NO. 3 THEATER CHAIN REPORTS 28 PERCENT BOOST IN PROFITS

Cinemark Holdings, which operates the third-largest movie chain in the U.S. and is moving rapidly to raise its profile abroad, reported a 28-percent boost in earnings during the second quarter to $51.6 million on revenue of $649.6 million. Domestic business was up fractionally. Revenue from admissions rose 3 percent as attendance improved 4.1 percent and […]

AMC THEATRES IMPOSES DRESS CODE IN WAKE OF SHOOTING

The AMC theater chain on Friday banned face-covering masks and “offensive” costumes at its theaters in the wake of the shooting at a Colorado theater where The Dark Knight Rises was being shown. The theater’s action came after eyewitnesses told of seeing the alleged shooter dressed in black and wearing a mask and body armor […]

CINEMARK THEATERS TO OFFER HEALTHY SNACKS

Cinemark, the nation’s third-largest theater chain, is expanding its healthy-eating concession items. The exhibitor, which was the first to use Canola oil instead of highly saturated coconut oil to prepare popcorn and began dropping other snacks containing trans-fats two years go, is introducing a 450-calorie snack pack called Lite Bites, containing a “calorie counter” portion […]

SHAME BOX OFFICE: NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED ABOUT

Demonstrating — at least in the 10 venues where it was shown — that an NC-17 rating is not the kiss of death that it is often made out to be, Fox Searchlight’s Shame opened with $361,181 over the weekend, for an average of $36,118 per theater, far higher than any other movie currently in […]

THEATER OWNER BALKS AT $60 VIDEO-ON-DEMAND

It’s hard to imagine that any theater chain would feel threatened by Universal Pictures’ announcement on Wednesday that it plans to release the Eddie Murphy-Ben Stiller comedy Tower Heist on “Premium Video-on-Demand” two weeks after it hits theaters in two test markets, Portland, OR and Atlanta, for $60. But the Cinemark chain wasted no time […]

EXHIBITOR FIRES WARNING SHOT AT STUDIOS OVER VOD

Some theater chains are threatening not to run free trailers for movie studios if the studios go ahead with plans to inaugurate “Premium VOD” — that is, making movies available for viewing for around $30 via cable, satellite TV, or the Internet a few weeks after they premiere in theaters. “We are not here to […]

MOVIEGOERS IGNORE TICKET PRICE HIKES

The recent big hike in ticket prices at movie theaters across the country has apparently not affected attendance, Reuters observed Tuesday. The wire service cited a survey conducted by BTIG at 10 theaters operated by the AMC, Regal, and Cinemark chains, which found that tickets had increased an average of 8.3 percent for 3D screenings. […]