SHARES OF THEATER CHAINS DROP DESPITE PICK UP IN ATTENDANCE

Ordinarily after a weekend that saw theater attendance soar, one might have expected that the stock of exhibitors would also follow suit. Such was not the case, however, with shares of several exhibitors tumbling in near free fall, presumably in reaction to last weekend’s theater shooting in Aurora, CO. Worst hit was Carmike Cinemas, whose […]

DISNEY LATEST TO JOIN BAN-THE-SUGAR-AND-FAT LEAGUE

Disney chief Robert Iger has unveiled what it calls “Magic of Healthy Living” guidelines to be applied to all of its broadcast and cable programs. In effect, the guidelines will bar makers of sugary and fat-laden products from buying ads on Disney programs. However, the ban does not take effect until 2015. Several companies that […]

MOVIE PASS HEADED OFF AT THE PASS BY EXHIBITORS

When it comes to MoviePass, a theater subscription service that would allow moviegoers to watch an unlimited number of films in theaters of their choice for $50 a month, most theater chains have taken a pass. So many, in fact, that MoviePass has canceled its test roll-out of the service that was supposed to take […]

EXHIBITOR SLAMS 3D

by stepping up production of 3D movies with its attendant increase in ticket prices, has published an email from an independent exhibitor who agrees that 3D is already hurting his business. “We have seen lower attendance and reduced concession sales since we [installed 3D] last summer,” the exhibitor, whose name was redacted by Greenfield, says […]

WHY EVEN 2D MOVIES MAY NOW SEEM DARKER

With the proliferation of digital 3D projection systems throughout the U.S., some theater owners are leaving the special polarizing devices, nearly all of them made by Sony, on the lenses of their projectors even when they’re using them to show 2D movies, resulting in “drastically darker” screen images, according to the Boston Globe. A projectionist […]

STUDIOS PLANNING TO TAKE BIGGER SHARE OF BOX OFFICE REVENUE

Movie theater owners who may have been hoping to negotiate a larger share of the box-office split with studios in return for allowing premium video-on-demand are likely to see their hopes dashed this summer when the studios begin demanding a larger share themselves, according to BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield. In a note to clients […]