New business models and forward-looking ideas for operating in a changed market environment are the goals of Kinoton Digital Solutions, which as of July 1 has begun operations from its base in Germering, Germany. The successor, following liquidation, to Kinoton, the company says it will continue to offer customers custom-tailored, sustainable, complete cinema solutions as well as a comprehensive range of services and products.
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has announced plans for a new partnership with the Hollywood Post Alliance. The partnership will begin with SMPTE providing administrative support to HPA, and it is expected to culminate in the merger of the two organizations by May 2015.
Arts Alliance Ventures announced today that it is merging its existing opera-to-rock cinema content businesses into a single integrated company to capitalize on the rapidly growing global market for event cinema.
China’s largest movie media group, China Movie Media Group (影时尚 Ying Shishang), announced today it will open its first United States office in Los Angeles, California. In tandem, it will team with its first U.S. studio, Paramount Pictures, to launch the marketing of Transformers: Age of Extinction (TF4) in China, a movie that has incorporated many Chinese elements and locations.
According to Fandango, X-Men: Days of Future Past is pacing to be the biggest X-Men movie opening in Fandango history, overpowering the company’s previous record-holder, 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand.
Fandango has added Harkins Theatres, Digiplex Destinations and Premiere Cinemas to its cinema network. These latest exhibitor agreements bring Fandango’s ticketing conveniences to an additional 1,000 screens in a dozen states including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Fandango now powers online and mobile ticketing for more than 24,000 U.S. screens, representing the vast majority of the nation’s theaters.
Carmike Cinemas and Digital Cinema Destinations (Digiplex) have announced that their boards of directors have approved a definitive agreement for Carmike to acquire Digiplex.
National CineMedia announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Screenvision, for $375 million of cash and stock on a debt free, cash free basis. We will have a more complete report with analysis in the coming days.
Evergrande Real Estate Group, one of the ten largest real estate developers in Mainland China, is expanding its business to the cinema industry. In an initial phase, the Evergrande Cinema Line is building 77 cinema complexes in residential neighborhoods across the country, five of which are already operational.
Cinedigm and Rapid Eye Film announced they have entered into a multi-picture distribution and production output deal for North America encompassing 15 films. Rapid Eye Film will produce, co-produce or acquire three to four genre-centric films per year. Cinedigm will handle the theatrical and home entertainment release and distribution strategy for each picture, with Rapid Eye Film producing and managing the marketing.
