BXP-2024-January

$6.95 / January 2024
ICTA
2024
The Tech Innovators Bringing
Cinema Into the Future
The Official Magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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January 2024
CONTENTS
64
Passion At Play
Jeymes Samuel on His Biblical
Epic The Book of Clarence
24
Party Like It’s 1989
How Cinemas Celebrated
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour
26
Industry Innovators
The Companies Ushering
Cinema into the Future
36
Go Big or Go Home
The Untapped Potential
of Premium Screens
40
Ecological Innovations
Brazil’s Cine A Invests in
Sustainable Cinema
January 2024
03

CONTENTS
INDUSTRY THEATER ICTA
10
In Conversation
NATO Chair Bob Bagby Speaks with
President and CEO Michael O’Leary
24
Party Like It’s 1989
How Cinemas Celebrated Taylor
Swift’s The Eras Tour
52
Welcome to the L.A. Seminar Series
The ICTA Invites You to the Future of
Cinema
12
A Warm Welcome
Getting to Know NATO’s New
Executive Board Members
26
Industry Innovators
The Companies Ushering Cinema
into the Future
54
You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet
THX Creator Tomlinson Holman
Is the ICTA’s ICON of the Year
14
Charity Spotlight
A Recap of Industry-Wide Charity
Initiatives
36
Go Big or Go Home
The Untapped Potential of
Premium Screens
60
In Memoriam
Ray Boegner, Strong Global
Entertainment
16
Trade Talk
40
Ecological Innovations
Brazil’s Cine A Invests in
Sustainable Cinema
ON SCREEN
44
Reel to Real
The Mahoning Drive-In Theater
Celebrates 35 mm and Drive-In Culture
64
Passion At Play
Jeymes Samuel on His Biblical Epic
The Book of Clarence
70
Event Cinema Calendar
A Sampling of Event Cinema
Programming Hitting the Big
Screen in 2024
72
Booking Guide
“The Mahoning has been
incredible at being able to
pivot during the pandemic
and beyond, to try to keep
the appeal of what we do
strong and alive.”
04 January 2024

St. Jude patient
Emilio
Big Screen. Bigger Cause.
This holiday season, movie theaters around the country and St. Jude are teaming up with some
of your favorite entertainers and celebrities to help those facing childhood cancer and other lifethreatening
diseases. When you donate advertising screen time to our St. Jude PSA, you’re letting
your patrons know you’re committed to fighting childhood cancer.
St. Jude believes that every child deserves a chance to live their best life and celebrate every
moment. When you support St. Jude, you help make cures possible for kids with cancer around
the world that chance. But we can’t do it without your powerful partnership.
For more information, please visit stjude.org/theaters
or email chance.weaver@alsac.stjude.org
©2023 ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (MCC-13795)

BOXOFFICE MEDIA
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As such, the views expressed
in Boxoffice Pro reflect neither
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Boxoffice Pro (ISSN 0006-8527), Volume 161, Number 7, January 2024. Boxoffice Pro is published by Box
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(Jan–Dec 2021) 2,566 / Print - 2,101 / Digital - 465
06 January 2024

EXECUTIVE LETTER
THIS ONE’S FOR
THE INNOVATORS
Boxoffice Pro celebrates its 104th
anniversary this year, a testament to
the enduring cultural power of the moviegoing
experience. As a business, cinemas
worldwide are still recovering from the
disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
2024 should get everyone one step
closer to the heights the industry reached
at the end of the last decade.
Post-pandemic viewership data paints
a clear picture: The box office potential
is there, as long as there are movies to
program. The number of films released
to theaters has drastically decreased
since 2020, an issue exacerbated by
the labor disputes that dominated the
Hollywood landscape in 2023. Early box
office forecasts for 2024 predict another
recovery year (a hangover from last year’s
production stoppage), with cinemas in
North America still setting their sights on
reclaiming the $11 billion mark achieved
in the years leading up to the pandemic.
We’ve seen the impact of these hard
times directly reflected in our publication,
which largely depends on advertising revenue
from companies servicing the exhibition
space to stay in publication. Thanks to
the support of our current advertisers, we
are happy to be able to offer eight issues
this year—all of them timed to align with
the biggest conventions and events in the
movie theater industry.
The most significant change in our
2024 schedule is the new publication
date of our annual “Giants of Exhibition”
feature, in which we rank North America’s
fifty largest cinema circuits. Usually published
in February, our Giants edition will
now reach subscribers over the summer
to better account for all the changes in
screen and location counts that occur
through the end of the year. This change
will help us deliver more accurate and
precise data rather than relying on anticipated
opening dates (often delayed) that
could alter our ranking results.
To open the year, we are once again
proud to partner with the International
Cinema Technology Association (ICTA)
to bring you our annual tech issue. The
latest offerings and stories from some of
the world’s leading cinema technology
companies are in these pages. Their
innovation is at the heart of the industry’s
recovery effort, and we look forward to
learning more about the next generation
of solutions at the ICTA’s annual seminar
in Los Angeles this month.
To commemorate that spirit of innovation,
I wanted to close this letter with
a note sent to us by one of our readers,
Dave Corkill, the owner and operator of
the Cinema West circuit. As 2023 came to
a close, Dave informed me of the unfortunate
passing of Norman R. Brown, who
joined Cinema West as a projectionist
before embarking on a long career with
the company that saw him rise to the role
of operations manager. Norm was a loyal
reader of this magazine throughout his
career, rarely missing an issue. He also
had a knack for mechanics: According to
Dave, he was “able to take projectors apart
and put them back together—almost with
his eyes closed.” Whenever the chain
acquired new equipment, the old materials
would somehow find their way back
to Norm.
After his passing, Norm’s widow, Kim,
completed one of his unrealized projects
using some of those leftover materials.
The final product is now proudly displayed
outside of the home they shared
in rural Hopland, California: a mailbox
constructed entirely of analog projection
equipment. Although I never met Norm
in person, I instantly recognized his love
and passion for this industry as something
shared by many of us working in
this space. It’s a fitting tribute for a sector
that always finds a way to make the best
out of what they have, driven by a shared
passion for the moviegoing experience.
Daniel Loria
SVP Content Strategy & Editorial Director,
Boxoffice Pro
January 2024
07

NATO 10 | Charity Spotlight 14 | Trade Talk 16
INDUSTRY
“I think we’ve all learned incredible lessons over the last several
unprecedented years. They aren’t lessons we wanted to learn, necessarily,
but we were taught in the best way possible: through experience.”
In Conversation with NATO Chair Bob Bagby, p. 10
January 2024
09

INDUSTRY NATO
IN CONVERSATION
NATO Chair Bob Bagby Speaks with NATO
President and CEO Michael O’Leary
At NATO’s Annual Meeting and
Summit, held from October 2-5
in Los Angeles, California, Bob Bagby–
President and CEO of B&B Theatres, the
nation’s largest family-owned theater
chain–was elected as the new Chair
of NATO’s Board of Directors, taking
over from former Marcus Theatres CEO
Rolando Rodriguez. As Bagby begins his
tenure, he sits down with NATO President
and CEO Michael O’Leary to discuss the
future of the trade association and the
industry at large.
Michael O’Leary: You and your
family have always been very active
NATO members. Can you talk a little
bit about why supporting a trade
association has been one of your core
values?
Bob Bagby: Well, first of all, at B&B
Theatres our core values are family, fun,
innovation, joy, and integrity, and NATO
was founded in 1965 with several intentions
that align with some of those values.
A huge function of the trade organization
is to unify theater operators through open
and transparent dialogue and information
sharing while moving the industry
forward in creative and innovative ways.
Beyond that, on a more personal level, I
understand and deeply appreciate the
power and significance of relationships
built within this industry. NATO exists to
bring like-minded operators together and
to be the rising tide that lifts all ships.
During your time as Vice Chair of
NATO you saw highs and lows within
our industry. What are the lessons you
took away from the past few years,
and how will they help you now that
you are Chair?
I think we’ve all learned incredible lessons
over the last several unprecedented
years. They aren’t lessons we wanted to
learn, necessarily, but we were taught in
the best way possible: through experience.
Looking back, the teaching moments
were too many to count, but I can list a few.
First of all, our business is magical,
enduring, resilient, and essential. We have
survived and can survive and will survive
any and all challenges that befall us. The
world has shown time and time again that
the movies aren’t going anywhere. The
service we provide is unique and different
and valuable—and it is here to stay. That
was a lesson I think we’ve always known,
10 January 2024

ut to face such an aggressive and relentless
challenge and come out so strong and
well-positioned on the other side was a
welcome and fortifying reminder.
Secondly, leadership matters. I am
humbled and continue to be impressed
with the quality and caliber of inspired
men and women who are leading this
industry. The right people were (and are!)
in the right positions at the right times,
and I am so excited to be working alongside
Michael O’Leary and his remarkable
team as we enact new ways to bring
greater attention, notoriety, and success
to our membership.
I could go on and on, but my final
major takeaway from the last few years is
personal. During some of the most challenging
times, I was surrounded by the
people who are most important to me. My
wife and children demonstrate competencies
and support that are unmatched.
Their tireless support during those long
months brought my lifelong love for
cinema and our business to the next level.
I am beyond thrilled for the chance to add
my enthusiasm, energy, and optimism
for the future of our industry to the
Chairmanship.
You have successfully managed a
growing circuit for many years. How
would you describe your leadership
style, and how will those attributes
help you lead NATO and this industry
in the coming years?
I think there are three foundational qualities
that define my leadership style.
The first is a takeaway from my dad:
work hard and play hard. At B&B, we
believe in doing things to the best of our
ability and putting forth a strong effort in
everything that we do. But we also believe
in quality family time, a healthy work/
life balance, and a good party. Leading
NATO is really no different. We need to
commit 100 percent to the fulfillment of
our duties and the advancement of the
cause, but never at the expense of our
own passion for the work and love for the
business.
Secondly, I have worked very hard to
surround myself with smart, passionate
people. Because of this, my life and job
are easier, and my business is better run.
Finally, [you must] lead with honesty
and decency. I have built a career inspired
by my parents and [my wife] Bridget’s parents,
all of whom left a legacy of loyalty,
“We need to commit 100
percent to the fulfillment
of our duties and the
advancement of the cause,
but never at the expense of
our own passion for the work
and love for the business.”
fairness, and common sense. Those are
not values on which I will ever compromise,
and they will inform my actions as
Chair.
As you take on this new role, are there
specific topics within our industry that
you are eager to dive into early on?
I want to be an ambassador for positivity.
There has been so much written about the
demise of cinemas, and I want to change
that narrative. All we need is a strong
supply of films from our studio partners
for guests to come and be blown away by
the shared experience. The movie theater
is one of the only places where you turn
off your phone, relax your mind, and
become totally immersed in a magical
experience shared with others. We need
to expand our audience and make sure
that the world knows that the cinemas
of today are not the cinemas of the past.
With incredible sound, picture, comfortable
recliners, expanded food options,
and an enticing selection of cocktails, our
members have reinvented the moviegoing
experience. First-run movies will always
be our major source of revenue, but I
want to spread the word that we are also
a place for concerts, sporting events, and
streaming series. We are the main stage
for all things entertainment, and I want to
tell that story.
What excites you the most about the
future of the exhibition industry?
Everything! We are seeing such a positive
and incredible combination of factors:
the resurgence of new film titles and the
mainstream arrival of nontraditional big
screen options like concerts and sports;
ambitious operators with innovative
amenities; new technologies that enhance
the experience; brilliant marketing and
collaborative partnerships between studios
and exhibitors; expansive non-theatrical
supplementary streams like bowling,
arcade, food and beverage; and so, so
much more.
2024 will be slower than expected due
to the time it took for the studios and
actors to come to a new contract, but once
we have a full slate of movies exhibition
will flourish. We are fortunate to be able to
look back on over a century of incredible
moments and achievements but also be
positioned to take the magic of the movies
to heights never before achieved. And I
know that we all, together, can do it.
January 2024
11

INDUSTRY NATO
GETTING TO KNOW
NATO’S NEW EXECUTIVE
BOARD MEMBERS
This month, we caught up with a few new members of
NATO’s Executive Board to talk about their goals as board
members and their favorite moviegoing experiences.
BY PHIL CONTRINO
Randy Hester, Hometown Cinemas
Why did you decide to pursue a spot
on NATO’s Executive Board?
I’ve been involved in various capacities
with regional NATO and national NATO
for many years. What really inspired me
to run for the Executive Board was observing
NATO’s work on SVOG [the Shuttered
Venue Operators Grant]. I have never seen
such amazing, diligent work by an organization
to literally save an industry. I think
that will be a significant part of NATO’s
legacy as an organization. Maybe the best
way to put it is that I was tired of watching
it from the sidelines.
What would you like to accomplish as
an Executive Board member?
Naturally, as a representative of independent
theaters, I’m focused on the
unique issues they struggle with, and I’m
hopeful that I can be an effective voice.
I know those struggles so well and also
know the difficulty in accomplishing
change at all levels.
What is your all-time favorite
moviegoing experience?
That’s almost an impossible task. But I’ll
always remember [that] my first theatrical
exhibition experience as a customer was in
1960, seeing Swiss Family Robinson while
on an elementary school field trip to the
Jefferson Theatre in Beaumont, Texas,
owned at the time by Gulf States Theatres.
Many years later, through NATO, I met and
became friends with the Solomon family,
owners of Gulf States Theatres and legends
in our industry. What a coincidence.
“What really inspired me to
run for the Executive Board
was observing NATO’s work on
SVOG [the Shuttered Venue
Operators Grant]. I have never
seen such amazing, diligent
work by an organization to
literally save an industry.”
Paul Gunsky, CineLux
Why did you decide to pursue a spot
on NATO’s Executive Board?
As a second-generation exhibitor I recall
how my family was active in NATO
California, NITE [National Independent
Theatre Exhibitors], and of course
NATO. NATO was always a great source
of education for my family and other
independent theater owners. When the
pandemic crippled our entire industry, it
was NATO that kept the industry focused
on solutions that ultimately saved the
industry, especially for the independent
exhibitor. I was impressed by how NATO
united large and small exhibitors during
this difficult time. I wanted to give back
to NATO by advocating for the independent
exhibitor. I am honored to have this
opportunity.
What would you like to accomplish
as an Executive Board member?
I look forward to working with the other
independent theater Executive Board
members in representing our ranks.
With NATO’s new leadership, it’s more
important than ever that we relay the concerns
of the independent theater members,
with the goal of NATO representation
to resolve these issues. Additionally,
as a member of the ICA’s [Independent
Studio Alliance] Studio Relations Team,
I would like to unite ITOC [NATO’s
Independent Theater Owners Committee]
and the ICA and have open dialogues
on studio relations to ultimately produce
larger grosses for our members and
studio partners.
12 January 2024

What is your all-time favorite
moviegoing experience?
So many moviegoing experiences. If I had
to pin my favorite moviegoing experience
down to just one, it would be watching
Paper Moon with my oldest brother at
a UA Theatre in San Jose. He was nine
years older than me, and I thought it was
so cool that my 19-year-old brother spent
the afternoon with (ten-year-old) me at
the movies.
What is your all-time favorite
moviegoing experience?
As an exhibitor, it was the opening of the
first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990.
We sold out every seat to every show in our
one-screen theater all weekend long. It is
an accomplishment that has never been
repeated in my professional career. On a
personal level, it was watching the release
of Lawrence of Arabia with my mom and
my wife, Mary, at Detroit’s Fox Theatre.
“With NATO’s new leadership,
it’s more important than ever
that we relay the concerns
of the independent theater
members, with the goal
of NATO representation to
resolve these issues.”
Paul Glantz, Emagine Entertainment
Why did you decide to pursue a spot
on NATO’s Executive Board?
Emagine is now directed on a day-to-day
basis by an extraordinarily talented leadership
team. That created the opportunity
for me to give back and serve an industry
that has been the joy of my working life.
Phil Contrino is the Director of Media &
Research at NATO
What would you like to accomplish as
an Executive Board member?
I look forward to strengthening the bonds
with the creative community to align our
respective interests.
your complete cinema solution
January 2024
13

INDUSTRY CHARITY SPOTLIGHT
CHARITY
SPOTLIGHT
social experiences—be it catching a
movie with the family or playing arcade
favorites,” said Ellis Jacob, the president
and chief executive officer of Cineplex.
“We are proud to extend this celebration
to The Rec Room and Playdium locations,
bringing together communities across
the country for a day of fun, in support of
BGC Canada, a cause that empowers the
next generation.”
CINEPLEX GOES BIGGER
AND BETTER THAN
EVER WITH COMMUNITY
DAY 2023
Saturday, November 4 saw Cineplex,
Canada’s largest exhibitor, host
Community Day for its 11th year—in
the process earning $176,509 for their
long-time charitable partner BCG Canada
(formerly Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada).
For this year’s Community Day,
Canadians of all ages were invited to join
a memorable morning filled with free
family-friendly movies and—new this
year—free gaming at the chain’s Playdium
and The Rec Room entertainment centers.
One dollar each from select concessions
and gaming purchases was donated
to BGC Canada to help them provide
Canadian children and youth with vital
opportunities to connect, learn, play, and
have fun. BCG Canada provides vital
programs and services to over 150,000
young people in nearly 635 communities
from coast to coast.
This year’s lineup of family-friendly
films included Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile;
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation;
Jumanji: The Next Level; The Angry
Birds Movie 2; Peter Rabbit 2: The
Runaway; and Jumanji: Welcome to the
Jungle. Tickets were available for free
on a first-come, first-served basis, and
select concessions were offered for $2.50.
That concessions deal extended to Rec
Room and Playdium locations, which in
lieu of screenings offered two hours of
free gaming in the morning.
“Cineplex Community Day has become
a cherished and memorable tradition
that unites people from coast to coast
in the shared joy of entertainment and
REGAL AND THE GARY
SINISE FOUNDATION
CELEBRATE AMERICAN
HEROES
Since 2016, Regal and the Gary Sinise
Foundation have partnered to support
America’s protectors. On Veterans Day
2023—Saturday, November 11—America’s
second-largest cinema chain celebrated
veterans by donating $1 from each popcorn
sale to the Gary Sinise Foundation.
“The Veterans Day holiday is an annual
reminder to recognize the sacrifices of
those who are called upon to defend
our country, citizens, and freedoms,”
said Regal’s Senior Vice President Food
Service John Curry. “In partnership with
the Gary Sinise Foundation, Regal and our
guests can express our collective appreciation
for everyone in uniform.”
The mission of the Gary Sinise
Foundation is to serve the country by
honoring our defenders, veterans, first
responders, and those in need through
unique programs designed to entertain,
educate, inspire, strengthen, and build
communities. Established in 2011, the
foundation aims to keep our country
strong by taking care of those who serve.
14 January 2024

CHARITY ROUNDUP
On Thursday, December 7, the New
York-based Motion Picture Club
held their annual holiday party at
Churrascaria Plataforma in New York, NY.
Representatives from Variety’s New York
chapter were present for the afternoon’s
adaptive bike presentation.
MediCinema, which shares the magic of
the movies with hospitalized children, has
announced its new location at Liverpool,
England’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital,
one of the largest and busiest hospitals in
Europe. The location is expected to open
in 2024 and will be built in partnership with
the Alder Hey Children’s Charity and the
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
MediCinema expects the new location to
bring the movies to 5,000 patients and
their families every year.
Texas-based Santikos Theaters held their
annual Toy Drive through November and
December, offering patrons free popcorn
and a free game card in exchange for the
donation of a toy.
Showcase Cinemas is partnering with the
Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in its
mission to fight all forms of hate, spreading
this all-important message across web,
email, and organic social media as well as
in theaters with posters and an onscreen
spot. Showcase employees wear the iconic
Blue Square pin, and many locations are
distributing pins to customers who request
one. For the month of October, Showcase
Cinemas also partnered with The Ellie
Fund, which supports individuals living in
or receiving breast cancer treatment in
Massachusetts, by giving moviegoers purchasing
their tickets at ShowcaseCinemas.
com the opportunity to round up their
purchase or make a donation of their
choosing to support The Ellie Fund.
UPCOMING EVENTS
FEBRUARY 2
Don’t miss out on Shredd & Ragan’s
11th Annual Meat Raffle, taking
place live at the Variety Club in
Lancaster, New York. Shredd &
Ragan from 97 Rock will host this
annual event; more details are
forthcoming.
varietybuffalo.org
FEBRUARY 11
Participants in the sold-out First
Half half-marathon, presented by
BlueShore Financial and put on
by the Vancouver International
Marathon Society, will be running
to raise money in support of Variety
- the Children’s Charity’s British
Columbia chapter this February.
Dating back to 1988, the runners
in First Half have raised over
$800,000 to assist children in need
and their families.
variety.bc.ca
MARCH 2
Since 1975, Iowans have contributed
their time, talent, and hearts
to the annual Variety Telethon. It
is the foundation Variety - the
Children’s Charity of Iowa was
built upon and is the highlight
of each year. This year, the 50th
for the Variety Telethon, all are
encouraged to tune into “We
are Iowa - Local 5” and support
Variety’s efforts to improve the lives
of children throughout Iowa.
varietyiowa.com
MARCH 7 & 8
This spring sees Variety - the
Children’s Charity of Alberta host
the third annual Mini Golf for Big
Hearts Charity Classic. Participants
will play 18 rounds of mini golf,
enjoy munchies and a swag bag,
and be invited to attend the
after-party.
varietyalberta.ca
MARCH 9 & 10
Variety, the Children’s Charity of
Buffalo & Western New York is looking
forward to the 62nd year of The
Annual Variety Kids Telethon. The
2024 Variety Kids Telethon will take
place live on Saturday, March 9 on
WGRZ, Channel 2 and on Sunday,
March 10 on WBBZ, Channel 67.1,
Cable 5, and streaming online.
varietybuffalo.org
MARCH 30
Variety of Texas’ annual Kites for
Kids event returns this March at
the Peaceable Kingdom by Variety
in Bell County, Texas. Families are
invited to this free event, and sponsorship
opportunities are available.
varietytexas.org
APRIL 11
Planting hope, one child at a
time. Join Variety - the Children’s
Charity’s Iowa chapter for the
Spirits of Spring, a night out at
the beautiful Epic Event Center
in Marion, Iowa. Attendees can
sample wine, beer, liquor, and
appetizers from local vendors. The
evening will also include a silent
auction, a floral design-off, and a
specialized bike presentation for
a child living with special needs.
varietyiowa.com
MAY 2
Save the date! Variety the Children’s
Charity of the Delaware Valley hosts
its annual Black Hat Bash this May.
varietyphila.org
MAY 9
Variety the Children’s Charity Iowa
chapter hosts their third annual
Sporting Clay Classic on Thursday,
May 9 at the New Pioneer Clay
Target Center in Waukee, Iowa.
varietyiowa.com
JUNE 13
Variety’s Greater Kansas City chapter
will host their annual Hy-Vee
Golf Tournament on Thursday, June
13, 2024. The event will take place
at Raymore, Missouri’s Creekmoor
Golf Course, with all proceeds
going to Variety KC.
varietykc.org
JUNE 17
When Variety’s Detroit chapter
hosts the 35th edition of its annual
Variety Kovan Golf Classic, it will be
at a new venue: the Tam-O-Shanter
Country Club in West Bloomfield,
Michigan. Funds raised will benefit
the Dr. Bradley S. Kovan memorial
fund at Friendship Circle, the
Jonathan Scott Kovan memorial
fund at University of Michigan C.S.
Mott Children’s Hospital, and Variety
core programs serving children with
unique and special needs.
variety-detroit.com
January 2024
15

INDUSTRY TRADE TALK
TRADE TALK
CINEPLEX ANNOUNCES
STRATEGIC SALE OF PLAYER
ONE AMUSEMENT GROUP
Cineplex has entered into a definitive
agreement with OpenGate
Capital to sell Player One Amusement
Group (P1AG), the company’s amusement
solutions division.
OpenGate will acquire all of the issued
and outstanding common shares of P1AG
for a total purchase price of $155 million
in cash, subject to customary post-closing
adjustments. The transaction unlocks
tremendous value for Cineplex and its
stakeholders, while providing immediate
liquidity for repayment of net proceeds
against the company’s credit facility. The
transaction is expected to close in the first
quarter of 2024 and is subject to regulatory
approvals and other customary closing
conditions. As part of the transaction,
P1AG has entered into a long-term agreement
to continue to supply and service
amusement games in Cineplex’s theaters
and location-based entertainment venues.
“We proudly built the P1AG business,
through several acquisitions and organic
growth, to become a North American
leader in amusement gaming solutions
which has delivered strong, consistent
results, especially coming out of the
pandemic. As we continue to focus on our
growth plan, the strategy to divest P1AG
came at an opportune time to strengthen
our balance sheet”, said Ellis Jacob, president
and CEO, Cineplex. “We thank the
talented employees of P1AG, and we look
forward to working with them as a commercial
partner and supplier to Cineplex
going forward.”
FORMER NATO EXECS LAUNCH
CINEMA CONSULTING FIRM
“THE FITHIAN GROUP”
Veteran cinema executives John
Fithian, Jackie Brenneman, and
Patrick Corcoran have launched The
Fithian Group LLC, a consulting firm aimed
at assisting companies that wish to grow,
innovate, and invest in the theatrical space.
Fithian, Brenneman, and Corcoran
have a combined 60-plus years of experience
in the cinema industry. Fithian
started as counsel for NATO before stepping
into the position of president in 2000;
all-told, his tenure at NATO spanned three
decades. Brenneman served with NATO
for 10 years as industry liaison as well as
EVP and general counsel. Patrick Corcoran,
in his 24-year tenure at NATO, served as
the trade group’s chief communications
officer, director of media and research, and
California operations chief.
“We have spent the last couple of
decades helping to guide the cinema
industry through the biggest challenges
it has faced,” said Fithian. “Now, having
survived those challenges, we want to help
our industry clients seize opportunities
and grow. Digital cinema, the long fight for
theatrical exclusivity, the pandemic, and
Hollywood going all-in on streaming—we
got through all that, and now, the major
Hollywood labor agreements are another
signal that it is the time to build.”
“The way we work has always been
about collaboration,” Brenneman said.
“We extend that way of working to how we
build value for our clients. In our trade
association days, we knew that theater
owners needed allies, whether it was other
cinema owners around the world, technology
companies, the creative community, or
distributors, and we worked tirelessly to
build those connections. They paid off in
times of crisis, and we believe we can leverage
these partnerships to help our clients
grow in times of opportunity.”
Corcoran added, “We have always
believed that the cinema industry was
essential and strong. Telling that story
to the press, the public, and Wall Street
has always been a priority for us. What
the cinema industry needs is more: more
movies, more innovation, more diversity,
and more investment. We will continue to
tell that story on behalf of our clients in
the industry.”
16 January 2024

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE ENTERS
INDIANAPOLIS, BOSTON
MARKETS
On October 17, 2023, a groundbreaking
ceremony was held to celebrate
Alamo Drafthouse’s entry into Indiana.
The new cinema comes courtesy of Sojos
Capital and a multi-million-dollar redevelopment
located at the former Lafayette
Square Mall in Indianapolis.
Alamo Drafthouse’s new Indianapolis
location will feature a 14-screen theater
with nearly 1,000 seats located at the
former Georgetown Cinema. The location’s
theme will pay tribute to the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway and racing films, including
a nod to Tron on the building’s exterior.
Each auditorium will be equipped with
digital 4K projection and surround sound.
The theater will also feature a separate,
full-service bar with craft cocktails, wine,
and local craft beers on tap. The bar will
serve as a place for guests to gather and
share their love of film, along with hosting
a variety of additional entertainment
offerings celebrating all manner of pop
culture, from themed trivia nights and
competitive karaoke to unique TV and
sports watch parties. The new theater is
expected to open in Spring 2024.
“Alamo Drafthouse Cinema provides a
unique, cool, and colorful experience that
embraces the community and that goes
to the heart of our vision,” said Fabio de
la Cruz, principal of Sojos Capital. “Alamo
will bring new life and energy to the
neighborhood. We are standing by our
commitment to revitalize the northwest
side neighborhood and are excited to start
our first commercial project of many in
the area.”
“We visit Indianapolis almost every
year for Gen Con, the truly epic annual
tabletop gaming gathering,” said Alamo
Drafthouse Co-Founder Tim League.
“We’ve grown to really love this city over
the years and are so excited to get to know
and support the local film community in
the years ahead!”
As of press time, Alamo Drafthouse is
also set to open its first-ever New England
location, the Alamo Drafthouse Seaport
in Boston, on November 17. The theater’s
standalone bar, The Press Room, will also
make its Boston debut.
Alamo Drafthouse Seaport is a
10-screen theater with 780 seats that
will feature a diverse array of films and
events, a made-from-scratch food and
beverage menu, and luxury recliner
seating throughout every auditorium.
The new theater is located at 60 Seaport
Blvd. in the South Boston Waterfront’s
new Seaport Square development, a living,
dining, retail, and entertainment hub.
Each auditorium will be equipped with
digital 4K projection and surround sound
and fully outfitted with luxury recliners.
Continuing the company’s commitment
to preserving 35 mm, Alamo Drafthouse
Boston Seaport will also feature 35 mm
changeover projection so that both classic
films and new releases can be experienced
in celluloid.
Alamo Drafthouse Seaport’s full-service
bar, The Press Room, displays a
collection of original cinema newspaper
advertising printing blocks from the 1930s
to the 1980s. Guests are encouraged to
take a self-guided tour in order to learn all
about how newspapers were designed and
printed and how movie advertising and
graphic design evolved over the span of 50
years. The collection comes to life when
the original 1940 Vandercook No. 4 proof
press is inked up and skilled printmakers
give guests a glimpse into a bygone era
when you learned what movies were
playing by opening the daily newspaper.
“This theater has been in the works
for a long time, and to see it become this
really unique space for Boston film fans
to celebrate cinema together, we just
couldn’t be more excited,” said Alamo
Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann.
“Boston has an awesome movie history, it’s
an amazing city, and we’re honored to add
something to that legacy that we think
our guests are really going to enjoy.”
“Boston is a city that loves movies,
loves food, and loves interesting and
excellent things to do, and we want to add
to all of them with the opening of Alamo
Drafthouse Seaport,” said Alex Shebar,
the Alamo Drafthouse East Coast community
marketing manager. “The outpouring
of support we’ve gotten over social media
and at the local events we’ve already held
has been overwhelming.”
“We are thrilled to welcome
Alamo Drafthouse to Seaport
and be home to its first Boston
location. It’s a best-in-class
theater that brings movies and
dining together to create an
all around exceptional and fun
experience for everyone.”
–Ariel Foxman, General Manager, Seaport
Boston WS Development
January 2024
17

INDUSTRY TRADE TALK
THE CINEMA FOUNDATION
LAUNCHES INDUSTRY
PROMOTIONS FUND WITH
DONATION FROM ANGEL
STUDIOS
Angel Studios—the distributor
behind Sound of Freedom, After Death,
The Shift, and Cabrini—has made a significant
donation to the Industry Promotions
Fund of The Cinema Foundation, a nonprofit
dedicated to promoting and enhancing
the cinema exhibition industry.
The Cinema Foundation’s Industry
Promotions Fund was developed to work
with all studios and exhibitors to help
advance the future of the moviegoing experience,
create dynamic employment opportunities
for the industry’s future workforce,
and develop programs that ensure a healthy
exhibition industry across North America.
Among its many projects, The Cinema
Foundation hosts National Cinema Day,
with discounted movie tickets and concession
promotions at participating venues
across North America. This year’s event,
held on August 27 at more than 3,000 locations
with more than 30,000 screens across
the country, delivered $34 million to the
box office and nearly 8.5 million attendees,
a five percent increase over the prior year.
“We are thrilled to support The Cinema
Foundation’s Industry Promotions Fund
to help drive more people to movie theaters,”
Brandon Purdie, EVP and global
head of theatrical distribution for Angel
Studios, said in a press release. “Films
need to be seen in the theater, where we
can set aside distractions and truly be
absorbed in a story.”
“We couldn’t effectively bring impactful
theatrical experiences that amplify
light to audiences without NATO and its
Cinema Foundation,” Purdie continued.
“They have been steadfast in supporting
theaters around the globe in ways that
directly impact our efficiency and efforts
as a studio and distributor, and Angel
is happy to help support their work in a
small way.”
“We are grateful for the support of
Angel Studios with their significant donation
and for their help in making National
Cinema Day a rousing success,” The
Cinema Foundation Executive Director
Bryan Braunlich added. “We look forward
to working with all studios, exhibitors,
partners, and the creative community in
building, our Industry Promotions Fund
to continue to build our industry and
bring together film fans to enjoy movies
on the big screen.”
IN BRIEF
Women in Exhibition, a
global network of women
professionals from the
cinema, multimedia
technologies, and outof-home
entertainment
industries, has opened
applications for the third
year of their mentorship
program.
Launched at CinemaCon
2022, the program offers
the opportunity for one-onone
mentorship to anyone
interested in furthering their
professional development,
whether they are new to
the industry or someone
interested in expanding
their professional horizons.
Prospective mentors and
mentees are encouraged
to apply; for more
information on WIE’s
mentorship program, in
addition to WIE itself, visit
womeninexhibition.com
Angel Studios’ 2023
hit Sound of Freedom
18 January 2024

CJ 4DPLEX AND CINEMA PLUS
SIGN SCREENX DEAL
CJ 4DPLEX and Cinema Plus
announced at the META Cinema
Forum in Dubai that the two companies
will be opening the first-ever, 270-degree
panoramic ScreenX auditorium in
Azerbaijan. The ScreenX theater is set to
open at 28 Mall in Azerbaijan’s capital city
Baku. Azerbaijan will be the 43rd country
for ScreenX, a technology that expands
specially selected sequences of the film
onto the left-and-right-side walls of the
auditorium.
CJ 4DPLEX and Cinema Plus previously
opened the first 4DX multi-sensory
auditorium in Azerbaijan in 2021 at
Cinema Plus’s Daniz Mall in Baku.
Jongryul Kim, the chief executive
officer of CJ 4DPLEX, said, “We are
delighted to expand our partnership
with Cinema Plus by introducing the
inaugural ScreenX theater in the beautiful
country of Azerbaijan. The 270-degree
panoramic viewing technology will redefine
the way Cinema Plus’s patrons enjoy
movies, offering a level of immersion
that’s simply unmatched and can’t
be replicated at home.”
“Bringing the future of cinema to our
screens has always been our mission, and
our partnership with CJ 4DPLEX enables
us to do just that,” said Cinema Plus CEO
Murat Camci. “Our collaboration with
the CJ 4DPLEX team has already brought
4DX to Cinema Plus, and now, with the
introduction of the first-ever ScreenX
auditorium in Azerbaijan, we continue to
lead the way in delivering cutting-edge
cinematic experiences to our audiences.”
“We are thrilled to bring the immersive
magic of ScreenX to the vibrant city of
Baku, Azerbaijan,” added Don Savant,
the CEO and president of CJ 4DPLEX
America. “With the inauguration of
Azerbaijan’s first-ever ScreenX auditorium
at 28 Mall, Cinema Plus continues to
set new standards in the world of entertainment
and be at the forefront of this
cinematic revolution.”
January 2024
19

INDUSTRY TRADE TALK
IMAX DEALS WITH GOLDEN
SCREEN CINEMAS AND
HENGDIAN FILMS TO BOOST
SCREEN COUNT IN MALAYSIA,
CHINA
IMAX will be adding new screens
in Malaysia and China—the former
through an expanded partnership with
Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) and the
latter through IMAX China’s deal with
Hengdian Films.
The deal with GSC is for six IMAX with
Laser systems in Malaysia: auditoriums
in five new locations, including one in the
heart of Kuala Lumpur, and an upgrade
to the Southkey Megamall, Johor Bahru.
This deal will bring the total number of
IMAX locations with GSC to nine, all of
which will now feature IMAX with Laser
systems by 2027.
In the case of IMAX China, the deal
with Hengdian Films for twenty new
IMAX with Laser systems represents the
largest deal for new IMAX systems in four
years. The new IMAX with Laser locations
will be located in Jingdezhen, Ulanqab
and Zhangjiakou, all first-ever locations
in China for IMAX. Additionally, new
locations are set to open in Hangzhou,
Guangzhou, Chengdu, Jiujiang, Hohhot,
and Yangzhou, with more locations to be
confirmed.
In addition, a new deal between IMAX
and Pathe Cinemas will bring five new
IMAX with Laser systems to Europe, with
four of those in France.
CINEMARK EXPANDS
CONCESSIONS DELIVERY
ACROSS DOMESTIC CIRCUIT
Cinemark was the first major U.S.
exhibitor to partner with all three of
the large-scale delivery services (DoorDash,
Uber Eats, Grubhub) operating in the
U.S.—and now they’re expanding their
third-party delivery relationships, enabling
them to have concessions delivered
direct to homes across the U.S.
Snack-lovers can get their fill of
everything from buttery popcorn, hot
dogs, sweet treats, and ICEEs through
the third-party delivery platforms.
Cinemark’s initial multi-market testing
was met with positive results, which is
driving the expansion.
“Although there is nothing like
indulging in your favorite movie theater
concessions while watching great content
in one of our immersive auditoriums, we
are thrilled to now give fans across our
markets the ability to have their favorite
concessions delivered to their homes
when they aren’t able to make it to the
theater,” said David Haywood, Cinemark’s
senior vice president of food and beverage.
“The results of our initial multi-market
testing corroborate that our guests
crave Cinemark’s warm buttery popcorn;
crisp, cold drinks; and delicious snacks
from the comfort of their homes, and
we are excited to expand our third-party
delivery capability to more domestic
theaters through the end of the year,
just in time to add even more cheer to
holiday gatherings.”
“The results of our initial multimarket
testing corroborate
that our guests crave
Cinemark’s warm buttery
popcorn; crisp, cold drinks;
and delicious snacks from
the comfort of their homes.”
20 January 2024

IN BRIEF
Global showtimes
distributor and online
ticketing provider The
Boxoffice Company has
entered into a new multiyear
agreement with
National Amusements to
launch showtimes, ticketing,
and technology for their
Showcase Cinemas brands
in U.S. and U.K. through
Boxoffice’s Boost platform,
which enables exhibitors
to sell their own tickets,
concessions, and other
products in advance and
online while retaining
full control of their own
customer data.
“With Boost, we’re
giving more control to
the consumers, superserving
them with all of
their movie information,
showtimes, ticketing, food
and beverage needs,”
says Mark Malinowski,
vice president of global
marketing at National
Amusements. “The Boxoffice
Company’s platform
allows us to be flexible
and will enable us to build
ever-improving customer
experiences as our online
business evolves with UI
innovation and scalability
in performance. We are
excited to take advantage
of this new technology
to provide a seamless
ticketing experience for our
guests and help us meet
our business needs.”
The Boxoffice Company
is the parent company of
Boxoffice Pro
LARRY H. MILLER SPORTS
+ ENTERTAINMENT EXPANDS
MEGAPLEX BRAND WITH FIRST
CINEMA ENTERTAINMENT
CENTER IN SOUTH JORDAN,
UTAH
The Larry H. Miller Company
announced a major expansion of
their Megaplex brand to include their
first luxury cinema entertainment center
(CEC) in South Jordan, Utah, with additional
centers in the pipeline.
The concept will feature premium
format auditoriums, luxury bowling with
laneside dining, a variety of food and beverage
options, Swig soft drinks and snacks,
plus private event and party space.
“We are excited to bring this new
cinema entertainment center to
Downtown Daybreak, Salt Lake County’s
newest regional destination,” Michelle
Smith, president of Larry H. Miller Sports
+ Entertainment, said in a press release.
“Our guests will start to see exciting new
construction and renovation projects that
will create opportunities to enjoy time
with friends and family in state-of-the-art
facilities.”
The LHM Megaplex Entertainment
CEC, which began construction in 2023,
is located within Downtown Daybreak,
a Larry H. Miller Real Estate master-planned
community. LHM Megaplex
Entertainment plans to offer eight to
10 new screens with dine-in box seats
and 100 percent luxury seating; 16 to 20
luxury bowling lanes with laneside dining;
dozens of arcade games; a sports-themed
lounge with access to an in-house chef and
scratch kitchen; as well as private dining,
entertainment, party, and event space.
The Megaplex Entertainment CEC will
also be near the new, privately funded Salt
Lake Bees ballpark, where both facilities
will serve as sports and entertainment
anchors within the regional urban center.
As part of its growth strategy, the
Larry H. Miller Company has formed a
new business platform, Larry H. Miller
Sports + Entertainment (LHM Sports +
Entertainment).
LHM Sports + Entertainment will
focus on sales, marketing, events, guest
experience, merchandise, facilities,
sponsorships, and partnerships for the
Salt Lake Bees, Larry H. Miller Megaplex
Theatres and Megaplex Entertainment,
the new ballpark in Downtown Daybreak
in South Jordan, and more. LHM Sports
+ Entertainment will also support Big
League Utah and the quest to bring a
Major League Baseball expansion team to
Salt Lake City.
“The Larry H. Miller Sports +
Entertainment business platform builds
on our rich legacy in sports and entertainment
and is committed to providing bestin-class
experiences,” said Steve Starks,
CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company.
“Together with Larry H.
Miller Real Estate, these two
business platforms partner
to create world-class venues
and gathering places. This
aligns with our overall mission:
to enrich lives.”
–Steve Starks, CEO, Larry H. Miller Company
January 2024
21

Digital Marketing
E-commerce
Analytics
Cinema solutions evolving with you, for you.
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Swift at the Cinema 24 | Cinema Innovators 26 | Premium Formats 36 | Mahoning Drive-In 44
THEATER
“Anything that can be sustainable, Cine A strives to
make it sustainable.”
Brazil’s Cine A Invests in Sustainable Cinema, p. 40
January 2024
23

THEATER TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR
Marcus Theatres
Finland
PARTY
LIKE IT’S
1989
How Cinemas Celebrated
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour
When Variance Films and AMC
Entertainment made the surprise
announcement that Taylor Swift’s
record-breaking concert tour would
be landing on the big screen at movie
theaters throughout North America
and beyond, exhibitors were eager to
recapture some of that Barbie-pink magic
by making screenings of The Eras Tour
a special experience for the millions of
Swifties who would attend. Here’s a small
sample of how exhibitors celebrated the
love story between cinema and Swift.
THE ERAS
TOUR BY THE
NUMBERS
Numbers reflect
domestic grosses
through December 1
North America:
U.K./Ireland:
$15.1M
Australia:
$5.8M
Germany:
$3.9M
Spain:
$1.9M
$178.2M
Warehouse Cinemas
Warehouse Cinemas’
custom drink “Number 13”
24 January 2024

HIGHEST-
GROSSING
CONCERT
FILMS
Numbers reflect
domestic grosses
Alamo Drafthouse
AMC Theatres
Marcus Theatres
1.
Taylor Swift:
The Eras Tour (2023)
Opening Weekend:
$92.8M
Domestic Total:
$178.2M
(as of 12/1/23)
2.
Justin Bieber: Never
Say Never (2011)
Opening Weekend:
$29.5M
Domestic Total:
$73.0M
3.
This Is It (2009)
Opening Weekend:
$23.2M
Domestic Total:
$72.0M
Marcus Theatres
Showcase Cinemas U.S.
4.
Hannah Montana
and Miley Cyrus:
Best of Both Worlds
Concert
Opening Weekend:
$31.1M
Domestic Total:
$65.2M
Marcus Theatres’ Swift lookalike
Greg Marcus of Marcus Theatres
January 2024
25

W E B E D I A G R O U P
THEATER INNOVATOR PROFILES
INDUSTRY
INNOVATORS
The Companies Ushering Cinema into the Future
Wim Buyens
CEO, Cinionic
Darrin Lewis
VP, Customer Success, Omniterm
Tony Adamson
SVP, GDC Technology USA
Michael Giacinto
Sales Director, Proctor Companies
Ana Simonian
President, Lighting Technologies
International (LTI)
Jessica Benson-Roberts
Vice President, Exhibitor Relations,
Screenvision Media
Frank Tees
Vice President - Technical Sales Support,
Moving iMage Technologies (MiT)
THE
COMPANY
Marine Suttle
Executive VP, Chief Product Officer,
Head of Operations, The Boxoffice
Company
26 January 2024

“Earlier in 2023, Cinionic
surpassed a milestone with
over 35,000 laser solutions
deployed around the world,
including 3,000 Laser
Light Upgrades for Series
2 projectors.”
Innovation can be found in myriad
places within the cinema industry–from
the movies on the screen to the
technological advancements that make it
convenient, enjoyable, and eye-popping to
watch all the latest releases as their filmmakers
intended them to be seen. The list
of companies and individuals continually
working to elevate the cinema experience
is too long for us to be comprehensive in
these pages–but, to coincide with this year’s
ICTA L.A. Seminar Series, Boxoffice Pro
presents a small-but-mighty sample of
the innovators that continue to drive the
cinema industry to new heights.
What are you excited about sharing
with attendees at the 2024 ICTA
Seminar Series?
Tony Adamson, GDC Technology USA:
The ICTA L.A. Seminar Series is an important
event for GDC, as it brings together
the technical people from independent
theaters, regional circuits, and major
exhibition companies. The L.A. Seminar
Series kicks off the new year of industry
events and offers us the opportunity to
meet with the hundreds of attending
decision-makers so they can learn more
about our new products and solutions.
Ana Simonian, LTI: LTI’s new line
of xenon, LongPlay Extreme digital
cinema lamps, [plus] filters and optical
cleaning kits.
Frank Tees, MiT: MiT is proud to have a
long history of support for the ICTA since
our inception years ago. Speaking to our
history, MiT is happy to kick off our 20th
anniversary at ICTA’s L.A. Seminar Series
with many of the people who have contributed
to this milestone. For 20 years, MiT
has designed, engineered, and manufactured
a suite of products that complements
the brands we promote and distribute.
MiT’s latest addition, which we are very
excited about, is our line of products for
hearing impaired, visually impaired, and
multi-language accessibility in theaters.
Marine Suttle, The Boxoffice Company:
As of the end of September 2023, we have
sold over 18 million tickets on our Saas
[software as a service] ticketing solution
on behalf of our cinema clients. We’re on
track to hit 25+ million tickets sold by the
end of the year!
What have been some of the
highlights for your company in 2023?
Wim Buyens, Cinionic: [2023] has
been an exciting year for Cinionic. We
celebrated our 5-year anniversary, saw
remarkable progress in terms of innovation,
and watched laser become the global
standard for cinema. We’re proud of the
partnerships that have made it possible
to deliver laser for leading global exhibitors
such as AMC, Cinemark, Cineplex,
Cinépolis, Kinepolis, TOHO Cinemas,
National Amusements, B&B Theatres, and
PVR [Inox Ltd]. These multi-year frame
agreements reaffirm trust in Cinionic and
in laser as a proven technology. Earlier
in 2023, Cinionic surpassed a milestone
with over 35,000 laser solutions deployed
around the world, including 3,000 Laser
Light Upgrades for Series 2 projectors.
Barco projection from Cinionic now also
powers 70 percent of premium cinema
experiences worldwide.
This year we also expanded our
portfolio in line with our mission to
constantly elevate the cinema experience
and drive efficiency for exhibition. Most
recently, we introduced our first cinema
screen, the Cinionic Laser Screen 2.4, and
gave a sneak peek into our upcoming
Barco Series 4 SP4K-P laser projector for
post-production. Both solutions enhance
the laser cinema pipeline with tools to
support the creative process and enhance
the theatrical experience for theater
operators and their audiences.
Tony Adamson, GDC Technology
USA: 2023 has been an amazing year for
GDC. We launched more new products
at CinemaCon than ever before, with
several being first-to-market, such as DTS
Surround, our PSD-4000 solid-state portable
storage, and DIVE dynamic lighting.
In addition, we entered the audio world
by introducing our Espedeo-branded
audio products.
Also, 2023 will be remembered as the
year we announced replacement agreements
with several regional and major
cinema chains, providing them with the
latest technologies to deliver the best
possible moviegoing experience.
Most recently, we delivered another
first in the market with an optional 4TB
CineCache built-in storage integrated into
our SR-1000 media server; this feature
enables concurrent playback and ingest
January 2024
27

THEATER INNOVATOR PROFILES
at the highest possible ingest speed. A
movie takes approximately 30 minutes to
complete ingest into SR-1000 CineCache
while playback is taking place.
Ana Simonian, LTI: LTI has developed
twelve new types of Long Play Extreme
lamps for NEC, Barco, Christie, and
Sony projectors. Extreme long-life lamps
provide a more consistent light level over
longer periods of time, which means
fewer lamp changes and a lower cost of
ownership.
Frank Tees, MiT: Early [in 2023], MiT
signed a worldwide cinema distribution
deal with LEA Professional, an audio
products manufacturer based in South
Bend, Indiana. LEA Professional delivers
a new-to-the-industry suite of innovative
amplifiers that integrate with existing
and emerging sound system products,
complimenting everything from standard
5.1/7.1 to IAB (Immersive Audio Bitstream)
rendering systems from Dolby ATMOS,
DTS-X, and AuroMax. The adoption of
LEA has been further promoted due to
supply chain issues some manufacturers
were experiencing.
Michael Giacinto, Proctor Companies:
Probably the number one highlight for
us has been our work with dine-in cinemas,
followed by family entertainment
centers. And then, to follow that, our work
[redesigning the lobby and concessions
areas] for Quentin Tarantino’s theater, the
Vista, because that was such an eclectic
and fun project we got to work on. [In 2021,
Tarantino bought the historic Vista Theatre
in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood.]
There are two other projects that we completed
that were considerably larger than
that one—but that one was pretty darn fun.
We’re very proud of our work with
dine-in cinemas—creating spaces that
allow customers of any size to expand
menus in their venue with minimal space—
and our work on the family entertainment
center side, designing and developing
redemption centers and family fun spaces.
I would say those three things have
been highlights. At the end of the day I get
to hang my hat on that and say, “That’s
good, solid work.”
Jessica Benson-Roberts, Screenvision
Media: Core to Screenvision’s success
is a robust exhibitor network. We are so
“We’re very proud of our
work with dine-in cinemas—
creating spaces that allow
customers of any size to
expand menus in their venue
with minimal space—and
our work on the family
entertainment center side,
designing and developing
redemption centers and
family fun spaces.”
28 January 2024

pleased to maintain such strong relationships
with our exhibitors and to continue
expanding these valuable partnerships.
In 2023, Screenvision added more
than 1,000 screens, bringing our exhibitor
network back to full strength. With the
addition of Harkins Theatres and Galaxy
Theatres, we are now at 14,500 screens
with an annual audience of nearly 400
million. Also of great importance, our
advertisers came back to the theater as
well, with nearly every category returning
to where we were in 2019, [even if] their
spend is still catching up to where they
were previously.
There also continues to be great
momentum around moviegoing as a cultural
event and an experience that people
don’t want to miss. We saw that with
Barbenheimer—the excitement that was
driven around the simultaneous release of
Barbie and Oppenheimer—along with the
Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert films.
Overall the year’s slate was very
strong, with studios placing a premium
on the cinema experience. Even films
such as Air, which were produced by
streaming companies, made their debut
in cinema. The 2024 slate is going to be
incredible as well.
Marine Suttle, The Boxoffice Company:
Our team has grown significantly this year,
and so have our products:
• We have successfully launched dozens
of new websites for exhibitors of all sizes
and are now selling tickets working
with four different Point of Sale systems
(Vista, RTS, Omniterm, POSitive)
through our ticketing solution and
mobile app.
• We launched our new payment process,
called Boxoffice Pay, to help provide
clients with more competitive rates,
quicker launch times, and expanded
functionality on self-serve refunds.
• We are putting an intense focus on
security and compliance to make sure
our solution is as bulletproof as can be in
the age of global hacking.
• We continue to expand our network of
data distributors. In addition to working
with Google, Bing, and IMDB to display
your showtimes and ticketing links on
their platform, we are excited to now
be working with TikTok to make sure
you can reach the next generation of
moviegoers!
“There also continues to be
great momentum around
moviegoing as a cultural
event and an experience that
people don’t want to miss.”
What are your biggest priorities as
we move into 2024—both in the short
term and over a longer period, say the
next 5 years?
Wim Buyens, Cinionic: Enabling the
ongoing global transition to laser continues
to be an important priority for us. That
includes the deployment of laser systems
in theaters and supporting the wider laser
ecosystem with complementary solutions
and new innovations that enhance cinemas
experientially and commercially.
For cinema to thrive in the long term, the
attention needs to be on the moviegoer.
It’s about laser, but even more, it’s about
surprising audiences with experiences
that cannot be replicated at home.
We are also developing new integrated
tools for easier maintenance, better
insights, and [increased] performance
monitoring to help our customers gain
huge operational efficiency so that going
to the movies remains an affordable
night out.
For Cinionic, it’s about enabling a
more sustainable cinema industry, both
in terms of the environment and also
from a business perspective.
Tony Adamson, GDC Technology USA:
In the short term, GDC is focused on its
continuing innovation to enhance the
moviegoing experience. We will continue
our reputation for launching first-to-market
products in 2023. We are most excited
about the launch of DTS Surround, which
January 2024
29

THEATER INNOVATOR PROFILES
“Part of our DNA is to listen
to customers. It’s how we
improve our products and
introduce new products to
the marketplace.”
delivers full-range surround sound with
enhanced bass management. GDC aims
to make HDD obsolete for media servers
with CineCache, SSD RAID storage, and
the CA2.0 streaming library server.
Part of our DNA is to listen to customers.
It’s how we improve our products
and introduce new products to the
marketplace. We are fortunate to have a
committed and talented GDC team with
an unmatched passion for the cinema
industry. I can guarantee GDC already
has a long list of innovations to introduce
over the next five years.
Ana Simonian, LTI: Our goal is to continue
xenon lamp enhancement projects, etc.
Frank Tees, MiT: The near term will
guide us on our longer-term journey.
There is renewed interest from both
exhibition and studio distribution in
hearing-impaired, visually-impaired,
and multi-language accessibility solutions.
MiT remains invested in this sector
of the industry. When the pandemic
restrictions were winding down, MiT
made a strategic investment in purchasing
from QSC their well-established HI/
VI [hearing-impaired/visually-impaired]
products, affectionately referred to as
the “USL Stuff.” [Ultra-Stereo Labs is a
leading supplier of assistive listening
technologies for cinemas.]
Simultaneously, we have been developing
the business of the MiTranslator
technology, which is an enhanced,
user-selectable, multilingual system to
promote moviegoing to foreign language,
deaf, and hard-of-hearing patrons who
may not have been catered to in the past.
The development of these products intersects
with a time of additional enthusiasm
toward enriching the moviegoing experience
for everyone. There is work still to
be done on this that will keep MiT and the
cinema industry busy for years to come.
Additionally, we expect to see
expanded growth in Esports, hence our
investment last year in SNDBX, [a developer
and operator of amateur Esports
leagues played locally on cinema screens].
The Esports sector is one where we see
exponential growth potential.
Lastly, although we believe in these
new, exciting opportunities, MiT will
continue to build on our 20-year legacy
by supporting the tighter technology
refresh cycles the industry is currently
experiencing through our core products
and complete FF&E [Furniture, Fixtures,
and Equipment] solutions that support
real-world operations.
Michael Giacinto, Proctor Companies:
Our priorities moving forward are along
the same lines as our 2023 highlights—
we’re going to continue to find those
pieces of cooking equipment and find
those processes and practices that allow
the exhibitor to add more pieces to their
menu—expand it more—to make their
dollar stretch further.
Jessica Benson-Roberts, Screenvision
Media: Our teams are focused on building
value, both for our advertisers and
exhibitor partners. We are actively recruiting–especially
on the sales side—to meet
the increase in demand from advertisers.
The year ahead will include even more
industry events and opportunities to meet
and engage with our exhibitor partners.
We are always looking to grow our network
and our company and will work in
partnership with our exhibitors to achieve
those goals.
Additionally, Screenvision is committed
to innovation, and we are constantly
looking at opportunities to streamline
operations and the delivery of our preshow
to exhibitor partners. Our goal is to
make the experience as seamless as possible,
and we continue to make meaningful
advancements in this area. We are also
exploring how best to utilize and deploy
data. Technology will play a major role,
30 January 2024

and we are excited about being leaders in
that space.
In the future, we expect programmatic
buying to expand, but it will not replace
the depth of relationships that our direct
sales team maintains with Madison Avenue.
Marine Suttle, The Boxoffice Company:
At The Boxoffice Company, we have as key
priorities:
• Continue focusing on online security.
We see this as a major risk to exhibitors
and want to make sure we protect them
the best we can.
• Expand our integrations with Point of
Sale systems—whether that be through
supporting F&B purchases (we do this
for Vista and POSitive already; RTS is
next) or adding more POS systems to our
integrations—to offer as much flexibility
to our customers as possible
• Expand our integrations to more FEC
providers for our customers offering more
experiences within their cinemas. We
are looking at the likes of Toast, OneDine,
Intercard, Brunswick, and more.
As attendees at this year’s ICTA
show will see, a cinema that wants to
upgrade its operations has a wealth
of options to choose from. How can
you best work with cinemas to elevate
the moviegoing experience?
Wim Buyens, Cinionic: It’s never a
one-size-fits-all approach for us. It’s a
balance of understanding the exhibitor’s
desired outcome for the moviegoer and
finding ways to achieve that within their
unique operational needs. Our teams and
partners work closely with cinemas to
leverage Cinionic’s laser-based portfolio
of solutions and our extensive field experience
to recommend the right technology
mix to elevate the moviegoing experience
in their auditoriums.
With increased connectivity, a
common laser ecosystem, and a wealth
of real-world performance data, we work
in close partnership with exhibitors
everywhere to co-create new solutions,
optimizations, and innovations that build
upon the power and possibility of laser
projection.
“It’s a balance of
understanding the exhibitor’s
desired outcome for the
moviegoer and finding ways
to achieve that within their
unique operational needs.”
January 2024
31

THEATER INNOVATOR PROFILES
Tony Adamson, GDC Technology
USA: Although GDC is best known for
its high-performance and reliable media
server, we offer cinemas a full range of
products and solutions. Cinemas can now
think of GDC as a “one stop shop” for all
their needs, from media servers to enterprise
software to cinema automation to
LED cinema screens to laser light engine
upgrade kits to a host of audio products,
which will be introduced in 2024. All
these products are designed to elevate the
moviegoing experience.
Ana Simonian, LTI: With quality, performance,
clear pictures, and best-in-class
customer service along with lower TCO
[total cost of ownership].
Frank Tees, MiT: At MiT, we continue
to focus on elevating the entire audio
and visual moviegoing experience. What
differentiates MiT from other dealers or
distributors is our manufacturing capabilities
of stand-alone products like pedestals,
dimmers, LED lighting fixtures, HI/VI
[accessibility solutions], and automation
that are coupled with glue components
like wiring harnesses and 3D movers into
easy-to-use integrated systems. MiT is
committed to the cornerstone of a positive
theatrical experience: reliability.
As systems have become more complex
with [the growing use of] immersive
audio, lasers, and Direct View LED, it is
our duty to provide reliable and repeatable
systems to our exhibitor partners.
Emerging Direct View LED display technology
delivers advanced imaging well
beyond what is possible with projection.
As an early adopter, MiT already literally
supports many of the new manufacturers
with our DVLED screen frames. With the
DVLED competitive landscape in front of
us, we expect to see this technology being
deployed broadly in cinemas, with immediate
benefits to dine-in and multi-use
event auditoriums leading the way.
Movies in a cinema are a special
experience [compared to] absorbing
content in a living room or on a phone.
MiT embraces these big-picture performance
innovations while supporting the
advancement of accessibility technology
that benefits from multi-language support.
These and other integrated MiT
solutions give cinemas a new palette
of upgrades to choose from, ultimately
[enabling them to draw] in more patrons.
Darrin Lewis, Omniterm: In an industry
that thrives on constant evolution, staying
ahead is paramount. At Omniterm, we’ve
responded to this by unveiling a diverse
array of new software products. Take, for
instance, our cloud-based sales monitor—a
tool that delivers real-time insights
directly to your fingertips. Picture an eGift
card application, developed for theaters,
facilitating seamless online and in-theater
promotional campaigns. But that’s not
the end of the story. Our commitment
to our industry extends further with a
comprehensive suite of enhancements,
designed to equip theater managers with
the tools they need. These enhancements
ensure that day-to-day operations run
with unparalleled smoothness.
Michael Giacinto, Proctor Companies:
The nice thing is that we are primarily
known as being in your lobby, in your
concession stand. And we’re never going
away. We’re never getting outside of that.
For Proctor, it’s absolutely important to
us that our customers know that we’re out
there working exclusively in the cinema
and entertainment areas. That’s where
our customers live, and so that’s where we
stay. We’re always going to be there.
I say to my clients all the time: If you
give me a space and say “Just build my
concessions stand to whatever you think
is best,” I would put in a concession
stand that requires your clientele to walk
through it. Think about when you get
off a ride at Disneyland. You have to go
“Ninety percent of
moviegoers’ experiences
start online. That’s where
they find your showtimes,
and for more than half of
them, that’s where they
buy their tickets.”
32 January 2024

through the gift shop. And then I want to
innovate the concession stand. This is a
little ways off, but maybe one day we’ll
do a self-serve type checkout, much the
same as what you see at grocery stories.
The customer walks into a convenience
store-type space, they go pick up their
items, and they can pay with their credit
card and check out and go.
Jessica Benson-Roberts, Screenvision
Media: We are constantly evolving our
preshow, ensuring that the content is
relevant, engaging, and entertaining
for audiences. A great example is our
relationship with Indeed and their Rising
Voices campaign. Indeed took over the
entire Screenvision preshow to show a
series of short films by Black, Indigenous,
and People of Color (BIPOC) filmmakers
and storytellers.
Our team is also working with exhibitors
to expand the availability of Marquee
Positioning, which includes cinema-quality
creative and runs right after the trailers
and prior to the feature presentation.
Marquee brings an additional layer of
advert-tainment that adds to the moviegoing
experience.
Ultimately, exhibitors are the lifeblood
of our business. We are committed
to working with them and developing
creative and innovative solutions together
that make the moviegoing experience
even more impactful.
Marine Suttle, The Boxoffice Company:
Ninety percent of moviegoers’ experiences
start online. That’s where they find
your showtimes, and for more than half of
them, that’s where they buy their tickets.
We help you elevate that moviegoing
experience in all digital channels before
the movie starts. We pride ourselves on
giving exhibitors a flexible platform that
is built for their marketing teams to easily
add new marketing promotions, build on
content, and customize digital assets to
their brand. Any new website comes with
marketing optimization to ensure that
your brand continues to be found in key
search engines or social media platforms.
For cinemas that want to upgrade
their cinema experience but have
limited financial resources—what are
some budget-friendly ways you can
maximize a customer’s spend?
Wim Buyens, Cinionic: There are a
few ways exhibitors can maximize their
investment in laser, and we leverage
our extensive portfolio to find the most
cost-efficient solution for every customer.
Cinionic’s Laser Light Upgrade is the
fastest way to laser, extending the lifetime
of Barco Series 2 xenon projectors with
the addition of a laser light source. The
upgraded projector delivers the image
quality and energy efficiency of laser
without the cost of purchasing all new
equipment. It’s a financially attractive
option that prolongs the exhibitor’s
technology investment.
With the Cinionic Laser Screen 2.4,
cinemas can amplify the power of their
laser projection. Paired with Barco Series
4 projectors, the integrated presentation
solution optimizes efficiency due to the
lower energy consumption required for
achieving the same, or better, image
quality of a larger projector. As a result, a
theater can deploy a less-expensive projector
and run it on a lower power setting,
decreasing operating costs and extending
the lifetime of the combined tech stack.
Theaters can further augment their
technology investment with Cinionic’s
service and support offerings, which
provide exhibitors with insights to drive
operational efficiencies and optimize
performance. Cinionic Academy, our
certification training program, empowers
January 2024
33

THEATER INNOVATOR PROFILES
“It’s all the little things
that add up to big savings
for exhibitors and the
environment.”
theater teams to keep equipment servicing
in-house.
We recognize that financial resources
are top of mind for many exhibitors today,
which is why we also offer customers
flexible financing options and Cinemaas-a-Service
outcome-based models for
predictable cashflow and limited CAPEX.
Tony Adamson, GDC Technology USA:
At GDC, we have several customized
options to offer customers with limited
financial resources. Since each exhibitor’s
situation is unique, we sit down with the
customer to develop a “win-win” plan.
Creating a win-win agreement builds a
better business relationship and has additional
benefits, such as keeping consistent
communications throughout the term of
the agreement.
Ana Simonian, LTI: We have a lamp
purchasing program with the ICA
(Independent Cinema Alliance) that provides
competitive pricing for independent
cinema owners.
Frank Tees, MiT: Budget is always in the
conversation, and it always coincides with
maximizing value. As both a manufacturer
and an integrator, MiT brings the
benefit of custom-designed, cinema-centric
solutions that are of great value and
fully supported by MiT. Additionally, we
work with our vendors to maximize the
total system value through enhanced
support and warranty coupled with value
engineering that doesn’t compromise on
performance. LEA Professional amplifiers
are a great example, providing an
industry-leading six-year warranty that
provides peace of mind, compounding
the total value of the system compared to
competing solutions.
Michael Giacinto, Proctor Companies:
I just need two feet of space, and that
gives you a freezer and a quick-bake oven.
Or you can spend seven, eight thousand
on a multi-chamber, combi-oven that
can cook fish and broccoli and brownies—you’re
not going to use it the way
it’s meant to be used. But it gives you the
opportunity to cook three different pizzas,
maybe with three different temperatures
or cooking times. You’re not creating
a new kitchen. You’re pulling out one
cabinet behind your concession stand and
pushing this in place.
You can upgrade your seats. You can
upgrade your speakers, your screens,
all of those things. But, when you do
that, assume that 65 percent of that
money will go back to the studio, because
for that upgrade to make an impact
customers have to go to the movie. Ideally,
someone can walk in, buy a pizza from
you at the concession stand and walk
out. None of that money goes anywhere
except in your pocket.
34 January 2024

When you talk about beer and wine,
that’s more complicated. Alcohol is a great
way to increase your profit. And you absolutely
will be able to make money hand
over fist. But you’ll have to put the work
in. It’s not easy, but there’s a lot of money
there. I strongly recommend everybody
put alcohol in their theaters. There’s not
much equipment you need, really. You
could even put in an undercounter unit
that holds six packs and bottles of wine.
That’s all you need. You can sell alcohol
from that. But it takes time. You’ll probably
have to petition and get signatures from
the neighborhood to allow you to have a
liquor license. So it’s more intensive.
Marine Suttle, The Boxoffice Company:
Our products are very affordable. That’s
why we decided to build a SaaS [Software
as a Service] solution: so that customers
on a budget can still offer a fantastic
digital experience to their moviegoers.
From websites, apps, and ticketing, we
guarantee you will see an insane ROI for
a very small investment. Meanwhile, we
will continue to evolve the product and
not charge big project fees to take advantage
of the new features and functionality
we continuously launch.
One of the topics up for discussion
at this year’s ICTA Seminar Series
is sustainability. How have you
integrated sustainability practices
into your operations?
Wim Buyens, Cinionic: Sustainability is
one of our core values. We are always looking
for ways to improve and innovate—to
enable a greener way to deliver cinema.
Laser projection plays a major role by
reducing the carbon footprint of cinemas
and their audiences, but our commitment
to sustainability is part of everything we
do, from our office business practices to
eco-driven product design, production,
and shipping. We also aim to optimize the
use of materials with extensive efforts on
lifecycle management, refurbishments,
and circular economy business models
like Cinema-as-a-Service. Together with
Barco, we set ambitious goals for 2025,
including a reduction of the total carbon
emissions of our own operations by 45
percent (compared to base year 2015). [We
also] aim to get 70 percent of our revenue
from products with a Barco eco-Score A
or higher.
Tony Adamson, GDC Technology USA:
GDC’s manufacturing facility is certified
with ISO 9001:2015 by SGS, the world’s
largest certification and testing company.
ISO 9001 is the most widely used quality
management standard in the world. ISO
International Standards support sustainable
industrialization through internationally
agreed-upon specifications that
meet quality, safety, and sustainability
requirements. Implementing ISO 9001
means GDC has put in place effective
processes and trained staff to consistently
provide products and services that meet
customer and applicable statutory and
regulatory requirements. GDC believes
that laser light is better for a projector (to
save energy and reduce waste), and SSD
is better than HDD for a media server for
the same reason. We shall champion these
efforts in 2024 and beyond.
Ana Simonian, LTI: LTI has implemented
an effective recycling program—an
initiative that showcases our company’s
dedication to its environmental responsibilities
while also meeting sustainability
targets—by the act of recycling our endof-life
xenon lamps. This demonstrates
a proactive approach to lessening the
strain on our already precious natural
resources while representing a significant
step toward building a greener and more
responsible future.
Frank Tees, MiT: MiT embraced an environmental
stance approximately nine
years ago with our “Green is the new Black”
campaign. At that time, MiT introduced a
whole suite of products that provide both
financial and environmental benefits to
our clients. MiT engineered energy-efficient
products like power sequencers
with remote functionality, eliminating
the [need to leave] sound racks of equipment
on during non-operational times.
Additionally, we developed high-efficiency
dimmers that pair with our LED lighting
fixtures. These energy-efficient LED
fixtures save both on energy and on CAPEX
costs as they are two lighting fixtures
in one: a performance-grade dimmable
downlight and a cleaning light. It’s all the
little things that add up to big savings for
exhibitors and the environment.
Marine Suttle, The Boxoffice Company:
We are absolutely looking at this. Our
company is based in Paris, France, and
sustainability has been a topic there for
quite a bit longer than it has been in North
America. We are actively monitoring
how our technology providers apply best
practices to reduce our carbon footprint,
in particular as applies to web hosting.
We’ve also gone 90 percent remote, which
had a big impact in reducing our footprint
linked to our team members’ commute
and office spaces.
“Laser projection plays a
major role by reducing the
carbon footprint of cinemas
and their audiences, but our
commitment to sustainability
is part of everything we
do, from our office business
practices to eco-driven
product design, production,
and shipping.”
January 2024
35

THEATER PREMIUM FORMATS
GO BIG OR
GO HOME
Right: ICE Theaters,
developed by CGR
Cinémas
The Untapped Potential of Premium Screens
BY CHARLOTTE JONES
Premium screens have become an
integral part of the cinema industry,
bolstering the market by generating
higher levels of buzz and prestige around
key movies, driving incremental box
office, and creating a highly engaged
customer base. The high levels of demand
often exceed the number of seats available,
underscoring the untapped potential
to be found in premium screens from
studios and exhibitors alike.
Premium screens proved critical in the
initial stages of the industry’s post-Covid
box office recovery, with audiences seeking
out high-level experiences as a way to
move beyond in-home moviegoing. This
momentum shows no sign of slowing: Per
Omdia’s research, around one-third of the
box office of key titles now derives from
premium screens.
Cinemas need to invest to maintain a
best-in-class experience, and the addition
of premium screens is one of the most
impactful ways to achieve this goal. With
Avatar: The Way of Water acting as a
catalyst, the total number of premium
screens—including Premium Large
Format (PLF), 4D seating, and Immersive
Motion Seating (IMS) venues—rose by just
under 10 percent in 2022, jumping to 7,500
from 7,000 in the prior year. This stands
in stark contrast to a relative stagnation in
total screen count, which edged up by just
0.5 percent (to 212,500) in 2022.
Opportunity and Exhibitor-
Branded Formats
Exhibitors are seeing the value in prioritizing
investment in premium screens
and reaping the resultant benefits, among
them higher occupancy, pricing, and
engagement levels. In 2022, for the second
consecutive year, growth in the premium
cinema space was largely driven by
exhibitor-branded PLF, which recorded a
12.3 percent surge in screens, compared
to 6.5 percent growth for global formats.
This growth in the exhibitor-branded side
of the market offers an opportunity for
cinemas to co-brand with existing technology
formats.
Multinational exhibitors remain
a significant driver of PLF growth
and geographic coverage, with North
American and Chinese exhibitors together
accounting for eight of the top 10 exhibitor-branded
varieties of PLF. The U.S., led
by innovative multinational exhibitors
such as Cinemark, has the largest count
for exhibitor-branded PLF. In total, in
2022 there were five territories—including
Brazil, Australia, and Canada—with more
than 100 exhibitor-branded PLF screens.
Latin America continues to be a hotspot
for exhibitor-branded PLF, with four territories
in the top 10 overall—including, at
number three, Brazil. Additional growth
comes from Australia, which as of this
year has exceeded the U.K. in the number
of exhibitor-branded PLF screens.
Global Technology Formats
Drive Demand
As Omdia’s data shows, in 2022 the
number of global PLF screens hit 5,000
for the first time, doubling 2016’s global
total. This growth is even more impressive
when put in the context of the Covid
36 January 2024

January 2024
37

THEATER PREMIUM FORMATS
Total Market for Premium Format Screens (Worldwide):
Global PLF Motion Seating Exhibitor-Branded PLF
8,000
Top 25 Territories for
Exhibitor-Branded
PLF Screens:
U.S.
763 screens
Number of Screens
6,000
4,000
2,000
China
473 screens
Brazil
134 screens
Australia
134 screens
Canada
111 screens
0
2015 2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Mexico
84 screens
U.K.
79 screens
Split of Premium Format Screens by Region:
Exhibitor-Branded PLF Global PLF Motion Seating
North America
Western Europe
Asia & Oceania
Eastern Europe
Latin America &
the Caribbean
Middle East
& Africa
Japan
40 screens
UAE
35 screens
Colombia
33 screens
Ireland
33 screens
South Korea
22 screens
Saudi Arabia
21 screens
New Zealand
21 screens
Germany
19 screens
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
India
17 screens
Market Share of Premium Screens Globally:
Netherlands
17 screens
RealD Luxe
196 Screens
Dolby Cinema
298 Screens
ScreenX
311 Screens
MX4D
400 Screens
CGS
419 Screens
Cinity
127 Screens
4DX
748 Screens
Other Brands*
218 Screens
IMAX Digital
1633 Screens
D-BOX
818 Screens
Other Brands*
ICE Theaters: 47 Screens
Sphere X: 35 Screens
4DX: 43 Screens
RealD Cinema: 50 Screens
4D E-Motion: 24 Screens
Lotte 4D: 11 Screens
Sphera: 4 Screens
THX Ultimate Cinema: 3 Screens
Sony Digital Cinema: 1 Screen
Spain
16 screens
France
15 screens
Malaysia
15 screens
Croatia
15 screens
Thailand
14 screens
Russia
13 screens
Argentina
13 screens
Peru
12 screens
38 January 2024

pandemic and lingering concerns over
capital and resources. Global formats
account for the largest share (57.5%) of
the worldwide premium total, but their
proportion has fallen from over 60 percent
in 2020 as premium formats expand into
new areas.
IMAX is the largest provider of premium
formats, accounting for 51.6 percent
of global PLF screens. Cinity, which
utilizes high frame rate projection, has
recently expanded its footprint outside
of China. ICE Theaters, an immersive
cinema concept created by French exhibitor
CGR Cinémas, had roughly 47 global
installations as of December 2022 and has
since accumulated a significant number of
international deals. CJ 4DPLEX has three
formats—4DX, ScreenX, and the combination-format
4DX screen—which in 2022
had a combined footprint of around 1,100
screens, making them the second-largest
global provider of premium formats. On
the immersive-seating side, D-BOX had its
haptic seats fitted in a total of 818 screens
worldwide as of April 2023, making it the
second-largest individual premium format
after IMAX.
Premium Concepts Continue to Evolve
Premium screens need to evolve to
remain relevant and competitive.
Particularly when it comes to exhibitor-branded
offerings, premium screens
are perfectly poised to upgrade select
technology attributes without being fixed
to a particular combination.
The differential aspects of premium
add to the overall appeal and potential
customization around content. Some
formats lend themselves particularly well
to certain genres; increasingly, non-movie
content and live events have benefited
from releasing on premium screens. The
ability of premium screens to serve a variety
of content, including concert films and
anime, may contribute to design principles
around premium screens in the future.
December 2023 is slated (as of press
time) to see the opening of the first venue
with Ōma Cinema. Ōma is a unique
concept based on a tiered auditorium and
represents an opportunity to appeal to
wider audiences, as it provides better viewing
positions. This concept may generate
further evolution of auditorium design,
in particular leading to a rise in “flagship
auditoriums” that can play a part in generating
event-level status or new releases.
Charting the Future of Premium
Premium cinema has undoubtedly
become a fundamental part of the
industry, driving incremental appeal and
revenues. However, premium screens can
only feasibly support one major release
at a time, presenting a major challenge to
studios in securing sufficient exclusivity
and underscoring the extent of premium’s
untapped potential.
Exhibitors prioritize investment in
premium auditoriums due to their higher
occupancy, pricing, and engagement
levels; Omdia believes even more growth
in the market lies in the future. With 3.6
percent of world screens configured as a
premium format, there is room for premium’s
footprint to at least double, bringing
it to over 15,000 screens, with particular
potential to be found in underrepresented
or high-growth markets such as the
Middle East. Future growth will stem from
renovation and new builds, both of which
require time and investment. However,
as the ubiquity of certain technologies—
such as laser projection and LED screens—
declines in cost over time, an increased rate
of growth in the premium arena will follow.
Premium-branded experiences remain
the most significant opportunity to invest
in the future of cinema, driving audiences
to theaters during the all-important theatrical
exclusivity window and generating
higher returns downstream—not just with
home video releases of particular titles,
but in the entire IP-driven world of merchandising,
theme parks, and beyond.
Charlotte Jones is the Senior Principal
Analyst, Media & Entertainment at technology
research firm Omdia
Above: CJ 4DPLEX's
ScreenX panoramic
screen
“With 3.6 percent of world
screens configured as a
premium format, there is
room for premium’s footprint
to at least double, bringing it
to over 15,000 screens, with
particular potential to be
found in underrepresented or
high-growth markets such as
the Middle East.”
January 2024
39

THEATER CINE A
ECOLOGICAL
INNOVATIONS
Brazil’s Cine A Invests in
Sustainable Cinema
BY REBECCA PAHLE
40 January 2024

Building the sustainable cinema:
easier said than done. At January’s
ICTA L.A. Seminar Series, attendees will
have the opportunity to learn, in the
session “Sustainability in Cinemas,” the
whys and hows—as well as the benefits
and challenges—of adopting eco-friendly
practices. To see what’s possible, those
interested in pursuing sustainable solutions
would do well to turn their attention
south–specifically to Brazil, where
cinema chain Cine A is making a mark...
by their efforts to avoid making a mark on
Mother Earth.
Cine A’s story begins on November
12, 2004, when founder and CEO Silvio
Brittis opened the first location of the
chain-to-be, then called the Cine Art Café,
in the city of Machado. In 2008, a second
location followed, and leading up to 2024
the chain expanded rapidly, operating
62 screens in 22 sites spread across seven
states in Brazil. One of those states, Minas
Gerais, is home not only to Cine A’s first
theater, but to the theater that years after
its founding would bring the chain a new
level of global attention. Opened in 2019,
Cine A’s Itajubá location made headlines
as Latin America’s first self-sustaining
cinema complex.
“For Cine A, it was important to bring
that innovation of having the first fully
sustainable cinema in Latin America,”
says Benedito Procópio, Cine A’s director
of marketing. Simple green initiatives like
the use of paper straws and biodegradable
popcorn tubs are paired with high-tech
solutions like solar panels, rain water
collection and recycling, electric car
charging stations, and laser projection—the
latter by Cinionic, which had
been providing (non-laser) projection
technology to Cine A since 2012. Building
the sustainable cinema required detailed
planning and coordination “from the
ground up,” says Procópio. As a result
of its efforts in building the four-screen
theater, Cine A received the world-renowned
LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) seal—and, later
that year, the Sustainability Award from
LATAM trade show Expocine.
In 2023, Cine A took their commitment
to environmental sustainability even
further with the opening of a new cinema
in the state of São Paulo. In addition to
eco-friendly solar power and water management
systems, plus electric vehicle
chargers, this new location’s ecological
bona fides include acoustic lining in the
auditoriums made from recycled bottles
recovered from the ocean; 100 percent
biodegradable packaging for concessions
items; separate waste and recycling
systems; and design that takes advantage
of natural light to form welcome common
areas. It also recycles space, in a way, by
inviting the local community for yoga,
cycling, mediation, and other activities—
free of charge. Inverter air conditioners
and laser projectors, the latter again
provided by Cinionic, cut down on the
“At Cine A, every
ticket, every screening,
every smile is part of
something bigger.”
– Silvio Brittis, CEO
January 2024
41

THEATER CINE A
“Anything that can be
sustainable, Cine A strives
to make it sustainable.”
cinema’s energy consumption—decisions
friendly to the environment as well as to
Cine A’s bottom line.
“Anything that can be sustainable, Cine
A strives to make it sustainable,” says
Procópio. Needless to say, this poses its fair
share of challenges. First: Cost. Though
environmentally friendly solutions—like
solar panels and laser projectors, to name
two–cut down on energy costs and can
lead to substantial long-term savings, in
the short term, Procópio admits that ecofriendly
solutions can be more expensive
than their more traditional counterparts.
Once the balance sheet is figured out and
planning moves ahead, you run into a
different problem: coordinating an army
of third-party contractors, some of whom
may be unfamiliar with the requirements
of building a cinema, all of whom are likely
unfamiliar with the requirements of building
this cinema. You have to “[make] sure
everyone’s on the same page about why
things are a little bit different for a cinema
of this nature,” says Procópio. Despite the
logistical challenges, he says, Cine A’s philosophy
is to “always [look] to improve the
way you do things” by searching out new
technologies, companies, and people to
work with for each new build, rather than
sticking with the familiar for its own sake.
It should be clear by now that Cine A
doesn’t shy away from difficult tasks. São
Paulo is an extremely competitive market
in which to open a new theater–and that’s
when you’re not coming out of a global
pandemic. “But the public has really
responded… [to] the concept of a sustainable
cinema,” says Procópio. It’s a concept
they plan to double down on, implementing
“as many sustainable solutions as
possible” in new builds and utilizing the
knowledge gained in building the Itajubá
and São Paulo locations to retrofit Cine A’s
20 other theaters.
Eventually, says Procópio, Cine A’s
entire chain will boast a sustainable
identity–even if that takes a while. In the
shorter term, there are smaller, more easily
accomplished ways to further their sustainable
message, like screening content
aimed at educating children about the
importance of protecting the environment.
Another goal is to add electric vehicle
charging stations to the parking lot of
every Cine A location, “something that’s
going to take a bit of time,” says Procópio,
but that can definitely “be implemented in
the near future.”
In embarking on their goal of becoming
the world’s first sustainable cinema
chain, Cine A hopes to inspire others in
the exhibition community to build sustainable
theaters. There are real benefits,
argues Procópio—”social, economic, and
environmental”—to doing so. Put simply,
“It’s an important thing to do. And it’s a
thing that most companies are going to
have to do sooner rather than later. I think
there’s a real hope that, [as more cinemas
prioritize sustainability], this becomes the
norm moving forward.”
42 January 2024

Experience Outstanding Color With the
Newest in Digital Cinema Laser Projection!
Two new laser models set to launch from Sharp/NEC are designed for art houses and small screen theatres all the way
up to large theatres with the latest DCI compliant long-lasting laser light source rated for 50,000 hours of bright and
crystal-clear images. These models require minimal maintenance with unique sealed cooling systems to maintain
optical performance and require less power consumption over comparable models.
Model Numbers:
NC603L - 6,000 lumens model, up to 36.1ft screens
NC1503L - 14,000 lumens model, up to 55.4ft screens
Contact us:
Jeff Kaplan – Sharp/NEC Digital Cinema
Em: jeffrey.kaplan@sharpusa.com
For more information, visit our website at
https://www.sharpnecdisplays.us/digital-cinema
January 2024
43

THEATER MAHONING DRIVE-IN THEATER
REEL TO REAL
The Mahoning Drive-In Theater
Celebrates 35 mm and Drive-In Culture
BY CHAD KENNERK
For nearly 75 years the Mahoning
Drive-In Theater in Lehighton,
Pennsylvania has been entertaining
audiences with an authentic drive-in
movie experience. The twin Simplex E-7
projectors that ran on opening night in
the summer of 1949 for the Warner Bros.
musical April Showers are still showering
the state’s largest outdoor CinemaScope
screen with light passed through real
celluloid. When the industry began
to change over to digital in 2014, the
Mahoning made the bold decision to
stick with 35 mm film for the 2015 season,
transforming the drive-in into an entirely
retro venue. The gamble worked, and ever
since the Mahoning has been transporting
today’s audiences back to the drive-in
experience of their youth.
The Mahoning was ahead of the curve
when it came to retrospective programming
and has built a firmly established
brand within the exhibition and film
community. With a mission to spread the
love of drive-in culture, the Mahoning
plans to expand their love of film by
bringing a roadshow of double features to
indoor houses. A lifetime of performing
music and theater led Virgil Cardamone
to the Mahoning, where he now serves
as a partner, film booker, curator, and
publicity director alongside owner and
head projectionist Jeff Mattox. In conversation
with Boxoffice Pro, Cardamone
explains how the famed drive-in venue
has tapped into film fandom to become a
Mecca for movie lovers.
The Mahoning has become a
destination for moviegoers,
specifically horror lovers. Can you
give us a little background on the
theater and your mission?
We’ve been blessed with a voice. We’ve
been blessed with this ability to reach
people. Our passion is the preservation
of drive-in culture and the preservation
of 35 mm film. That’s not something that
44 January 2024

is [exclusive to us]. There are plenty of
people who share that love and want to
go back to a simpler time when it comes
to film presentation.
It’s still connected to those roots.
It’s the only drive-in in the country
that’s all 35 mm.
That has truly become our legend over
the last nine years. The theater has been
able to survive and stay open throughout
the entire run of its career, but it’s definitely
seen some hard times. When we
came in, in 2014, there were like five cars
a night. [The Mahoning] was barely able
to keep the lights on and was definitely
functioning at a loss. When the studios
really put the pressure on us to say, “If you
don’t go digital, you’re out of luck,” we put
our heads together and were like, “We can’t
do much worse.” So that’s when we made
the decision to stick with 35 mm as our sole
format. More than anything it was out of
necessity because we truly didn’t have an
option to go digital. It’s become our calling
card. Our stance here is that the magic lies
in the 35 mm film. All of us grew up seeing
movies on 35 mm film. The appreciation
for it has grown to an insane fever pitch,
where we have people coming from all over
the world to experience it.
knows me by first name and books a lot of
our films for us out of the vaults. At this
point, we work with every single major
studio and beyond. We are also connected
with so many private collectors, which is
kind of a secret film world that we love.
The fact that there are these people who
have collected 35 mm over the years. Now
there’s this beacon of 35 mm and they
want to take their prints to the ultimate
showplace.
For those who don’t know, what is
Exhumed Films, what do they do and
what does your partnership look like?
When we first went retro, it really became
a challenge of where we were going to
get these 35 mm film prints, especially
ones that are genre deep cut titles that we
love. We were blessed in that first year to
connect with Harry Guerrero at Exhumed
Films, who at that point had been doing
retro shows for probably 20 years in the
Philly and Jersey area, specifically 35 mm.
He’s a humongous 35 mm collector. That
was really the kickoff of the partnership.
We said, “Let’s try to do once-a-month
showings here at the Mahoning Drive-In
Theater with Exhumed and see if we
can find our footing as far as the retro
“We see the appreciation
shifting from kids who could
care less about 35 mm to all
of a sudden becoming 35 mm
fanatics with film reels of their
own and trying to do basement
35 mm projection. It’s taken
on such a life that is beyond
inspiring for what we do.”
In the way that vinyl had a resurgence
and other vintage formats have
come back, 35 mm is something
unique. People look at it as a special
experience.
It has the same appeal for sure. Nothing
sounds like a vinyl record [and has] that
lived-in kind of feel. 35 mm has that same
pull for people. We see the appreciation
shifting from kids who could care less
about 35 mm to all of a sudden becoming
35 mm fanatics with film reels of their
own and trying to do basement 35 mm
projection. It’s taken on such a life that is
beyond inspiring for what we do.
At the time, I’m sure the studios
thought that you were a little crazy
for sticking with 35 mm.
When I reached out to one of the studios,
I was asking them for information on
how we could get 35 mm. He said, “If
you’re sticking with 35 mm, you’re going
to be out of business within a year.” No
sort of support. “The only suggestion I
can give to you is to go digital as quickly
as possible.” That’s the same guy who
January 2024
45

THEATER MAHONING DRIVE-IN THEATER
goes.” That’s when we really started with
the themed events. That first year we
started Zombie Fest, we [also] started
Camp Blood, which are both going on
their 10th year. We really started establishing
these big weekend-long fan shows.
Having Harry there as a partner in crime
to supply us with films was, again, such
a destined situation for the Mahoning.
Everything here has been such a weird,
magical, “right time at the right place”
situation. The fact that we were able
to connect with Harry in that first year
took us right away to another level. That
[shared] fan base has grown immensely
over the last 10 years. I think it’s been
mutually beneficial.
“We’re bringing back the
showmanship of cinema. I miss
the days of those midnight
screenings, waiting in line
when it was like a first shot.”
If there’s another exhibitor out there,
and let’s say they’re sitting on a 35 mm
projector that they’re not currently
using, what is that whole process like?
In 2015, right after we went retro, we
transferred back to a reel-to-reel system.
So instead of the platter system, which
90 percent of 35 mm houses have, we run
every 20 minutes with a physical changeover
between projectors. The projectionist
is threading up every 20 minutes and
physically changing over from one projector
to another, which allows private
collectors and now studios to want to
work with us. They don’t want their prints
cut, but to put them on a platter, you’d
have to cut the head leader off of them
and connect all the film together. Reelto-reel
allows private collectors to retain
the original appeal of their prints and
to screen them at a professional theater
without any problems. There’s very little
appeal on a financial level to want to
transfer to 35 mm. It goes against what the
drive-in model is, which is to try and run
everything as efficiently as possible and
to boost profits as much as possible. We
invest in these shows for 35 mm way more
than a digital theater has to for any of
their screenings. Just to get these prints
across the country, for instance.
We’ve seen other theaters strike up their
35 mm projectors for special shows. We
started doing interviews on our podcast
with other drive-in owners and they’ve
taken note and started doing retro screenings,
whether it’s digital or 35 mm. I feel
like it’s a slight movement in the culture.
With Hollywood everything’s remakes,
and that relies on you knowing the IP
beforehand. We’re the ultimate IP house.
You can come and spend the whole entire
weekend with the Ghostbusters. I think it’s
that appeal that theaters really want to tap
into. As somebody who ran [cinemas from]
major indoor chains as a general manager,
it’s like renting a seat. It’s a really sad kind
of experience when it comes to somebody
who loves those midnight screenings
and that fandom appeal of what movies
used to have. We’re bringing back the
showmanship of cinema. I miss the days of
those midnight screenings, waiting in line
when it was like a first shot. Now, you have
movies coming out on Wednesday afternoon.
The whole culture and landscape
have shifted. I think that the Mahoning is
like a preservation ground for a simpler
time in cinema, as well as in America.
46 January 2024

You’re right, because I think back
fondly to those midnight screenings.
You maybe had to wait outside before
they let you in and then you wanted to
get that seat, get your concessions…
People were in costumes and really
leaning into the excitement of it. I love
that Regal and AMC do their best with fan
events, these specialty Fathom Events,
and things like that, but it really was an
eye-opener being immersed in it. The
Mahoning is trying to keep a piece of that
original excitement for movies alive.
Once Covid hit, it became an ultimate
ground to stand on when it was like, “Are
movie theaters going to survive?” Well,
here’s this little theater that’s leaning
into classic movies and the love of movies
on a pure level, and doing incredibly
well. I think it was an inspiration for a
lot of owners and people in the industry
to say, “You know what, I’m gonna do
my thing. I’m gonna take some shots,”
which is maybe the ultimate inspiration
for us, the fact that it has rippled across
the landscape. That this little theater in
Lehighton, Pennsylvania has made its
mark in some way on the theater industry
is just mind-bending.
How did some of the elements that the
Mahoning is now famous for begin?
When did that really start to gain
traction?
We found our footing in 2015 when we
really started leaning into the commitment
of retro film. That’s when we started
leaning into the ultimate weekend-long
immersive fan events. The guest element
of it, which is a humongous appeal for the
Mahoning, started I’d say a year or two later.
I want to say Zach Galligan from Gremlins
was one of our first guests in 2017. We saw
right away that it took the love and appreciation
for what we were doing to a whole
other level. Right around then we started
doing the sets as well, the photo ops that
became a part of the show. When you came
to Camp Blood for a Friday the 13th slasher
event, there was also a camping-themed
photo op with Jason ready to slash you.
People ate it up to the point where we
invested into it for every big show.
Overnights are a humongous selling
point for us. The fact that people can travel
across the country and then just stay the
whole weekend with us. The very first retro
show we did in 2014 also offered overnight
camping. Having that I think really lent to
“We called ourselves the
punk rock alternative drive-in
for the first couple of years.
That mentality is who we are,
I think.”
the destination of it, where people didn’t
hesitate to travel three, four, or five hours
to come to us and spend a weekend. It
made a lot more economical sense for them
to come and spend a whole weekend for
20 bucks instead of having to rent a hotel
or cabin. A lot of drive-ins will play music
before show time, but we actually run a DJ
booth from a retro DJ console in our projection
booth, which plays retro-themed
music to the movies you’re about to experience.
A lot of that stuff got implemented
right away and since then, we’ve been figuring
out how to best balance [them].
Your background in music also
brought in the idea for the event
poster, as if you were going to a
concert.
I was still in my band and had been a
singer and performer my entire life. It was
the idea of bringing the showmanship back
to movies and treating it very much like a
rock concert, where you can get a poster,
event t-shirt, and memorabilia. The quote
that really clicked with people was, “You
can come and see your favorite star up on
the screen.” Instead of your favorite artist
up on the stage. It’s that same mentality,
where you will do anything to see your
favorite bands, even if it’s on a Wednesday
and they’re coming to the area. We find
that same appeal for people who make the
trip out to us.
As much as the Mahoning team does
and progressively pushes, I think a lot is
owed to the fan base as well, the fans who
embraced the Mahoning. It really became
a part of who they are and their lifestyle.
How they look at the world and movies. I
think it connected the community in a way
that it hadn’t had in a long time. This area
is insanely rich with drive-in culture. We’re
very lucky in that sense. Almost instantly,
we felt this love and push for what we were
doing, because it was unique, because it
was rebel[lious]. We called ourselves the
punk rock alternative drive-in for the first
couple of years. That mentality is who we
are, I think. We’re little rascals. We are a
group of friends who just want to put on an
amazing show and have a great time with
our buddies. That is infectious for somebody
who loves cinema in its purest form.
The last time we spoke, you were
prepping for an appearance by John
Waters and a series of his films. What
are some examples from this past
January 2024
47

THEATER MAHONING DRIVE-IN THEATER
season of the immersive installations
and photo ops you’ve created for
guests?
We did Babs’ trailer [from Pink Flamingos]
for John Waters, which he was mindblown
over. We had the great John
Demmer, who’s a master carpenter, put
together that set for us. This year we had
the giant Godzilla out front, which was
definitely a biggie for Godzilla-Palooza.
Our Werewolf Weekend featured Frank
Frazetta’s “Werewolf.” [The Frank Frazetta
Art Museum] is fairly close to us in
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The big sets
are out of this world as far as their production
value. I say they’re screen-ready; you
can shoot these sets for the actual movie.
The team here and their love of what they
do really propel these ideas over the top,
and the fact that the fan base so appreciates
it. We’ve seen our poster artists, our
t-shirt artists, and our musicians grow to
the point where they got somewhat discovered
on the lot and got jobs off of their
work. It’s this fertile breeding ground for
creatives. It’s a great element to what we
offer, to have a memento to take away.
We can’t talk about the Mahoning
without talking about the curated
food and beverage experience. What
are some of the things you’ve been
doing recently? What have been
some of your favorite food and drink
specials?
Beth is our concession manager, who we
all call Mama Beth. She is a master when
it comes to that concession stand, not just
managing it and keeping the team there
happy, but also leaning into the creativity
with these specials. Having a themed eat
while you’re watching your favorite movie
takes it to another level of madness.
I love it when we get really creative
with existing items. That’s what we
really used to do: mixing some of the
ingredients that we have already available
together. I remember our Bill and Ted
Most Excellent Burger had practically
every menu item on it. It was french fries.
It was nacho chips. It was mozzarella
sticks. All on top of a cheeseburger. That
one was pretty extreme. When we did
Angus for our ‘90s event last year, we
had a meatball concoction that was just
amazing. Taste-wise that really stood
out. Recently we had the Haddonfield
sandwich for our Halloween event. There
are some amazing menu specials. We try
“The Mahoning has been
incredible at being able to
pivot during the pandemic
and beyond, to try to keep
the appeal of what we do
strong and alive.”
to keep the names themed as well. It’s an
extra pull for people when they come.
What are the current challenges
in exhibition for drive-ins, and
specifically for the Mahoning as a 35
mm retro drive-in?
The operating costs. I think that in general
is just a way of life now. Every year
things increase, every year things go
up. What we like to offer is the ultimate
affordable experience. Keeping our prices
very low, while still trying to find that
profit margin that works for us.
As a 35 mm outfit, I’d say the hardest
part is securing the 35 mm film. There are
a lot of times when we want to play a title
and studios won’t have it or the condition
of it is not up to snuff. Then we’ll go to
48 January 2024

our private collectors, and nobody there
has it. So we definitely have a ceiling as
far as what we can do, depending on the
availability. Now, the opposite side of that
is when we do find that one print, we can
really lean into the idea that this is a oncein-a-lifetime
screening. We do Tarantino-
A-Go-Go! every year and work with
Quentin Tarantino directly, showing his
prints–his private, personal prints. Having
that clout and connection, not only with
the industry, but with the kings of industry,
has really opened up those doors for us.
Besides that, the team mentality here
has been insane. I look at all these people
here as saviors. All of us being able to come
together and make this happen has shifted
my entire life. I owe my whole future and
my family’s future to all of their dedication
and their hard work every single weekend.
Keeping that family unit tight and happy is
always a challenge, but trying to keep that
family mentality is really where my head
is at with the Mahoning team moving into
the future. The challenges shift here all the
time, but they seem to get a little bit easier
each year as far as finding our footing. One
thing that I’ve learned being in [both] the
indoor industry and the drive-in industry
is that every owner needs to have the
ability to pivot and shift, whether it’s with
Hollywood, or the audience, or the climate
of the world. The Mahoning has been
incredible at being able to pivot during the
pandemic and beyond, to try to keep the
appeal of what we do strong and alive. The
fact that we grow every single year is the
true inspiration to know that we are doing
something right.
Looking ahead to 2024, what do you
have planned? What can you share
with us?
Oh boy. Well, this is my favorite time of the
year, wearing a different hat as the booker/
curator. The planning of the shows is
maybe my favorite thing to do; just knowing
that we’re going to have these things in
the cannon and when they shoot out and
are announced, people’s brains are just
going to explode.
For next year, our first film ever shown
was April Showers, which we’re looking
to do as a 75th-anniversary celebration
screening this year for our diamond anniversary.
We’re going to try to do that on
National Drive-In Day [on June 6], which
would be a whole big celebration of the
culture as well as what the Mahoning has
been able to do.
It’s almost unfathomable that we’ve
been able to reach the heights that we
have and the notoriety that we have
purely by following our hearts. We didn’t
do anything special. We’re not anybody
special who’s bred for this. We are a group
of film-loving filmmakers and creatives
who found a way to make the drive-in
more appealing in the modern age. It’s
still one of those things I have to pinch
myself every day and be like, how did
this dream come this true? When I was
13 years old, I was talking about, “Hey,
wouldn’t it be cool to run a family drive-in
one day?” with all my cousins, and for it
to actually happen, it’s just insane. That’s
thanks to the entire team and the entire
community and everybody giving all that
they can to the love of what the Mahoning
represents, which is film, simple pure film
fandom.
January 2024
49

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Welcome to the L.A. Seminar Series 52 | Tom Holman 54 | In Memoriam: Ray Boegner 60
ICTA
“The magic of the movies has always been about more than
just the film itself; it’s about the immersive experience.”
Welcome to the L.A. Seminar Series, p. 52
January 2024
51

ICTA L.A. SEMINAR SERIES
THE ICTA WELCOMES
YOU TO THE FUTURE
OF CINEMA
BY FRANK TEES
In the world of cinema, we find art
and magic that transcends time and
culture, offering us an escape, a connection,
and unforgettable moments. Yet, as
technology advances at an astonishing
pace, our beloved cinema exhibition
industry finds itself at a crossroads. The
key to preserving and enhancing the
moviegoing experience lies in collaboration,
innovation, and mentorship. As the
President of the International Cinema
Technology Association (ICTA), it is
my privilege to shed light on the vital
importance of collaboration between the
cinema exhibition industry and technology
stakeholders.
The magic of the movies has always
been about more than just the film itself;
it’s about the immersive experience. The
allure of the silver screen has endured
because it continuously adapts and
enhances the way audiences engage with
cinematic stories. Technology in its many
forms plays a pivotal role in storytelling,
making the cinema ever more captivating.
Today, the moviegoing experience
is not limited to what unfolds on the
screen. The quality of the projection, the
brilliance of the sound, the comfort of
the seats, the convenience of the booking
process, the diverse concession offerings,
and the overall ambiance of the theater
are all elements that contribute to any trip
to the cinema. These elements are heavily
reliant on technology, and they require
ongoing innovation and collaboration to
stay at the forefront of our industry.
The ICTA recognizes that the synergy
between content creators, technology
stakeholders, vendors, and exhibitors
is a driving force behind this innovation.
Collectively, we all work tirelessly
to ensure that the marvel of cinema
remains captivating and unforgettable.
Collaboration is not just a matter of
convenience; elevating the standard is the
very heartbeat of our industry’s evolution.
With the rapid advancements in
technology, it is vital to continue to foster
partnerships and shared visions that lead
to cutting-edge solutions—solutions that
not only push the boundaries of cinema’s
core picture and sound technologies but
are forward-thinking and promote the
development and integration of varied
technologies throughout the cinema
entertainment ecosystem. For example:
more efficient ticketing and smart concession
systems or the adoption of transformative
communal experiences like
eSports or augmented and virtual reality
in cinema.
One aspect that is vital, and that the
ICTA advocates for, is the mentorship
of individuals from within the cinema
industry who aspire to pursue careers
that focus on technology. Nurturing this
bridge between the worlds of cinema and
technology is essential for our industry
to continue to differentiate itself from
other forms of entertainment. Mentorship
not only creates opportunities for those
passionate about cinema to explore
technology but also ensures that the
industry continues to benefit from the
fresh perspectives and innovative ideas
from new talent.
To that end, the ICTA is in the process
of launching a mentorship program
designed to encourage and support
employment in the cinema industry. By
mentoring and educating the next generation
of professionals, we will cultivate
a pool of experts who can drive forward
the integration of technology to positively
impact the cinema exhibition industry—
and, more importantly, the cinema audiences—of
the future. This process is a testament
to ICTA’s commitment to fostering
an innovative and sustainable future for
our beloved industry. More information
on the ICTA mentorship program will be
announced at CinemaCon 2024.
Thank you to all who are joining us
at the ICTA Los Angeles Seminar Series
(LASS). We look forward to insightful
discussions, technological showcases, and
the opportunity to forge new collaborations.
The ICTA LASS is a unique forum
where experts and enthusiasts come
together to explore and define the future
of cinema. We are deeply grateful to The
Cinema Foundation for their enduring
support, which enables us to host this
event and strengthen our shared commitment
to the cinema experience. Thank
you also to Boxoffice Pro for the opportunity
to showcase cinema technology by
assembling this inaugural ICTA issue.
At the LASS Awards Banquet, the
ICTA will honor industry audio veteran
Tomlinson Holman with the ICON Award
for his role in elevating the audio experience
and standards in cinemas worldwide
through the Lucasfilm THX program.
Additionally, we will be congratulating
the winners of the third North American
Cinema Awards. Recognition for Best New
Build, Best Cinema Refurbishment, and
Best Use of Technology will be bestowed,
celebrating the innovations, dedication,
and contributions of these remarkable
cinemas that have enriched our communities
and industry and will undoubtedly
inspire the advancement of future cinemas
to come.
Join the ICTA at CinemaCon 2024 as
well as at the ICTA Summer Convention
in July. As these programs develop,
updates will be posted to icta-web.com.
Frank Tees,
President, ICTA
Vice President, Moving iMage
Technologies
52 January 2024

ICTA TOM HOLMAN
YOU AIN’T HEARD
NOTHIN’ YET
THX Creator Tomlinson Holman
Is the ICTA’s ICON of the Year
BY CHAD KENNERK
The history of the cinema industry
is one of constant innovation. The
20th century saw near-constant experimentation
with large formats, color film,
and visual effects, to name just a few of
the ways the pioneers in our industry
made seeing films on the big screen a
must. But seeing is only a part of the
overall cinema experience. Going back to
the silent film days, when live musicians
or records would provide a film’s score,
sound has been an indispensable part of
going to the movies. But the technology
behind cinema sound remained largely
static between 1926, when Warner Bros.’
Don Juan became the first feature to
utilize sync sound, and 1983.
It was in that year that aural titan
Tomlinson (Tom) Holman created a sound
system that incorporated room acoustics
and a patented overall sound experience
to create a sound system that allowed
audiences to finally hear movies as filmmakers
and sound designers intended.
The system was named by Lucasfilm’s
Jim Kessler, who–looking for something
snappy–combined Holman’s initials with
an “X” (for the audio technology term
“crossover”), creating an acronym that,
coincidentally, George Lucas had used in
the title of his debut feature (THX-1138)
nearly a decade earlier. It was too perfect a
name to pass up, and THX was born.
Born in the small town of Oregon,
Illinois, Holman grew up walking to the
movies on Saturday mornings, moviegoing
having been a family tradition
ever since Tom’s father served as a relief
projectionist in the 1930s. Studying at the
University of Illinois, Holman doubled
down on his passion for moviegoing,
continuing to work with the college’s film
production unit after graduation and
reading everything about audio he could
get his hands on.
Later on, Holman took a job at the
audio hardware company Advent, where
he was mentored by its founder, the
legendary sound engineer Henry Kloss.
Holman’s work attracted the attention of
Lucas, hot off the success of Star Wars:
Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, who
hired him as Lucasfilm’s chief engineer
of post-production in 1980. Over a seven-year
stint at Lucasfilm, Holman would
rack up a number of impressive credits,
including Return of the Jedi (the first film
to use the THX system) and Indiana Jones
and the Temple of Doom, on which Tom
served as an audio engineer.
In 1987, Holman began teaching at
the University of Southern California’s
School of Cinematic Arts (USC), commuting
weekly to the Skywalker Ranch to
continue work on THX and its spinoffs. In
1995 he left Lucasfilm to found his own
TMH Corporation. In 2011, he began a
ten-year stint at Apple, where he provided
input on technical matters related to
audio until his retirement in 2021. Over
the years, Holman shared his knowledge
with a new generation of audio engineers
through his books Sound for Film and
Television, Surround Sound: Up and
Running, and Sound for Digital Video;
his forthcoming book, Cinema Design, is
a personal and technical look at sound
design in cinema.
In 2002, Holman received the Academy
Award for Technical Achievement “for
54 January 2024

the research and systems integration
resulting in the improvement of motion
picture loudspeaker systems.” Other
accolades earned through his career
include the Audio Engineering Society
Silver Medal, IEEE (Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers) Masaru Ibuka
Award, Samuel L. Warner Memorial and
Eastman Kodak Gold Medals from SMPTE
(Society of Motion Picture and Television
Engineers), the Ed Greene Award from
CAS (Cinema Audio Society), and lifetime
achievement awards from CAS and
CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and
Installation Association).
This January, at the International
Cinema Technology Association’s (ICTA)
L.A. Seminar Series, another well-deserved
award gets added to the list: The
ICTA Industry ICON Award, recognizing
Holman as someone who has “made
outstanding and significant contributions
to cinema technology, and as a result,
to the enhancement of the moviegoing
experience,” says Mark Mayfield, vice
president of ICTA and program chairperson
of the L.A. Seminar. The impact
that Holman has had on countless
moviegoers worldwide is impossible to
quantify–because, says ICTA President
Frank Tees, THX is more than the famous
“Deep Note” that plays before every THX
Certified film. It’s more than just a sound
system. “Rather, THX was a certification
of sound components, acoustics, viewing
angles, and much more to deliver what
the director intended in a repeatable way
to moviegoers around the world. If you
have been wowed watching a movie in
a modern commercial theater, whether
THX Certified or not, you can thank
Tomlinson Holman.”
Below, Boxoffice Pro speaks to
Holman about his legendary career.
Congratulations on your ICTA Icon
Award! Exhibition is a part of your
family’s DNA. What did your father
impart to you about his experiences
working in exhibition?
He was about 20 when he had that [relief
projectionist] job. It was in the Depression.
He absolutely wanted an engineer as a
son, because engineers worked during the
Depression. I am an engineering dropout,
but I became a distinguished engineer at
Apple. There’s nothing bigger than that. So
fate, or whatever it is, is built in. I was fulfilling
my father’s destiny for me. He didn’t
“If you have been wowed
watching a movie in a modern
commercial theater, whether
THX Certified or not, you can
thank Tomlinson Holman.”
get to know that, because he died young.
You grew up going to the movies
at the Oregon Theatre and the
Coronado Theatre. That was where
you saw the first CinemaScope film,
The Robe, as well as films such as
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. How
influential were those moviegoing
experiences on your career?
They were very important, because
we were in a backwater. We didn’t get
television until I was 10 years old. I’m
a pre-television kid, basically. I went to
both the small-town Oregon Theatre
in Oregon, Illinois, and the Coronado
Theatre, which is still there in Rockford.
It’s still something to go to, a grand thing
with twinkling lights in the ceiling and
these layers of art. It’s not running as a
movie venue anymore, but it certainly
was a movie palace and I certainly got
that treatment. Being a small boy, it was
all just completely overwhelming. That’s
what we seek to do today.
The THX sound system was a synthesis
of 30 years of developments that
hadn’t been implemented into
theater auditoriums. In addition to
bringing many of those developments
together, there was also an element
of discovery in THX. What was that
year like for you at Lucasfilm, looking
at the sound design process from the
production soundstage all the way to
the movie theater?
No one had ever been given the opportunity,
because the Hollywood studios
were all existing spaces, albeit with some
upgrades. Nobody had built a new studio
from the ground up. That’s what George
Lucas was up to with the prototype
dubbed “C Building” on 3210 Kerner
Boulevard [in San Rafael, California],
which, by the way, was just sold off at
auction. All the chairs, all the sconces,
everything is gone. Things have a limited
lifetime. At any rate, it was a blank sheet.
I wasn’t given much direction. The one
meeting with George was [about how the
sound at] the theater down the hill from
his house sucked, [and what could I do to
make it better?] There wasn’t a specific
task to go and build a sound system.
I’m the one who took apart the whole
chain and, as an engineer, really just
tuned up the parts. When it came to the
theater loudspeaker, I realized that the
voice of the theater was very long in the
January 2024
55

ICTA TOM HOLMAN
tooth. Even its own developers tried to
put it out to pasture, and they couldn’t do
it. They had a chicken and egg situation
between the dubbing stages and the theaters
with an 80 percent market share. Even
they knew it had its limitations. They
tried to put out something that wasn’t all
that dissimilar from THX.
In particular, I realized that THX
would only work in theaters with guaranteed
acoustics. It was the first time
anybody, anywhere tried to mass-produce
room acoustics. That’s the opposite of
what you do if you’re building concert
halls. Each one of them has a signature,
and it’s useful for certain music, even
specialized that way. Some of them are
adjustable, but mainly it is a home for an
orchestra, like Disney Hall [home of the
Los Angeles Philharmonic] is.
The cinema is supposed to be the same
cookie cutter experience for everyone. In
some ways that’s simpler to do, but on the
other hand, you’ve got to convince theater
owners to put the money in, so it’s harder
to do a retrofit than it is to build from
the ground up. Once we had a formula
for the ground up, we could get uniform,
consistent behavior room-to-room-toroom
for 3,500 theaters. That’s the biggest
accomplishment. The goals of THX were
largely accomplished. George got the
Irving Thalberg Award [at the 1991 Oscars],
handed to him by Steven Spielberg standing
underneath a THX logo, for doing
things for the entire industry.
But it became impossible to manage
getting [the system] around to 3,500 theaters.
We burned out technicians. There were
divorces. It was a victim of its own success,
in essence. On the other hand, once the
patents ran out, there was a guy in the film
tech forums who said, “You should absolutely
do one theater with THX, because
they’ll teach you a lot. Then just go off and
duplicate it.” From George’s point of view,
it improved the whole industry. From a
THX point of view, it was not so good for
making money [Laughs.]
The THX system was initially made to
hear more of what was already there
on the soundtrack of the master. What
was the experience like playing the
Academy demo reel of Raiders of the
Lost Ark for sound designer Ben Burtt
and audio engineers Gary Summers
and Jim Kessler? That was the
culmination of a great deal of work.”
“I realized that THX would
only work in theaters with
guaranteed acoustics. It
was the first time anybody,
anywhere tried to massproduce
room acoustics.
That’s the opposite of what
you do if you’re building
concert halls.”
The voice of the theater was limited on
the low end in the bass, and it was limited
in the high end in the treble by about an
octave. Human beings hear 10 octaves,
and they were cutting off more than two.
Extending that frequency range on the
master allowed them to hear it. It was
actually recorded there, but they hadn’t
heard it when they mixed it. That was
jaw-dropping to Ben Burtt, who had
worked on it. It was rewarding to see the
mixers so happy. As an engineer, you
don’t affect the movies, because you don’t
make the content, but on the other hand, I
affected the quality of it. That was another
dimension of the whole experience. It’s
what I could do to help the movies out as
an engineer. That was my point of view
from day one.
It’s really why I dropped out of engineering
in college, because it looked
like engineering was not being put to
the purposes I wanted. I did a lot more
engineering after I left engineering! I had
some good teachers, but nevertheless, I
think it was important to be the “rebel,”
in George’s terms, and drop out. When I
went to Advent to get a job, I had something
I’d made [to show them]. The MIT
boys had all the equations, but they had
never built anything. That’s how I got
the job. That’s how I found a mentor.
Mentorship is extremely important. For
somebody in their late 20s to get that job
with Henry Kloss, it’s just unbelievable.
There are a lot more stories about the
early days of THX. What were some of
your discoveries?
I snuck in behind the screen at the
Harvard Square Theatre in Cambridge.
It was a great big empty stage house. If
you clapped your hands back there it
would go on forever. The speakers were
mostly aimed at the auditorium, but some
came off the screen and reflected around
and came back later. You could hear that
in the voice, that it had a little twang to it.
The manager somehow figured out that
I left and came in backstage. He wanted
to just throw me out, but I asked why it
was so reverberant back there. He told
me that it had been full of drapery, but
the fireproofing had expired, so they had
to take it out and they couldn’t afford to
fill up the whole fly loft with drapery for
something that’s never used. They had
no way of damping down the reverberation
backstage.
56 January 2024

left and right, like the conventional analog
optical. One said four: left, center, right,
and surround. One said eight: five channels
across the front, two surrounds, and
a subwoofer. I put up my hand and said,
“5.1” The discussion just ended. “What is
he talking about? Point one of a channel
is not point one of a channel.” In technical
terms, the actual true story is that it’s
5.005, because the subwoofer channel is
only partial bandwidth, so it’s a little bit
of a channel at .005. I said, “Yes, but 5.1
is marketing rounding.” That saved the
day. How many times have people walked
into Hi-Fi stores and said to the salesman,
“What’s the point one?” He will say, “Well,
that’s the subwoofer.” That isn’t even true,
because it’s a separate channel that gets to
the subwoofer, along with other things, so
it’s more complicated than that, but it’s a
simple enough story to get it across to the
public. 5.1 is still the most omnipresent in
the world today in a theater of any kind.
Most of the world is 5.1.
That’s the vaudeville problem. One of
the talks I’ve given at the ICTA is about
the history of horns and compression
drivers. In vaudeville days, to change
over to the movie, they rolled out a
gigantic, wooden exponential horn with
a 10-foot-square mouth and put it behind
the screen, because they had lots of space
backstage. Then in the ‘20s, when vaudeville
started to die, there were 20,000-
some cinemas built. It’s unbelievable.
They threw away the stage house from
vaudeville, so they had to wrap up the
horns and make it shallow. That was the
beginning of problems. I have a talk about
that, which is coming up at the ICTA. How
have we shrunk things? We didn’t shrink
the wavelengths, so how did it all get
shrunk? The thesis is that they’ve gone
too far today and shrunk it down to one
seat depth, 17 inches or something. I’m
going to talk about why we should give it
another row’s worth behind the screen.
You also provided the industry with
the name for 5.1 surround sound
audio systems.
That went absolutely everywhere. It was in
a 1987 SMPTE [Society of Motion Picture
and Television Engineers] meeting about
the number of channels to go onto prints
digitally. One person said two channels,
Above: Tom working
as a boom operator
on Andy Davis' 1978
film Stony Island
“Movies play as loud as
anybody ever wants. The
next generation is space.”
Audio frequency has been examined
and expanded over the years. Is the
future of film sound going to be in
filmmakers and designers further
exploring spatial sound?
Yes, I think it is. And that’s because it’s
hard. We’ve got the frequency range and
dynamic range. Movies play as loud as
anybody ever wants. The next generation
is space. I like to make the joke from “Star
Trek”: “Space. The final frontier.” There
are worlds to explore. We now have the
capacity. The question is whether we have
the time and wherewithal on the art side
to bring it off. It does happen in some
movies. It certainly happened in Gravity.
Gravity absolutely sets a standard, but it
happened because the director [Alfonso
Cuarón] got very involved very early
on. They threw out the 5.1 mix, started
over, and were very attentive to the mix.
Another one was Roma on Netflix. Again,
[Cuarón] was very engaged. He probably
went too far in having everything be
immersive. You couldn’t hear the dialogue
very well, so it kind of went overboard,
but it’s experimenting.
Most of the Dolby Atmos movies are,
frankly, B-movie features trying to be A
features. They have to tick the Atmos box
to get into the bigger theaters in their first
weeks. These big action pictures can make
things fly around, but [they don’t] really
stretch the art like Gravity and Roma. I
January 2024
57

ICTA TOM HOLMAN
think it’s a matter of the intelligence and
attention of the directors. That’s why I
went to USC to teach. I wasn’t teaching in
trade school. I was teaching an element
in an art school. 3,500 students came
through my class, and it was to affect the
outcome [of cinema as an art form].
Can you give us one of those students
as an example?
The most obvious one is John Singleton,
who said in his tribute to me at CAS [the
Cinema Audio Society Awards, where
Holman was honored in 2018] that he
sat in my class and then used what he
learned directly in Boyz n the Hood. I was
never so happy. He was a big supporter.
He took the class twice, for reasons that
the federal government prevents me from
telling you. He even said that he wasn’t
ready the first time, but the second time
he paid attention and took notes. For
example, he went to grade school on the
flight path of LAX in South Central Los
Angeles. There were airplanes [flying
ahead] all the time. He could have tried
to shoot it in such a place, but then you
would have created impossible cutting
situations and edits. So he shot it quietly
and then added the airplanes in. He
learned that from me. [Laughs] The way
he got the picture [greenlit] was, the
studio initially took a look at the script
and said to him, “You’ve got this helicopter
scene, and that’s just too expensive
for your budget.” He said, “No problem. I
can do that with a searchlight and sound
effects.” He got the picture. I’m always the
last one out of the theater, because I’m
watching the end titles to see if I had a
hand in it!
together at once in the same mindset is
a good thing and will continue to go
on, but I don’t know. I only need three
copies. One for the Library of Congress,
one for the British Library, and one for
the Deutsches Museum Library. So that
somebody like me, 50 years from now, can
go and look at it and learn about what was
wrong with Radio City Music Hall and the
Cinerama Dome.
What happened at Radio City Music
Hall was that the back wall was made of a
custom woven [material] with a sound-absorbing
material behind it. Between 1930
and 1980, when we looked at it 50 years
later, it had all crumbled. There was a
huge echo. In the eighth row center, the
best seats in the house, I made a stronger
echo off of the back wall than from the
front. We couldn’t change it, because it
was on the National Historic Register. I
pointed it out to them, and we didn’t put
THX in Radio City Music Hall, but they
knew it. When they eventually remodeled,
they rewove the same fabric, but put new
absorbing material behind it, and fixed
it back to the 1930s acoustics. There are
lots of stories like that. Madonna fixed
the Cinerama Dome. The Cinerama Dome
always had cross echoes from one part
to another. Somebody would be opening
their candy and you’d hear it crossways,
because it went up this big reflector.
They always knew it was there, but they
couldn’t afford to fix it. Madonna’s people
demanded they fix it for Evita. So the
dome got fixed. Art drives life! [Laughs]
“I want to write it all down
before I go. I’ve dealt with
so many architects over the
years. I’ve had to teach each
group the same stuff.”
You’re in the process of writing your
next book, Cinema Design. What has
that experience of reflecting back on
your life and career been like?
I want to write it all down before I go. I’ve
dealt with so many architects over the
years. I’ve had to teach each group the
same stuff. For example, I did two different
projects with [architecture, design, and
planning firm] Gensler. I had to teach the
same stuff over again, even though it was
the same architect. It was the Paramount
screening room and one screening room
that we did at Apple. [Writing the book is]
to get it all down in one place. Who knows
if any more cinemas are going to be built?
I still think thousands of people coming
58 January 2024

ICTA IN MEMORIAM: RAY BOEGNER
IN MEMORIAM:
RAY BOEGNER
Some people come into our lives, and we
are never the same. Ray was one of those
persons who left us with lasting memories
we will cherish forever. He was one-of-akind,
and I am truly honored to have known
him as a friend and business partner.
Dr. Man-Nang Chong
Founder, Chairman & CEO,
GDC Technology Limited
In our first issue of 2024, it feels fitting to honor the
life and career of Ray Boegner, who passed away on
September 10, 2023. A veteran cinema technology
executive and president of Strong Entertainment
Group for 38 years, Boegner was well-loved by a
wide swath of colleagues, clients, and competitors
in the entertainment industry. He leaves behind him
wife Lulu, son Daniel, and decades’ worth of fond
memories that his friends in this industry keep with
them. In these pages, a handful of those friends pay
tribute to cinema legend Ray Boegner.
Below: Ray Boegner
(center) with friends
Joe Delgado, Bruce
Cohen, and Scott
Freidberg
Hard to fathom our industry without Ray!
It still has not set in that we won’t spend
time having a drink at some convention
or other. I won’t be on the receiving end
of his incredible sense of humor. The
man can insult you and [make you] happy
for it. I won’t be receiving his texts in
the middle of the night ‘cause he’s bored
in some far-off land. But it was Ray’s
intelligence I will miss most. Ray had a
great head for numbers. His technological
prowess never ceased to amaze me. I
met Ray in October of ‘88. If you see me
around, ask me about that first meeting
and you’ll know how it was we became
such fast friends.
Speaking of friends, that was one of his
favorite sayings: “You’re my friend, OK?”
Well, I’m glad to have been his friend,
and I will miss him.
Joe Delgado
EVP, Sales & Marketing,
Moving iMages Technologies
Few people in the exhibition vendor business
could become your very good friend
and negotiate a deal with you at the same
time. Ray enjoyed every minute of his
work, and his joy was contagious. I went to
the wedding of a NATO member and good
friend in Europe once, and the only vendor
close enough to the couple to be there was
Ray. That says it all! Rest in peace, friend.
John Fithian
CEO & President (fmr.), NATO
Of course, Ray was always warm, funny,
[and] fun. But Ray believed the buck
stopped with himself. He carried the
responsibility. It was important for him to
be there for his family, friends, and clients…
You knew Ray always had your back.
Scott Freidberg
VP, Global Business Development,
Christie Digital
60 January 2024

To know Ray Boegner was to know a mischievous
kid in a businessman’s body…
with an expense account. From a business
perspective, Ray knew the deal before
the conversation started; the meeting
was only to help the participants connect
the dots to the deal that was constructed.
Once [that was] completed, Ray could continue
his day as the kid he was at heart.
Ray was always generous with his knowledge
of the world. It didn’t matter what
town you were in: Ray would tell you what
bar and/or restaurant you should go to,
and if you were as lucky as me he would
take you there. I will miss sharing tears
of laughter with Ray at the various places
around the world I was able to visit with
him, and I am most thankful that I got to
hear his dry delivery of some of the most
witty one-liners that I have ever heard.
Rest in peace, my friend, Ray Boegner.
Francois Godfrey
VP Business Development / Sales,
Moving iMage Technologies
Ray was a fixture at the Geneva
Convention since its inception in 1999,
almost as if we built it around him. His
charm, witty conversations, colorful
attire, and generous support of our industry
charities will be greatly missed.
George Rouman & John Scaletta
Co-Chairmen, Geneva Convention
I last spoke with Ray at CineEurope.
Why? Because as one of the most highly
regarded veterans of our industry,
especially from an equipment and trade
show standpoint, I needed some salient
advice on a CinemaCon-related matter.
As always, Ray was there with his barbed
wit, charm, and—of course—the perfect
amount of salient advice. I go way back
with Ray, to the days of ShowEast in
Atlantic City, as Strong always provided
the projection equipment we needed for
first the Superstar Theater, and then the
Xanadu Theater. It was been a business
relationship and friendship I will always
treasure. Miss you, Ray.
Mitch Neuhauser
Managing Director, CinemaCon
Ray was my mentor, friend, and business
partner. I spoke to him often for advice,
life stories, and funny jokes. There will be
a huge void at the industry’s events that is
impossible to replace. The entire cinema
industry will deeply miss him.
Annie Wang (above)
President, GDC Technology (USA), LLC
Even though we’re competitors, Ray was
a good friend to all of us over here at
Severtson Screens, and he will be dearly
missed. We looked forward to catching up
with Ray at all the trade shows, and Ray
was notorious for leaving his MDI/Strong
contraband in our booth, letting us know
he had stopped by while we were away.
Ray and I would always chat multiple
times at each show, as time permitted:
about business; families, his wife and
young son, who he was so proud of; his
high statuses with all the airlines and
hotels; politics and Covid… anything and
everything. Just a genuine friend and allaround
good guy! We’ll miss you, Ray.
Toby Severtson
President & CEO, Severtson Screens
Ray had an enviable openness and joy
about life. He would engage with everyone
he met, which is what led him to his
storybook meeting with Lulu in Scotland
on our first (of many) golf trips there. We
all came back from that first trip with
incredible memories. Ray came back with
the most incredible memory of all of us:
the love of his life. Like so many people,
I will miss Ray forever. And I will also
forever cherish the many memories of so
many wonderful times together.
Chuck Goldwater
President, North America, MetaMedia
You’re traveling for work, dammit, and
are ready to let loose. You know that true
cultural immersion begins and ends at the
points of interest and the watering holes,
where you can rub shoulders with the locals.
I met Ray circa 1976 in Guatemala
City, Guatemala, during an installation of
the new xenon technology from Optical
Radiation Corporation from Azusa,
California. One afternoon over lunch, he
says: “Billy,” (he used to call me Billy) “Did
you know that José Marti was a literature
professor here at Universidad Nacional for
many years? He was disgruntled with how
things were run in his home country, Cuba,
and came here to vent his anger. He later
went to fight against the Spaniards to liberate
Cuba and was killed in the process.”
“Billy,” he continued, “when traveling
for business always take some time to
immerse yourself in the points of interest
and watering holes to rub shoulders with
the locals. You will learn the cultures of the
world and share stories with your friends
and family.”
Guillermo Younger Sr.
Founder, Chairman of the Board,
Cinema Equipment and Supplies
I met Ray when I first started my career
back in the mid-‘80s. I was working for Phil
Rafnson and John Ayotte in Los Angeles,
and Ray was working for ORC [Optical
Radiation Corporation]. It was when we
first met that I knew Ray was going to be a
special person in my life. He welcomed me
to the industry with open arms and treated
me with integrity and respect.
We went on to be competitors later in
our careers but still remained good friends
to the end. Ray was very passionate about
the industry and treated everyone he ran
across with respect. To top it all off, he was
one of the most fun-loving persons I have
ever run across, and I miss him.
Ray, if you are listening, it was an honor
to have known you, and thank you for
being part of my life.
Jerry Van De Rydt
SVP (Ret.), Moving iMage Technologies
“You must judge a man’s greatness by how
much he will be missed”—Will Rogers
You are dearly missed, my friend.
Bob Sunshine
President, Film Expo Group
January 2024
61

Hey, if Google,
TikTok, and IMDb
can count on us,
your theater can too.
Scan the QR code
to find out more.

The Book of Clarence 64 | Event Cinema Calendar 70 | Booking Guide 72
ON SCREEN
“The songs weave in and out of the score, so you have this incalculable
modernity running alongside and intertwining with this huge, epic
score. It’s literally one of a kind.”
The Book of Clarence, p. 64
January 2024
63

ON SCREEN THE BOOK OF CLARENCE
PASSION AT
64
January 2024

PLAY
Jeymes
Samuel on
His Biblical Epic
The Book of Clarence
BY CHAD KENNERK
January 2024
65

ON SCREEN THE BOOK OF CLARENCE
The Bible has served as source
material for the big screen practically
since the birth of the motion
picture. Faith-based stories were
particularly prominent in the
1950s when lavish widescreen spectacles
such as The Robe, The Ten Commandments,
and Ben-Hur topped the box office charts.
Combining his love of such films with a
desire to tell a story in a familiar setting,
British singer-songwriter, producer, and
filmmaker Jeymes Samuel presents a bold
take on the biblical epic in Legendary
Pictures’ The Book of Clarence. The story
follows a streetwise Clarence (LaKeith
Stanfield), who risks it all to follow in the
footsteps of the rising Messiah.
As with Samuel’s previous film, the
Netflix-released Western The Harder
They Fall, he serves not only as the writer,
director, and producer of The Book of
Clarence but has also composed the score,
written the film’s original songs, and
performed those songs alongside guest
artists, including his longtime friend and
collaborator Jay-Z. In advance of The
Book of Clarence’s January 12 release from
Sony/TriStar Pictures, Boxoffice Pro
spoke with Samuel about crafting his own
distinctive vision of a biblical tale.
Biblical epics were flourishing at
a time when movie theaters were
competing with the advent of
television. The 1953 biblical epic The
Robe was the first film in 20th Century
Fox’s anamorphic widescreen format
CinemaScope. Widescreen processes
from the other studios followed,
increasing the size and scope of the
screen. How essential is the theatrical
experience to this film?
It’s immeasurably important because
it’s the first of its kind in 135 years of the
moving image. When you’re watching
something so singular, you don’t want to
66 January 2024

“Inclusion was a huge thing
for me because that’s one
thing that was missing from
those biblical epics. Even
though they were all talking
about freedom, they were
the least diverse when it
came to casting.”
give an option for the viewer to pause. It’s
a huge thing. When you go to the cinema,
no matter how much you like the film or
you don’t like the film, you don’t have the
option to pause and go to the toilet. Some
experiences you have to experience on a
big screen, in the dark, communally with
strangers. You need to be served the plate
in one sitting. It’s immeasurably important.
Structured in books, the intertitles
in The Book of Clarence provide a
callback to the big cinematic event of
a biblical epic.
Exactly. In VistaVision. In CinemaScope.
That was hugely important for me. Even
the opening titles. The opening titles are
a wink to a hybrid between old-school
biblical movies like Quo Vadis or Ben-
Hur and the opening title sequence of
“Taxi”, the old Danny DeVito TV show
where taxis are driving over the bridge. I
wanted it to be a wagon driving through
Jerusalem. You used to see “Judd Hirsch
in Taxi” over the score. I wanted “LaKeith
Stanfield in The Book of Clarence.” The
word “in” is hugely significant, because
you’ve never see that word in the opening
titles. You don’t see it. You just watch
“Tom Cruise,” “Mission: Impossible.” So to
say “LaKeith Stanfield in,” and then the
song starts [sings]: “The Book of Clarence.”
Everything about this film is cinematic,
which is why it had to be in the cinema.
You’re taking familiar stories but
placing them in an environment that
hasn’t been seen in a biblical epic
before.
What’s unique about this film is that it’s
an environment that we see every day. I
wanted to tell a story that looks like the
environment I grew up in, but based in
the biblical days, to show how closely
knit those two are. The story takes place
in the hood. In every single country, in
every universe–even a long time ago in
a galaxy far, far away–there’s always the
hood. Luke Skywalker lives in the hood on
Tatooine when we meet him. The Jawas
are the gangbangers. The Jawas and
the Sand People are like the Bloods and
Crips of Tatooine. In every single world,
there’s a hood. I wanted to tell a story
about the hood and have it look like the
environment that I grew up in, but based
in biblical days. That was of the utmost
importance to me, because I love those
films so much.
Like many of those films, you’ve
assembled an all-star cast, but there’s
a focus on inclusion and diversity
in your story that brings a fresh
perspective to the biblical era.
Absolutely. For me, art is all about expression,
freedom, inclusion, and diversity.
I’m purposely not making a commentary
on race or color in this movie, but I really
wanted to put a spotlight on diversity
and inclusion. Women have a strong role.
In this movie, the fastest person on a
chariot is a woman from the streets, Mary
Magdalene.
Inclusion was a huge thing for me
because that’s one thing that was missing
from those biblical epics. Even though
they were all talking about freedom, they
were the least diverse when it came to
casting. They were the most exclusionist
forms of cinema. If you asked me what
Jesus looked like growing up, I would
have sworn blind that he looked like
Robert Powell from Franco Zeffirelli’s
“Jesus of Nazareth,” which was the television
miniseries that broke all records
at the time. It was amazing. With James
Mason, Stacy Keach, Ian McShane, Robert
Powell. Everyone is in that movie, but no
one who looked like us.
That idea of what Jesus is “supposed”
to look like plays into this film as well.
That particular scene is a commentary on
my parents’ generation’s fascination with
a white image of Jesus, a particular oldschool
image of Jesus. We all had those
paintings up in our house growing up.
In my house, we had a 3D image framed
in the living room of white Jesus on the
crucifix. It was 3D, which meant wherever
you went in the living room, Jesus was
looking at you. It was a really scary image.
I used to look at it for ages. You could not
escape the gaze of crucified Jesus. So I
wanted to put in a humorous commentary
on my parents’ generation.
You’ve talked about LaKeith Stanfield
as a superhero of ideas on set.
What was your collaboration like on
this project?
A director is really fortunate when he
can find an actor that occupies the same
space. LaKeith would say that I gave him
direction, but if you looked at us working,
you’d just see us laughing and having mad
fun. It was almost like directing myself.
There wasn’t anything I had to tell him to
January 2024
67

ON SCREEN THE BOOK OF CLARENCE
do in a different way. Sometimes I’d walk
up to him and go, “Oh man, I just had an
idea.” I would explain it to him and he’d
say to me, “You need to get out of my
head.” He would have the exact same idea.
His instincts for the roles that he
played [LaKeith plays more than one
character in the film] were astounding. It
was the most dreamlike scenario having
LaKeith play the lead of Clarence. He surprised
me as well because what I learned
about him is that he’s really physical.
During the gladiator fights, he has to jump
and roll over actor Omar Sy’s back. Omar
Sy is a big, six-foot, three-inch physical
titan. LaKeith would just go toe to toe
with this dude. It was an amazing thing.
Directing him was just a dream.
You’ve spoken in the past about
“obeying your crazy.” What does your
creative process look like, balancing
all the different roles you’ve taken on
for this film?
I suppose it looks crazy, but to me, the
whole world is crazy and I’m the same way.
For instance, I believe composers come
onto a film too late. When a composer
starts working on the film, the film’s
already shot. I believe the composer
should be working from the script stage
before anyone is cast. A composer should
be coming up with themes, motifs, and
dramatic signatures, because if you know
how your music sounds beforehand, you
can choreograph your camera in alignment
with your melodies, your motifs,
and your themes.
If you watch me, everything’s happening
all at once. As I’m speaking to an actor,
I’m also singing a song that plays in the
background. When the apostles have the
revelation that Judas is the traitor, I was
telling Micheal Ward, who plays Judas,
the rhythm in which I needed him to be
uncontrollable with the dip of the bread in
the gravy. I explained to him [the scene’s]
music, and because I know how the score
goes, I know the rhythm in which to tell
him [to move].
Everything is happening all at once.
There’s not a single day or moment
where I don’t play music on set. So
everyone feels the environment and feels
what I’m doing. If there’s no dialogue in
the scene, I’ll play the score for it in the
background. It’s all just one continuous
creative stream. All of the actors, the
production designer, the first assistant
director, everyone pops into little boats
and rows on my creative stream and we
make the movie together. So it does look
crazy, but it also looks immensely fun.
From The Harder They Fall to The Book
of Clarence, I don’t believe there’s
another movie set in existence that’s
like a Jeymes Samuel set.
In the same way that Western movies
have informed what we think a
Western score should be, there is a
certain type of score associated with
biblical epics. How does your score
bring a new flavor to old times?
I take everything I’ve seen and heard
and learned and I deconstruct it. You get
everything you know and are familiar
with biblical-era scores, which I love. I
love Alex North’s score for Spartacus. I
will bring that straight into—not even
2023, I will bring it into 2043.
Pino Palladino, the best bass player
in the world, plays bass throughout the
scope of this movie. While you have a
grand biblical epic score, you also have
Palladino on the bass, James Poyser from
The Roots on the keys, and Isaiah Sharkey,
one of the best guitar players in the world,
on the guitar. So you have all this new
instrumentation, as well as the old-school
scores. I write, produce, and perform all
the songs on the soundtrack with featured
artists. The songs weave in and out of
the score, so you have this incalculable
modernity running alongside and intertwining
with this huge, epic score. It’s
literally one of a kind.
“From The Harder They Fall to
The Book of Clarence, I don’t
believe there’s another movie
set in existence that’s like
a Jeymes Samuel set.”
68 January 2024

Part of the message of the film
centers around the stories each of us
tell and the knowledge that anything
is possible.
Clarence is a person who is in alignment
with me as a human being. I do not
believe in the word “dreams,” nor does
Clarence. Somewhere along the way, an
influential but misguided man changed
the words “plans,” “intentions,” and
“aims” into “dreams.” Our dream car, our
dream house, our dream job, but you
show me a dreamer and I’ll show you a
failure. You can’t hold a dream; you have
them when you’re asleep.
As human beings–especially people
from impoverished or oppressed backgrounds
like myself–we have to rid
ourselves of that word, “dream.” We have
plans, we have aims, we have intentions,
and they’re all real. Clarence is a person
who thinks big. In his mind, he can do
anything, which is why he’s always saying
knowledge is stronger than belief. He
honestly knows he can do anything, so he
plans all of these things and gets himself
into hot water as a result. Clarence is
a person who thinks big, and for him,
they’re not dreams. He wants to become
the new Messiah. That’s an outlandish
thing, but Clarence is just the type of
person who will pursue it. For him, nothing
is out of his reach.
Now, obviously, I don’t want people
to be misguided in their aims, plans, and
intentions, but I do want people to know
that anything is possible. Even for me, as
a filmmaker coming from Kilburn Lane,
Mozart Estate–one of the hoodest hoods
in London—I made a movie about the
Old West. I made a movie about the New
Testament. They’re all real things. None
of them are dreams. Not in alignment
with religion, but in alignment with
our lives, I do want people to know that
knowledge is stronger than belief.
AT THE MOVIES
WITH JEYMES
SAMUEL
What is your favorite
moviegoing memory?
I was a child, and Spike Lee
had made Do the Right
Thing. We didn’t know what
he was going to do next. This
guy would release a movie
almost every year it seemed.
His next movie was Mo’
Better Blues. I was too young
to get into the theater, but
my cousin took me to see
it for my birthday. For Mo’
Better Blues, I had all these
questions as a kid: “What is
Spike Lee, this magician, this
wizard, going to do next?”
The Universal logo comes
up. This is one of my favorite
moviegoing moments of
all time. It’s the first time
I’d seen an opening logo
remixed. You heard Flavor
Flav talking, and he spelled
out Universal. “U-N-l-V-E-R-
S-A-L. Universal. Y’all been
large for years. Yo, Spike,
start the movie, G. Flavor
Flav, you’ve done it again.”
[Gasps.] And the movie
starts. My brain was like the
solar system opening. Spike
Lee was free. He was free of
all constraints. He was free
from all shackles. He was
free from every single rule in
the rulebook. He was black.
He was from the hood. He
was remixing logos. This guy
was the most misbehaved
director, for me, in the history
of Hollywood. We’d never
had that. Spike Lee set the
course of what was to come
with directing. After that,
everyone was misbehaved.
January 2024
69

ON SCREEN EVENT CINEMA CALENDAR
EVENT CINEMA
CALENDAR
Updated through December 7, 2023
Contact distributors for latest listings
THE MET LIVE IN HD: LA FORZA
DEL DESTINO
Mar. 9, Mar. 13
Genre: Performing Arts
THE MET LIVE IN HD: ROMÉO ET
JULIETTE ENCORE
Mar. 23, Mar. 27
Genre: Performing Arts
GONE WITH THE WIND 85TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Apr. 7, Apr. 8, Apr. 10
Genre: Classics
THE MET LIVE IN HD: LA RONDINE
ENCORE
Apr. 20, Apr. 24
Genre: Performing Arts
The Neverending Story 40th Anniversary
FATHOM EVENTS
fathomevents.com
855-473-4612
THE MET LIVE IN HD: NABUCCO
Jan. 1, Jan. 10
Genre: Performing Arts
GURREN LAGANN THE MOVIE -
CHILDHOOD’S END
Jan. 16, Jan. 17
Genre: Anime
A CASE FOR LOVE
Jan. 23
Genre: Faith/Inspirational
GURREN LAGANN THE MOVIE -
THE LIGHTS IN THE SKY ARE STARS
Jan. 23, Jan. 24
Genre: Anime
BEAUTIFUL WEDDING
Jan. 24, Jan. 25
Genre: Premiere
THE MET LIVE IN HD: CARMEN
Jan. 27, Jan. 31
Genre: Performing Arts
THE WIZARD OF OZ 85TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Jan. 28, Jan. 29, Jan. 31
Genre: Classics
GLORIA GAYNOR: I WILL SURVIVE
Feb. 13
Genre: Music
THE CHOSEN: SEASON 4
EPISODES 1-3
Feb. 1 - Feb. 14
Genre: Faith/Inspirational
MY FAIR LADY 60TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Feb. 4, Feb. 5
Genre: Classics
THE CHOSEN: SEASON 4
EPISODES 4-6
Feb. 15 - Feb. 28
Genre: Faith/Inspirational
THE CHOSEN: SEASON 4
EPISODES 7-8
Feb. 29 - Mar.
Genre: Faith/Inspirational
LABYRINTH - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Mar. 6, Mar. 10
Genre: Classics
STEEL MAGNOLIAS 35TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 20
May 5, May 8
Genre: Classics
THE MET LIVE IN HD: MADAMA
BUTTERFLY ENCORE
May 11, May 15
Genre: Performing Arts
SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER
& UNCUT 25TH ANNIVERSARY -
FATHOM’S BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
2024
Jun. 23, Jun. 26
Genre: Classics
THE NEVERENDING STORY 40TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Jul. 21, Jul. 22
Genre: Classics
REAR WINDOW 70TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Aug. 25, Aug. 28
Genre: Classics
70 January 2024

BLAZING SADDLES 50TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Sept. 15, Sept. 18
Genre: Classics
MEAN GIRLS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
- FATHOM’S BIG SCREEN
CLASSICS 2024
Oct. 3, Oct. 6
Genre: Classics
THE FIFTH ELEMENT - FATHOM’S
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Nov. 17, Nov. 20
Genre: Classics
WHITE CHRISTMAS 70TH
ANNIVERSARY - FATHOM’S BIG
SCREEN CLASSICS 2024
Dec. 15, Dec. 16
Genre: Classics
ICONIC EVENTS
iconicreleasing.com
UNTITLED NICOLE RICHIE FILM
Jan. 19
Genre: Remake
AXCN: COWBOY BEBOP: THE
MOVIE
Jan. 21-23
Genre: Anime
GISELLE
Jan. 21, Jan. 24
Genre: Ballet
AXCN: PAPRIKA SATOSHI KON
FEST
Feb. 7-11
Genre: Anime
TRAFALGAR RELEASING
trafalgar-releasing.com
THE MET: LIVE IN HD 2023-24
SEASON: NABUCCO (U.K.)
Jan. 6
Genre: Performing Arts
THE MET: LIVE IN HD 2023-24
SEASON: CARMEN (U.K./INT’L)
Jan. 27
Genre: Performing Arts
THE ROYAL BALLET 2023-24:
MANON (U.K./INT’L)
Feb. 7
Genre: Performing Arts
THE MET: LIVE IN HD 2023-24
SEASON: LA FORZA DEL DESTINO
(U.K.)
Mar. 9
Genre: Performing Arts
THE MET: LIVE IN HD 2023-2024
SEASON: ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
(U.K.)
Mar. 23
Genre: Performing Arts
THE ROYAL OPERA 2023-24:
MADAMA BUTTERFLY (U.K./INT’L)
Mar. 26
Genre: Performing Arts
THE MET: LIVE IN HD 2023-2024
SEASON: LA RONDINE (U.K.)
Apr. 20
Genre: Performing Arts
THE ROYAL OPERA 2023-24:
CARMEN
May 1
Genre: Performing Arts
THE MET: LIVE IN HD 2023-2024
SEASON: MADAMA BUTTERFLY
(U.K.)
May 11
Genre: Performing Arts
THE ROYAL BALLET 2023-24: THE
WINTER’S TALE (U.K.)
May 22
Genre: Performing Arts
SADLER’S WELLS AND UNIVERSAL
MUSIC UK: MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
(U.K.)
May 30
Genre: Performing Arts
BIBLE CINEMA ROADSHOW: THE
7 CHURCHES OF REVELATION:
TIMES OF FIRE
Jan. 14, Feb. 4
Genre: Faith/Inspirational
THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE 2023-
24: RUSALKA (U.K.)
Jan. 24
Genre: Performing Arts
THE ROYAL BALLET 2023-24:
MACMILLAN CELEBRATED (U.K.)
Apr. 9
Genre: Performing Arts
THE ROYAL OPERA 2023-24:
ANDREA CHÉNIER (U.K./INT’L)
Jun. 11
Genre: Performing Arts
The Met: Live In HD 2023-2024 Season: La Rondine
January 2024
71

ON SCREEN BOOKING GUIDE
BOOKING
GUIDE
Release calendar for theatrical
distribution in North America
Release dates are updated through December 7, 2023.
Please consult distributors to confirm latest listings.
CHALLENGERS
Fri, 4/26/24 WIDE
Stars: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Rating: R
Genre: Dra
Specs: Dolby Atmos
FLINT STRONG
Fri, 8/9/24 WIDE
Stars: Ryan Destiny,
Brian Tyree Henry
Director: Rachel Morrison
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Dra
DISNEY
818-560-1000
Ask for Distribution
UNTITLED DISNEY 2024 1
Fri, 4/5/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
CHALLENGERS
Fri, 4/26/24 WIDE
20TH CENTURY STUDIOS
310-369-1000
212-556-2400
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF
THE APES
Fri, 5/24/24 WIDE
Stars: Owen Teague, Freya Allan
Director: Wes Ball
Rating: NR
Genre: SF
ALIEN: ROMULUS
Fri, 8/16/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: SF
THE FIRST OMEN
Fri, 4/5/24
Stars: Nell Tiger Free, Bill Nighy
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Rating: NR
Genre: Horror
THE AMATEUR
Fri, 11/8/24 WIDE
Stars: Rachel Brosnahan,
Caitríona Balfe
Director: James Hawes
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Thr
AVATAR 3
Fri, 12/19/25 WIDE
Director: James Cameron
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Fan/SF
AVATAR 4
Fri, 12/21/29 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
AVATAR 5
Fri, 12/19/31 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Fan/SF
AMAZON MGM
310-724-5678
Ask for Distribution
THE BEEKEEPER
Fri, 1/12/24 WIDE
Stars: Jason Statham, Jeremy Irons
Director: David Ayer
Rating: R
Genre: Act/Thr
Specs: Imax, Dolby Atmos/Vision
THE UNDERDOGGS
Fri, 1/26/24 WIDE
Stars: Snoop Dogg
Director: Charles Stone III
Rating: R
Genre: Com
INSIDE OUT 2
Fri, 6/14/24 WIDE
Director: Kelsey Mann
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED DEADPOOL MOVIE
Fri, 7/26/24 WIDE
Stars: Ryan Reynolds,
Hugh Jackman
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED DISNEY 2024 2
Fri, 9/6/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION
2024
Wed, 11/27/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
72 January 2024

MUFASA: THE LION KING
Fri, 12/20/24 WIDE
Director: Barry Jenkins
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW
WORLD
Fri, 2/14/25 WIDE
Stars: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford
Director: Julius Onah
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED DISNEY 2025 1
Fri, 3/7/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
DISNEY’S SNOW WHITE
Fri, 3/21/25 WIDE
Stars: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot
Director: Marc Webb
Rating: NR
Genre: Fan
FANTASTIC FOUR
Fri, 5/2/25 WIDE
Director: Matt Shakman
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED DISNEY 2025 2
Fri, 5/23/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
ELIO
Fri, 6/13/25 WIDE
Stars: America Ferrera,
Jameela Jamil
Director: Adrian Molina
Rating: Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
MOANA
Fri, 6/27/25 WIDE
Stars: Dwayne Johnson
Rating: NR
Genre: Adv/Mus
THUNDERBOLTS
Fri, 7/25/25 WIDE
Stars: David Harbour,
Hannah John-Kamen
Director: Jake Schreier
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED DISNEY 2025 3
Fri, 8/8/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
BLADE
Fri, 11/7/25 WIDE
Stars: Mahershala Ali
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION
2025
Wed, 11/26/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED DISNEY 2026 1
Fri, 1/16/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED MARVEL 2026 1
Fri, 2/13/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNITTLED PIXAR 2026 1
Fri, 3/6/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED DISNEY 2026 2
Fri, 3/27/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED DISNEY 2026 3
Fri, 4/17/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
AVENGERS: THE KANG DYNASTY
Fri, 5/1/26 WIDE
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED STAR WARS 2026 1
Fri, 5/22/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED PIXAR 2026 2
Fri, 6/19/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED DISNEY 2026 4
Fri, 7/10/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED MARVEL 2026 2
Fri, 7/24/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Act/Adv/SF
INSIDE OUT 2
Fri, 6/14/24 WIDE
January 2024
73

ON SCREEN BOOKING GUIDE
UNTITLED DISNEY 2026 5
Fri, 8/14/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED DISNEY 2026 6
Fri, 9/18/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED MARVEL 2026 3
Fri, 11/6/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION
2026
Fri, 11/25/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED STAR WARS 2026 2
Fri, 12/18/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
AVENGERS: SECRET WARS
Fri, 5/7/27 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
UNTITLED STAR WARS 2027
Fri, 12/17/27 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: SF/Fan
FOCUS FEATURES
LISA FRANKENSTEIN
Fri, 2/9/24 WIDE
Stars: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse
Director: Zelda Williams
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor/Com
DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS
Fri, 2/23/24 WIDE
Stars: Margaret Qualley,
Geraldine Viswanathan
Director: Ethan Coen
Rating: NR
Genre: Com
NOSFERATU
Wed, 12/25/24 WIDE
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult
Director: Robert Eggers
Genre: Horror
LIONSGATE
310-309-8400
ORDINARY ANGELS
Fri, 2/23/24 WIDE
Stars: Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson
Director: Jon Gunn
Rating: PG
Genre: Rom, Dra
IMAGINARY
Fri, 3/8/24 WIDE
Stars: DeWanda Wise, Betty Buckley
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
ARTHUR THE KING
Fri, 3/22/24 WIDE
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu
Director: Simon Cellan Jones
Rating: NR
Genre: Adv
UNSUNG HERO
Fri, 4/26/24 WIDE
Stars: Joel Smallbone, Daisy Betts
Directors: Richard Ramsey,
Joel Smallbone
Rating: NR
Genre: Dra
BALLERINA
Fri, 6/7/24 WIDE
Stars: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston
Director: Len Wiseman
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
BORDERLANDS
Fri, 8/9/24 WIDE
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/SF
PARAMOUNT
323-956-5000
MEAN GIRLS
Fri, 1/12/24 WIDE
Stars: Reneé Rapp, Jaquel Spivey
Directors: Samantha Jayne,
Arturo Perez Jr.
Rating: NR
Genre: Mus/Com
BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE
Wed, 2/14/24 WIDE
Stars: Kingsley Ben-Adir,
Lashana Lynch
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Rating: NR
Genre: Bio
IF
Fri, 5/17/24 WIDE
Stars: John Krasinski, Ryan Reynolds
Director: John Krasinski
Rating: NR
Genre: Com/Fan
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
Fri, 6/28/24 WIDE
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
Specs: Imax
TRANSFORMERS ONE
Fri, 9/13/24 WIDE
Stars: Chris Hemsworth,
Scarlett Johansson
Director: Josh Cooley
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED SMILE SEQUEL
Fri, 10/18/24 WIDE
Director: Parker Finn
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
UNTITLED GLADIATOR SEQUEL
Fri, 11/22/24 WIDE
Stars: Paul Mescal
Director: Ridley Scott
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Dra
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3
Fri, 12/20/24 WIDE
Director: Jeff Fowler
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
THE SMURFS MOVIE
Fri, 2/14/25 WIDE
Stars: Rihanna
Director: Chris Miller
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani/Mus
LISA FRANKENSTEIN
Fri, 2/9/24 WIDE
74 January 2024

MADAME WEB
Wed, 2/14/24 WIDE
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8
Fri, 5/23/25 WIDE
Stars: Tom Cruise
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
Specs: Imax
UNTITLED AANG AVATAR FILM
Fri, 10/10/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED ANIMATED
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS FILM
Thurs, 12/19/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
323.882.8490
BRING HIM TO ME
Fri, 1/19/24 LTD
Stars: Barry Pepper, Rachel Griffiths
Director: Luke Sparke
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Thr
DREAMER
Fri, 4/5/25 LTD
Stars: Alfredo Castro, Paulina Gaitan
Director: Mohit Ramchandani
Rating: NR
Genre: Thr
SONY
212-833-8500
THE BOOK OF CLARENCE
Fri, 1/12/24 WIDE
Stars: LaKeith Stanfiel, Omar Sy
Director: Jeymes Samuel
Rating: NR
Genre: Adv/Dra
UNTITLED CRUNCHYROLL/SONY
Fri, 1/26/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
COLEEN HOOVER’S IT ENDS WITH
US
Fri, 2/9/24 WIDE
Stars: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni
Director: Justin Baldon
Rating: NR
Genre: Rom/Dra
MADAME WEB
Wed, 2/14/24 WIDE
Stars: Dakota Johnson
Director: S.J. Clarkson
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/Fan
Specs: Imax, Dolby Atmos
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
Fri, 3/29/24 WIDE
Stars: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon
Director: Gil Kenan
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Com/SF
Specs: Imax, Dolby Vis/Atmos
MY EX-FRIENDS WEDDING
Fri, 5/10/24 WIDE
Stars: Ariana DeBose,
Chloe Fineman
Director: Kay Cannon
Rating: NR
Genre: Com
THE GARFIELD MOVIE
Fri, 5/24/24 WIDE
Stars: Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Mark Dindal
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED BAD BOYS SEQUEL
Fri, 6/14/24 WIDE
Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence
Directors: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
Specs: Imax
HORRORSCOPE
Fri, 6/28/24 WIDE
Stars: Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley
Directors: Spenser Cohen,
Anna Halberg
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
HAROLD AND THE PURPLE
CRAYON
Fri, 8/2/24 WIDE
Stars: Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Rating: PG
Genre: Fam
THE FORGE
Fri, 8/23/24 WIDE
Director: Alex Kendrick
Rating: NR
KRAVEN THE HUNTER
Fri, 8/30/24 WIDE
Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson,
Russell Crowe
Director: J.C. Chandor
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/SF
Specs: Imax, Dolby Vis/Atmos
January 2024
75

ON SCREEN BOOKING GUIDE
NIGHT SWIM
Fri, 1/5/24 WIDE
UNTITLED VENOM SEQUEL
Fri, 11/8/24 WIDE
Stars: Tom Hardy
Director: Kelly Marcel
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv/Fan
Specs: Imax
KARATE KID
Fri, 12/13/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
Specs: Dolby Atmos
PADDINGTON IN PERU
Fri, 1/17/25 WIDE
Stars: Olivia Colman,
Antonio Banderas
Director: Dougal Wilson
Rating: NR
Genre: Fam
UNTITLED SONY/MARVEL LIVE
ACTION 2025
Fri, 6/27/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/SF
Specs: Imax
UNTITLED THANKSGIVING
SEQUEL
TBD
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: NR
Genre: Horror
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
Tom Prassis
212-833-4981
SHAYDA
Fri, 3/1/24 LTD
Stars: Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, Leah Purcell
Director: Noora Niasari
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Dra
UNIVERSAL
818-777-1000
NIGHT SWIM
Fri, 1/5/24 WIDE
Stars: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon
Directors: Bryce McGuire,
Rod Blackhurst
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Hor
ARGYLLE
Fri, 2/2/24 WIDE
Stars: Henry Cavill, John Cena
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Thr
Specs: Imax, Dolby Vis/Atmos
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2024 1
Wed, 2/14/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
THE FALL GUY
Fri, 5/3/24 WIDE
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt
Director: David Leitch
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
Specs: Imax, Dolby Vis/Atmos
KUNG FU PANDA 4
Fri, 3/8/24 WIDE
Stars: Jack Black
Director: Mike Mitchell
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2024 2
Fri, 4/5/24 WIDE
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: NR
Genre: Thr
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2024 3
Fri, 4/19/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2024 4
Fri, 5/17/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2024 5
Fri, 6/21/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
DESPICABLE ME 4
Wed, 7/3/24 WIDE
Stars: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig
Director: Chris Renaud
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
TWISTERS
Fri, 7/19/24 WIDE
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Adv
SPEAK NO EVIL
Fri, 8/9/24 WIDE
Stars: James McAvoy,
Mackenzie Davis
Director: James Watkins
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE
PRODUCTIONS PROJECT 2024 1
Fri, 9/13/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
76 January 2024

UNTITLED MONKEYPAW
HORROR/THRILLER
Fri, 9/27/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor/Thr
UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE
PRODUCTIONS PROJECT 2024 2
Fri, 10/18/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
WICKED PART 1
Wed, 11/27/24 WIDE
Stars: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo
Director: Jon M. Chu
Rating: NR
Genre: Mus
UNTITLED FOURTH FILM
DIRECTED BY JORDAN PEELE
Wed, 12/25/24 WIDE
Director: Jordan Peele
Rating: NR
M3GAN 2.0
Fri, 1/17/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Thr/Hor
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2025 1
Fri, 2/14/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2025 2
Fri, 4/11/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
THE EXORCIST: DECEIVER
Fri, 4/18/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
Fri, 6/13/25 WIDE
Director: Dean DeBlois
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
THE BLACK PHONE 2
Fri, 6/27/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2025 3
Wed, 7/2/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL ANIMATED
EVENT FILM 2025
Fri, 9/26/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE EVENT
FILM 2025 2
Fri, 10/17/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL FAMILY
EVENT FILM 2025
Fri, 11/21/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Fam
WICKED PART 2
Wed, 11/26/25 WIDE
Stars: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo
Director: Jon M. Chu
Rating: NR
Genre: Mus
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2026 1
Fri, 1/16/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2026 2
Fri, 2/13/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE EVENT
FILM 2026 1
Fri, 3/13/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2026 3
Fri, 4/3/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2026 4
Fri, 6/12/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2026 5
Wed, 7/1/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL ANIMATED
EVENT FILM 2026
Fri, 9/25/26 WIDE
UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE EVENT
FILM 2026 2
Fri, 10/16/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2026 6
Fri, 11/13/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM
2026 7
Wed, 12/23/26 WIDE
Rating: NR
ARGYLLE
Fri, 2/2/24 WIDE
January 2024
77

ON SCREEN BOOKING GUIDE
WARNER BROS.
818-977-1850
DUNE: PART TWO
Fri, 3/1/24 WIDE
Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Rating: PG-13
Genre: SF
Specs: Imax, Dolby Vis/Atmos
MICKEY 17
Fri, 3/29/24 WIDE
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Dra/SF
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW
EMPIRE
Fri, 4/12/24 WIDE
Director: Adam Wingard
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/SF
Specs: Imax
FURIOSA
Fri, 5/24/24 WIDE
Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy,
Chris Hemsworth
Director: George Miller
Rating: NR
Genre: Act
THE WATCHERS
Fri, 6/7/24 WIDE
Director: Ishana Night Shyamalan
Rating: NR
Genre: Thr
UNTITLED DC EVENT FILM 2024
Fri, 6/21/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA
CHAPTER 1
Fri, 6/28/24 WIDE
Stars: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller
Director: Kevin Costner
Rating: NR
UNTITLED NEW LINE HORROR
EVENT FILM 2024 1
Fri, 7/12/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
Genre: Hor
TRAP
Fri, 8/2/24 WIDE
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: NR
Genre: Thr
HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA
CHAPTER 2
Fri, 8/16/24 WIDE
Director: Kevin Costner
Rating: NR
BEETLEUICE 2
Fri, 9/6/24 WIDE
Stars: Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega
Rating: NR
Genre: Com
JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX
Fri, 10/4/24 WIDE
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: NR
Genre: Dra/Thr
ALTO KNIGHTS
Fri, 11/22/24 WIDE
Stars: Robert De Niro,
Debra Messing
Director: Barry Levinson
Rating: NR
Genre: Dra
UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM 2024
Fri, 11/22/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM
Fri, 12/13/24 WIDE
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani/Fan
UNTITLED NEW LINE EVENT FILM
2024 4
Fri, 12/20/24 WIDE
Rating: NR
MINECRAFT
Fri, 4/4/25 WIDE
Stars: Jason Momoa
Director: Jared Hess
Rating: NR
Genre: Ani
SUPERMAN: LEGACY
Fri, 7/25/25 WIDE
Stars: David Corenswet,
Rachel Brosnahan
Director: James Gunn
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/ADv
THE BATMAN PART II
Fri, 10/3/25 WIDE
Stars: Robert Pattinson
Director: Matt Reeves
Rating: NR
Genre: Act/Thr
UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM 2025
Fri, 12/19/25 WIDE
Rating: NR
DUNE: PART TWO
Fri, 3/1/24 WIDE
78 January 2024

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Image Credits & Acknowledgments
Cover: Adobe Stock
Page 3: Photo by Moris Puccio. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.
© 2023 Legendary Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
Page 4: Courtesy of The Mahoning Drive-In Theater
Page 7: Photo courtesy Kimberly Brown
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Releasing
Page 25: Photos courtesy Alamo Drafthouse, AMC
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Page 36: Courtesy ICE Theaters
Page 39: Courtesy ScreenX
Pages 40–42: Courtesy Cine A
Pages 44–49: Courtesy of The Mahoning Drive-In Theater
Page 51: Courtesy ICTA
Page 52: Courtesy Frank Tees, ICTA
Pages 54, 56, 58: Courtesy of Tomlinson Holman
Page 57: Photo by Andy Davis, Courtesy of Tomlinson
Holman
Page 58: Photo courtesy THX
Pages 61–62: Courtesy Strong MDI
Pages 63–69: Photo by Moris Puccio. Courtesy of Sony
Pictures. © 2023 Legendary Entertainment. All Rights
Reserved.
Page 70: Photo courtesy Fathom Events
Page 71: Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
Page 72: Photo by Niko Tavernise. Courtesy of Metro
Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Page 73: Courtesy of Disney/Pixar. © 2023 Disney/Pixar.
All Rights Reserved.
Page 74: Photo by Michele K. Short. Courtesy of Focus
Features. © 2023 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved
Page 75: Courtesy of Sony Pictures. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
Page 76: Photo by Anne Marie Fox. Courtesy of Universal
Pictures. © 2023 Universal Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Page 77: Courtesy of Universal Pictures. © 2023 Universal
Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Page 78: Photo by Niko Tavernise. © 2023 Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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