located in China, 

followed by Dolby Cinema (8.0%) and ScreenX 

(7.3%). Dolby Cinema now accounts for over 

190 screens worldwide including expansion into 

China, UAE, UK, and Japan in 2018. 

The market for PLF providers has also continued 

to evolve as panoramic-screen format 

Barco Escape closed operations in Q1 2018 and 

RealD Luxe scaled down its focus to China and 

Asia Pacific. This is accompanied by the entrance 

of newer global brands such as Sphera Premium 

Cinema from CinemaNext. 

In 2018, there were seven active global 

PLF brands, following the demise of Barco 

Escape. In contrast, ScreenX, the multiscreen format, 

continued to grow in 2018, reaching a total 

of 195 screens in 62 territories based on year-end 

data. The growth of ScreenX can be linked to the 

support of major exhibitors such as Cineworld, 

which agreed to a deal for 100 screens. The 

strong lineup of content has driven the brand’s 

attractiveness. ScreenX will release six new films 

in the format in 2019, up from five in 2018. 

From an exhibitor perspective, exhibitor-branded 

screens hit a total of 1,418 in H1 

2018, rising 16.8 percent on the previous year. 

North American exhibitors dominate exhibitor 

PLF, accounting for 46.2 percent share of the 

total, followed by Asia Pacific (22.3%), LATAM 

(16.3%), and Europe (13.6%). New brands 

launched include Showplace’s Icon-X as well as 

Titan LUXE from Reading, a second brand following 

on from its core concept Titan XC. Cinemark 

was the leading PLF brand internationally 

with over 250 XD screens over 17 territories and 

the largest total in one territory with its 160-plus 

XD screens in the U.S. 

The PLF market is now moving into maturity, 

but with continued investment in expanding 

PLF out to new venues as well as launching 

multiple brands, there remains fairly strong 

growth potential. Nonetheless, there are certain 

territories with minimal PLF activity possibly 

due to exhibitor strategy or lack of know-how as 

well as cultural aspects. Therefore, there remains 

potential to grow PLF in currently underserved 

territories such as Spain and Italy, if the concept 

is embraced by the consumer. India is one territory 

that has more recently embraced PLF led by 

efforts from leading circuit, PVR. 

While PLF offers an ultimate package of 

technology attributes, 3-D was the original technology 

driver and remains the largest technology 

platform, accounting for 56.6 percent of digital 

screens and over 100,000 installations as at Q3 

2018. 3-D box office fortunes have waned in recent 

years as fewer exclusively curated films have 

piqued interest and other premium formats such 

as 4-D have taken over in the immersive stakes. 

4-D screens have also outpaced growth in PLF 

in 2018, with total extreme 4-D screens with 

additional stimuli (not including immersive-motion-seating 

provider D-Box) rising by an impressive 

43.3 percent year on year to hit 833 screens as 

at H1 2018. The growth rate for 4-D stands out 

due to the expansion from a small base but also 

due to the clearly differentiated experience that 

cannot easily be re-created in the home. 

However, PLF also has the potential to 

converge with newer concepts such as 4-D and 

VR with the first bridging initiative known as 

“4DX with ScreenX” launched in 2018 from CJ 

4DPLEX representing the latest twist on entertainment 

and technology. 

Moreover, the process of exhibitor consolidation 

is affecting the dynamics of the sector as 

more influential exhibitors are better positioned 

to make strategic investments in technology as 

well as face ongoing challenges. Cineworld’s 

acquisition of Regal was the major purchase of 

2018, handing it the largest stake of the world’s 

most prosperous box office market (North 

America). All in all, the world’s top 10 exhibitors 

accounted for a large 36 percent of global screens 

as of September 2018, and this process looks set 

to intensify in 2019. 

PLF is now a widely utilized concept for a top 

of the range (but not always “large”) screen in 

which audiences see value and increased quality 

over standard screens. What is clear is that 

exhibitors are continuing to appropriate a wider 

range and selection of technology options for 

audiences. PLF continues to dominate among 

premium screen options, but the emergence of 

new technologies such as LED and the rise of 

premium projection in RGB laser, more generally 

among new-build cinemas, confirms that PLF 

screens will need to continue to stand out in a 

more complex and crowded market. n 


COVER STORY 

STEPHEN 

MERCHANT 

STEPS INTO THE 

RING WITH 

FIGHTING WITH 

MY FAMILY 

by Rebecca Pahle 

Professional wrestling: Broken 

bones! Badass costumes! Smack talk! 

Wry … British … comedy? Director 

Stephen Merchant, co-creator of the 

original British “The Office” and one 

of the forces behind subsequent 

sitcoms “Life’s Too Short,” “Extras,” 

and “Hello Ladies,” brings an 

outsider’s perspective to Fighting 

with My Family, out February 14 

from MGM. 

(continued on page 56) 


DWAYNE JOHNSON PLAYS HIMSELF 

IN FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY. VINCE 

VAUGHN PLAYS WRESTLING TRAINER 

HUTCH MORGAN. 


COVER STORY 

JACK LOWDEN PLAYS ZAK “ZODIAC” 

BEVIS, SARAYA-JADE BEVIS’S 

(FLORENCE PUGH) OLDER BROTHER 

>> Florence Pugh, who wowed indie-leaning 

crowds in 2017’s Lady Macbeth, trades corsets for 

black eyeliner to play real-life wrestling star Paige, 

née Saraya-Jade Bevis. Born and raised in Norwich, 

England, Paige comes from a family of wrestlers, 

including father “Rowdy Ricky Knight” (Nick Frost), 

mother “Sweet Saraya” (Lena Headey), and brother 

“Zak Zodiac” (Jack Lowden). But it’s Paige who’s chosen 

to train for the WWE—cuing drama, doubt, and 

eventual triumph as the youngest WWE Divas Champion 

in history. It’s “like a little Norwich wrestling 

version of Rocky,” says Merchant. Except Dwayne 

“The Rock” Johnson is there. Playing himself. 

Boxoffice spoke to Merchant about making a 

wrestling movie for non-fans, working with starin-the-making 

Pugh, and probably being “the only 

person who’s ever screamed at Dwayne Johnson to 

get out of the wrestling ring.” 

Were you familiar with wrestling before you 

started on this movie? 

I’d never watched it before. I had no knowledge 

of it or any interest in it. The project began as a 

documentary that was on British TV [2012’s “The 

Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family”], which The 

Rock saw while he was filming in England. He 

ended up reaching out to the guys, and he kind 

of became involved 

in their lives. He kept 

track of the story as it 

went on, and somewhere 

along the line he 

thought it might make 

an interesting film. 

I did this movie 

called Tooth Fairy 

with him some years 

ago. You’re welcome. 

I stayed in touch with 

Dwayne, and we’d 

occasionally check 

in with each other. I 

think probably he’s 

only got two English 

people’s phone numbers: 

Mine and Jason 

Statham’s. He calls on 

us for very different 

reasons. If he needs a 

shorter man to be on 

camera, he gets Jason. 

And if he needs anyone else to do anything else, he 

gets me. 

He sent me this documentary, and I watched 

it thinking, ‘Well, I’ll have no interest in this. It’s 

about wrestling, who cares?’ And for the first five 

minutes I’m sort of laughing and slightly sneering 

at this family. And then very quickly I became 

really charmed by them. I loved their passion for 

wrestling, which they talk about as though it’s a religion 

for them. It saved them from their troubled 

past. There was something very sweet about both 

the passion they have for this thing and the dreams 

they had for their kids. I started thinking about 

films like Billy Elliot. It’s not really about ballet. It’s 

about a little boy who wants to be a ballet dancer. 

You don’t need to care about ballet to root for him. 

So did you have a research period, when you 

were diving into this world and figuring out how 

things worked? 

Yes, absolutely. Initially I went up to meet 

the family. I hung out with them, and I got a lot 

of backstory on them and on British wrestling, 

which apparently is different from American 

wrestling. And then Dwayne himself was very 

helpful with the WWE bit, explaining to me 

the levels of reality and the way that you have to 


COVER STORY 

bad cop for her. She 

had different rivals, 

and she had different 

friends and enemies 

within the training 

world itself. 

In the end, I just 

had to refine it back to 

the core stuff. Vince 

Vaughn’s character 

is a conflation of a 

number of people who 

trained her over the 

years. What I tried to 

do was remain true to 

the core of her journey 

and the big highs and 

lows of it. 

LENA HEADEY, FLORENCE PUGH, 

AND NICK FROST STAR AS THE BEVIS 

FAMILY 

amplify parts of your own personality in order to 

create these versions of yourself. 

Once I got to writing the story, it was very 

complicated for me. I wanted to make this a film 

for people that have no interest in wrestling. It’s 

important to me that you didn’t need to know or 

care about this subject. But as I went on, I realized 

there are things you need to know in order for the 

film to make sense. And so there’s a lot of hidden 

plumbing in the movie, just trying to pump you 

with the information you need so that you understand 

enough to follow her story. 

The timespan covered in the film—from the 

beginning of her training to fighting in Monday 

Night Raw—is enormous. How were you able to 

make it coherent for viewers? 

Yes, it was a lengthy period. It was probably a 

span of two, three years. There are various divisions 

in the WWE. There’s this NXT training division, 

and then that itself has its own fan base. It starts to 

get really complicated and incredibly detailed. It’s a 

bit like trying to catch up on 30 years of a TV soap 

opera in a weekend. 

I knew I couldn’t convey all of this to the 

audience. She had multiple trainers over the 

years, and different people were good cop and 

Have you gotten 

any feedback from 

wrestling fans? 

Because they can be 

intense. 

There have been a couple of guys who I know 

in the UK who were big wrestling fans, and they 

were very enamored of it. What I didn’t want to 

do was satirize or mock this world. Because to 

me, the fact they take it so seriously is what was 

so appealing about the family. And I thought if 

I try to undermine it and satirize it and mock it, 

then I’m cheapening the whole point of the story. 

I wanted to be respectful of it, but also show the 

toughness of it, the impropriety of some of the 

more ragged crowd. 

The wrestling fans are as vociferous and tough 

as, I would argue, the Star Wars fans. I expect 

there are people who will see where I’ve changed 

things or conflated them. For instance, the WWE 

logo changed in the time that her story unraveled. 

Well, am I going to have two different logos in 

the movie? At that point, where do you stop? 

The fans I’ve shown it to have been very pleased 

and happy and really enjoyed it. And they could 

tell that there was a love of the sport behind it. 

But yes, I fully expect there to be entire websites 

devote to the inaccuracies. 

We’ve seen how bad DC fanboys can get on 

Twitter. People are going to find something to 

complain about. 


Sometimes I wonder, as a comic book fan in my 

teens, would I have been that person? I remember 

when the first Batman movie came out, and in that 

they made the Joker the person that killed Bruce 

Wayne’s parents. I remember being furious because 

that wasn’t what it was like in the comics. So I 

completely understand that passion. 

But I also understand, having made films subsequently, 

that you can’t please everybody. You only 

have an hour and a half to tell a story, and much 

like the DC world, if you compress 60-odd years 

of comic books into an hour and a half, you’ll have 

to make some choices. 

What was the first thing you saw Florence 

Pugh in? 

I saw Florence in Lady Macbeth. I thought she 

was terrific, but I couldn’t judge from that whether 

she could play this character. This was a very tricky 

one to cast. You’re beholden to aspects of the real 

person. She’s a working-class girl from England. 

She is a wrestler. She’d been doing that since she 

was 13, so she’s incredibly good at it. She also has 

a charisma and a star power, which is why she is 

successful. So you needed an actress who could do 

all of that and who is also a good actress. 

I saw maybe 60-odd young actresses, either in 

person or on tape. Many of them were excellent, 

but none could quite tick all of those boxes for me. 

I brought Florence in, and I read with her and had 

her read with Jack many times to convince myself 

not of her acting ability, but simply that I believe 

her as this girl. And she worked really hard and 

proved her mettle. 

She and Jack went off to Florida, and they 

trained with the NXT wrestling facility. They did 

as much of the actual physical stuff as they could 

physically do or were allowed to do. Florence, 

when we shot that, she was 20 or 21. And the 

fifth day of filming was her walking out in front of 

20,000 wrestling fans in the STAPLES Center to 

do that final match. Which was crazy. I was really 

nervous for her. And she sucked up the nerves and 

just went out there. It was kind of extraordinary 

to watch. 

You had real wrestling fans as extras? 

The WWE gave us one hour after a Monday 

night live telecast. They kept the cameras there and 

the ring there. Normally they would dismantle it 

immediately and move on to the next event. But 

they kept the fans, and they kept the cameras, and 

they let us have an hour to re-create this match. 

And, very sweetly, Dwayne came down to 

emcee the evening, essentially as a kind of first 

AD. When you see Dwayne in front of a live 

wrestling audience, it’s like Elvis has come back. 

It’s crazy. And I said to him, we’ve only got an 

hour, please don’t get carried away when you’re up 

there in front of a crowd. He walks out there and 

spends 20 minutes talking to the fans, interacting, 

making phone calls. I’m the only person who’s ever 

screamed at Dwayne Johnson to get out of the 

wrestling ring. 

But ultimately he was invaluable, because he 

led the audience through it. He told them what 

we were doing, and then he got them to cheer 

and applaud and do whatever they needed to do 

at the right moment. Without him, I don’t know 

if we could have kept them there in their seats for 

an hour. 

You shot that whole final fight in an hour? 

It was absolutely insane. It was an hour, with 

one or two pickups the next day. It was really 

tough. We had all of the WWE cameras filming it 

for us and three of our own cameras, and we had 

a couple of runs at it, and then that was it. We 

packed up, went home, and we just hoped that 

we’d got it, because there was no way of checking 

the monitors. 

What was the first movie you saw in a theater? 

I’m pretty sure the first movie I saw was The 

Empire Strikes Back. Although I was very young. 

The one that really sticks with me was when I was 

a little older. I remember lining up around the 

block with my uncle to see E.T. 

Sports movies are particularly good as 

audience movies. 

I think so. We are living in this golden age of 

TV, and most people have big-screen TVs at home. 

You can re-create a version of the movie experience 

in some ways. What you don’t have is that shared 

experience. There is something very unique about 

that. I think it’s still one of the reasons why people 

make that trip to the theater. There’s something 

about being among other people in the dark. 

Taking a roller coaster ride on your own is not the 

same as doing it when all the cars are filled. And I 

think that’s true of cinema as well. n 


FILMMAKER INTERVIEW 

PATRICK STEWART AND LOUIS ASHBOURNE SERKIS 


JOE CORNISH RETURNS 

TO THE BIG SCREEN WITH 

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING 


In 2011, writer-director Joe Cornish won the hearts of movie fans of 

a certain geeky persuasion with his debut feature Attack the Block. 

Admittedly, it took a while. Despite substantial festival buzz and critical 

praise, the film topped out on a few dozen screens in the U.S. Like many 

a cult favorite before it, Attack the Block only found its core audience 

once it hit home video. Eight years later, two of its stars—Star Wars’ 

John Boyega and Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker—have gone on to lead 

household-name franchises, and Attack the Block itself has come to be 

regarded as a sci-fi classic-in-the-making. 

And finally—finally!—a new Joe Cornish film is hitting cinemas. The 

guy hasn’t exactly been resting since 2011, having collaborated with 

Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright on the script for 

Marvel’s Ant-Man. (Wright was replaced by director Peyton Reed and 

the movie rehauled, though Cornish and Wright still hold screenwriting 

credits.) But still, the promise of 20th Century Fox release The Kid Who 

Would Be King—a modern-day retelling of the Arthurian legend in 

which a young boy (Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of Andy) must unite 

the “warring tribes” of his school to defeat the evil sorceress Morgana 

(Rebecca Ferguson)—has fans of Attack the Block salivating. 

In advance of The Kid Who Would Be King’s January 25 release, Boxoffice 

spoke with Cornish about the film and a topic near and dear to the 

director’s heart, as well as ours: movie theaters. 



DIRECTOR JOE CORNISH WITH CAST 

MEMBERS TOM TAYLOR AND LOUIS 

ASHBOURNE SERKIS 

This film feels very well-timed; it’s all about 

unity and hope at a time when the world feels so 

screwed up. 

I thought of the idea for it when I was 12 or 

13. It’s a weird coincidence that the myth of the 

sword in the stone is about a divided country, 

and everything happens to be a little bit divided 

at the moment. 

Weirdly, when I thought of the idea, that was 

also a pretty dark period for a kid. Frankie Goes to 

Hollywood was in the charts with “Two Tribes,” 

which was all about nuclear war. There was IRA 

terrorism in London. There were strikes. If you’re a 

kid, however fun and cheerful adults try and make 

the world seem, the tensions and anxieties slip 

through the cracks. Even young people are aware 

of the state of the world. 

And they’re capable of dealing with it. Kids are 

resilient little creatures, as we see in this movie. 

I think so. Pre-teens, especially, have a real 

desire to be moral and to understand what right 

is. They have very pure aspirations. I remember, 

myself, becoming a little more cynical in my midteens. 

But when you’re young, you really want to 

know the right way to do things, and you want 

to see that reflected in the world. The movie takes 

that on, because it’s about chivalry and the chivalric 

code and all these mythical ideas of how to be a 

good leader and a good citizen. 

A lot of people, myself included, have been anxiously 

awaiting this film because we loved Attack 

the Block so much. Can you give me some insight 

into why this was the film that you made next? 

Attack the Block is very well regarded now, I’m 

happy to say, and it’s really found its audience. 

But it did take a while. It didn’t get a massive theatrical 

release in the U.S. It got a mixed reception 

in the UK, as well. It took a little while for me to 

be confident enough to really get something else 

going. That was one factor. 

The other thing was that Attack the Block did 

have a very good response in the industry, and I got 


a little bit overwhelmed by the number of things I 

was invited to read and approached to direct. A lot 

of directors make one little indie film that catches 

on, then jump into a big Hollywood movie. That 

felt risky for me, because sometimes you can be 

overwhelmed by the process. If you’re making a 

big branded property, you can feel like it’s not your 

movie. And sometimes it can go really wrong. You 

could get replaced or something like that. 

So after Attack the Block, I just buried my head 

in Ant-Man, which I was writing with Edgar 

Wright. We worked very hard on it between 2011 

and 2014. I wrote a couple more screenplays in 

that period. And then, in about 2015, I started 

work on The Kid Who Would Be King, which took 

three years to write and make and post-produce. 

So, there you go. Time flies! 

Did what happened with Ant-Man have an effect 

on how you perceived the industry? 

It was nothing but a good experience for me. 

I had the pleasure of working closely with Edgar, 

who’s a genius. Both of us experienced the 

evolution of Marvel Studios from the inside, really. 

We were passengers on that project within Marvel 

during the whole evolution of that company. 

It was a much tougher experience for Edgar, 

because he was ready to direct that thing. For me, 

just to be there was a gift. I would’ve loved to 

have seen Edgar’s version of that film. I think it 

would’ve been great in different ways. Even though 

I really enjoyed the movie that Peyton Reed made. 

But for someone like me, it’s a privilege to be 

working in movies at all. So I’m grateful for everything, 

really, good or bad. 

How did you come to find Louis Ashbourne 

Serkis? 

The kids were found by a lady called Jessica 

Ronane, who works at the Old Vic Theatre in 

London. She found all the Billy Elliots for the 

stage productions of Billy Elliot. She did one 

of those massive casting calls, where you see 

thousands of kids from every background with 

different ranges of experience. We ended up 

with this great cast, which includes a kid called 

Dean Chaumoo, who plays Bedders. He’d never 

done anything in his life before. He just spotted 

a little audition sheet that his drama teacher 

dropped on the floor at school and ended up 

doing a fantastic audition. 

That little kid is so adorable. 

He’s sweet, right? He’s so cute. And then Louis, 

who’s obviously done lots of bits and bobs in movies 

and TV. He came in and did a great audition as 

well. But it was a real meritocracy. We gave them 

a page from the movie and we stuck them in front 

of a camera, and the best kid won, whatever their 

background or experience. 

With most people finding Attack the Block on 

home video, and with much of your earlier work 

being on TV, I’m wondering: What’s your relationship 

to theatrical distribution? Is it important to 

you that your work be seen on a big screen? 

I love theatrical. I think it’s the be-all and 

end-all. Television is a different storytelling form. 

Movies end. You walk out of that space and you 

carry with you an experience that had a beginning 

and a middle and an end. Even if it’s a franchise 

movie, you know you’re going to have to wait at 

least a year [for the next one]. So whatever you’ve 

seen needs to psychologically resonate with you. 

A cinema’s a place. That word is an art form, 

but it’s also a building. Television is a thing that 

you can carry around wherever you are. Cinema is 

a place you go to, and the lights go down, and it’s 

a dreamlike experience. You have to pay attention. 

You can’t stand up and leave. You give the movie 

your undivided attention. 

So I love it. And I think that it’ll survive. I 

think people like to leave their houses. People 

like to have collective experiences. Just as a consumer, 

I’m a massive fan of movies. Edgar and I 

go all the time. We love it. We go together. We’ll 

see everything. 

I’d imagine that you’re model moviegoers. None 

of that “I’m just going to check my Facebook.” 

Oh man, no, I’m with you. I really appreciate 

it when theatrical chains have a little thing they 

put up before the main feature telling people to 

switch their phones off. It’s maddening. Because 

it’s all about not being distracted. It’s all about sitting 

in a comfortable chair with your eyes pointed 

at that screen. 

One of the differences between film and television 

is you can pause TV. It’s usually dialogue 

driven, so you can look away and you probably 

won’t miss anything. Movies should be like a 

novel. If you tear a page out or miss a paragraph, 

you might have missed a piece of fundamental 



someone coincidentally had been there with a 

camera. The Black Stallion is about a kid, and I 

was pretty much the same age as him, so it felt 

very, very personal. That movie’s got real jeopardy, 

and it’s very naturalistic. It’s one of the best kids’ 

films ever made. I remember that [experience] 

being very transportive. I still love, to this day, 

going to the movies on my own. 

What’s the last movie that you saw in a theater? 

I saw Bumblebee at the IMAX in London’s 

South Bank. I really enjoyed it. 

RHIANNA DORRIS, LOUIS 

ASHBOURNE SERKIS, ANGUS IMRIE, 

DEAN CHAUMOO, AND TOM TAYLOR 

information. It’s no coincidence that some of the 

most famous lines of dialogue in movies are short, 

whether it’s “Yippie-ki-yay” or “Play it again, Sam.” 

They can be three or four words. And that’s just 

a few seconds, but if you turned away you might 

have missed one of the most famous movie lines 

ever. Every second counts in the movie. The whole 

experience is designed to make you appreciate and 

enjoy and relish every second. 

For me personally, there are films that are emotionally 

harrowing, and it helps me to be in a 

theater for those. You have to be almost physically 

captive. 

Yeah, I agree. Sometimes, if a movie’s tough 

going, you might not stick with it on TV, 

because it’s too easy to do something else. But 

sometimes when you get over that little bump, 

you think, “Wow, I’m really glad I stuck that 

out, because it really transported me or it really 

taught me something.” 

It’s like a contract you make, isn’t it? I feel the 

same way about record stores or DVD stores. 

You’ve made the effort to go. You’ve physically 

purchased the thing and carried it home. You’ve 

made a physical and psychological journey to get 

there. Your investment is greater, and therefore 

your reward is greater. 

What’s the first movie you remember seeing in a 

movie theater? 

My real formative experience was the first 

movie I saw alone, which was The Black Stallion. 

It had a massive impact on me. Because I didn’t 

understand how films were made [before then]. 

I thought all this stuff had just happened, and 

It feels like that one got swallowed up by the 

holiday movie season. 

It’s tough out there, right? It’s very competitive. 

Every weekend is a boxing match. It’s a really fun 

movie, and it worked really well in IMAX. In a 

massive four-by-three format, it almost felt like a 

giant Saturday morning TV show. It’s got really 

beautiful visual effects. Great ’80s music as well. 

Tears for Fears. Very loud. Surround sound. I 

appreciate that, personally. 

Related to the market being so competitive: Is 

that something that’s on your mind when you’re 

making films? “How is this going to be received? 

How is it going to perform? Is the studio going to 

screw me over?” 

Definitely. It’s always on my mind. I think it’s 

very tough out there if you don’t have an IP. And 

people are more and more risk averse. Nothing 

I’m saying here is new. Everybody knows that, 

especially theatrically, the middle ground has 

dropped out. You have to be huge and spectacular 

and a franchise, or you have to be low-budget 

and idiosyncratic. 

Both Attack the Block and The Kid Who Would 

Be King are big audience movies, action-adventure, 

but they’re original ideas. It’s tough for movies like 

that. They’re reliant on clever marketing, a good 

choice of a weekend, word of mouth, and good 

reviews. I always think, wow, maybe I should do a 

brand or an IP. But I wouldn’t want to do it unless 

I felt that I was in love with it and could do a really 

good job. 

You watch a movie like Taika Waititi’s Thor: 

Ragnarok, and the Taika-ness of it comes 

through. You would want to do something 

like that. 


Exactly. Something where it’s a good marriage 

of sensibilities. But studios are getting better at 

that. They’re getting cleverer about letting directors 

put their own stamp on franchises. You can see 

that in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. You could 

see it in Thor: Ragnarok. I think audiences appreciate 

stuff that’s authored. 

I hope that people see The Kid Who Would Be King 

in theaters. It’s a really nice-looking film, especially 

the climactic final battle. 

I was excited to do that. The movie ends with 

a massive battle that’s about 20 minutes of screen 

time from beginning to end. I do think you’ve got 

to give audiences some spectacle to compete these 

days, so we tried to put landscape and suspense 

and battles and action sequences. There’s a big car 

chase at the beginning of the movie, a big horse 

chase sequence, various big battles. 

That stuff’s really fun to do and incredibly fun 

for the kids as well. They really loved doing their 

sword training and learning to ride and getting to 

do action sequences. Same with Attack the Block, 

with those young actors getting to do moped 

chases and battle aliens and swing samurai swords. 

It makes for a very, very good atmosphere on the 

set when the actors are very into what you’re asking 

them to do. 

What’s your favorite movie theater? 

I love the Curzon Mayfair in London, just near 

Green Park tube station. It has a beautiful big 

screen and just the right number of seats. It’s a little 

bit out of the way, so people who go there tend 

to really want to see the film that they’re watching. 

You get people who really care about what they’re 

seeing there. 

A lot of the big movie screens I used to go to 

as a kid have been changed around. I love the 

Arclight in L.A. Who doesn’t love the Arclight? I 

love the Cinerama Dome in L.A. I love the New 

Beverly. I love the Aero [in Santa Monica]. I 

like the Vue Piccadilly [in London]. I remember 

every screen I saw every film in. For some weird 

reason, I always remember the cinema where I 

saw it. n 



TWO YEARS & COUNTING 

LAKOTA DRAMA NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG ATTRACTS A SMALL-TOWN FOLLOWING 

BY KEVIN LALLY 

>> SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE goes the old adage— 

a strategy embraced by Neither Wolf Nor Dog, an ultra-low-budget drama that has 

been running in theaters for more than two years and still has hit only 15 percent 

of the country. That release pattern is partly a function of the film’s main target 

audience: Director Steven Lewis Simpson’s labor of love is based on a best-selling, 

semi-autobiographical novel by Kent Nerburn about a white writer chronicling the life 

and philosophy of an elderly Lakota leader. The film has thus traveled to many small 

towns with significant Native American populations, in states like Oregon, Washington, 

Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 


Simpson, a Scot now based in Bulgaria, 

has been immersed in Native American culture for 

two decades. In 1999, he visited Wounded Knee, 

South Dakota, site of a notorious massacre, when 

a sacred shirt taken as a trophy from that horrific 

event was returned to its original home by a Scottish 

museum. 

“Within two, three hours of hitting the reservation 

and being shown around Wounded Knee 

by a local,” he recalls, “then brought to a camp 

on the border [where people were protesting] the 

failure to investigate a couple of murders, I found 

myself at the house of Russell Means, arguably the 

most famous American Indian activist of the 20th 

century, and he asked me to film three days of 

political meetings. That was my first three hours on 

the reservation. 

“From then on, it just built and built. It’s interesting, 

because the film is about a white author 

who gets this call from an elder and takes on this 

commitment to write a 

book about the elder’s 

experience … But it’s 

also very similar to the 

commitments I made 

to people like Russell 

Means and others on 

the reservation, and 

that commitment spiraled 

into a documentary 

I made over 13 

years about the reservation 

[2012’s A Thunder-Being 

Nation]. And 

then this film itself is a 

parallel commitment, 

because almost eight 

years ago I promised 

Kent Nerburn that I 

would get it made by 

any means necessary.” 

Simpson recalls 

his first meeting with 

author Nerburn: “I 

went out to Pine Ridge 

with a previous movie 

I’d made called Rez 

Bomb—I’d done a 

little traveling cinema 

around the reservation 

so people in the 

communities could see it. I was showing it in this 

border town where we’d also shot some of the 

film, and Kent happened to be visiting the town 

and came to see it and met me afterward. People 

in Hollywood had been circling his book since 

the mid-’90s and he had some pretty established 

people showing interest. But it was always pie-inthe-sky 

promises and nobody was moving forward 

with it. And he thought: Here’s a guy who actually 

gets things made on the reservation—and tonally 

it’s right, which is most important.” 

Simpson shot the film on location in 18 days 

with a crew of three: himself, a sound man, and 

an assistant. He estimates the production budget 

(largely raised on Kickstarter) at $30,000, which 

he later partly recouped by selling his Red camera 

and three vehicles used for the film. 

A huge marketing asset for the movie is its leading 

man: real-life Lakota elder Dave Bald Eagle, 95 

during the shooting, who passed away in July 2016 

First published in 

1994 and winner of 

the Minnesota Book 

Award in 1996, no 

other novel is seen to 

so successfully bridge 

the gap between 

white America and 

the Native American 

world. It still sells, 

well aided by a wide 

readership through 

academic use. Two sequel 

novels followed 

to equal acclaim. 

The publisher, New 

World Library, 

estimates world-wide 

sales at around half a 

million copies, with 

sales in Europe and 

in particular Germany 

being very strong. 

The American Indian 

College fund said, 

“This is one of those 

rare works that once 

you’ve read it, you 

can never look at the 

world, or at people, 

the same way again.” 


AWARDS SEASON 

HARLEN STANDING BEAR SR., CHRISTOPHER SWEENEY, DAVE BALD EAGLE, AND RICHARD RAY WHITMAN 

at the age of 97. A World War II paratrooper 

who barely survived his gunshot 

wounds during D-Day, this mischievous 

character later became a ballroom dancer, 

race car driver, rodeo rider, rancher, actor, 

and stuntman. In the 1990s, he was 

named First Chief of the United Indigenous 

Nations. 

“Kent had lived with this [story] for 

almost 20 years, and yet Dave is more 

than he’d ever dreamt of in terms of 

somebody playing this role,” Simpson 

notes. “I’d been scouting around a lot, 

and most of the established Native actors 

were in their 70s and they weren’t from 

that era. And that was a key thing: The 

novel was written in the ’90s and the 

character’s about 80, but it’s not the age 

of the character, it’s the era he’s from. 

The term on the reservation is ‘Those 

that were brought up by those that were 

born free.’ And Dave was born in his 

grandpa’s tipi and his grandfather was 

a key participant at the battle of Little 

Big Horn and lived past 100 years. Dave 

knew him into his 20s. To embody that 

era, I had to go older than the character 

in the book … The spirit of the film rests 

upon Wounded Knee, where the climax 

takes place. And Dave’s connection to 

Wounded Knee through his family is 

closer than that of even the character he 

was playing.” 

Simpson took a big risk during that 

culminating scene by asking Dave Bald 

Eagle to improvise his dialogue. “When 

you’ve got a 95-year-old … I’m half that 

age and I can’t remember dialogue. He 

could read you a line at any point and all 

he gave you was truth. But the problem 

is, when you go into a scene that’s dealing 

with an emotional truth, you can’t do 

that line by line. And so I basically had 

him improvise the whole sequence and he 

went to a really deep place. At the end of 

filming the scene, he turned to [co-star] 

Christopher Sweeney and said, ‘I’ve been 

holding that in for 95 years.’ I’d like to 

take credit for [the film’s high audience 

ratings], but I absolutely know that it’s 

because of the depth of what they feel 

and that’s through Dave’s performance.” 

He continues, “There are a lot of documentaries 

that can talk about Wounded 

Knee and they’re powerful, but in a movie 

people open their hearts and listen in 

a different way because they’re doing it 

through a narrative character. And we 

kind of cross that line here because Dave 

is so true in it.” 

Simpson looks back on the “slow 

and steady” release of his film, which 

his reps say has grossed over $500,000 

from roughly 75,000 low-price ticket 

admissions. “We understand that things 

are going to cluster, so what we need is 

a foothold cinema in a region. Some of 

them we target certain areas where we 

know, OK, there is a big reservation there 

and we have an angle. In Independence, 

Oregon, we brought in 325 pupils one 

day from a local Bureau of Indian Education 

school, for example. That’s nice 

numbers, especially in a small community 

like that. The strategy from the very 

beginning was a big fish in a small pond, 

not a minnow in an ocean. So we started 

in Bemidji, Minnesota, where the novel 

was written, and we got 1,600 people 

through the door in a town of 15,000 

and we were the number one film. So 

other theaters in the area started paying 

attention. Two of the others were in 

towns where two of our leads were born. 

Those numbers were solid and allowed us 

to start building on that. 

“Our first commercial cinema in 

Washington State was for a special event 

because the locals asked for it. It was just 

two showings on a Thursday afternoon, 


ACTOR DAVE BALD EAGLE PASSED AWAY AT 97 IN THE SUMMER OF 2016. HE APPEARED IN THE EMMY-WINNING MINISERIES “INTO THE WEST” IN 2005. 

but when we sold out both of them they 

immediately booked us for a three-week 

run. Suddenly we’ve got numbers that 

other theaters in the area are paying 

attention to. And so we got 22 theaters in 

Washington State, including nine weeks 

in one in Spokane.” 

Among the landmarks for the film 

was its four-week engagement at the 

Landmark Lagoon in Minneapolis, 

where it tallied 3,500 admissions and 

the best weekend gross in the country, 

according to Landmark senior publicist 

Hugh Wronski. 

But overall, Simpson observes, “we do 

phenomenally well in smaller communities 

compared to big cities, and I think 

local media is much more responsive 

to a great story, in a way, than national 

media. National media is bombarded 

with everything, so they’re waiting for 

the publicists they have to pay attention 

to. Whereas we just go directly to these 

small-town papers and get immense 

coverage. Dave Bald Eagle’s obituary was 

one of the biggest I’d seen in the likes of 

The Times of London, just because it has 

all those rich elements.” 

Although the film has played in Harkins 

and Landmark locations, Simpson 

notes that “for the most part we’re playing 

in independent commercial cinemas. 

One-, two-, three-, four-, six-screeners 

throughout a lot of the northern Plains 

… I think they really respect the work 

we’ve put in driving in an audience. They 

took a gamble on us, and we’ve followed 

through with sweat and often great numbers. 

I think they also really appreciate 

the responses they’ve been getting from 

their customers, who are having a deeper 

reaction than just a normal film.” 

Simpson observes, “I think a lot of 

these regional cinemas are starting to 

recognize that there are certain films, 

small films, that appeal very specifically 

to their area and they will do fantastically 

well. And I think that’s where 

self-distribution comes in. I think people 

are fixating on self-distribution [with us] 

because we were at Sundance and no one 

bought us, and we’re going to four-wall 

L.A. and New York [later this year]. But 

there are certain films [where it works 

well]. It took the distributors a while to 

get Free Solo into theaters in places in 

Wyoming, but it did fantastically well 

because people there related to it in a 

way that people in L.A. wouldn’t.” 

Simpson notes that “with some of the 

theaters, we’ve done it on an alternative 

content basis, just a handful of showings 

in downtimes for them, because our 

audience will go see it whenever it is on. 

That’s been an interesting opportunity. If 

I were a theater, though, the key thing I 

would ask any producer is: What’s your 

local outreach strategy and what resources 

do you have to put into that? It’s not marketing 

money. It’s time and sweat. And 

that’s what really pays off. 

“I saw something fascinating a couple 

of years ago at a friend’s festival in South 

Dakota: a 600-seat theater packed for a 

documentary about a rodeo guy. In L.A. 

it would get 20 people, and here it’s 600 

people, mostly young guys with cowboy 

hats on. I think boutique distributors 

should be forgetting about art houses for 

certain films and looking into these parts 

of the country.” 

Still booking theaters after two 

years, Simpson is gratified by the path 

he’s taken with Neither Wolf Nor Dog: 

“Without the theatrical release, the film 

would have just been seen by handful of 

people on DVD and gone nowhere.” As 

for the eventual ancillary release, “I keep 

pushing it back because we keep making 

money in theaters!” n 


TIMECODE 

by Kenneth James Bacon 

CLASSIC AD 

APRIL 30, 1955 

BOXOFFICE 

COUNTDOWN TO 

CELEBRATION PART 2 

AS BOXOFFICE ENTERS ITS 99TH YEAR, 

WE LOOK BACK AT WHO AND WHAT GOT US HERE 


To a dame like her … love is 

also a weapon. I’d lain awake 

many a night wanting her love. I 

probably would again. But I was 

through being a sap for her. This 

time she was going to be on the 

receiving end! 

Copy for Hell’s Island accompanied 

this full-page image in the April 30, 

1955, issue of Boxoffice 

For nearly 50 years, Boxoffice bestowed the Blue Ribbon Award each 

month to a release deemed to be the best in “family entertainment.” That 

phrase may suggest G-rated material, but in the early days of the industry, 

family fare covered a wider array of films. For every The Shaggy Dog 

and The Absent-Minded Professor, there were just as many movies with 

more adult themes: Citizen Kane, The Ugly American, and Guess Who’s Coming 

to Dinner. The film featured above, 1955’s A Man Called Peter, was typical 

of the plaque winners. The movie is a biopic about Peter Marshall, not 

the game show host, but the Scottish preacher who became the chaplain 

of the United States Senate and pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian 

Church in Washington, D.C. You can read more about the Blue Ribbon 

Award on page 73. And why of all the winners did I feature a movie you’ve 

probably never heard of? Peter Marshall married my parents. Read on >> 


CLASSIC AD 

APRIL 30, 1955 

BOXOFFICE 

Paramount’s 

widescreen 

format—VistaVision— 

was released in 1954, and 

Hell’s Island was one of the 

first to take advantage of the 

new process. Paramount 

marketed VistaVision 

heavily in the pages of 

Boxoffice 

Mary Murphy, 

shown here and on 

the facing page, first 

gained notoriety as the 

small-town girl intrigued 

by Marlon Brando’s Johnny 

in 1953’s The Wild One. Her 

final role was as Steve Mc- 

Queen’s sister in 1972’s 

Junior Bonner. 


TIMECODE 

THIS INSIGNA OF OUTSTANDING MERIT 

is given each month by the National Screen Council, whose membership is comprised 

of motion picture editors, radio film commentators and representatives of better film 

councils, civic and educational organizations.* 

*image and text from the November 17, 1945 edition of the Boxoffice Barometer 

72 BOXOFFICE ® JANUARY 2019

THE BLUE 

RIBBON AWARD 

For half a century, Boxoffice’s 

National Screen Council voted on 

the very best in family film, as long 

as Elvis wasn’t in any of them.* 


>> In the March 3, 1932, issue of New England 

Film News (just a year before merging with its 

sister publications to become Boxoffice), young 

publisher Ben Shlyen heralded a new program with 

the headline: Announcing a Tried and Proven Plan 

for Rebuilding Family Patronage. He called his new 

marketing effort The Blue Ribbon Award. 

Initially, the prize was for the best family film of 

the month and was voted on by the nation’s exhibitors: 

20,000 of them. Shlyen then organized a group 

he called the National Screen Council, which included 

newspaper and magazine editors, radio commentators, 

and members of various clubs, councils, and 

women’s clubs, because of course there were women’s 

clubs. Aunt Bee belonged to a women’s club. 

There were hundreds of members of the NSC, 

and its roll call of voters over the decades ranged 

from a Mrs. George Bryan of the Women’s Institute 

of Duluth (organizers of the annual Christmas choral 

pageant) to Hollywood heavy hitters like Hedda 

Hopper. Actress Adrienne Ames (George White’s 

Scandals) was a member of the council during the 

war years when she hosted a movie review radio 

show in New York. Esteemed film critic Andrew 

Sarris of the Village Voice was once a member, as was 

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune. 

National Screen Council member Jimmy Starr of 

the Los Angeles Herald-Express wrote a column called 

Starr-Dust for decades. He called Hollywood “Picturetown.” 

A novel he published during his council 

tenure was titled Three Short Biers, about a Hollywood 

studio that is sent three tiny coffins following 

the murder of three little people. You can buy this 

book on Amazon for four dollars and you can be the 

first to review it. 

Kate Cameron, movie critic for the New York 

Daily News, was a council member and wrote 

that newspaper’s stellar review of Citizen Kane (a 

Blue Ribbon winner) in the May 2, 1941, edition. 

Obviously, hers was not a Hearst paper. Here is 

an excerpt: “Someday, and the time won’t be long 

in arriving, Welles will be the greatest director in 

Hollywood. Today, he may be listed among the top 

ranking directors and his superb performance of the 

title role of the picture makes him one of the outstanding 

actors of the screen. Only Charles Chaplin 

has equaled the Welles achievement on a major 

Hollywood production, for like the producer of The 

Great Dictator, Welles has written the story of Kane, 

in collaboration with Herman Mankiewicz, produced 

the picture himself, directed it and played the 

leading role to perfection.” I would share a photo of 

Ms. Cameron, but Getty wants $499 for it. 

Aimee Lee Ball represented Redbook on the 

council in the 1970s and continues to contribute to 

publications such as O The Oprah Magazine, GQ, 

and The Huffington Post. 

Council member Dick Williams, entertainment 

editor of the Los Angeles Mirror-News, was noted for 

hating Elvis Presley* and would constantly skewer 

him in his column, calling him a “sexhibitionist” 

in one entry while also comparing a 1957 Presley 

concert to those “uninhibited party rallies which 

Nazis used to hold for Hitler.” Note that no Elvis 

film ever won a Blue Ribbon Award* (though Bye, 

Bye, Birdie did). 

Well-pressed and dapper Paine Knickerbocker— 

and is there a more dapper name than that?—was a 

clothes horse film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle 

for 20 years during a time when Disney features 

were gifted Blue Ribbons as freely as children’s 

participation medals. According to his daughter, 

when Knickerbocker died, female coworkers said, 

“I just couldn’t wait to see him come into the office. 

He always looked so good.” 

Edwin Miller, a council member in the 1960s, 

was the entertainment editor for Seventeen for 40 

years, spending the entire time interviewing young 

stars for his teenage audience. His subjects were often 

young actresses at the beginning of their careers: 

Audrey Hepburn was 23 when he spoke to her at 

Sardi’s. Seventeen-year-old Sarah Jessica Parker was 

starring in Square Pegs when she told him, “I’ll tell 

you one thing your magazine lacks, is a fashion feature 

for petites … Every girl I know reads Seventeen 

magazine. A lot of my friends are short.” In a sad 

twist of fate, Miller lost his 16-year-old daughter 

in 1971 when she fell from the roof of their New 

York apartment. 

The Blue Ribbon Award ended in 1980 when 

this magazine became a monthly. You can see all 

the winners on the next page. n 

ACTRESS ADRIENNE AMES WAS A 

BLUE RIBBON VOTER IN 1945. IN 

ADDITION TO APPEARING 

ON-SCREEN, SHE HOSTED A RADIO 

SHOW ON NEW YORK’S WHN UNTIL 

HER DEATH IN 1947. 

*BUT TURN TO PAGE 76! 

JANUARY 2019 BOXOFFICE ® 73

TIMECODE 

FROM THE MARCH 31, 1932, ISSUE 

INITIAL BLUE RIBBON AWARD GOES TO FOX 

FOR WILL ROGERS’ VEHICLE 

Committee selects Business and Pleasure as most suitable family picture in 

March releases 

Business and Pleasure, Fox release starring Will Rogers, is the Exhibitors 

National Screen Committee’s Blue Ribbon Award picture for March, the first 

award to be made under the auspices of Associated Publications. 

Selection of this picture was made by the committee after a close race with 

The Expert, Warner release starring Chic Sale. Third in point of suitability for 

family patronage was Universal’s Unexpected Father, featuring Slim Summerville 

and Zasu Pitts. 

Interest Tremendous 

That exhibitors and civic figures are 

vitally interested in the Blue Ribbon Award 

movement to revive family interest in motion 

pictures is indicated by the widespread 

enthusiasm and hearty cooperation that 

greeted this initial selection. Members of the 

committee gave unstintingly of their time in 

viewing screenings and weighing the merits 

of many pictures. 

Windfall for Showman 

Selection of Business and Pleasure offers 

limitless opportunities for alert showmen to 

capitalize on the large amount of advance 

publicity accorded the Blue Ribbon Award. 

Newspapers throughout the nation have 

accorded a great deal of space to this movement. Leaders in Better Film Committees, 

Parent-Teacher Associations, Women’s Clubs, etc., have spoken earnestly in 

behalf of the plan. Smart showmen will prepare immediately to cash in on this 

nationwide interest. 

A Natural for Families 

Wherever the English language is spoken—and in many points where it is 

not—the name of Will Rogers is synonymous with entertainment. He has been 

termed the greatest humorist of this age and his infectious brand of humor 

appeals to people of all ages. Rogers recently returned from a trip around 

the world. He received a great deal of publicity on his homecoming through 

hundreds of newspapers. A series of articles has been running currently in the 

Saturday Evening Post. His comments on the Sino-Japanese conflict were syndicated 

widely, and he has a daily comment on politics and other current topics 

appearing in many newspapers. 

The best bet for an alert showman, therefore, is to plug the name Will Rogers. 

That, with the attention-compelling accessories produced for Blue Ribbon 

Pictures exclusively, should make Business and Pleasure the smash family picture of 

the month. 

1931–32 

In the early decades of film 

release patterns, the ‘season’ 

ran from September to 

September each year, hence the 

split years in this chart. 

(some winners are unknown to us) 

Business and Pleasure 

Tarzan, the Ape Man 

No Greater Love 

The Doomed Battalion 

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 

Bring ‘Em Back Alive 

1932–33 

A Successful Calamity 

Phantom President 

Little Orphan Annie 

Uptown New York 

They Just Had to Get Married 

State Fair 

Oliver Twist 

King Kong 

Adorable 

Gold Diggers of 1933 

The Stranger’s Return 

Tugboat Annie 

1933–34 

One Man’s Journey 

The Bowery 

Only Yesterday 

Little Women 

Roman Scandals 

The Cat and the Fiddle 

David Harum 

Tarzan and His Mate 

Viva Villa 

Little Miss Marker 

Here Comes the Navy 

Treasure Island 

1934–35 

One Night of Love 

Judge Priest 

White Parade 

Flirtation Walk 

David Copperfield 

Little Colonel 

Roberta 

Naughty Marietta 

G-Men 

The Informer 

Love Me Forever 

Alice Adams 

1935–36 

Top Hat 

O’Shaughnessy’s Boy 

Mutiny on the Bounty 

Ah, Wilderness! 

A Tale of Two Cities 

The Story of Louis Pasteur 

The Country Doctor 

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 

Show Boat 

San Francisco 

The White Angel 

The Green Pastures 

1936–37 

The Last of the Mohicans 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

The Charge of the Light Brigade 

Winterset 

The Plainsman 

Maid of Salem 

Maytime 

Romeo and Juliet 

The Prince and the Pauper 

Captains Courageous 

Wee Willie Winkie 

The Good Earth 

1937–38 

Lost Horizon 

The Life of Emile Zola 

The Firefly 

Tovarich 

Wells Fargo 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 

In Old Chicago 

The Adventures of Robin Hood 

Holiday 

Love Finds Andy Hardy 

Alexander’s Ragtime Band 

1938–39 

Boys Town 

You Can’t Take It With You 

The Citadel 

A Christmas Carol 

Sweethearts 

Gunga Din 

Pygmalion 

Wuthering Heights 

Union Pacific 

Young Mr. Lincoln 

On Borrowed Time 

Stanley and Livingstone 

1939–40 

The Wizard of Oz 

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 

Drums Along the Mohawk 

Gulliver’s Travels 

The Great Victor Herbert 

Pinocchio 

Young Tom Edison 

Rebecca 

Edison, the Man 

The Mortal Storm 

All This, and Heaven Too 

Pride and Prejudice 

1940–41 

The Howards of Virginia 

The Great Dictator 

Northwest Mounted Police 

Tin Pan Alley 

The Philadelphia Story 

Virginia 

The Lady Eve 

Men of Boys Town 

That Hamilton Woman! 

I Wanted Wings 

Caught in the Draft 

Blossoms in the Dust 

1941–42 

Citizen Kane 

Sergeant York 

On Foot in Heaven 

H. M. Pulham, Esq. 

How Green Was My Valley 

Woman of the Year 

To Be or Not to Be 

Fantasia 

Tortilla Flat 

They All Kissed the Bride 

This Above All 

The Pied Piper 

1942–43 

Mrs. Miniver 

The Major and the Minor 

Tales of Manhattan 

George Washington Slept Here 

Yankee Doodle Dandy 

Star Spangled Rhythm 

Pride of the Yankees 

Random Harvest 

The More the Merrier 

Stage Door Canteen 

The Human Comedy 

This Is the Army 


1943–44 

So Proudly We Hail! 

Thank Your Lucky Stars 

Guadalcanal Diary 

Lassie Come Home 

Destination Tokyo 

Madame Curie 

A Guy Named Joe 

See Here, Private Hargrove 

For Whom the Bell Tolls 

The White Cliffs of Dover 

The Story of Dr. Wassell 

Going My Way 

1949–50 

Come to the Stable 

I Was a Male War Bride 

Ichabod and Mr. Toad 

Adam’s Rib 

On the Town 

All the King’s Men 

Twelve O’Clock High 

Cinderella 

Cheaper By the Dozen 

The Jackie Robinson Story 

Father of the Bride 

Treasure Island 

1955–56 

The McConnell Story 

The African Lion 

My Sister Eileen 

Good Morning, Miss Dove 

Guys and Dolls 

The Benny Goodman Story 

Carousel 

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit 

The Swan 

The Man Who Knew Too Much 

The King and I 

The Eddy Duchin Story 

1961–62 

The Young Doctors 

Greyfriars Bobby 

King of Kings 

Flower Drum Song 

Babes in Toyland 

A Majority of One 

West Side Story 

State Fair 

The Counterfeit Traitor 

Bon Voyage 

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation 

The Music Man 

1967–68 

The Flim-Flam Man 

The Happiest Millionaire 

Camelot 

Young Americans 

Doctor Dolittle 

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner 

Half a Sixpence 

Planet of the Apes 

Where Angels Go … Trouble Follows! 

Yours, Mine, and Ours 

The Odd Couple 

Never a Dull Moment 

1973–74 

Bang the Drum Slowly 

The Way We Were 

Jonathan Livingston Seagull 

The Sting 

McQ 

Chariots of the Gods? 

Conrack 

Where the Lilies Bloom 

Claudine 

Where the Red Fern Grows 

That’s Entertainment! 

Benji 

1944–45 

The Seventh Cross 

Arsenic and Old Lace 

Since You Went Away 

Mrs. Parkington 

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 

The Keys of the Kingdom 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 

National Velvet 

The Enchanted Cottage 

The Clock 

Valley of Decision 

Wilson 

1950–51 

Louisa 

Fancy Pants 

Mister 880 

King Solomon’s Mines 

Harvey 

Kim 

Royal Wedding 

Father’s Little Dividend 

The Great Caruso 

On the Riviera 

The Frogmen 

Alice in Wonderland 

1956–57 

War and Peace 

The Solid Gold Cadillac 

Friendly Persuasion 

Oklahoma! 

The Ten Commandments 

The Rain Maker 

Battle Hymn 

The Spirit of St. Louis 

Boy on a Dolphin 

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 

Tammy and the Bachelor 

An Affair to Remember 

1962–63 

Five Weeks in a Balloon 

Almost Angels 

The Longest Day 

Billy Budd 

Billy Rose’s Jumbo 

Lawrence of Arabia 

To Kill a Mockingbird 

Miracle of the White Stallions 

The Ugly American 

Bye Bye Birdie 

Spencer’s Mountain 

The Great Escape 

1968–69 

With Six You Get Eggroll 

Funny Girl 

Paper Lion 

Finian’s Rainbow 

Oliver! 

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell 

African Safari 

Support Your Local Sheriff 

Sweet Charity 

My Side of the Mountain 

True Grit 

Ring of Bright Water 

1974–75 

Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob 

Airport 1975 

Earthquake 

The Towering Inferno 

Murder on the Orient Express 

—unknown— 

—unknown— 

—unknown— 

The Return of the Pink Panther 

The Wind and the Lion 

The Apple Dumpling Gang 

Give ‘Em Hell, Harry! 

1945–46 

The Story of G.I. Joe 

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes 

The House on 92nd Street 

Spellbound 

The Bells of St. Mary’s 

The Lost Weekend 

Tormorrow is Forever 

Saratoga Trunk 

Dragonwyk 

Two Sisters From Boston 

The Green Years 

Anna and the King of Siam 

1951–52 

Captain Horatio Hornblower 

Angels in the Outfield 

An American in Paris 

A Christmas Carol 

I’ll See You in My Dreams 

Room for One More 

The African Queen 

With a Song in My Heart 

The Pride of St. Louis 

Belles on Their Toes 

The Greatest Show on Earth 

The Story of Will Rogers 

1957–58 

The Pajama Game 

Man of a Thousand Faces 

Lez Girls 

April Love 

Sayonara 

Old Yeller 

Witness for the Prosecution 

The Bridge on the River Kwai 

The Young Lions 

This Happy Feeling 

No Time for Sergeants 

The Matchmaker 

1963–64 

Gidget Goes to Rome 

Lilies of the Field 

The Incredible Journey 

McLintock! 

The Sword in the Stone 

America America 

Seven Days in May 

The Incredible Mr. Limpet 

The Brass Bottle 

The Chalk Garden 

The Unsinkable Molly Brown 

Island of the Blue Dolphins 

1969–70 

The Learning Tree 

Journey to the Far Side of the Sun 

The Christmas Tree 

Goodbye, Mr. Chips 

Hello, Dolly! 

Viva Max! 

Patton 

Airport 

Z 

A Walk in the Spring Rain 

The Out-of-Towners 

The Boatniks 

1975–76 

Rooster Cogburn 

Best of Disney’s True-Life Adventures 

The Sunshine Boys 

Barry Lyndon 

No Deposit, No Return 

Echoes of a Summer 

All the President’s Men 

Hawmps! 

That’s Entertainment, Part 2 

Silent Movie 

The Shootist 

Norman … Is That You? 

1946–47 

Caesar and Cleopatra 

Three Wise Fools 

Sister Kenny 

Blue Skies 

The Jolson Story 

Song of the South 

The Beginning of the End 

It Happened in Brooklyn 

The Farmer’s Daughter 

The Yearling 

Miracle on 34th Street 

Welcome Stranger 

1952–53 

The Merry Widow 

The Miracle of Fatima 

Because You’re Mine 

Plymouth Adventure 

Stars and Stripes Forever 

Peter Pan 

The Stars Are Singing 

Hans Christian Andersen 

Titanic 

A Queen is Crowned 

Lili 

Shane 

1958–59 

The Reluctant Debutante 

Damn Yankees 

The Last Hurrah 

Gigi 

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness 

The Old Man and the Sea 

The Mating Game 

The Shaggy Dog 

South Pacific 

It Happened to Jane 

The Big Circus 

The Diary of Anne Frank 

1964–65 

A Hard Day’s Night 

Kisses for My President 

Mary Poppins 

My Fair Lady 

Father Goose 

A Boy Ten Feet Tall 

Those Calloways 

The Sound of Music 

The Truth About Spring 

Mister Moses 

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 

Shenandoah 

1970–71 

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever 

Sunflower 

Tora! Tora! Tora! 

Scrooge 

Song of Norway 

I Never Sang for My Father 

Little Big Man 

A New Leaf 

They Might Be Giants 

Escape From the Planet of the Apes 

Plaza Suite 

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 

1976–77 

—unknown— 

Bugsy Malone 

The Pink Panther Strikes Again 

Rocky 

—unknown— 

Airport ’77 

Annie Hall 

Star Wars 

For the Love of Benji 

The Deep 

MacArthur 

You Light Up My Life 

1947–48 

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer 

The Unfinished Dance 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 

Where There’s Life 

My Wild Irish Rose 

Cass Timberlane 

The Bishop’s Wife 

I Remember Mama 

State of the Union 

Green Grass of Wyoming 

Easter Parade 

The Best Years of Our Lives 

1953–54 

Roman Holiday 

The Robe 

So Big 

How to Marry a Millionaire 

Knights of the Round Table 

The Glenn Miller Story 

The Long, Long Trailer 

Rose Marie 

Executive Suite 

Three Coins in the Fountain 

The High and the Mighty 

Magnificent Obsession 

1959–60 

The Devil’s Disciple 

The FBI Story 

The Big Fisherman 

The Last Angry Man 

Journey to the Center of the Earth 

On the Beach 

Toby Tyler 

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies 

Conspiracy of Hearts 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 

Pollyanna 

The Lost World 

1965–66 

HELP! 

The Great Race 

The Agony and the Ecstasy 

Never Too Late 

That Darn Cat 

The Heroes of Telemark 

The Ugly Dachshund 

The Singing Nun 

Born Free 

The Shop on Main Street 

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming! 

Walk, Don’t Run 

1971–72 

Peter Rabbit and the Tales of Beatrix Potter 

Walkabout 

Kotch 

Fiddler on the Roof 

The Railway Children 

The Cowboys 

Cabaret 

What’s Up, Doc? 

Silent Running 

Play It Again, Sam 

Living Free 

Butterflies Are Free 

1977–78 

Oh, God! 

Julia 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 

—unknown— 

High Anxiety 

Gray Lady Down 

House Calls 

FM 

Grease 

—unknown— 

The Pink Panther 

Death on the Nile 

1948–49 

The Babe Ruth Story 

Apartment for Peggy 

Johnny Belinda 

The Three Musketeers 

The Snake Pit 

The Boy with Green Hair 

So Dear to My Heart 

Take Me Out to the Ball Game 

Little Women 

The Barkleys of Broadway 

The Stratton Story 

Look for the Silver Lining 

1954–55 

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 

Brigadoon 

White Christmas 

The Little Kidnappers 

There’s No Business Like Show Business 

The Bridges of Toko-Ri 

The Long Gray Line 

A Man Called Peter 

Daddy Long Legs 

Strategic Air Command 

The Seven Little Foys 

Mister Roberts 

1960–61 

Ocean’s 11 

High Time 

Sunrise at Campobello 

CinderFella 

The Sundowners 

Swiss Family Robinson 

One Hundred and One Dalmatians 

The Trapp Family 

The Absent-Minded Professor 

The Pleasure of His Company 

The Parent Trap 

Tammy Tell Me True 

1966–67 

Fantastic Voyage 

The Wrong Box 

The Bible … In the Beginning 

Follow Me, Boys! 

The Endless Summer 

A Man for All Seasons 

Monkeys, Go Home! 

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 

Thoroughly Modern Millie 

Eight on the Lam 

Africa—Texas Style! 

Up the Down Staircase 

1972–73 

Marjoe 

Sounder 

A Separate Peace 

The Poseidon Adventure 

The Emigrants 

Sleuth 

The World’s Greatest Athlete 

Lost Horizon 

Charlotte’s Web 

Paper Moon 

Tom Sawyer 

American Graffiti 

1978–79 

A Wedding 

The Wiz 

Superman 

Ice Castles 

Norma Rae 

Manhattan 

China Syndrome 

Alien 

The Muppet Movie 

Breaking Away 

—unknown— 

—unknown— 


TIMECODE 

He may not have been Dick Williams’s 

cup of java and we may be 60 years late, but we hereby 

award Elvis and Jailhouse Rock the coveted Blue Ribbon 

Award. This classic two-page ad appeared in the Sept. 

28, 1957, edition of Boxoffice. 



BOX OFFICE BREAKOUTS 

TITLES WITH THE 

POTENTIAL TO MAKE 

A BIG IMPACT IN 

2019 

Capsules by Jesse Rifkin 

ALADDIN 

FRIDAY, MAY 24 

DISNEY 

DIR GUY RITCHIE 

CAST WILL SMITH, MENA MASSOUD 

>> The original animated Aladdin was 1992’s 

top film with $217.3M—a total that would 

impress even today but stuns at $463.0M 

adjusted for ticket-price inflation. This liveaction 

remake aims to follow Disney’s other 

successful live-action remakes this decade. 

including Beauty and the Beast with $504.0M, 

The Jungle Book with $364.0M, and Alice in 

Wonderland with $334.1M. 

IMAGE FROM AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR 

CAPTAIN MARVEL 

FRIDAY, MARCH 8 

DISNEY 

DIR ANNA BODEN, RYAN FLECK 

CAST BRIE LARSON, SAMUEL L. JACKSON 

AVENGERS: ENDGAME 

FRIDAY, APRIL 26 

DISNEY 

DIR JOE RUSSO, ANTHONY RUSSO 

CAST ROBERT DOWNEY JR., SCARLETT JOHANSSON 

TOY STORY 4 

FRIDAY, JUNE 21 

DISNEY 

DIR JOSH COOLEY 

CAST TOM HANKS, TIM ALLEN 

>> Marvel Comics’ first female lead aims to 

emulate rival DC Comics’ Wonder Woman, 

a smash at $412.5M. Captain is already 

Fandago’s third-highest pre-seller ever 

among Marvel films, behind only Avengers: 

Infinity War and Black Panther—which 

became the company’s two biggest titles. 

This title is poised to be one of Q1’s biggest 

box office earners. 

>> Avengers: Infinity War was last year’s 

second-highest-grossing film domestically 

with $678.8M, behind only Black Panther. After 

Infinity ended on a cliffhanger, December’s 

teaser trailer for sequel Endgame set a new 

record for most online views for a trailer within 

its first 24 hours. As of this writing, it’s already 

one of YouTube’s 10 most viewed American 

movie trailers of all time. 

>> The Toy Story franchise is arguably 

Pixar’s most iconic, making this installment 

particularly compelling. Toy Story 3 was the 

highest-grossing film of 2010 domestically, 

earning $415.0M. Pixar has been on a box 

office tear with (most of ) its recent sequels, 

including Incredibles 2 with $608.5M and 

Finding Dory with $486.2M. 2020 will see their 

fantasy adventure Onward. 


IMAGE FROM SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME 

FRIDAY, JULY 5 

SONY / COLUMBIA 

DIR JON WATTS 

CAST TOM HOLLAND, JAKE GYLLENHAAL 

THE LION KING 

FRIDAY, JULY 19 

DISNEY 

DIR JON FAVREAU 

CAST DONALD GLOVER, BEYONCÉ 

IT: CHAPTER 2 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 

WARNER BROS. 

DIR ANDY MUSCHIETTI 

CAST JESSICA CHASTAIN, BILL SKARSGÅRD 

IMAGE FROM IT 

>> Spider-Man: Homecoming was the 

sixth-biggest movie of 2017, earning 

$334.2M. Audiences responded positively to 

the character’s introduction to the Marvel 

universe and the younger take on the 

character. The sequel adds new characters, 

including Mysterio, a favorite of comic fans 

who hasn’t appeared on-screen to date. 

Mysterio will be played by Jake Gyllenhaal. 

>> 1994’s original The Lion King was the 

year’s second-biggest movie, earning 

$312.8M or a massive $682.0M adjusted for 

ticket-price inflation. The film’s reputation 

has only increased since, cementing itself as 

a contemporary classic for Generation Z and 

millennials. The trailer for the CGI-animated 

version earned the third-most online views 

ever for a trailer in its first 24 hours. 

>> 2017’s It shattered several records, including 

biggest R-rated horror movie and biggest 

September opening by almost doubling the 

previous record, set by Rush Hour. Overall, 

It was the seventh-biggest movie of 2017, 

earning $327.4M. The sequel takes place in the 

present day, several decades after the original 

1980s setting, with the original characters now 

grown and still haunted by a demonic clown. 

FROZEN 2 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 

DISNEY 

DIR JENNIFER LEE, CHRIS BUCK 

CAST IDINA MENZEL, KRISTEN BELL 

IMAGE FROM FROZEN 

IMAGE FROM JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE 

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE SEQUEL 

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 

SONY / COLUMBIA 

DIR JAKE KASDAN 

CAST DWAYNE JOHNSON, KEVIN HART 

IMAGE FROM STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI 

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX 

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20 

DISNEY 

DIR J.J. ABRAMS 

CAST DAISY RIDLEY, ADAM DRIVER 

>> Frozen was the third-highest grosser of 

2013, earning $400.7M. Its enchanted box 

office run owes its success to longevity: it 

spent a stunning 16 weekends in the top 10, 

the most of any film from the past decade. 

The sequel emerges from this list as one of 

the most anticipated animated movies of the 

year. It could break Toy Story 2’s Thanksgiving 

weekend record from 1999. 

>> Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was one 

of the most surprising box office breakouts of 

the entire decade, the fourth-biggest movie 

of 2017, earning $404.5M. The entire cast and 

director are back for the part-comedy, partfantasy, 

part-action sequel. This follow-up 

might be saying “welcome” to the top tier of 

the box office. Jungle is Sony’s top movie this 

decade besides Spider-Man or James Bond. 

>> 2015’s The Force Awakens was the highestgrossing 

film of its year, as was 2017’s The Last 

Jedi. The series aims to three-peat with Episode 

IX. Writer/director J.J. Abrams returns as he did 

on the universally beloved Awakens, after Rian 

Johnson wrote and directed Jedi to a much 

more mixed reception. Both previous third 

installments of Star Wars trilogies were their 

respective year’s top film. 


AWARDS SEASON 

PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI 

Director, Cold War (on his friendship with 

Roma director Alfonso Cuarón) 

“We’re very good friends. We talk 

about each other’s stories a lot. 

When you tell a story to a friend 

over a beer, you simplify and stylize 

it in a way that [makes you figure 

out] the way it should be told. You 

suddenly realize you’re dropping 

stuff out, editing it in your own head 

already. Alfonso said, ‘You should 

just do it.’ But I’ve been living with 

this tale for 10 years in different 

shapes … I realized I don’t have to 

be so literal about stories. I can take 

liberties and leave gaps, as long 

as the stuff I show resonates and 

gives you enough clues into what 

happened before or after.” 

Interviewed by Tomris Laffly 

TOMASZ KOT AND JOANNA KULIG 

THE CONTENDERS 

Edited by Kevin Lally and Daniel Loria 

It was a very good year at the movies, and Boxoffice and Film Journal International 

had the privilege of talking with many of 2018’s award-season contenders. Here’s a 

look back at some highlights. 

YORGOS LANTHIMOS 

YORGOS LANTHIMOS 

Director, The Favourite 

“Apart from doing research and using 

18th-century elements that interested 

us to get a visual sense of the period, we 

felt at the same time it was important to 

bring a more contemporary texture to the 

film—details that make it different and feel 

maybe more modern in certain ways. This 

started even from the language—from the 

dialogue we used, trying to imitate what 

we supposed was the way people spoke 

back then. With costumes, we used a lot of 

contemporary fabric but kept the shapes of 

the period. We used vintage music and contemporary 

music as well … We all have this 

very fixed idea about how we think people 

moved and sat and spoke in those times— 

and I just had to go against all that.” 

Interviewed by Harry Haun 


RYAN COOGLER 

Director, Black Panther 

“The biggest challenge for me on 

this film was keeping my feet on the 

ground. I wanted to make sure that 

the reality of my dreams was coming 

through on this project. Having a 

chance to make a comic book film 

about a character who is important 

to so many people and to work with 

a studio like Marvel Studios is a big 

deal. It’s such a big deal that it could 

be paralyzing and distracting if I 

thought about it too much. Every day 

I had to focus on the work that was 

at hand and not get overwhelmed by 

it. I counted to 10 every day before I 

started work, before I showed up on 

set or walked to the office so that I 

could do my work efficiently.” 

Interviewed by Trevor Hogg 

DANAI GURIRA AND RYAN COOGLER 

DOLLY WELLS, MARIELLE HELLER, AND MELISSA MCCARTHY 

MARIELLE HELLER 

Director, Can You Ever Forgive Me? 

“[Melissa McCarthy and I] did a lot of 

work, finding the look for the character 

and the voice. She was very prepared and 

also very open to direction—a joy. It was 

a very different type of part for her. She is 

one of the best improvisers in the world 

but didn’t do any of that on this movie. 

It’s going to be really interesting for 

people to see her like this, because she’s 

so naturally funny but also so soulful and 

emotionally present.” 

Interviewed by David Noh 

RAMI MALEK 

GRAHAM KING 

Producer, Bohemian Rhapsody 

“One of our biggest obstacles was finding the right person to play Freddie Mercury. Freddie was such an 

iconic person and was larger than life in many ways. This movie lives or dies on the audience investing 

in Freddie, so we had to get someone who could embody Freddie in every sense of the word— 

emotionally, physically, even the energy. This haunted me for years—until Denis O’Sullivan, who works 

for me, introduced me to Rami Malek. We spent hours talking about Freddie and the band. He not only 

looked the part but was so passionate about the project. I can’t get too specific but, trust me, Rami 

has done such an amazing job with this role and has truly made it his own. His work ethic and 

emotional range is incredible.” Interviewed by Daniel Loria 


AWARDS SEASON 

PETER FARRELLY 

Director, Green Book 

“The hardest part of writing this, honestly 

for me, was being always conscious that 

this kind of comedy is different than that 

in my other movies. I had to fight the 

instinct of going for a joke. I could have 

milked it for a lot more jokes, but it would 

have hurt the story and would have taken 

away the reality. This is an odd-couple 

story. Any humor in the film comes from 

those characters and nothing else. I always 

followed the Andy Griffith Rule. On ‘The 

Andy Griffith Show,’ they never told jokes, 

but there are a lot of laughs, and those all 

came from characters. That’s what I was 

thinking the whole time.” Interviewed by 

Harry Haun 

VIGGO MORTENSEN, PETER FARRELLY, AND MAHERSHALA ALI 

TEYONAH PARRIS, KIKI LAYNE, AND REGINA KING 

BARRY JENKINS 

Director, If Beale Street Could Talk 

“The fact of being black has 

had a very large impact on 

how I see the world, and 

certainly had a large impact 

on how the world sees me. 

This point of view is both intellectual 

and emotional, but 

also aesthetic. Even without 

intending to, I will continue 

to chart this course—being 

black will be my compass.” 

Interviewed by Maria Garcia 

BRAD BIRD 

Director, Incredibles 2 

“Seeing it in Dolby Atmos is going 

to be a trip because we’re playing 

a lot with sound spatially in the 

theater. We’re being crazy with it in 

a good way. It’s going to be immersive. 

I would encourage anybody 

who is interested in the film to see 

it in the various high-end formats 

such as IMAX and Dolby Vision, because 

we take advantage of them.” 

Interviewed by Trevor Hogg 


DAMIEN CHAZELLE 

Director, First Man 

“I’ve always been interested in the idea 

of the cost of goals and the toll that 

certain pursuits take, whether they’re 

artistic pursuits or [something] different—the 

psychology of what that kind 

of pursuit can do to the person, the 

pursuer. Here, it seemed like an opportunity 

to take one of the most famous 

pursuits, goals, achievements in history, 

the landing on the moon, and try to 

trace back not just the concrete steps 

in a procedural way of how we actually 

did it, but look at the psychology of the 

person who took those first steps and 

just what the cost on that person might 

have been.” Interviewed by Tomris Laffly 

RYAN GOSLING 

RUTH BADER GINSBURG 

SPIDER-HAM 

PETER RAMSEY 

Co-Director, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 

“It was all about justifying ‘Why another Spider-Man movie?’ 

And I think [the producing team of] Phil [Lord] and Chris [Miller] 

saw an opportunity to say something about Spider-Man 

in a larger sense—about this character who is legitimately a 

cultural icon. It’s a way of making the character relevant and 

new again. It’s also a way of addressing a lot of concerns, like 

diversity. That’s a biggie.” Interviewed by Frank Lovece 

JULIE COHEN 

Co-Director, RBG 

“There’s something I find both fascinating and touching 

about the idea that women in their 20s would view, let’s 

face it, this pretty serious judge, legal pioneer, in this 

celebrity way. For me, as a middle-aged woman, seeing 

young women really admire this older woman—you don’t 

see it that often and it’s really nice to see in our youth-obsessed 

culture.” Interviewed by Anna Storm 


AWARDS SEASON 

BJÖRN RUNGE (CENTER) 

BJÖRN RUNGE Director, The Wife 

“Glenn [Close] and Jonathan [Pryce] had a very clear idea of 

their interpretations, and I love that, because I also have a very 

clear idea. But it’s all about the collaboration, which makes 

everyone better. When Glenn and Jonathan acted, they gave 

of themselves and played with each other in unpredictable 

ways, which I love. They’re so good that it became sort 

of mind games on the set and makes for a very creative 

atmosphere.” Interviewed by David Noh 

PHIL JOHNSTON 

Co-Director and Writer, 

Ralph Breaks the Internet 

“It’s a tricky balance to strike 

because the internet gives us 

everything we want, but there’s 

also a lot of dark stuff out there. 

To some extent, we were emboldened 

by the work on Zootopia, 

knowing that audiences are 

eager for a more sophisticated 

approach to tricky subject matter 

in family films. In Zootopia it 

was racism, and in this one we’re 

dealing with online bullying and 

trolling on an emotional level 

with Ralph—the self-doubt and 

insecurity that I think both parents 

and kids can relate to.” 

Interviewed by Daniel Loria 


HIROKAZU KORE-EDA 

HIROKAZU KORE-EDA 

Director, Shoplifters 

“This particular film was much more about looking at family 

and society and the place that the two meet, and then the 

friction that can occur between the two. So that was where 

I began thinking about this particular film. So it was sort of 

bigger than just my personal experience. However, having 

said that, there are certain aspects of the film that are very 

much personal. For example, the scene where the little boy 

puts his face out from the closet and views the various people 

in the house from that sort of safe space, that was very much 

about myself when I was young. I also liked to hide in the 

closet and look out from there. That was my safe space. Or, 

for example, the idea where the child slowly becomes more 

aware of who the father is and what he’s really like, and the 

vision that he had of his father gets slowly broken—I also 

experienced that myself as I grew up.” 

Interviewed by Chris Eggertsen 

PAUL DANO Director, Wildlife 

“[The theatrical release] was very important, simply because 

it’s the type of film that is best appreciated when you give it 

the time that it’s giving you. Maybe there are different kinds 

of films that would be good on a streaming platform, but this 

is a movie where I would really love for somebody to sit down 

with the characters and fall in with the film for 104 minutes. 

It’s my first film, and I wanted to make a film.” 

Interviewed by Daniel Loria 

JAKE GYLLENHAAL 



INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES SHARE THEIR 

MOST MEMORABLE MOVIEGOING MOMENTS 

OF 2018 

JOE MASHER 

CHIEF OPERATING 

OFFICER, 

BOW TIE CINEMAS 

“The year 2018 was a 

revolutionary one for Bow 

Tie Cinemas, with significant 

investment made in theater 

upgrades. I’ve enjoyed most of my movies in luxury 

recliners, with excellent food and beverage service. It has 

really changed the whole experience. Watching shows sell 

out in theaters with reduced seat counts at times when 

occupancy ordinarily would be low is a treat! Moviegoing 

will remain strong as long as the product is of superior 

quality. Guests who visited our theaters a few times a year 

are now visiting more frequently due to the product and 

luxury amenities. Go Hollywood!” 

ANDREW SUNSHINE 

PRESIDENT, 

FILM EXPO GROUP 

“The end scene in GREEN 

BOOK: ‘Thanks for helping 

him with the letters.’” 

KEN THEWES 

CHIEF MARKETING 

OFFICER, REGAL 

Over the course of the 

record year that was 

2018, there were obviously 

numerous great moments. A 

few that stand out for me were: (1) 

watching fantastic superhero movies in crowded theaters, 

including a story I was somewhat unfamiliar with (BLACK 

PANTHER) and two others I was eagerly anticipating 

(AQUAMAN and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR), all overdelivering 

on expectations; (2) an unexpected horror 

movie, A QUIET PLACE, creeping me and my wife out; and 

(3) a small, under-the-radar sci-fi/action movie, UPGRADE, 

that was one of my personal favorites.” 

JACK GARDNER 

VP MARKETING, 

SALES & CONTENT 

PROGRAMMING, 

LANDMARK 

CINEMAS CANADA 

“For sheer audacity, Christian 

Bale and Amy Adams busting 

out in iambic pentameter in VICE was truly a moment 

to remember. At two different points, Adam McKay’s Vice 

brings up William Shakespeare. The first time, it’s a joke, a 

scene where McKay has Christian Bale’s Dick Cheney and 

Amy Adams’s Lynne Cheney speak to each other in verse 

about Dick’s thoughts on his first meeting with George W. 

Bush. There are discussions about the Cheneys’ ultimate 

designs, and some icky sexual suggestions. McKay’s script 

even attempts iambic pentameter during the exchange.” 

ROLANDO 

RODRIGUEZ 

PRESIDENT & CEO, 

MARCUS THEATRES 

“It was a year of amazing 

progress for diversity 

and inclusion in film. While 

there is still a lot of work to do, 

we definitely made inroads [in diverse representation] 

with COCO, UNA MUJER FANTASTICA, and THE SHAPE 

OF WATER winning at the Academy Awards. Not to 

mention, some of 2018’s biggest films, including BLACK 

PANTHER, CRAZY RICH ASIANS, OCEAN’S 8, and 

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN featured diverse 

casts and strong female leads. I’m proud to see these 

segments making a huge impact in the present and 

future industry business.” 


JANET OPRENDEK 

VP OF 

OPERATIONS AND 

ADMINISTRATION, 

FLAGSHIP CINEMAS 

“2018’s breakout movie 

for me was A QUIET PLACE 

and the sheer power that 

film had in quelling the audience as they watched in 

silent fascination. It’s the quietest I’ve ever ‘heard’ a 

large group of people. John Krasinski was masterful in 

creating and directing a film that kept the attention of 

sci-fi aficionados, lured in horror fans, and underneath 

it all told a powerful story of a family’s survival and 

the strength of their love. This effort truly displayed 

Krasinski’s talent beyond his iconic TV roles, and the film 

absolutely deserved the Critics’ Choice Award it received.” 



ELLIS JACOB 


CINEPLEX 

“My favorite moviegoing 

memory of 2018 was seeing 

A STAR IS BORN with my 

whole family in one of our 

UltraAVX auditoriums. Watching 

the concert scene with the added feature of Dolby Atmos 

sound made us feel completely immersed in the movie, as 

if we were seated right in the audience! It’s moments like 

this—sharing experiences with loved ones that can’t be 

replicated at home—that truly make moviegoing magical.” 

EDUARDO ACUÑA 

HEAD OF AMERICAS, 

CINÉPOLIS 

“The 2018 moviegoing 

experience that stands 

out the most was the evening 

my extended family of 14 

and I went to opening night of 

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. Our group of grandparents, 

uncles, aunts, and children made for an exciting and energy-filled 

outing from the moment we purchased tickets and 

concessions. The kids were so excited that they cheered 

for the first superhero they saw on-screen. The energy 

was contagious—so much so, that for every subsequent 

superhero’s introduction, the whole auditorium joined in 

on the cheer. It was a fantastic start to the film, which became 

an energizing and engaging experience that unified 

everyone in the auditorium. It never would have been the 

same at home. It was a perfect example of how the power 

of watching a movie in a theater can really shape the movie 

experience and create a lasting memory.” 

BRIAN SCHULTZ 

FOUNDER & CEO, 

STUDIO MOVIE 

GRILL 

“Favorite and most memorable 

movie moment in 

2018 was watching A STAR IS 

BORN and having the opportunity 

to talk to Bradley Cooper at length about transitioning 

from actor to director, producer, and writer on the film 

and the business side of filmmaking simultaneously. His 

journey and the work were truly impressive.” 

TIM LEAGUE 

FOUNDER & CEO, 

ALAMO 

DRAFTHOUSE 

CINEMA 

“In 2018, I’m most proud 

of two polar opposite Alamo 

Drafthouse film events. The first 

was a live concert with Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur, 

and the Rajasthan Express supporting a screening of 

Paul Thomas Anderson’s awesome music documentary 

JUNUN at the Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn. And down at 

Austin’s Lake Travis, we produced an epic premiere event 

of THE MEG with the audience floating on inner tubes. 

We hired divers with rebreathers to serve a dual role of our 

life-safety team as well as toe grabbers and shriek inducers 

at the plentiful shark-attack moments. And if we’re talking 

about favorite movies of the year, my top 10 movies of the 

year were SHOPLIFTERS, THE FAVOURITE, YOU WERE 

NEVER REALLY HERE, SUSPIRIA, FOXTROT, BORDER, 

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, FIRST REFORMED, BURNING, 

and ISLE OF DOGS.” 

JON GOLDSTEIN 

PARTNER, EMAGINE 

ENTERTAINMENT 

“I think 2018 will always be 

remembered for BLACK 

PANTHER. It finally proved 

to Hollywood that diversity 

mixed with big entertainment is 

great for moviegoers. More importantly, I will never forget 

the busloads of kids we brought in, complimentary, who 

had never been to the movies before to see a hero that 

looked like them. It was something I will remember for the 

rest of my life. In addition, 2018 once again reminded us of 

the power of music in film. Both BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY 

and A STAR IS BORN proved that moviegoing, like concert 

going, is a communal experience.” 



DAN HARKINS 

OWNER AND 

EXECUTIVE 

CHAIRMAN, 


“For me, Rami Malek’s 

portrayal of Freddie Mercury in 

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY was 

one of the best moviegoing moments of 2018. Combining 

the iconic music, the pristine acoustics in the theater, and 

the excitement of the audience—the experience truly 

felt like being front row at a Queen concert. And Malek’s 

performance was brilliant. I ended up seeing the film 

four times because I wanted to share the experience with 

different family members and friends.” 


PHIL ZACHERETTI 

FOUNDER, 


PHOENIX THEATRES 

ENTERTAINMENT 

“If I had to sum up the 

most exciting moment in our 

industry in 2018 in two words, it 

would have to be “Wakanda Forever”! Not just for the 

huge amounts of box office the film produced, but I can 

hardly remember in my 44 years in the industry such a 

singular world event that was BLACK PANTHER. The 

months of excitement and anticipation we saw in our 

theaters, from our patrons and our employees (even at 

the corporate level) were unparalleled. Seldom does a 

film come along that you feel the excitement build as it 

did for this film. Then you add the cultural significance it 

had, and that added to the heartwarming feeling of unity 

across the globe. We may never see the same excitement 

for another film as [we did for] Black Panther, but we can 

only hope.” 

FRANK RIMKUS 

CEO, GALAXY 

THEATRES 

“This year marks another 

superb year in exhibition, 

and I am thrilled to see 

exciting shifts in our industry. 

This past year saw new life 

breathed into the beloved superhero genre with BLACK 

PANTHER’s and AQUAMAN’s tremendous box office 

success. As I sat in our theaters, I was delighted to see 

our vastly diverse audiences be represented on-screen 

with such laudable and exciting characters. Personally, 

I was glad to see the enthusiastic reception of musicalbased 

storytelling once again with A STAR IS BORN and 

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. It was a genre that seemed 

neglected in years past. However, it’s one that has a unique 

ability to bring a moviegoing audience together in such a 

positive puts-a-smile-on-your-face way. Something we saw 

in all of our theaters. Extraordinarily, 2018 confirms that 

September has turned into a blockbuster-worthy month 

with THE NUN’s immense success. I am excited to see what 

excites our guests in 2019.” 

MIKE BOWERS 



“Thinking back on 2018, 

BLINDSPOTTING was a 

standout movie for me. The 

film’s unique blend of drama 

and comedy spoke to important, 

complex social issues in a clever and entertaining way. 

The collaboration between Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal 

was outstanding, from their poetic writing styles to their 

dynamic on-screen performances. The audience could feel 

the personal and heartfelt nature of the story they told. 

I found the film to be insightful and incredibly timely— 

definitely a memorable moviegoing moment.” 

JEFF GEIGER 

PRESIDENT, 

NEIGHBORHOOD 

CINEMA GROUP 

“After being involved in the 

movie industry my whole 

life, I finally got to enjoy the 

moviegoing experience with my 

two small children at INCREDIBLES 2. Needless to say, 

they are now hooked.” 

HAMID HASHEMI 

CEO & FOUNDER, IPIC 

ENTERTAINMENT 

“BIRD BOX—a really, really 

good movie. It was so well 

acted, and Sandra Bullock’s 

performance was Academy 

Awards-worthy. This movie felt 

similar to when Jaws opened … they never showed you 

the creature that caused the disarray, but between the 

music and the actors’ performances you really believed 

that something was out there that was so evil it could 

make people go out of their mind. When you succeed in 

that suspension of reality and belief, that’s when you know 

you have a good movie. This movie would be much more 

captivating and immersive if you were watching it in a bigscreen 

auditorium without any distraction that one might 

find from being at home.” 


ASK THE AUDIENCE 

ALL DATA 

PROVIDED BY 

NCM 

THE 

AUDIENCE 

TALKS BACK 

NCM’S ASK THE AUDIENCE 

REVEALS MOVIEGOER TRENDS OF 2018 

Going to see Black Panther and having people 

arrive in costume or in elaborate African outfits 

with so much pride and excitement made the movie 

enjoyable before it even began. There were groups of 

people who dressed alike and there were people who 

arrived alone, just looking fantastic. Random strangers 

were just applauding each other. It was a party, 

and we all had a great time. –Josina R. 

Boxoffice tapped into a panel of 5,000 

moviegoers from NCM’s Ask the Audience 

to discover the cinema public’s top movie 

moments of 2018. 

FAVORITE FILMS OF 2018 

1 2 3 4 

ADULTS 55+ 

chose Bohemian Rhapsody 

as their favorite 2018 film, 

whereas younger age groups 

selected Avengers: Infinity War 

and Black Panther. 

MEN 

opted for Avengers: Infinity 

War while women chose Black 

Panther as their favorite film of 

the year. 

ADULTS 55+ 

chose A Star Is Born as their 

favorite at a significantly higher 

rate than the younger age 

groups. 

WOMEN 

chose A Star is Born, Black 

Panther, and Bohemian 

Rhapsody at a significantly 

higher rate than men. Men 

chose Avengers: Infinity War, 

Mission: Impossible – Fallout, 

and Solo: A Star Wars Story at a 

significantly higher rate than 

women. 

I went to Mary Poppins [Returns] on fan event night with my good friend and her two 

daughters. They came decked out in their Mary Poppins best. Her youngest is a major 

Dick Van Dyke fan. The highlight of the night was seeing the expression on her face when he 

came on-screen. I’m not sure what was more fun—watching the movie or watching 

her watch the movie. –Lisa P. 

Watching A Star Is Born 

with my husband after 

watching the original 

many, many years ago 

before we were married! 

Brought back some fond 

memories. 

–Kelly P. 


50 

PERCENT 

75 

75 

PERCENT PERCENT 

ALMOST 

65 

PERCENT 

of respondents watched the 

Golden Globes broadcast, 

including 22% who watched it 

in its entirety. 

of respondents plan to tune in 

to the Oscars. Moviegoers age 

55+ are the most likely age 

group to watch the broadcast. 

Women are significantly more 

likely than men to watch the 

awards show. 

agreed that awards shows can 

introduce them to movies they 

wouldn’t normally see. Women 

agreed at a significantly higher 

rate than men that awards 

shows introduce them to 

different movies. 

of respondents are likely to 

watch Academy Award– 

nominated films at the cinema. 

1 2 3 

WHAT MOVIES ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO SEE THIS YEAR? 

AGE 18–34 

chose Aladdin and The Lego 

Movie 2: The Second Part at a 

significantly higher rate than 

those in the age ranges of 

35–54 and 55+. 

WOMEN CHOSE THESE: 

Aladdin 

Dumbo 

Frozen 2 

Glass 

Pet Sematary 

Shrek 5 

The Lion King 

Toy Story 4 

AGE 35–54 

chose Star Wars: Episode IX 

at a significantly higher rate 

than those in the age ranges of 

18–34 and 55+. 

AGE 55+ 

chose Dumbo and Fast and 

Furious 9 at a significantly 

higher rate than those in the 

age ranges of 18–34 and 

35–54. 

MEN CHOSE THESE: 

Avengers: Endgame 

Captain Marvel 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters 

Joker 

Once Upon a Time In Hollywood 

Star Wars: Episode IX 

PATRONS 

MENTIONED 

THESE 

CELEBRITIES 

WHEN ASKED 

“WHO SHOULD 

HOST THE 

OSCARS?”: 

The Muppets 

Tina Fey and 

Amy Poehler 

Jason Bateman 

Wayne Brady 

George Clooney 

James Corden 

Trevor Noah 

Terry Crews 

… but also 

mentioned were: 

Howard Stern 

Thanos 

The Accountants 

The Swedish Chef 

Weird Al Yankovic 

Mr. Bean 


ASK THE AUDIENCE 

WHICH 2018 FILM WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 

TOTAL AGE GENDER REGION 

18-34 35-54 55+ Male Female NE MW S W 

TOTAL PARTICIPANTS >> 837 168 426 242 402 434 192 161 281 202 

Avengers: Infinity War 20% 19% 25% 11% 24% 16% 18% 17% 21% 22% 

Black Panther 15% 12% 16% 14% 10% 19% 17% 13% 16% 12% 

Other 14% 23% 14% 8% 19% 10% 15% 18% 10% 15% 

Bohemian Rhapsody 12% 7% 12% 14% 8% 15% 8% 15% 12% 12% 

A Star Is Born 9% 7% 7% 13% 6% 12% 11% 11% 8% 7% 

Green Book 6% 2% 3% 12% 5% 6% 6% 6% 6% 4% 

Mission: Impossible - Fallout 5% 5% 5% 5% 7% 4% 3% 3% 6% 7% 

Crazy Rich Asians 4% 6% 3% 5% 3% 5% 4% 3% 3% 7% 

Aquaman 4% 3% 4% 6% 4% 5% 3% 3% 6% 4% 

Incredibles 2 3% 3% 2% 2% 3% 2% 2% 3% 2% 4% 

Deadpool 2 2% 3% 2% 3% 3% 2% 2% 4% 3% 1% 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% 

Solo: A Star Wars Story 2% 1% 2% 1% 3% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 

If Beale Street Could Talk 1% 2% 0% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 

Roma 1% 2% 0% 1% 1% 1% 2% 0% 1% 1% 

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch 1% 1% 0% 1% 1% 0% 1% 0% 1% 0% 

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE OF 2018? 

“The Spy Who Dumped Me was so 

funny! Did not see that coming. 

I took two friends and we all 

laughed so much. Easily the most 

fun I have had at the movies in 

years. Totally fun! Best popcorn 

movie of the year!” –Diana M. 

“My brother came to visit from 

the Philippines at the end of 

November. On his last day here, 

my sister, my brother, and I went 

to see the movie Green Book. It’s 

been a long time since we were 

able to share a moment like 

that. It brought back so many 

memories of all the movies we 

had seen together growing up.” 

–Sandra M. 

“Truthfully, it was seeing 

The Nun at a AMC Dolby 

cinema. The state-of-the-art 

sound quality turned the 

movie into a totally terrifying, 

immersive, theater-going 

experience that brought you right 

into the movie, not to mention 

the incredibly enhanced digital 

quality.” –Carl G. 

“The opening credits of 

Vox Lux were absolutely 

engrossing. The haunting score 

playing over visuals of the caravan 

of ambulances and police cars 

while the camera floats from one 

position to the next, changing 

perspective in the ominous sign 

of how narrative and perspective 

would play out for the rest of the 

film.” –Daniel T. 


WHICH 2019 FILMS ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO SEE? 

TOTAL AGE GENDER REGION 

18-34 35-54 55+ Male Female NE MW S W 

TOTAL PARTICIPANTS >> 838 168 427 242 403 434 192 161 282 202 

Avengers: Endgame 58% 63% 63% 47% 63% 55% 58% 61% 57% 60% 

Captain Marvel 36% 33% 35% 39% 40% 31% 36% 37% 37% 33% 

Star Wars: Episode IX 34% 28% 40% 29% 45% 25% 29% 35% 36% 37% 

The Lion King 18% 24% 17% 18% 12% 24% 21% 18% 17% 18% 

Glass 17% 11% 20% 17% 14% 21% 18% 20% 17% 16% 

Toy Story 4 17% 19% 15% 19% 14% 20% 14% 17% 19% 17% 

Aladdin 11% 18% 11% 7% 9% 13% 13% 11% 9% 12% 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters 11% 11% 11% 10% 15% 7% 11% 14% 8% 11% 

Dumbo 10% 5% 8% 17% 6% 14% 14% 9% 9% 9% 

Fast and Furious 9 10% 8% 8% 14% 9% 10% 9% 11% 12% 5% 

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 10% 11% 7% 12% 11% 8% 8% 9% 10% 10% 

Other 8% 10% 7% 10% 9% 8% 8% 12% 7% 8% 

Joker 6% 7% 6% 6% 9% 3% 8% 4% 6% 6% 

Dark Phoenix 6% 8% 7% 2% 7% 5% 8% 4% 5% 7% 

Shazam! 6% 10% 6% 3% 6% 5% 7% 3% 6% 6% 

Pet Sematary 6% 5% 7% 3% 3% 8% 4% 3% 7% 8% 

Frozen 2 5% 5% 5% 5% 3% 6% 6% 5% 4% 5% 

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part 4% 8% 3% 1% 3% 4% 4% 3% 4% 4% 

Shrek 5 2% 4% 2% 2% 1% 3% 1% 2% 2% 3% 

“Hereditary was an awesome 

experience. When a packed 

theater is able to stay quiet and 

take a horror movie seriously, it 

makes the experience all the more 

horrifying, which is what was 

needed for watching Hereditary.” 

–Adam W. 

“Watching the eye-opening 

scenes and thriller aspects, 

sprinkled with humor, of 

BlacKkKlansman—and its 

surprisingly moving closing 

credits; yet being appalled at the 

loud reaction of one audience 

member who thought the whole 

movie, despite being based on 

real events, was preposterous.” 

–Mary B. 

“As a very frequent moviegoer I 

have a specific place I like to sit 

… [but on] this day everything 

went wrong. After I was almost 

late, I spilled my popcorn and 

sat in the front for Crazy Rich 

Asians. That movie blew away all 

expectations and I left with the 

biggest smile on my face, ready 

to make everyone I know go see 

that movie.” –Jennifer M. 

“I took my mom to the Alamo 

Drafthouse to see a Marx 

Brothers film. She had never been 

to a theater that served dinner 

before. It’s my favorite place on 

Earth and it was fun to share it 

with her.” –David R. 


EVENT CINEMA 

FATHOM EVENTS GOES OUTSIDE CINEMAS 

WITH THE FATHOM AFFINITY NETWORK 


>> One of the core elements of event cinema is its ability 

to take advantage of the underutilized. With some 

creative programming, seats that would have been 

empty during off-peak screening times—afternoons, 

weekday nights—can go to moviegoers enthusiastic 

about opera, say, or stand-up comedy. It’s a principle 

that event cinema leader Fathom Events knows well, 

and one that it’s now applying not just to seats but to 

entire venues. Starting in 2019, Fathom is taking its 

programming outside the cinema and into the church. 

Specifically, this year sees Fathom team with the Faith Content 

Network, a joint venture between Collide Media Group and 

in:ciite Events, to launch the Fathom Affinity Network, bringing 

faith-based and inspirational titles to approximately 800 churches 

across the U.S. 

The idea, explains Fathom CEO Ray Nutt, is to get faithbased 

content to underserved areas—often rural markets—that 

don’t have a Fathom-serviced cinema nearby. Fathom already 

has access to this content, and the churches already have the 

infrastructure needed to screen it. The Fathom Affinity Network 

bridges that gap. 

The connection between event cinema and faith-based film 

is already strong. Both groups rely on nontraditional marketing 

to raise awareness, with sponsor companies, local organizations, 

and church groups doing the job that otherwise goes to expen- 


sive advertising campaigns. Both event cinema and faith-based 

film cater to niche audiences rather than the general public. And 

both are only gaining in popularity. Says Bob Elder, chief impact 

officer at the Collide Media Group, “Each wildly successful 

faith-based film release in the last 15 years (The Passion of the 

Christ, God’s Not Dead, Heaven Is for Real, War Room, I Can Only 

Imagine) has spurred better quality filmmaking, while marketers 

and distributors are getting better at finding and activating the 

audiences that consume this content.” 

Faith-based and inspirational titles may not often crack Fathom’s 

yearly top 10, but the genre is a consistent performer—so 

much so that Nutt predicts 100 percent growth “year over year.” 

Fathom currently “combine[s] inspiration and faith together in 

a vertical, but it’s growing so large at this point that … I think 

you’ll see these sub-verticals separate into” their own separate 

categories, he says. The Fathom Affinity Network, he predicts, 

will only help that growth. “Once the faith-based community 

who’s producing this content is aware of what we’re doing—and 

most of them are at this point—I think it will help our acquisition 

process.” 

“We’ll acquire the content that we’re going to screen on the 

faith-based vertical,” Nutt explains. “We’ll amend our licensing 

agreement to include the [interested] churches.” The films are 

then marketed locally to individual congregations, and tickets 

are purchased through a system that the churches already have in 

place. “Obviously, it’s a revenue-share model, so [the churches] 

will get some and we’ll get some. They do the bulk of the heavy 

lifting in terms of the marketing,” with Fathom providing a marketing 

tool kit and overseeing content delivery via streaming. 

As the network grows in size, notes Elder, “managing the fast 

growth, keeping a quality consumer experience, and making sure 

we have a good flow of content are all very important.” 

Currently, Fathom Events has 24 titles lined up for its faithbased 

and inspirational vertical this year. A half-dozen of those— 

including Pattern of Evidence: Moses Controversy, Sight and Sound 

Presents: NOAH, and family-friendly animated film The Pilgrim’s 

Progress—are currently slated to screen in churches through the 

Fathom Affinity Network. “But I think once [the churches] see 

what this is going to do in terms of producing attendance, that 

number is going to go north of six,” Nutt predicts. n 


INVESTOR RELATIONS 

Rob Rinderman is an avid 

follower and fan of the 

cinema and exhibition 

businesses. He has assisted 

many public and privately 

held companies with communications 

and business 

development consulting 

services for over two 

decades and written as 

a freelance journalist 

covering these industries 

since 2015. 

CINEMA ACROSS 

THE STREET 

by Rob Rinderman 

>> We’re still in a holding pattern 

until publicly held companies in the 

cinema sector “open their kimonos,” so 

to speak, and let the rest of the world 

see how they performed financially in 

the year-end quarterly period ended 

December 31. The month since my last 

column appeared was fairly quiet on 

the material-news front, so I took a stab 

at manufacturing some of my own. 

I asked an array of thought-leading 

Wall Street research analysts who cover 

some of the Exchange-listed exhibition-related 

organizations to look into 

their respective crystal balls and answer a 

brief, five-question Quickie Quiz. 

Unfortunately, some indicated that 

their compliance departments preclude 

them from opining on companies they 

do not officially cover, amid other reasons 

for not answering all five queries. In 

any case, you can find their answers at 

the end of this column. To make things 

fair and square, I also provide my own 

answers (guesses). 

Last month I highlighted that Cinemark 

(CNK) had confirmed news of its 

Movie Club subscription membership 

program crossing over the half-million 

active paying customers milestone during 

its inaugural year. This was well ahead of 

management’s original prognostication. 

Not to be outdone, soon after that 

announcement crossed the wires—on 

the day after Christmas, in fact—AMC 

(AMC) unwrapped news that its 

Stubs A-List family had surpassed the 

600,000-member threshold. This means 

that total A-List membership grew by 

over 100,000 patrons during the busy 

six-week period preceding 

Christmas. 

iPic Entertainment 

(IPIC), the luxury theater 

and restaurant destination, 

recently unveiled its own 

new Access Membership 

Rewards program. 

Through March 1 for a 

$29 annual fee, iPic Access 

Gold members can achieve 

savings with every visit to 

an iPic destination. 

Benefits include 

10 percent off all food 

and beverage purchases 

at theaters and at the 

chain’s restaurant brands 

including Tanzy and City 

Perch Kitchen + Bar. 

Rewards members receive 

up to 40 percent off ticket prices and 

one free birthday gift ticket, a $25 value. 

After March 1, annual membership will 

increase to $45. 

“Some of our most devoted members 

visit our theaters over 50 times a year,” 

said Hamid Hashemi, founder and CEO 

of iPic. “These members have been instrumental 

in helping to drive the development 

of our exciting new membership 

program and benefits. We also recognized 

that iPic Theaters fans frequent 

SOME OF OUR 

MOST DEVOTED 

MEMBERS VISIT 

OUR THEATERS 

OVER 50 TIMES 

A YEAR. 

Hamid Hashemi 

founder and CEO of iPic 

the iPic restaurants just as often—so 

why not provide a unified membership 

program that includes benefits at both 

the theaters and our restaurants? These 

expanded perks are our 

way of rewarding guest 

loyalty,” he added. 

Separately, iPic issued 

preliminary financial 

guidance in mid-January. 

For the fourth quarter, 

the company expects 

revenue in the range of 

$36.5M to $37.5M, 

slightly above prior 

guidance of $34.5M to 

$36.5M. Management 

forecasts comparable 

store sales growth of 1.5 

percent to 2.0 percent, 

better than previous 

guidance of between -5.0 

percent and 0.0 percent. 

iPic also provided 

an initial FY19 financial 

outlook: Total revenue of $153M 

to $158M (between 7 percent and 11 

percent above FY18 expectations). Comparable-store 

sales growth of low-to-mid 

single digits. Store-level EBITDA, a 

non-GAAP measure, of $19M to $21M. 

Adjusted EBITDA loss, a non-GAAP 

measure, of $(3.0)M to $(1.0)M. Lastly, 

the circuit expects capital expenditures 

of $17M to $19M, net of tenant improvement 

dollars, substantially below 

its 2018 spending level. n 


INVESTOR RELATIONS ROUNDTABLE QUICK QUIZ 

1 Which exhibition-focused stock do you predict will perform best in 2019 on a percentage basis? 

2 The S&P 500 will be up or down XX% for 2019 full year? 

3 The 2019 domestic U.S. box office will be up or down XX% for 2019 full year? 

4 Which film will win the Best Picture Academy Award for 2018? 

5 Which film will win the Best Picture Academy Award for 2019? 

CHAD BEYNON 

Macquarie Securities 

ERIC WOLD 

B. Riley FBR 

ERIC HANDLER 

MKM Partners 

LEO KULP 

RBC 

JEFF LOGSDON 

JBL Advisors 

MICHAEL PACHTER 

Wedbush 

1 IMAX 

(given valuation, 

blockbuster schedule, 

new spacing of 

movies particularly in 

China and more cost 

controls) 

2 Down mid-single 

digits 

3 Up 4% 

4 A Star Is Born 

5 Once Upon a Time in 

Hollywood 

1 IMAX 

(AMC second) 

3 Up 0.9% 

(Q1 down and 

following quarters 

up) 

1 CNK 

3 Up 2% 

4 Green Book 

(should be Black 

Panther) 

5 Most likely some 

independent film 

that doesn’t have 

release date yet 

(otherwise, A 

Beautiful Day in the 

Neighborhood) 

1 CNK 

2 Up 10% 

3 Up 3% 


1 AMC 

3 Down single digits 

1 AMC 

2 Up 8% 

3 Up 1% 


5 Son of Shaft 


SOCIAL MEDIA 

TRENDING TOPICS 

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS THAT COULD SHAPE THE INDUSTRY IN 2019 

by Alex Edghill 

>> Marketing budgets for summer blockbusters can 

exceed $100 million. On average, the figure tops $40 

million. And the largest single line item for marketing 

on any balance sheet is almost always TV advertising. 

Social media budgets have crept up recently in recognition 

of social media’s usefulness for targeted pitches, 

but TV is still king when it comes to reaching the most 

people, and quickly. 

The goal of most releases, especially bigger blockbusters, is to 

secure as much money as possible on opening weekend. TV has 

traditionally been the single most important tool in making this 

a reality and building awareness for films, which in turn drives 

opening-weekend ticket sales. 

PVR recording, cord cutting, and the splintering of audiences 

in recent years have all diluted the effectiveness of TV ad time, 

while the price per 30 seconds has risen by 30+ percent over 

the last 15 years. Marketing spending has been spiraling out of 

control for many years, so much so that studios have been forced 

to focus more on international revenue to turn a profit and alternative 

forms of marketing to reach audiences for less cash. Social 

media has long been hailed as something that could revolutionize 

the industry’s marketing efforts, but it still falls way behind TV 

and other traditional forms of advertising spending. So the question 

remains, how can social media be used more effectively? The 

social media landscape is ever evolving, and while many platforms 

have struggled with offering more than simple banner ads, others 

have been honing their offerings to be more attractive to larger 

advertisers, Hollywood included. 

Paying influencers and micro-influencers 

Other industries such as gaming employ a vast number of 

influencers, both large and small, who advertise, review, or use 

their products. Studios could follow their lead and make an 

effort to hire key influencers to create content about releases and 

drum up interest among their followers. These don’t have to be 

significant social media mavens—a few dozen content creators 

across different social media platforms could provide a huge 

boost and differentiation from other titles for a fraction of the 

cost. Many content creators, especially in the superhero or sci-fi 

genres, churn out fan theories, point out Easter eggs in trailers, 

and offer wild off-the-wall explanations simply to create new, 

different content for their fans. Multiply that by enough content 

creators, and you can quickly reach tens of millions of relevant 

people. I’m not talking about paid sponsorships, but studios 

could pitch ideas for episodes or podcasts, provide access to 

actors or members of the creative team, offer behind-the-scenes 

looks at props or costumes, and in general be more involved 

with smaller niche media channels. 

Fan-driven content 

As sequels continue to drive box office revenue, most franchises 

have devout fans who live and breathe their films. We’re not 

necessarily talking about crowdsourcing scripts or plot points, but 


listening to fans’ theories and wishes and giving them a nod in the 

film—with a line of dialogue, for example—would result in much 

appreciation from audiences. A film that is aware of its community 

and acknowledges it, even in passing, helps galvanize its fan 

base even further and ensures long-term success. 

Personalization 

A typical film will have two to three trailers released sometime 

within the four to six months before release. Some will have international 

trailers with a slightly different cut for overseas audiences, 

and for R-rated films there are often red-band trailers to help 

showcase the edgier content. This formula has existed forever, it 

seems, but it doesn’t harness the inherent power of social media— 

personalizing the preview for the viewer. Algorithms that choose 

which banner ads to display can tap into the browsing habits of 

users and present more relevant ads. What if similar algorithms 

were used to customize trailers to the viewing habits of moviegoers? 

Reaching out to a devoted fan of a particular star? Then serve 

up a cut of the trailer that features the star more prominently. Or 

perhaps the music for the trailer can be customized among a few 

predetermined options to appeal to a viewer’s tastes or who they 

follow. This type of dynamic and innovative presentation is what 

has typically set the great marketing campaigns apart. 

Breaking the norm for interaction 

Lastly, looking at some of the most innovative and successful 

social media campaigns in recent years such as Deadpool, the 

Avengers sub-franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the 

Star Wars franchise—they not only employ innovative, targeted 

methods in social media channels but to varying degrees leverage 

the stars of their films to generate organic buzz for the films. Most 

movies create social media pages around six months from release 

and post trailers, set pictures, and other information that fans 

would enjoy and try to drum up interest on the various social media 

platforms. Franchises have a leg up in this regard, since they 

can build steam over many years of generating followers. 

Few releases properly leverage their stars, many of whom have 

their own fan bases, but this is a huge opportunity to drive awareness 

as well. Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool tweets grabbed headlines 

and interest from his huge social media following, which clearly 

benefited the film. A star’s social media acumen and following can 

be leveraged in coordination with the studio’s marketing efforts to 

promote the property and increase their attractiveness and bankability 

as stars. Hiring a star with 20 million followers versus two 

million would have an effect on box office potential. 

Social media is evolving in terms of its platforms and offerings, 

and with that comes a wealth of opportunities for forward-thinking 

studios to change how they leverage and interact with their 

prospective audiences. TV advertisements are becoming less and 

less effective as time goes by, while their costs keep skyrocketing. 

Those who embrace change and employ similarly innovative strategies 

for awareness building will have a leg up on their competitors 

and be well on the way to a successful and profitable release.n 

Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool tweets 

grabbed headlines and 

interest from his huge 

social media following, which 

clearly benefited the film. A star’s 

social media acumen and following can 

be leveraged in coordination with the 

studio’s marketing efforts to promote the 

property and increase their attractiveness 

and bankability as stars. 


TECHNOLOGY 

A GLOBAL EFFORT 

DELUXE SETTLES INTO ITS ROLE AS A GLOBAL SOLUTIONS 

COMPANY FOR THE FILM INDUSTRY 

THE AD WRITING TEAM AT DELUXE 

PHOTO COURTESY OF DELUXE 

>> Deluxe, a leading content solution and 

delivery provider to the film industry, is positioning 

itself on the cutting edge of digital 

technology with the launch of its new platform, 

Deluxe One. The software as a service 

(SaaS) solution brings together many of Deluxe’s 

services under a single log-in, allowing 

distributors and exhibitors to streamline 

their workflow in the age of digital cinema. 

“Obviously, digital cinema is a cornerstone 

of our business,” says Chief Commercial Officer 

Brad Soroca. “Going back to our roots in film, 

and migrating forward into the digitization and 

delivery of feature films around the world, we decided 

to bring our digital cinema business closer 

together with our localization business. Uniting 

those two processes makes it much easier and faster 

for theatrical distribution to happen.” 

Speed has become a priority as the film 

industry continues to develop a global outlook. 

Multinational exhibition circuits have become 

more common, and studios have become more 

willing to open their major titles day-and-date in 

the U.S. in multiple territories. 

“If you think about the trends going on in 

the market, you see shorter windows to finish a 

film and get it distributed to more locations and 

more languages, including access services, than 


ever before. That’s why we moved to bring those 

workflows and groups closer together, where 

we’re typically doing all of the mastering and 

downstream work for a feature film, as well as the 

localization,” says Soroca. “It helps everyone consolidate 

the time frames, which just seem to be 

getting smaller and smaller, tighter and tighter.” 

As Soroca notes, accessibility services have 

become an exciting new growth point for Deluxe. 

The company offers a wide array of post-production 

services to make movies more inclusive to 

disabled audiences, including audio description 

for blind and low-vision patrons and captioning 

for hard-of-hearing audiences. Audio description 

(AD), a narrative-style voice-over that describes 

the visual elements of a film, has received increased 

interest from studios in recent years, according to 

Margo Tone, senior manager of operations for audio 

description/scripting services. Tone says studios 

began requesting this service more around seven 

years ago, at which point Deluxe decided to apply 

more resources to the department. 

Today, Deluxe’s AD team handles assignments 

to provide voice-overs in multiple languages for 

the industry’s biggest studios. Tone’s staff crafts 

this service from scratch. “We write it. We’ll get 

an order from the studio, and then we assign it 

to our team of writers who watch the movie and 

come up with the audio description. A lot of 

the studios have taken more interest; quite a few 

clients provide feedback. They give us the benefit 

of the doubt and trust our expertise for the most 

part; our writers have anywhere from six to 15 

years of experience writing AD.” 

It’s a different process altogether from dubbing, 

which forms part of Deluxe’s localization services. 

AD requires voice talent that can engage moviegoers 

without distracting them from the movie. 

“Localization is a very interesting topic, but 

[AD] is even more nuanced,” agrees Janine 

Kamwene, director of communications at Deluxe. 

“There’s so much work that goes into taking a piece 

of art and describing it using words. It requires our 

team to describe something quickly, accurately, and 

creatively—but not too creatively that it takes away 

from the film or the director’s intent.” 

Deluxe’s suite of services is fairly comprehensive. 

From post-production to global distribution, 

the company benefits from its scale: it has headquarters 

in L.A. and New York, as well as a presence 

in 38 of the world’s top media markets. “This 

is a new era of collaboration and connectivity,” says 

Soroca, highlighting the benefit of being part of 

an international team. “The industry needs digital 

innovations in order to be able to keep up with all 

the different global delivery points.” 

Deluxe’s chief commercial officer says he 

believes the company’s future lies with platforms 

such as Deluxe One, where distributors 

and exhibitors can save themselves the hassle of 

back-and-forth emails to share vital information. 

“All of our products and services are coming onto 

Deluxe One,” he says. “Whether that’s digital 

delivery or localization, the connectivity of having 

a single view into a title being managed through 

an open platform, our customers will be able 

to manage the entire life cycle from end to end. 

Taking what today is a fairly disparate process, 

streamlining that, and building it into a seamless 

process for all of our services.” n 

JORDAN O’NEILL 

AD MIXER 


EVENT CINEMA CALENDAR 

REX HARRISON, AUDREY HEPBURN, AND WILFRID HYDE-WHITE IN MY FAIR LADY 

CINELIFE ENTERTAINMENT CineLifeEntertainment.com 310-309-5774 

SALVADOR DALI: IN SEARCH OF IMMORTALITY Sat, 2/2 - Tue, 3/12 Documentary 

HUNTER x HUNTER: THE LAST MISSION Fri, 2/1 - Tue, 7/30 Anime 

BIG SCREEN SHORTS Thurs, 3/14 Short Films 

BON VOYAGE, CHARLIE BROWN Spring 2019 Kids and Family 

RACE FOR YOUR LIFE, CHARLIE BROWN Spring 2019 Kids and Family 

FATHOM EVENTS fathomevents.com 855-473-4612 

THE MET: CARMEN Sat, 2/2, Wed, 2/6, and Sat 2/9 Arts & Entertainment 

I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS Thurs, 2/7 and Sun, 2/10 Anime 

DIRTY DANCING Sun, 2/10, Tue, 2/12, Wed, 2/13 Classics 

TCM: MY FAIR LADY Sun, 2/17 and Wed, 2/20 Classics 

GUNDAM NT Tue, 2/19 Anime 

GONE WITH THE WIND 80TH ANNIVERSARY Thurs, 2/28, Sun, 3/3 Classics 

THE MET: LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT Sat, 3/2 and Wed, 3/6 Arts & Entertainment 

BOLSHOI: THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Sun, 3/10 Arts & Entertainment 

DOCTOR WHO: LOGOPOLIS Wed, 3/13 Classics 

FATE/STAY NIGHT (HEAVEN'S FEEL) II. LOST BUTTERFLY Thurs, 3/14 Anime 

PATTERNS OF EVIDENCE: THE MOSES CONTROVERSY Thurs, 3/14, Sat, 3/16, Tue, 3/19 Documentary, Inspirational 

TCM: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Sun, 3/24 and Wed, 3/27 Classics 


PATTERNS OF EVIDENCE: THE MOSES CONTROVERSY 

DIANA ROSS: HER LIFE, LOVE AND LEGACY Tue, 3/26 and Thurs, 3/28 Music 

THE MET: DIE WALKÜRE Sat, 3/30, Wed, 4/3 Arts & Entertainment 

BOLSHOI BALLET: THE GOLDEN AGE Sun, 4/7 Arts & Entertainment 

SIGHT & SOUND® PRESENTS: NOAH Tue, 4/9, Thurs, 4/11, Sat, 4/13 Inspirational 

TCM: BEN-HUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY Sun, 4/14 and Wed, 4/17 Classics 

THE PILGRAM'S PROGRESS Thurs, 4/18 and Sat, 4/20 Kids and Family 

TCM: TRUE GRIT 50TH ANNIVERSARY Sun, 5/5 and Wed, 5/8 Classics 

THE MET: DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES Sat, 5/11 and Wed, 5/15 Arts & Entertainment 

BOLSHOI: CARMEN SUITE/PETRUSHKA Sun, 5/19 Arts & Entertainment 

TCM: STEEL MAGNOLIAS 30TH ANNIVERSARY Sun, 5/19, Tues, 5/21 and Wed, 5/22 Classics 

TCM: FIELD OF DREAMS 30TH ANNIVERSARY Sun, 6/16 and Tue, 6/18 Classics 

TCM: GLORY 30TH ANNIVERSARY Sun, 7/21 and Wed, 7/24 Classics 

TCM: HELLO DOLLY! 50TH ANNIVERSARY Sun, 8/11 and Wed, 8/14 Classics 

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE roh.org.uk/cinemas cinema@roh.org.uk 

DON QUIXOTE Tue, 2/19/19 Ballet 

LA FORZA DEL DESTINO Tue, 4/2/19 Opera 

FAUST Tue, 4/30/19 Opera 

WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR / NEW SIDI LARBI CHERKAOUI / FLIGHT PATTERN Thu, 5/16/19 Ballet 

ROMEO AND JULIET Tue, 6/11/19 Ballet 


ON SCREEN 

BY KEVIN LALLY 


A PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS 

>> Sixty-six-year-old leading man Liam Neeson returns to familiar 

territory on Feb. 8 with Cold Pursuit, the tale of a vengeful father who puts 

his snowplow business to very efficient use. Although his new action 

thriller echoes the revenge themes of his popular Taken franchise, the 

Irish actor has, uh, taken on a wide range of roles, from World War II savior 

Oskar Schindler to Zeus, and from a Jedi master to a hilarious LEGO figure. 

HERE ARE LIAM NEESON’S MOST 

SUCCESSFUL DOMESTIC FILMS: 

STAR WARS: EPISODE I—THE PHANTOM MENACE 1999 

$ 

474,544,677 

THE LEGO MOVIE 2014 

$ 

257,760,692 

BATMAN BEGINS 2005 

$ 

206,852,432 

CLASH OF THE TITANS 2010 

$ 

163,214,888 

TAKEN 2009 

$ 

145,000,989 

TAKEN 2 2012 

$ 

139,854,287 

SCHINDLER’S LIST 1993 

$ 

96,898,818 

NON-STOP 2014 

$ 

92,168,600 

THE HAUNTING 1999 

$ 

91,411,151 

TAKEN 3 2015 

$ 

89,256,424 

FEB 8 / LIONSGATE / WIDE 

>> Liam Neeson is out for revenge once again as a snowplow 

driver systematically eliminating the lowlifes who killed his son in 

this remake of the Norwegian thriller In Order of Disappearance. 

(The original title referred to the tally of the movie’s victims.) 

Director Hans Petter Moland returns to the carnage for the Englishlanguage 

version. 

CAST LIAM NEESON, EMMY ROSSUM, LAURA DERN, TOM BATEMAN, 

WILLIAM FORSYTHE RATING R RUNNING TIME 118 MIN. 


ON SCREEN 

FEB 8 / WARNER BROS. / WIDE 

The original 2014 LEGO Movie 

surpassed all expectations with 

its wit, visual imagination, and 

simply awesome spirit of fun. The 

sequel, directed by Mike Mitchell 

(Shrek Forever After), finds the 

blocky gang battling a ferocious 

army of DUPLO invaders from 

outer space and entering 

fantastical new worlds, including 

one where everyone sings! 

VOICE CAST CHRIS PRATT, 

ELIZABETH BANKS, WILL ARNETT, 

TIFFANY HADDISH, ALISON BRIE, 

NICK OFFERMAN RATING PG 

RUNNING TIME 106 MIN. 

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: 

THE SECOND PART 


ON SCREEN 

FEB 8 / ORION PICTURES / WIDE 

Taylor Schilling leaves the horrors of 

Litchfield Penitentiary in “Orange Is 

the New Black” for the terror of being 

the mother of a young boy seemingly 

possessed by an evil force in Nicholas 

McCarthy’s The Prodigy. 

CAST TAYLOR SCHILLING, JACKSON 

ROBERT SCOTT, PETER MOONEY, COLM 

FEORE RATING R RUNNING TIME TBA 


ON SCREEN 

WHAT MEN WANT 

FEB 8 / PARAMOUNT / WIDE 

Once upon a time (2000, to be exact), Mel Gibson had a hit with 

What Women Want, a comedy about a male chauvinist who 

suddenly is able to hear the thoughts of the opposite sex. Taraji 

P. Henson flips the gender script as a sports agent who uses her 

strange new power to get ahead in a male-dominated world. 

CAST TARAJI P. HENSON, ALDIS HODGE, TRACY MORGAN, RICHARD 

ROUNDTREE, WENDI MCLENDON-COVEY RATING R RUNNING TIME TBA 

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC 

FEB 13 / WARNER BROS. / WIDE 

Scene stealer Rebel Wilson from the Pitch Perfect films plays a cynical 

New York architect who’s taken for granted at her firm. But when 

she regains consciousness after a mugging, she finds herself the 

reluctant leading lady in a frothy romantic comedy. Todd Strauss- 

Schulson (The Final Girls) directs. 

CAST REBEL WILSON, LIAM HEMSWORTH, ADAM DEVINE, PRIYANKA 

CHOPRA RATING PG-13 RUNNING TIME TBA 

FEB 13 / THE ORCHARD / LIMITED 

Directors Cristina Gallego and Ciro 

Guerra (Embrace of the Serpent) 

bring us this searing drama about 

a native Wayúu man caught up in 

Colombia’s marijuana trade. Birds 

of Passage is Columbia’s official entry 

in this year’s Oscar foreign-language 

race. 

CAST CARMIÑA MARTÍNEZ, JHON 

NARVÁEZ, JOSÉ ACOSTA, NATALIA 

REYES RATING NOT RATED 



FEB 14 / 20TH CENTURY FOX / WIDE 

Nearly 16 years after it was first announced 

as a James Cameron project, Alita: Battle 

Angel finally emerges as a film directed 

by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Desperado), 

with Cameron still on board as producer 

and co-writer. Based on a manga series, the 

futuristic sci-fi tale centers on a woman with 

no memory who learns she is a cyborg with 

remarkable fighting powers. 

VOICE CAST ROSA SALAZAR, CHRISTOPH 

WALTZ, JENNIFER CONNELLY, MAHERSHALA ALI, 

ED SKREIN, KEEAN JOHNSON RATING PG-13 



ON SCREEN 

FEB 13 / UNIVERSAL / WIDE 

In 2017, director Christopher Landon, son of TV star 

Michael, scored a box office hit with Happy Death 

Day, a low-budget chiller about a college student 

who must relive the day of her murder over and 

over and over again. In the sequel, somehow things 

get even bleaker and more complicated. 

CAST JESSICA ROTHE, ISRAEL BROUSSARD, RUBY 

MODINE RATING PG-13 RUNNING TIME TBA 

FEB 14 / MGM / LIMITED 

Stephen Merchant, co-creator of “The Office” (the 

U.K. original), takes an unexpected career turn as 

writer and director of this comedy based on the 

life of WWE star Paige. Raised in a wrestling family, 

young Paige earns a chance to try out for the 

WWE organization and must grapple with some 

tough decisions. 

CAST FLORENCE PUGH, DWAYNE JOHNSON, LENA 

HEADEY, JACK LOWDEN, NICK FROST, VINCE VAUGHN 

RATING PG-13 RUNNING TIME TBA 


FEB 15 / NEON / LIMITED 

Waiting for another sequel to 

Magic Mike? This documentary 

from director Gene Graham may 

be the remedy. It focuses on a 

group of women who organize 

a recurring potluck fund-raiser 

and the New Jersey Nasty Boyz 

who entertain them with their 

tantalizing dance moves. 

FEATURING MICHELE MOORE, 

POUNDCAKE, TERRILL ROSS 

RATING NC-17 RUNNING 

TIME 82 MIN. 

FEB 22 / ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS / LIMITED 

Chris Dowling directed this saga of Zach, 

a young high school football star seeking 

a college scholarship and a better life 

after his father abandons the family and 

his mother dies. When Zach suffers a 

major injury, his brother David takes 

to the field and tries to keep their 

dream alive. 

CAST TANNER STINE, EVAN HOFER, MYKELTI 

WILLIAMSON, FRANCES FISHER, MARIO VAN 

PEEBLES, KRISTOFFER POLAHA RATING PG 

RUNNING TIME TBA 

THE RHYTHM 

SECTION 

FEB 22 

PARAMOUNT / WIDE 

Blake Lively gets her own 

action franchise with this 

adaptation of the first in 

Mark Burnell’s series of 

novels about a woman 

who’s determined to 

unearth the truth about 

her family’s death in a 

suspicious plane crash. Acclaimed 

cinematographer 

Reed Morano continues 

the directing career that 

began with 2015’s Meadowland 

and includes three 

episodes of “The Handmaid’s 

Tale.” 

CAST BLAKE LIVELY, JUDE 

LAW, STERLING K. BROWN, 

DANIEL MAYS RATING NOT 

YET RATED RUNNING TIME 

TBA 


ON SCREEN 

FEB 22 / UNIVERSAL / WIDE 

The second sequel to one of 

DreamWorks Animation’s most 

successful films finds young Viking 

leader Hiccup’s plans to create a utopia 

threatened with the sudden arrival 

of a female Light Fury dragon from a 

mythical hidden world. Hiccup and his 

devoted Night Dragon Toothless are 

forced to venture to parts unknown. 

Dean DeBlois returns as director. 

VOICE CAST JAY BARUCHEL, AMERICA 

FERRERA, CATE BLANCHETT, CRAIG 

FERGUSON, KIT HARINGTON, F. MURRAY 

ABRAHAM RATING PG RUNNING 

TIME 104 MIN. 

DREAM PROJECTS 

>> DreamWorks Animation can boast four highly successful franchises in 

its 21-year history: Shrek (by far the champ, claiming the top four domestic 

spots), Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. The latter 

film holds the no. 5 and no. 13 positions domestically, and the third film in 

this soaring, beautifully rendered Viking series lands in theaters on Feb. 22. 

HERE’S A RUNDOWN OF DREAMWORKS ANIMATION’S TOP 15 

DOMESTIC PERFORMERS: 

SHREK 2 2004 

SHREK THE THIRD 2007 

SHREK 2001 

$ 

441,226,247 

$ 

322,719,944 

$ 

267,665,011 

SHREK FOREVER AFTER 2010 

$ 

238,736,787 

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2010 

$ 

217,581,231 

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED 2012 

$ 

216,391,482 

KUNG FU PANDA 2008 

$ 

215,434,591 

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS 2009 

$ 

198,351,526 

MADAGASCAR 2005 

$ 

193,595,521 

THE CROODS 2013 

$ 

187,168,425 

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA 2008 

$ 

180,010,950 

HOME 2015 

$ 

177,397,510 

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 2014 

$ 

177,002,924 

THE BOSS BABY 2017 

$ 

175,003,033 

KUNG FU PANDA 2 2011 

$ 

165,249,063 


MARCH 1 / A24 / LIMITED 

French provocateur Gaspar 

Noé (Irreversible, Enter the Void) 

shook up audiences at last 

year’s Cannes Film Festival with 

this portrait of a modern dance 

troupe whose party following a 

dazzling rehearsal performance 

turns hellish, thanks to 

sangria spiked with LSD. To 

say inhibitions are unleashed 

would be an understatement. 

CAST SOFIA BOUTELLA, ROMAIN 

GUILLERMIC, SOUHEILA YACOUB, 

CLAUDE GAJAN MAULL RATING R 



ON SCREEN 

MARCH 1 / SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS / LIMITED 

Former “Doctor Who” Matt Smith gets edgy with 

this biopic of Robert Mapplethorpe, the gay 

photographer who scandalized the art world 

with his explicit but beautifully rendered pictures 

depicting the New York S&M underground. Marianne 

Rendón plays his devoted friend and Chelsea Hotel 

roommate, rock star Patti Smith. Documentarian Ondi 

Timoner directs. 

CAST MATT SMITH, MARIANNE RENDÓN, MARK MOSES, 

JOHN BENJAMIN HICKEY, BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL 

RATING NOT RATED RUNNING TIME 102 MIN. 

MARCH 1 / MUSIC BOX FILMS / LIMITED 

In the new film from acclaimed German director Christian Petzold 

(Barbara, Phoenix), a German refugee flees occupied Paris for Marseille, 

assuming the identity of the dead writer whose transit papers 

he carries. Then he meets and falls in love with the man’s widow. 

Anna Seghers’s novel was written in 1942, but in a daring conceit, 

Petzold keeps the time period of his adaptation deliberately vague. 

CAST FRANZ ROGOWSKI, PAULA BEER, GODEHARD GIESE, LILIEN BATMAN 

RATING NOT RATED RUNNING TIME 101 MIN. 


MARCH 1 / LIONSGATE / WIDE 

There’s no stopping Tyler Perry’s 

formidable alter ego, irreverent 

matriarch Madea, as she appears 

in her 10th feature outing. This 

time around, all hell breaks 

loose at a huge family funeral in 

backwoods Georgia. 

CAST TYLER PERRY, CASSI DAVIS, 

PATRICE LOVELY RATING PG-13 

RUNNING TIME TBA 

TYLER PERRY’S A MADEA FAMILY FUNERAL 

GRETA 

MARCH 1 / FOCUS / LIMITED 

French film icon Isabelle Huppert takes on a rare English-language 

assignment with the title role of this outlandish thriller 

directed and co-written by Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire, 

The Crying Game). When a young waitress newly arrived in New 

York City (Chloë Grace Moretz) returns a purse she finds on the 

subway to an elegant French widow, their relationship turns from 

friendly and doting to uncomfortably needy and pathological. 

CAST ISABELLE HUPPERT, CHLOË GRACE MORETZ, MAIKA MONROE, 

COLM FEORE, STEPHEN REA RATING R RUNNING TIME 98 MIN. 

THE WEDDING GUEST 

MARCH 1 / IFC FILMS / LIMITED 

Dev Patel (Lion, Slumdog Millionaire) plays an enigmatic British 

Muslim whose mission to kidnap a Pakistani bride-to-be leads 

to unexpected complications, twists, and double crosses. This 

road movie from prolific director Michael Winterbottom (The 

Trip, A Mighty Heart) debuted at last year’s Toronto International 

Film Festival. 

CAST DEV PATEL, RADHIKA APTE, JIM SARBH RATING NOT RATED RUN- 

NING TIME 94 MIN. 


BOOKING GUIDE 

DISNEY 

818-560-1000 

ASK FOR DISTRIBUTION 

CAPTAIN MARVEL 

Fri, 3/8/19 WIDE 

C Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson 

D Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck 

NR · Act/Adv/SF · 3D/IMAX 

DUMBO 

Fri, 3/29/19 WIDE 

C Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton 

D Tim Burton 

NR · Fan/Fam · 3D 

PENGUINS 

Wed, 4/17/19 WIDE 

D Alastair Fothergill, Jeff Wilson 

G · Doc 

A24 

CLIMAX 

MARCH 1, 2019 

SOFIA BOUTELLA 

AVENGERS: ENDGAME 

Fri, 4/26/19 WIDE 

C Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans 

D Anthony Russo, Joe Russo 

NR · Act/Adv/Fan/SF 

A24 

646-568-6015 

OUTLAWS 

Fri, 2/1/19 LTD. 

C Ryan Corr, Abbey Lee 

D Stephen McCallum 

R · Dra/Act 

CLIMAX 

Fri, 3/1/19 LTD. 

C Sofia Boutella 

D Gaspar Noé 

NR · Hor/Dan 

GLORIA BELL 

Fri, 3/8/19 LTD. 

C Julianne Moore 

D Sebastián Lelio 

NR · Dra/Rom/Com 

HIGH LIFE 

Fri, 4/12/19 LTD. 

C Robert Pattinson, 

Juliette Binoche 

D Claire Denis 

NR · SF/Sus 

UNDER THE SILVER LAKE 

Fri, 4/19/19 LTD. 

C Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough 

D David Robert Mitchell 

R · Thr/Cri 

UNTITLED ARI ASTER HORROR 


C Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges 

D Ari Aster 

NR · Hor 

ABRAMORAMA 

914-741-1818 

BOLDEN 

Fri, 5/3/19 LTD 

C Gary Carr, Ian McShane 

D Dan Pritzker 

NR 

ANNAPURNA PICTURES 

310-724-5678 


WHERE’D YOU GO 

BERNADETTE? 

Fri, 3/22/19 WIDE 

C Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup 

D Richard Linklater 

PG-13 · Com/Dra 

UNTITLED BABAK ANVARI 

Fri, 3/29/19 WIDE 

D Babak Anvari 

NR · Hor 

MISSING LINK 

Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE 

C Zach Galifianakis, Hugh Jackman 

D Chris Butler 

PG · Ani 

AVIRON PICTURES 

THE INFORMER 

Fri, 3/22/19 LTD 

AFTER 

Fri, 4/12/19 LTD 

BLUE FOX ENTERTAINMENT 

BRAID 

Fri, 2/1/19 LTD 

C Madeline Brewer, 

Imogen Waterhouse 

D Mitzi Peirone 

NR · Thr 

SAINT JUDY 

Fri, 3/1/19 NY/LA 

C Michelle Monaghan, 

Leem Lubany 

D Sean Hanish 

PG-13 · Dra 

BLEECKER STREET 

ARCTIC 


C Mads Mikkelsen 

D Joe Penna 

PG-13 · Com/Dra 

HOTEL MUMBAI 

Fri, 3/22/19 LTD 

C Dev Patel, Armie Hammer 

D Anthony Maras 

NR · Dra/Thr 

ALADDIN 

Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE 

C Will Smith, Mena Massoud 

D Guy Ritchie 

NR · Act/Adv/Com 

TOY STORY 4 

Fri, 6/21/19 WIDE 

C Tom Hanks, Tim Allen 

D Josh Cooley 

NR · Ani · 3D/IMAX 

THE LION KING 

Fri, 7/19/19 WIDE 

C Donald Glover, Beyoncé 

D Jon Favreau 

NR · Fan 

ARTEMIS FOWL 


C Ferdia Shaw, Josh Gad 

D Kenneth Branagh 

NR · Fan · 3D 

JUNGLE CRUISE 

Fri, 10/11/19 WIDE 

C Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt 

D Jaume Collet-Serra 

NR · Act/Adv 

FROZEN 2 

Wed, 11/22/19 WIDE 

NR · Ani · 3D 

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX 

Fri, 12/20/19 WIDE 

NR · Act/Adv/SF · 3D/IMAX/Dolby Dig 


UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE 

ACTION 

Fri, 2/14/20 WIDE 

NR 

ONWARD 


C Chris Pratt, Tom Holland 

D Dan Scanlon 


MULAN 

Fri, 3/27/20 WIDE 

NR · Fan/Act/Adv · 3D/IMAX 

UNTITLED MARVEL FILM 


NR · 3D 

MALEFICENT 2 

Fri, 5/29/20 WIDE 

NR · Fan 

ENTERTAINMENT STUDIOS 

MOTION PICTURES 

310-277-3500 


FOX 

BREAKTHROUGH 

APRIL 17, 2019 

MARCEL RUIZ AND CHRISSY METZ 

47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED 

Fri, 6/28/19 WIDE 

C John Corbett, Nia Long 

D Johannes Roberts 

NR · Hor/Thr 

ARCTIC DOGS 

Fri, 11/1/19 WIDE 

C Jeremy Renner, James Franco 

D Aaron Woodley 

PG · Ani 

FOCUS FEATURES 

424-214-6360 

GRETA 

Fri, 3/1/19 LTD 

C Chloë Grace Moretz, 

Isabelle Huppert 

D Neil Jordan 

NR · Dra 

THE MUSTANG 

Fri, 3/15/19 LTD 

C Matthias Schoenaerts, 

Bruce Dern 

D Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre 

NR · Dra 

CAPTIVE STATE 

Wed, 3/15/19 WIDE 

C John Goodman, Ashton Sanders 

D Rupert Wyatt 

PG-13 · SF 

DOWNTON ABBEY 

Fri, 9/20/19 WIDE 

C Hugh Bonneville, 

Laura Carmichael 

D Michael Engler 

NR · Dra 

FOX 

310-369-1000 · 212-556-2400 

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL 

Thu, 2/14/19 WIDE 

C Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz 

D Robert Rodriguez 

PG-13 · Act/Adv/Rom · 3D/IMAX 

BREAKTHROUGH 

Fri, 4/17/19 WIDE 

C Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas 

D Roxann Dawson 

NR · Dra/Bio 

AD ASTRA 

Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE 

C Brad Pitt 

D James Gray 

NR · SF/Thr 

X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX 


C Sophie Turner, Jennifer Lawrence 

D Simon Kinberg 

NR · Act/Adv/SF 

UNTITLED JAMES MANGOLD 

Fri, 6/28/19 WIDE 

C Matt Damon, Christian Bale 

D James Mangold 

NR · Dra 

STUBER 

Fri, 7/12/19 WIDE 

C Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani 

NR · Act/Com 

THE NEW MUTANTS 


C Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams 

D Josh Boone 

NR · Act/Hor/SF 

SPIES IN DISGUISE 

Fri, 9/13/19 WIDE 

C Will Smith, Tom Holland 

D Nick Bruno & Troy Quane 

NR · Ani 

THE ART OF RACING 

IN THE RAIN 

Fri, 9/27/19 WIDE 

NR 

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW 

Fri, 10/4/19 WIDE 

C Amy Adams 

D Joe Wright 

NR · Cri/Dra/Mys 

UNTITLED KINGSMAN MOVIE 

Fri, 11/15/19 WIDE 

D Matthew Vaughn 

NR · Act/Adv 

THE CALL OF THE WILD 

Wed, 12/25/19 WIDE 

NR · Dra 

NIMONA 

Fri, 2/14/20 WIDE 

D Patrick Osborne 

NR · Ani 

GAMBIT 

Fri, 3/13/20 WIDE 

C Channing Tatum 


FOX SEARCHLIGHT 

212-556-2400 

THE AFTERMATH 

Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE 

C Keira Knightley, Alexander 

Skarsgård 

D James Kent 

R · Dra/War 

TOLKIEN 

Fri, 5/10/19 LTD 

C Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins 

D Dome Karukoski 

PG-13 · Dra/Bior 


BOOKING GUIDE 

LIONSGATE 

310-309-8400 

COLD PURSUIT 


C Liam Neeson, Emmy Rossum 

D Hans Petter Moland 

NR · Act/Dra 

CHAOS WALKING 


C Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley 

D Doug Liman 

NR · Adv/SF 

TYLER PERRY’S A MADEA 

FAMILY FUNERAL 


C Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis 

D Tyler Perry 

PG-13 · Com 

LIONSGATE 

HELLBOY 


DAVID HARBOUR 

NO MANCHES FRIDA 2 

Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE 

C Martha Higareda, 

Omar Chaparro 

D Nacho G. Velilla 

NR · Com 

FREESTYLE RELEASING 

310-277-3500 


SHARKWATER EXTINCTION 

Thu, 2/1/19 LTD 

D Rob Stewart 

NR · Doc 

UNTOGETHER 

Fri, 2/8/19 LTD 

C Jamie Dornan, Jemima Kirke 

D Emma Forrest 

R · Dra 

GUNPOWDER & SKY 

kg@gunpowdersky.com 

LORDS OF CHAOS 

Fri, 4/8/19 LTD 

C Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen 

D Jonas Åkerlund 

NR · Thr 

HER SMELL 

Fri, 4/12/19 LTD 

C Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne 

D Alex Ross Perry 

PG-13 · Dra/Mus 

KINO LORBER 

THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA 

Fri, 2/8/19 LTD 

C Mx Justin Vivian Bond 

D Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher 

NR · Doc 

BABYLON 

Fri, 3/8/19 LTD 

D Franco Rosso 

NR · Doc 

IFC FILMS 

bookings@ifcfilms.com 

DONNYBROOK 

Fri, 2/15/19 LTD 

C Jamie Bell, Frank Gillo 

D Tim Sutton 

NR · Dra/Thr 

THE WEDDING GUEST 

Fri, 3/1/19 LTD 

C Dev Patel, Radhika Apte 

D Michael Winterbottom 

NR · Thr 

OUT OF BLUE 

Fri, 3/15/19 LTD 

C Patricia Clarkson, Toby Jones 

D Carol Morely 

NR · Thr 

DIANE 

Fri, 3/29/19 LTD 

C Mary Kay Place, Jake Lacy 

D Kent Jones 

NR · Dra 

THE WIND 

Fri, 4/5/19 LTD 

C Caitlin Gerard, Julia Goldani 

Telles 

D Emma Tammi 

NR · Dra/Wes 

RED JOAN 

Fri, 4/12/19 LTD 

C Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson 

D Trevor Nunn 

NR · Dra/Thr 

NON-FICTION 

Fri, 5/3/19 LTD 

C Juliette Binoche, Guillaume Canet 

D Olivier Assayas 

NR · Dra/Com 

JANUS FILMS 

booking@janusfilms.com 

WAR AND PEACE 

Fri, 2/15/19 LTD 

D Sergei Bondarchuk 

NR Dra/His 

LD ENTERTAINMENT 

JACOBS LADDER 

Fri, 2/1/19 LTD 

NR · Dra 

TEEN SPIRIT 

Fri, 4/5/19 LTD 

C Elle Fanning, Rebecca Hall 

D Max Minghella 

NR · Dra/Mus 

FIVE FEET APART 

Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE 

C Haley Lu Richardson, 

Cole Sprouse 

D Justin Baldoni 

PG-13 · Dra/Rom 

HELLBOY 

Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE 

C David Harbour, Milla Jovovich 

D Neil Marshall 

NR · Act 

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – 

PARABELLUM 

Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE 

C Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry 

D Chad Stahelski 

NR · Act 

UNTITLED SETH ROGEN / 

CHARLIZE THERON COMEDY 


C Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron 

D Jonathan Levine 

NR · Com 

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE 

DARK 


C Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza 

D André Øvredal 

NR · Hor/Sus 


MY BOYFRIEND’S MEDS (LAS 

PASTILLAS DE MI NOVIO) 

Fri, 8/30/19 WIDE 

C Jaime Camil, Sandra Echeverría 

D Diego Kaplan 

NR · Com 

MIDWAY 

Fri, 11/8/19 WIDE 

C Woody Harrelson, Patrick Wilson 

D Roland Emmerich 

NR · Act/Dra/War 

KNIVES OUT 

Fri, 11/27/19 WIDE 

C Daniel Craig, Chris Evans 

D Rian Johnson 

NR · Dra/Sus 

MAGNOLIA PICTURES 

Neal Block 

nblock@magpictures.com 

212-379-9704 

WOMAN AT WAR 


C Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, 

Jóhann Sigurðarson 

D Benedikt Erlingsson 

NR · Act/Thr 

DOGMAN 

Fri, 4/12/19 LTD. 

C Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce 

D Matteo Garrone 

NR · Cri/Thr/Dra 

MGM 

310-724-5678 



Thu, 2/14/19 NY/LA 

C Florence Pugh, Lena Headey 

D Stephen Merchant 

PG-13 · Dra/Bio 

THE HUSTLE 

Fri, 5/10/19 LTD. 

C Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson 

D Chris Addison 

NR · Com 

THE ADDAMS FAMILY 

Fri, 10/18/19 WIDE 

C Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron 

D Conrad Vernon 

NR · Ani 

UNTITLED JAMES BOND 25 

Fri, 2/14/20 WIDE 

C Daniel Craig 

D Cary Joji Fukunaga 

NR · Act/Thr 

PARAMOUNT 

ROCKETMAN 

MAY 31, 2019 

TARON EGERTON 

LEGALLY BLONDE 3 


C Reese Witherspoon 

NR · Com 

MYCINEMA 

480-430-7017 

LEGEND OF THE DEMON CAT 

Tue, 2/5/19 LTD 

NR · Hor 

ZOE PANORAMAS 

Sun, 2/10/19 LTD 

NR · Doc/Mus 

YAMSONG: MARCH OF 

THE HOLLOWS 

Fri, 2/15/19 LTD 

NR · Ani/Fan/Adv 

REINVENTING ROSALEE 

Thu, 2/21/19 LTD 

NR · Doc/Mus 

K9 WORLD CUP 

Thu, 3/21/19 LTD 

NR · Ani 

WILD FAITH 

Sat, 3/23/19 LTD 

NR · Wes 

WILLA, INTERARIO DE UNA 

PASIÓN 

Fri, 4/19/19 LTD 

NR · Bio/His 

THE CHRIST SLAYER 

NR · Dra/Rel 

NEON 

hal@neonrated.com 

THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES 

Fri, 2/15/19 LTD. 

C New Jersey Nasty Boyz 

D Eugene Graham 

R · Doc/Com 

LITTLE WOODS 

Fri, 4/19/19 LTD. 

C Lily James, Tessa Thompson 

D Nia DaCosta 

R · Dra 

THE BEACH BUM 

Fri, 3/22/19 LTD. 

C Matthew McConaughey, 

Snoop Dogg 

D Harmony Korine 

NR · Com 

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM 

Fri, 4/5/19 LTD. 

C John Chester, Molly Chester 

D John Chester 

PG · Doc 

WILD ROSE 

Fri, 5/10/19 LTD. 

C Julie Walters, Jessie Buckley 

D Tom Harper 

NR · Dra/Com/Mus 

THE ORCHARD 

Richard Matson 

323-540-5476 

rmatson@theorchard.com 

THE UNICORN 

Fri, 2/1/19 LTD. 

C Nick Rutherford, Lauren Lapkus 

D Robert Schwartzman 

PG · Com 

UNDER THE EIFFEL TOWER 

Fri, 2/8/19 LTD. 

C Matt Walsh, Judith Godrèche 

D Archie Borders 

NR · Rom/Com 

BIRDS OF PASSAGE 

Wed, 2/13/19 LTD. 

C José Acosta, Natalia Reyes 

D Cristina Callego, Ciro Guerra 

NR · Dra 

THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT 

Fri, 3/15/19 LTD. 

C Jesse Eisenberg, 

Alexander Skarsgård 

D Kim Nguyen 

R · Dra 

ORION PICTURES 

THE PRODIGY 

Tue, 2/8/19 LTD 

CHILD’S PLAY 



BOOKING GUIDE 

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS 

323.882.8490 

RUN THE RACE 

Fri, 2/22/19 WIDE 

C Tanner Stine, Evan Hofer 

D Chris Dowling 

PG · Dra 

JUDY 

Fri, 9/27/19 WIDE 

C Renee Zellweger 

D Rupert Goold 

NR · Bio 

SONY 

212-833-8500 

SONY 

MISS BALA 

FEBRUARY 1, 2019 

MISS BALA 


C Gina Rodriguez, 

Ismael Cruz Córdova 

D Catherine Hardwicke 

NR · Act/Dra/Thr 

ANTHONY MACKIE AND GINA RODRIGUEZ 

OSCILLOSCOPE 

LABORATORIES 

212-219-4029 

CATVIDEOFEST 

Sun, 2/17/19 LTD 

NR · Doc 

PARAMOUNT 

323-956-5000 

WHAT MEN WANT 


C Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge 

D Adam Shankman 

R · Com 

RHYTHM SECTION 

Fri, 2/22/19 WIDE 

C Blake Lively 

D Reed Morano 

NR · Thr 

WONDER PARK 

Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE 

C Mila Junis, Jennifer Garner 

D Dylan Brown 

PG · Ani/Adv/Com 

PET SEMATARY 


C Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz 

D Kevin Kölsch and 

Dennis Widmyer 

NR · Hor 

ROCKETMAN 

Fri, 5/31/19 WIDE 

C Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell 

D Dexter Fletcher 

NR · Bio/Dra 

LIMITED PARTNERS 

Fri, 6/28/19 WIDE 

C Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne 

NR · Com 

CRAWL 

Fri, 8/23/19 WIDE 

NR · Hor 

DORA THE EXLPORER 


C Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez 

D James Bobin 

NR · Adv 

GEMINI MAN 

Fri, 10/4/19 WIDE 

C Will Smith, 

Mary Elizabeth Winstead 

D Ang Lee 

NR · Act/Thr 

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE 

DARK? 

Fri, 10/19/19 WIDE 

NR · Hor 

UNTITLED TERMINATOR 

PROJECT 

Fri, 11/1/19 WIDE 

C Arnold Schwarzenegger, 

Linda Hamilton 

D Tim Miller 

NR · Act/SF 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 

Fri, 11/8/19 WIDE 

C James Marsden, Ben Schwartz 

D Jeff Fowler 

NR · Ani/Adv/Com 

THE LOVEBIRDS 


NR · Rom/Com 

PLAYING WITH FIRE 

Fri, 3/20/20 WIDE 

NR · Com 

GI JOE 

Fri, 3/27/20 WIDE 

NR · Act/Adv 

UNTITLED A QUIET PLACE 

SEQUEL 

Fri, 5/15/20 WIDE 

NR 

GREYHOUND 

Fri, 3/22/19 WIDE 

C Tom Hanks 

D Aaron Schneider 

NR · Dra/War 

THE INTRUDER 

Fri, 4/26/19 WIDE 

C Dennis Quaid, Meaghan Good 

D Deon Taylor 

PG-13 · Thr 

THE ROSIE PROJECT 

Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE 

NR · Rom/Com 

BRIGHTBURN 

Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE 

C Elizabeth Banks, David Denman 

D David Yarovesky 

NR · Hor 

MEN IN BLACK: 

INTERNATIONAL 

Fri, 6/14/19 WIDE 

C Chris Hemsworth, 

Tessa Thompson 

D F. Gary Gray 

NR · SF/Act/Com 

GRUDGE 

Fri, 6/21/19 WIDE 

D Nicolas Pesce 

NR · Hor 

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME 


C Tom Holland, Michael Keaton 

D Jon Watts 

NR · Act/Adv/SF/Com 


ONCE UPON A TIME IN 

HOLLYWOOD 

Fri, 7/26/19 WIDE 

C Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt 

D Quentin Tarantino 

NR · Dra 

ANGRY BIRDS 2 

Fri, 8/16/19 WIDE 

NR · Ani 

OVERCOMER 

Fri, 8/23/19 WIDE 

NR · Dra/Rel 

ZOMBIELAND 2 

Fri, 10/11/19 WIDE 

C Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson 

D Ruben Fleischer 

NR · Act/Hor/Com 

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE 

NEIGHBORHOOD 

Fri, 10/18/19 WIDE 

C Tom Hanks 

D Marielle Heller 

NR · Dra 

SONY 

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN 

THE NEIGHBORHOOD 

OCTOBER 18, 2019 

TOM HANKS 

CHARLIE’S ANGELS 

Fri, 11/1/19 WIDE 

C Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott 

D Elizabeth Banks 

NR · Act/Com 

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE 

JUNGLE SEQUEL 

Fri, 12/13/19 WIDE 

C Dwayne Johnson 

NR · Com/Act/Adv 

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE 

Fri, 12/18/19 WIDE 

NR · Act/Adv/Fan 

LITTLE WOMEN 

Fri, 12/25/19 WIDE 

D Greta Gerwig 

NR · Dra 

MILLER/LORD PRODUCED 

SPA MOVIE 

Fri, 1/10/20 WIDE 

NR · Ani 

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE 

Fri, 1/17/20 WIDE 

NR · Act 

PETER RABBIT 2 


NR · Ani 

BLOODSHOT 

Fri, 2/21/20 WIDE 

NR · Act 

UNTITLED SPA ANIMATED 

FRANCHISE 


NR · Ani 

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS 

Tom Prassis · 212-833-4981 

NEVER LOOK AWAY 

Fri, 1/25/19 NY 

RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR 

Fri, 2/15/19 NY 

STX ENTERTAINMENT 

310-742-2300 

THE BEST OF ENEMIES 


C Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell 

D Robin Bissell 

NR · Dra 

UGLYDOLLS 


D Robert Rodriguez 

NR · Ani 

POMS 

Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE 

C Diane Keaton, Pam Grier 

D Zara Hayes 

NR 

17 BRIDGES 

Fri, 7/12/19 WIDE 

C Chadwick Boseman 

D Brian Kirk 

NR · Cri/Thr/Act 

UNCORK’D 

ENTERTAINMENT 

ST. BERNARD SYNDICATE 

Fri, 2/1/19 LTD. 

C Frederik Cilius, Rasmus Bruun 

D Mads Brügger 

NR · Com 

ST. AGATHA 

Fri, 2/8/19 LTD. 

C Sabrina Kern, Carolyn Hennesy 

D Darren Lynn Bousman 

NR · Hor/Thr 

UNIVERSAL 

818-777-1000 

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U 

Thu, 2/13/19 WIDE 

C Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard 

D Christopher Landon 

PG-13 · Hor 

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR 

DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD 

Fri, 2/22/19 WIDE 

C Jay Baruchel 

D Dean DeBlois 

PG-13 · Ani/Com/Fam 

US 

Fri, 3/22/19 WIDE 

D Jordan Peele 

NR · Thr 

LITTLE 

Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE 

C Regina Hall, Issa Rae 

D Tina Gordon 

NR · Com 

A DOG’S JOURNEY 

Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE 

D Gail Mancuso 

NR · Fam 

UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE 

PRODUCTIONS PROJECT 

Fri, 5/31/19 WIDE 

C Jessica Rothe 

D Christopher Landon 

NR · Hor 

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 


C Lake Bell, Hannibal Buress 

D Chris Renaud 


UNTITLED DANNY BOYLE/ 

RICHARD CURTIS COMEDY 

Fri, 6/28/19 WIDE 

C Lily James, Himesh Patel 

D Danny Boyle 

NR · Com/Mus 


BOOKING GUIDE 

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC 

Wed, 2/13/19 WIDE 

C Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth 

D Todd Strauss-Schulson 

PG-13 · Com 

SHAZAM! 


C Zachary Levi, Asher Angel 

D David F. Sandberg 

NR · Act/Adv/Fan · IMAX 

THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA 

Fri, 4/19/19 WIDE 

C Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz 

D Michael Chaves 

R · Hor 

WARNER BROS. 

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS 

MAY 31, 2019 

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN AND VERA FARMIGA 

UNTITLED FAST & FURIOUS 

SPIN-OFF 


NR · Act/Adv 

GOOD BOYS 

Fri, 8/16/19 WIDE 

C Jacob Tremblay 

D Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky 

NR · Com 

ABOMINABLE 

Fri, 9/27/19 WIDE 

D Tim Johnson 

NR · Ani 

THE HUNT 

Fri, 9/27/19 WIDE 

D Craig Zobel 

NR · Act/Thr 


PRODUCTIONS 

Fri, 10/18/19 WIDE 

NR · Hor 

WILL PACKER COMEDY 

Fri, 11/8/19 WIDE 

NR · Com 

LAST CHRISTMAS 

Fri, 11/15/19 WIDE 

C Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding 

D Paul Feig 

NR · Rom/Com 

QUEEN & SLIM 

Fri, 11/27/19 WIDE 

NR · Dra/Rom 


PRODUCTIONS 

Fri, 12/13/19 WIDE 

NR · Hor 

CATS 

Fri, 12/20/19 WIDE 

Tom Hooper 

NR · Mus 


PRODUCTIONS 


NR · Hor 

THE VOYAGE OF DOCTOR 

DOLITTLE 

Fri, 1/17/20 WIDE 

C Robert Downy, Jr., Ralph Fiennes 

D Stephen Gaghan 

NR · Com 


PRODUCTIONS 

Fri, 3/13/20 WIDE 

NR · Hor 

FAST & FURIOUS 9 

Fri, 4/10/20 WIDE 

NR · Act/Adv 

TROLLS WORLD TOUR 

Fri, 4/17/20 WIDE 

C Anna Kendrick , Justin 

Timberlake 

D Walt Dohrn 

NR · Ani 

WILL PACKER COMEDY 

Fri, 5/15/20 WIDE 

NR · Com 

VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT 

AN AFFAIR TO DIE FOR 

Fri, 2/1/19 LTD 

C Claire Forlani, Jake Abel 

D Victor Garcia 

NR · Thr 

GIANT LITTLE ONES 

Fri, 3/15/19 LTD 

C Darren Mann, Josh Wiggins 

D Keith Behrman 

NR · Dra 

WARNER BROS. 

818-977-1850 

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE 

SECOND PART 


C Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks 

D Mike Mitchell 

PG · Ani 

POKÉMON DETECTIVE 

PIKACHU 

Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE 

C Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith 

D Rob Letterman 

NR · Adv 

THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR 

Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE 

C Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton 

D Ry Russo-Young 

PG-13 

MINECRAFT: THE MOVIE 

Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE 

NR 

GODZILLA: KING OF THE 

MONSTERS 

Fri, 5/31/19 WIDE 

D Michael Dougherty 

PG-13 · SF/Act 

SHAFT 

Fri, 6/14/19 WIDE 

NR · Act 

UNTITLED CONJURING 

UNIVERSE FILM 


NR · Hor 

UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM 


NR 

IT CHAPTER TWO 


NR · Hor · IMAX 

THE KITCHEN 

Fri, 9/20/19 WIDE 

C Melissa McCarthy, 

Tiffany Haddish 

D Andrea Berloff 

NR · Cri/Thr 


OUR SPONSORS 

BARCO/CINIONIC 11 

CARDINAL SOUND 128 

CHRISTIE 2, 3 

CINEMACON 27 

C. CRETORS & COMPANY 26 

DOLPHIN SEATING 111 

WARNER BROS. 

SHAZAM! 


ZACHARY LEVI 

JOKER 

Fri, 10/4/19 WIDE 

C Joaquin Phoenix 

D Todd Phillips 

NR · Act 

THE GOLDFINCH 

Fri, 10/11/19 WIDE 

R · Dra 

MARGIE CLAUS 

Fri, 11/15/19 WIDE 

NR · Com/Mus 

THE GOOD LIAR 

Fri, 11/15/19 WIDE 

C Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren 

D Bill Condon 

NR · Dra 

SUPERINTELLIGENCE 

Fri, 12/25/19 WIDE 

C Melissa McCarthy, 

Bobby Cannavale 

D Ben Falcone 

NR · Act/Com 

JUST MERCY 

Fri, 1/17/19 WIDE 

C Brie Larson, Michael B. Jordan 

D Destin Daniel Cretton 

NR · Dra 

DOCTOR SLEEP 

Fri, 1/24/19 WIDE 

C Ewan McGregor, 

Rebecca Ferguson 

D Mike Flanagan 

NR · Hor 

UNTITLED BIRDS OF PREY 

PROJECT 


C Margot Robbie, 

Mary Elizabeth Winstead 

D Cathy Yan 

NR · Act/Adv 

UNTITLED DC FILM 



SCOOBY-DOO ANIMATED 

FEATURE 

Fri, 5/15/20 WIDE 

NR · Com 

GODZILLA VS KONG 

Fri, 5/31/20 WIDE 

NR · SF/Act 

Please contact numbers@boxoffice.com for inclusion in future editions of 

the Boxoffice Booking Guide 

ENCORE BY PALLISER 

BACK COVER 

ENPAR AUDIO 90 

FANDANGO 39 

HARKNESS SCREENS 7, 9 

IRWIN SEATING 19 

LIGHTSPEED/DEPTHQ 128 

MOBILIARIO 57 

MOC INSURANCE SERVICES 5 

MOVING IMAGE TECHNOLOGY 15 

ODELL’S 101 

OMNITERM 65 

PROCTOR COMPANIES 25 

PROMOTION IN MOTION 49 

QSC 

INSIDE FRONT COVER 

READY THEATER SYSTEMS 33 

RETRIEVER SYSTEMS 13 

SCREENVISION MEDIA 1 

SENSIBLE CINEMA 128 

SONIC EQUIPMENT 21 

SPOTLIGHT CINEMA NETWORK 29 

ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL 109 

INSIDE BACK COVERUSHIO 12 

VIP CINEMA SEATING 37 

WEBEDIA MOVIES PRO 41 


MARKETPLACE 

Passive Polarization 

for 3D Digital Cinema 

Fast, Bright, Reliable... 

Quality you can Trust. 

Over 2,500 

locations worldwide. 

Patented in the US, EU, CAN & CHINA 

www.depthq3d.com 

HELP WANTED 

SENIOR LEVEL CHANNEL ACCOUNT 

MANAGER wanted by NEC Display Solutions 

for expanding Digital Cinema group. 

Seeking minimum 8 years’ experience within 

hi-tech, cinema or Pro A/V industry to 

drive strategic growth. Field-based, travel 

throughout US & Canada required. Apply: 

www.necdisplay.com/careers 

FOR SALE 

VINTAGE TWO-SCREEN MOVIE THEATER, 

484 seats with the iconic marquee characteristic 

of old movie theaters with updated 

digital technology, 2k and 7.1 sound system. 

Excellent opportunity for exhibitors 

to invest in Puerto Rico in an iconic classic 

movie theater. Serious inquiries only. For a 

Powerpoint presentation and equipment 

list, email to cecilesola46@gmail.com or 

call 787-398-0912. 

HISTORIC CENTRAL ILLINOIS, 5-SCREEN 

MOVIE THEATER. Many upgrades including 

digital projection and new seats. Free 

municipal and theater-owned parking. 

Serious inquires contact Peter (217) 652- 

9700. 

USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS AND 

SOUND EQUIPMENT. 3 Solaria One Plus 

projectors with NAS and projector base. 14 

JBL stage speakers, 12 JBL surround speakers. 

Processors and monitors. Contact: 

boothmw@chakerestheatres.com or call 

Mark at (937) 323-6447. 

USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS, Five complete 

booths including sound equipment. 

Three years old. Contact seller at moviescope1000@gmail.com. 

BISTRO CHAIRS FOR SALE: (392) Red vinyl 

and (328) gray vinyl seven year old Seating 

Concepts Palermo style in-theatre bistro 

chairs to be available in early Spring 2018. 

All chairs equipped with tray tables. Some 

of the seats will require covers/repairs. 

Please contact mhooker@aztcorporation. 

comor 972-428-2943 for more information. 

TWO BRAND NEW 3000 watts Christie Xenon 

lamps for 35mm projectors. Contact: 

Atul Desai 949-291-5700. 

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. 

18 SETS OF USED 35MM AUTOMATED 

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. 

6 PLEX EQUIPMENT PACKAGE. Six complete 

booths digital projectors/sound, 72 

speakers, seats, screens/frames, concession 

equipment, computers, led signs/marquees, 

safe/misc equipment. Serious inquiries 

only. For equipment list email contact@digitalequipmenttechnologies.com 

or call 801-548-0108 or fax 801-281-0482. 

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 

POSITIONS AVAILABLE 

The three-screen Stavros Niarchos Foundation 

Parkway Film Center in Baltimore 

is seeking an OPERATIONS DIRECTOR to 

oversee all aspects of running the theater 

and concessions. The Film Center, a partnership 

among the Maryland Film Festival, 

Johns Hopkins University and MICA will 

open in spring of 2017 and offer a broad 

range of the world’s best art-house, independent, 

documentary, and classic cinema. 

The full job description and application 

instructions are found at mdfilmfest.com/ 

about-the-festival/jobs.php.

Boxoffice - February 2019

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