Blockbuster Time Is Back for Movie Palaces—And the Public

With the coming of autumn and the going of extreme coronavirus pandemic conditions around the nation two executives participating in the latest Jack Myers Leadership Conversation see a snapback in movie theater business as people resume their penchant for watching firstrun flicks inside their neighborhood filmrunning venueBoth Ken Thewes chief marketing officer of Regal Cinemas the second largest US theater chain and Cliff Marks president of intheater advertising provider National CineMedia acknowledge the last six months when lockdowns forced all movie theaters to close were difficult However with most theaters back open albeit at limited audience capacity earlier this month and the acclaimed film Tenet an early draw Thewes and Marks sense a rebound is underway Two factors behind that outlook initial consumer reaction to safety measures introduced with the viewing experience and a powerful lineup of movies set to reach theaters this fall and throughout 2021quotI don39t think there39s another media industry in America that was actually asked to shut down to be a part of the solution by the US governmentquot Marks suggested at last week39s Leadership Conversation quotIt39s been a very humbling experience for the cinema industry to be shut down for six months and to watch the media we love so much be dormantquotAnd now quotNothing39s more exciting than coming backquot Marks continued quotOur industry is resilient We get to reemerge and get people back to the moviesquotquotIt was a tough time to shut down all of our theatersquot concurred Thewes quotWe39re thankful that we have some great movies playing right now and we39re getting up to 100 percent of our theaters being openquot Regal operates 539 theaters nationwide 64 percent of them operating again as of midSeptember However cinema locations in New York City Los Angeles and San Francisco remain closedAttendance will rise as the buzz for upcoming flicks grows Thewes added Releases over the next three months include the new James Bond thriller No Time To Die Eddie Murphy39s Coming 2 America sequel and Steven Spielberg39s contemporary update of iconic musical West Side Story quotWe39ll have big movie after big movie that will play and we39ll have plenty of screens for themquot he saidAs Regal resumes operations Marks39 company is once again offering Noovie NCM39s preshow which gives movie audiences a reason to arrive at the theater early to discover what39s next including exclusive entertainment content intheater gaming and engaging advertising from national regional and local brands covered in a separate MediaVillage article earlier this month Ford ATampampT and Heineken beer were among the opening week sponsors Marks expects more of NCM39s recurring advertisers will resume sponsorships as attendance growsSo far customers are adapting well to Regal39s new policy on theater attendance using quotCinema Safequot guidelines from the National Association of Theater Owners Visitors and employees must wear masks at all times except while eating with two seats blocked off on either side of where a person or group sits inside the theater for social distancing Advance ticket purchases by mobile phone is encouraged and theaters are disinfected between screenings using an innovative quickdry ecofriendly fogging system similar to that being used by airlinesCustomer satisfaction has increased by six percent since Regal39s locations reopened Thewes pointed out quotThey39re feeling safe They39re having a better experience It39s been a collaborative processquot he addedAccording to NCM39s latest wave of Behind The Screens moviegoer research 97 percent of movie fans ages 1834 rated their recent moviegoing experience positively and they said went back because they missed the moviegoing experience When asked to evaluate movie theaters and other indoor venues with respect to COVID19 safety measures 93 percent of respondents said the movie theater met or exceeded their expectations scoring above grocery stores retail stores restaurantsbars hair or nail salons gyms bowling alleys or museumsThe next step is to get that message across to families especially mothers who remain skeptical about traveling to indoor events despite a decline in coronavirus cases quotPassing that mom test is a big big hurdlequot Marks admitted quotOnce we pass that test and Mom feels comfortable that will open the floodgates Getting her on board is importantquotImprovements in lobby environments made during the shutdown will help matters quotWe39re out to become an immersive experiencequot continued Thewes quotThe moment you walk in it39s highenergy We39ve got digital signage all over that set the tone for what you experience in the auditoriumquot Concession stands with employees wearing masks and watching their social distancing serve a wider variety of food and drink Inside screening rooms expect advanced Dolby sound systems laser projection of some films and atmospheric digital effectsRegal is exploring the ability to purchase tickets in advance through cable systems smart TV sets and TVconnected gadgets by voice or remote quotIt39s our plan to make it as easy to buy a ticket as possiblequot Thewes maintainedOn NCM39s end conversations continue with Nielsen about having cinema ad viewing presented alongside data on TV services Nielsen recently announced plans to terminate outofhome measurement reports but Marks pointed out NCM has access to detailed ticket sales and seat occupancy data they39re offering to Nielsen as an accurate 39surrogate39 for panel dataquotGive us some time to see how that worksquot Marks insisted quotIf not we39ll create a new measurement that will be thirdparty objective Right now we get a lot of good data that makes me feel good that people are coming back We are the original social mediumquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Blockbuster Time Is Back for Movie Palaces—And the Public

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Simon Applebaum

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Blockbuster Time Is Back for Movie Palaces—And the Public

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