EXCLUSIVE: The UCB Theatre is coming back as Mosaic founder Jimmy Miller and former CEO/Owner of The Onion Mike McAvoy have acquired the legendary comedy brand with the financial support from Elysian Park Ventures.
09.03.2022 - 05:05 / deadline.com
Sean Gamble, CEO of No. 3 exhibitor Cinemark, envisions more than just superhero fare saving the day for the theater business as it emerges from the darkest days of Covid.
“I could see more quantity of films released over time, rather than less” because of the dramatic changes in the sector, Gamble said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. That uptick in volume, he said, will be due to the rise of newer players like Apple, Netflix and Amazon, along with ongoing efforts by traditional distributors.
Cinemark has conducted extensive test-and-learn initiatives with Netflix, booking Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead nationally for a one-week exclusive theatrical run last year. While that engagement didn’t yield big results, Gamble said more examples are in the offing, though he didn’t offer specifics. “They’re seeing the value of releasing those films, promotionally and in terms of how it improves and enhances the impression of that content,” he said. “It’s also really important to the creative community.”
Gamble declined to say whether domestic box office would return to the pre-pandemic high point of $11.4 billion in 2019. But he said strong results by several films in the second half of 2021 and then in the current quarter offer ample reason for optimism. He also expects a wider range of genres in theaters, as opposed to the superheroes-will-conquer-all narrative that many industry observers have adopted.
“One of the challenges prior to the pandemic that the traditional studios experienced was on the smaller-to-mid-tier films because of the rigid window,” he said. Exclusive theatrical windows had been a minimum of 10 weeks, often a bit longer, but are now contracting to 45 days or less.
“The cost to make
EXCLUSIVE: The UCB Theatre is coming back as Mosaic founder Jimmy Miller and former CEO/Owner of The Onion Mike McAvoy have acquired the legendary comedy brand with the financial support from Elysian Park Ventures.
“When I really love someone, I don’t notice others,” utters Anais (Anais Demoustier) to her affair partner while laying in bed together. It’s ominous wording for what’s to come for the protagonist in writer/director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s new romantic comedy Anais In Love. It is similar to Jochum Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, but while that film feels grounded, Anais has its head in the clouds. However, that isn’t a massive ding on the movie as the over-optimism is used to its advantage as the character breaks numerous boundaries and hearts in her quest to find the one person who will become her everything.
Actress and singer Krysta Rodriguez (Halston) has joined the cast of Out Of Order, a new comedy starring Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington and Brooke Shields.
2022 CMT Awards have been announced. The line-up is stacked with a roster of some of this year’s nominees.The CMT Awards is known for bringing some of the best world premiere performances and biggest collaborations and this year is no exception. The first round of performers announced include Kelsea Ballerini, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Carley Pearce and Keith Urban.
EXCLUSIVE: Tom Blyth (Billy the Kid), Chris Diamantopolous (Red Notice), Jordyn Denning (Pam & Tommy), Zach Villa (Good Mourning with a U) and Jay Mohr (The Cleaning Lady) have signed on to star in the comedy Discussion Materials, marking the feature directorial debut of TV writer, director and producer Alfredo Barrios Jr.
Christopher Vourlias At a time when he was both his country’s most celebrated novelist and a journalist struggling to make ends meet, “Zorba the Greek” author Nikos Kazantzakis set sail for Japan on a formative journey that would shape the latter half of his career – and ultimately lead to his untimely death.Based on the written account of his travels in the Far East, “Last Voyage,” by journalist and documentary filmmaker Aris Chatzistefanou, examines that journey while using it as a framework to explore how the period between the two World Wars shaped what would come to be known as the “Japanese Miracle.” Produced by Kyriakos Chatzistefanou for Moviementa Productions, the film premieres this week at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Greece’s greatest modern writer occupies a singular place in the country’s literary canon.
Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorIn the best visual effects Oscar race, the underdog is Shawn Levy’s “Free Guy.” Despite being set in a virtual world, the film was made for $100 million with an even smaller budget for VFX. But that didn’t prevent the film’s visual effects supervisor Swen Gillberg from delivering some of the best VFX sequences this year, as Ryan Reynold’s character Guy is thrust into the world of Free City, a “Grand Theft Auto”-inspired gaming world.“Free Guy” is an easter egg treasure trove, but perhaps the biggest is the nod to Captain America, Star Wars and the Hulk.
In the first five minutes of his conversation with Universal Film Entertainment Group Chairman Donna Langley today at SXSW, CNN’s Frank Pallotta got to the aorta of what anyone in Hollywood wants to know from the studio boss: what’s the situation on theatrical-day-and-date, the state of moviegoing and whether the pandemic truly messed the business up.
U.K. trio Honeyglaze's story is one of fate and chance. The band only met for the first time just three days prior to a residency at south London venue The Windmill (where bands including Black Country New Road, Sorry, and Black Midi also cut their teeth) and it was during that run that they came to the attention of Speedy Wunderground label boss Dan Carey.
Zoe Hewitt Earning recognition for hard work feels good and earning it from your peers in your chosen career path is even more special. This year’s nominees for the Costume Designers Guild Awards, which takes place on March 9 at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, are reaping acknowledgement directly from fellow designers who understand better than anyone what goes into the process.Salvador Perez, president of the CDG, is busy planning the 24th annual awards, hosted by Andrew Rannells and Casey Wilson, with multiple contingencies in place, from forging ahead with a live event to streaming the evening online.“Since [audiences] aren’t doing anything, they’re actually paying more attention [to our work],” says Perez.
David Viramontes Greig Fraser’s first conversations with Matt Reeves began before the director ever signed on to the comic book film. While in post-production on his “Planet of the Apes” movies, Reeves talked to the cinematographer about being approached by Warner Bros. to helm a new film adaptation of the Caped Crusader.
Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterJennifer Lopez’s “Marry Me” is the most-streamed day-and-date movie on Peacock and Will Smith’s gritty “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” reboot “Bel-Air,” which debuted after the Super Bowl last month, is the platform’s top series, Comcast CEO and chairman Brian Roberts said during a Morgan Stanley conference Monday.More to come…
Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney has given a glimpse inside her off-screen life from the hit HBO drama alongside actress Zendaya. The 24 year old, who plays Cassie Howard in the hit American teenage drama, has also starred in The Handmaid's Tale as Eden after she rose to fame in the Netflix series Everything Sucks! for her role as Emaline.
Dalton Mills, a large former textile mill in West Yorkshire that as a filming location hosted series including Downton Abbey and the first season of Peaky Blinders, caught fire Thursday, requiring more than 100 firefighters to get the blaze under control.
Marcus Theatres is transforming an auditorium at its Gurnee Mills theater outside Chicago into a sports bar with high-def monitors and food and drink starting with March Madness as chains experiment with new ways to attract patrons.
Naman Ramachandran A massive fire broke out on Thursday afternoon local time at Dalton Mills, the disused West Yorkshire factory used on “Downton Abbey” and “Peaky Blinders” shoots.Confirming the incident, the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service posted on their website: “We currently have fire engines & specialist units in attendance at a fire at Dalton Mills, Keighley. There is a lot of smoke in the area & residents are advised to keep doors/windows closed.