Not a fan? Mark Wahlberg isn’t judging anyone that uses Ozempic for weight loss — but he believes that healthy eating and exercise are the smarter way to go.
24.04.2023 - 13:27 / variety.com
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter No, the box office hasn’t fully rebounded from COVID-19 — as evidenced by the peaks (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie) and valleys (“Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” “Babylon”) of the last year. But despite all of the obituaries, the movie theater industry is poised to recover. A new study even shows that revenues in 2023 will reach $32 billion, a 10% increase on earlier estimates of $29 billion. Though those aren’t pre-pandemic levels of $41 to $42 billion, the revised projections are still a relief for exhibitors. After all, they struggled to stay afloat during the darkest days of the pandemic but have emerged with a renewed confidence in one truth: watching movies from the couch is overrated.
As Hollywood heads to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, Variety spoke to theater owners of circuits big and small all across the country to get a sense of the challenges and triumphs of running a multiplex in post-pandemic times. Sean Gamble, CEONumber of locations: 521 theaters across the U.S. What is the biggest challenge facing movie theaters? The reduced volume of film content. We’re highly encouraged because the production cycle that was disrupted by COVID is aiming to get back to pre-pandemic levels. And now we’re seeing larger streaming companies get into the space in more meaningful way. What movie was the saving grace for exhibitors? “Top Gun: Maverick.” It accelerated all audiences and wound up sizably outperforming what anyone was expecting. It continued to build positive momentum for the business after starts and stops. We’ve continued rolling ever since. What has been an unexpected winner at your theaters? “Smile.” It was made for streaming, but released theatrically by
Not a fan? Mark Wahlberg isn’t judging anyone that uses Ozempic for weight loss — but he believes that healthy eating and exercise are the smarter way to go.
The Jonas Brothers are heading across North America with THE TOUR of all tours!
Hollywood is reeving-up it’s engines for video game adaptations as “The Last of Us” is doing well for HBO as a second season is already in the works and Universal‘s “Super Mario Bros. Movie” is inching closer to crossing the billion-dollar mark at the global box office.
EXCLUSIVE: NBC is developing What Are the Odds? a Las Vegas sports book workplace comedy, from Prodigal Son co-creator Sam Sklaver, former Last Man Standing executive producer Kevin Hench, Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions banner and Universal Television. This marks Omaha’s first scripted TV comedy sale.
Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback are the Rising Stars of the Year!
I have just spent a week at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. I saw no sunlight from Monday around noon to Thursday. But I did see some movies, or at least part of them. It was of course CinemaCon week, or as I like to call it, ‘the unofficial start to Oscar season’. Many pundits might rather give the upcoming Cannes Film Festival with that kind of distinction, but in recent times this smoke-filled exhibitors extravaganza looks to be the starting gun, if you go by what the studios are dropping footage of between all the popcorn movies entertainment theatre owners really care about.
Joy Ride was one of the big winners at CinemaCon 2023!
Another day, another slay from Zendaya! The actress blessed Us with a fierce fashion statement at the CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 27.
CinemaCon 2023 officially drew to a close this evening in Las Vegas, with NATO handing out its Big Screen Achievement Awards to such recipients as Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Zendaya, Chris Meledandri and Melissa McCarthy. The evening’s sentiment continued the running theme of the four-day conference: celebrating and preserving the theatrical experience.
The latest Hunger Games, set decades before the original, is grittier and “more authentic” in some ways but doesn’t waver from existential questions, as relevant now as they were when the first films came out, said the director and producer of Ballads of Songbirds And Snakes.
“Nothing in any future I see can replace the communal theatrical experience,” emphasized Lionsgate Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson at the top of Lionsgate CinemaCon presentation, which closed out the 2023 Las Vegas confab this afternoon.
Aerosmith played a pair of huge shows in Boston and Maine along with a few Las Vegas residency dates.And then that was it.For the time being, it seemed like the rest of the country would have to “Dream On” when it came to a nationwide tour from the “Walk This Way” group.That might not be the case anymore though.Rumors are swirling that Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and the rest of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band may be announcing a new tour on May 1.Sadly, it may be a Farewell Tour.According to a Twitter user, venues all over the country have posted the classic rocker’s logo accompanied by a “Peace Out” image.So keep your eyes peeled — bittersweet emotion may be on its way.
Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav came to Las Vegas to put all of his chips on movie theaters. The executive made an appearance at CinemaCon, the annual convention of theatrical exhibitors, to reassure the crowd that the Warner Bros. Pictures Group was not interested in releasing its premium movies directly to streaming platform Max. “At Warner Bros., at DC Studios, we believe that everything is possible. This business could be bigger and stronger than its ever been,” Zaslav said on stage at Caesar’s Palace on Tuesday. “We believe in full windowing of the motion pictures. We do not want to do direct-to-streaming movies. We’re in no rush to bring the movie to Max.”
Brent Lang Executive Editor During the pandemic, studios experimented with shrinking the amount of time that their films screened exclusively in cinemas, while spending oceans of money to launch streaming services. But the debt they racked up has sent their share prices plummeting and, now, studios are making more movies for theaters and cutting back on their streaming budgets. CinemaCon, the annual exhibition industry showcase that is unfolding this week in Las Vegas, couldn’t be happier about the shift in strategy. John Fithian, the head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the trade group behind the show, touted the new state of play during his speech to the convention, while praising Apple and Amazon for embracing the big screen with movies like “Air” and the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Napoleon.” Both of these companies will reportedly spend more than $1 billion on theatrical films.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Denzel Washington told a Colosseum full of exhibition executives Monday at CinemaCon.
Ashanti and Nelly may be having a breakup-to-makeup moment! Over the weekend, the rapper and the singer were spotted together multiple times in Las Vegas. In a clip obtained by, Nelly, 48, and Ashanti, 42, held hands as they walked through T-Mobile Arena on Saturday during the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia fight.
Are Ashanti and Nelly rekindling their romance?!
Looks like Nelly and Ashanti are bringing old memories back to the surface!
Throwback alert! Ashanti and her ex-boyfriend Nelly were recently spotted holding hands — and now their fans are desperate to know whether the long-estranged duo are back together.