NATO CEO Predicts ‘Substantial’ 2012 Box Office Improvement
John Fithian says that after last year's public "food fight" over premium VOD releases, studios and exhibitors have held private talks about how to grow the business together and says 3D has settled into a stable growth pattern.
... He pointed to the strong box office start to 2012 as latest proof that film product is the key factor in the short-term ups and downs of the industry. Last year's movies were good, but the industry did not have enough good product and did not spread it well enough across the year, he said. That is why it was wrong that after a 3.7 percent box office decline and lower attendance last year, some observers once again started writing obituaries for the theatrical film business. "The epitaphs were in," Fithian said. ...
Discussing 3D, Fithian said it is "settling into a very important value-add for our members." Expectations for 3D were very high after Avatar, then crashed to the floor as some studios released weak 3D product. But now Hollywood seems to understand that "you can't just slap 3D on a bad movie," and exhibitors have learned how to get light sources and other theatrical factors right for 3D showings, the NATO boss said. Overall, 3D has now settled into a "very good stable growth pattern," is doing good business, and it looks like the industry will be able to grow here long-term.
Digital cinema is now at critical mass, with just shy of 27,000 U.S. theater screens out of 39,000 or so now digital, according to Fithian. That opens up new opportunities for alternative content, and the NATO boss said that exhibitors are particularly "looking to get more sports up on screens" in negotiations with sports leagues.
Predicting that this is "a big potential ticket seller," he said that "we haven't cracked that nut yet." ...
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