AUDIENCES STILL PREFER TO SEE BLOCKBUSTERS IN A CINEMA

WEEKLY FILM INDUSTRY NEWS DIGEST, UPDATED THURSDAY AUGUST 20

Audiences Still Prefer to See ‘Tenet,’ ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ in Movie Theaters…

There appears to be a negligible difference for theatergoing between a 17-day theatrical window and no window at all, with 15% of respondents saying they would probably or definitely choose to see a movie in theaters even if they could watch it immediately at home. That suggests a solid floor of core support for the theatrical experience regardless of home viewing options that exhibitors can build on in the coming months and years as COVID-19 dangers begin to subside.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/wonder-woman-1984-tenet-james-bond-theater-preference-survey-1234738046/

Analyst Touts "Impressive" Imax Box Office Share

"Higher-than-usual demand" for Imax screenings of library content amid cinema reopenings in such markets as China "is a potentially solid early indicator of movie-going behavior coming out of the COVID-19 industry shutdown," says B. Riley FBR's Eric Wold. “….As consumers begin returning to theaters globally in the coming weeks we have speculated that consumers would increasingly gravitate toward premium and higher-quality movie-going experiences, such as Imax."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/analyst-touts-impressive-imax-china-box-office-share

‘Sponge On The Run’ & ‘Unhinged’ Kick Off Domestic Weekend Box Office In Canada

Canada’s biggest chain, Cineplex Entertainment,had 137 of its 164 locations reopened….Canada typically reps 8%-10% of the domestic box office on a major tentpole opening in both countries. While neither pic’s results were mindblowing, they are respectable, especially as exhibition aims to click back with reduced auditorium capacities (ranging from 20%-40%).

https://deadline.com/2020/08/sponge-on-the-run-unhinged-kick-off-domestic-weekend-box-office-in-canada-sunday-1203014611/

International Box Office

China’s overall three-day weekend was a 65% increase on the last session with about $26.7M. It also helped that capacity restrictions were eased to 50% and that Friday included strong previews of controversial local war pic The Eight Hundred which continues sneaks during the next week before officially launching on August 21.

https://deadline.com/2020/08/china-harry-potter-eight-hundred-interstellar-bad-boys-for-life-inception-international-box-office-coronavirus-1203013370/

China’s ‘The Eight Hundred’ on Blockbuster Track After Huge Monday Previews

The very respectable occupancy levels, equating to 74 tickets per session, come despite capacity in Chinese cinemas currently being limited to 50% by post-coronavirus physical distancing requirements. When Chinese cinemas first reopened on July 20, cinemas were only allowed to sell 30% of their seats.

https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/china-eight-hundred-blockbuster-huge-previews-1234738403/‪

AMC Theatres Plans 15-Cent Movie Tickets for U.S. Circuit Relaunch

The largest domestic circuit, shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic, expects to open around 100 American theaters, or a sixth of its circuit in one week. To mark the relaunch, seats sold for movies screenings on Aug. 20 will be available for the 1920 admission price of 15 cents…

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amc-theatres-plans-15-cent-movie-tickets-us-circuit-relaunch-1307259

AMC’s Shudder Streaming Service Launching in Australia, New Zealand

MC Networks’ speciality SVOD service Shudder launched Monday in Australia and New Zealand …Shudder offers a menu of on-demand horror, thriller, and suspense programming and originally rolled out in the U.S. It has since expanded to Canada, the U.K. and Germany.

https://variety.com/2020/streaming/asia/amc-shudder-australai-new-zealand-horror-1234736436-1234736436/

Eight New Blumhouse Horror Films Coming to Amazon

The first four films will premiere in October, with the rest of the slate being unveiled in 2021.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/blumhouse-movies-amazon-1234733954/

U.K. Streaming Spending Rises 25 Percent Amid Pandemic

Monthly spend has increased by $132 million since lockdown began in March…82 percent of U.K. consumers currently pay for video services, with one-third of these video customers subscribing to at least one new streaming service since March 2020…

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/britain-streaming-spending-rises-25-percent-amid-pandemic-exclusive