ICE Theaters Touts Flexibility and Immersion as Part of Global Sales Pitch
variety.comBen Croll With another seven premium theaters set to open in India by this coming December and negotiations ongoing with new partners in Europe, Asia and Latin America, ICE Theaters will hit the ground at this year’s CinemaCon with an expanding international portfolio and a heftier global reach. “Clearly, people know our brand,” says ICE Theaters senior VP sales and strategy Guillaume Thomine Desmazures. “When a massive group like India’s PVR Inox entrusts you to build several new cinemas over the next five years, that affords greater legitimacy.
Instead of [introducing ourselves and our product] we field more financial questions. People no longer ask who we are and what we do; they want to know about price and return-on-investment.
More so than last year, today, we’re really centered on business.” While offering revenue share or fixed fee models tailored to specific markets, ICE execs have adaptability as a key element of their sales pitch. “We can adjust our model for each client,” says Thomine Desmazures. “It really depends on the market, the average price, the occupancy rate, etc.
We have a lot of flexibility on this because it’s a model that allows for a return on investment within the first year.” Looking past CinemaCon, and beyond the marketing materials and speeches shared on an expo-floor, Thomine Desmazures believes that each ICE equipped theater can be its own best advocate, and that the most convincing pitch of all is when the two rows of LED screens alight, and align with the propulsive action on screen.
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