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 […]

SHARES OF THEATER CHAINS NOSEDIVE

Shares of the nation’s largest theater chains have plunged along with ticket sales in the fourth quarter as analysts revised their earnings estimates for the chains after the chains themselves reported revenue declines for the first three quarters — that is, even before the dreadful holiday season. The Hollywood Reporter observed today (Friday) that attendance […]

MOBILE PHONES BECOME MOVIE TICKETS

Thanks in large part to a new mobile phone app, online movie-ticket site Fandango says that a record 22 percent of the tickets it sold for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 were ordered via mobile phones. In fact, it said, mobile phone sales topped those for the final Harry Potter movie, which came […]

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 […]

EXHIBITOR BOASTS ABOUT POPCORN PROFITS

Comments at an investors conference by David Ownby, CFO of theater-chain owners Regal Entertainment Group, about the company’s popcorn profits have drawn the ire of BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield. Greenfield quoted Ownby as saying, “One of my friends is a commodity trader and every time the price of popcorn goes up, he calls me to […]

REPORT: EARLY VIDEO-ON-DEMAND COMING BY JUNE

At least three studios plan to participate in a test with satellite operator DirecTV of so-called early video-on-demand before the end of June, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Thursday), citing people familiar with the matter. However, in an apparent effort to appease theater owners who are concerned that early releases will harm ticket sales, […]