The Big Picture

Exhibition has made an admirable recovery from the pandemic. Box office grosses are up, though they have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. That’s because a sizable number of people have stopped going to the theatres. In a first-of-its-kind study done in partnership between The Quorum, Cultique and Fanthropology, more than 2,500 pre-pandemic theatre goers were polled to see if they have returned to the big screen or not. As this study shows, three driving factors have kept former theatre goers from returning: concerns over safety, price sensitivity, and the feeling that going to the theatre doesn’t provide a great experience. Exhibition is at a crossroads.

Last month, the much-anticipated Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened to the public. Its stated mission is to advance “the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible exhibitions, screenings, programs, initiatives, and collections.” The museum and its opening gala received a lot of well-deserved media attention. What hasn’t been so widely reported, however, is the important role that the Dolby family and company have played, and will continue to play, in the museum’s conception, design, and ongoing cinema efforts.

After more than a century as a key player in media and entertainment, Technicolor has gone through many changes in recent years. Today the company consists of four distinct businesses. Technicolor Creative Studios includes Technicolor Pre-Production, MPC, Mr. X, The Mill and Mikros Animation. Technicolor Connected Home is focused on the designing of broadband gateways and Android set-top boxes, and innovating in IoT, broadband fiber 2.5G and 10G. Technicolor Home Entertainment Services is a leader in the manufacturing and distribution of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and non-packaged media innovations. And Technicolor Trademark Licensing, which manages brand licensing opportunities for consumer electronic trademarks including RCA and Thompson.

At Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, in his annual address to open CinemaCon 2021, John Fithian, president, and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners was cautiously upbeat and simultaneously defiant about the state of the exhibition business. He thanked a long list of organizations for their part in helping movie theatres survive the worst of the COVID-19 crisis and expressed the belief that, while “we have reached the light at the end of a very long tunnel” there is much more work to be done if the cinema business is to thrive. He emphasized what he and everyone who cares about the idea of seeing movies on the big screen believes to be true: “Simultaneous release does not work for anyone. A steady flow of strong movies released with exclusive windows is essential to exhibition’s recovery, and to the profitability of the entire movie ecosystem.”