More Than Just Tentpole Movies Will Return To Theaters, Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble Predicts, As Windows Shift Cuts Risk
deadline.comCinemark CEO Sean Gamble, like many in the exhibition trenches, is optimistic about the crop of movies headed to theaters in 2022, starting with The Batman next week.During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call with Wall Street analysts, he also suggested that a more diverse mix of titles will return to theaters as Covid continues to ease.
That means more specialty and mid-budget fare, elements that have been lagging, in part because many older moviegoers have continued to steer clear of theaters for safety reasons.“Even prior to the pandemic, we were beginning to see a little bit higher concentration of blockbuster films,” Gamble said when asked about the impact of that homogenization on Cinemark’s business. “Some of that was just the higher levels of risk that were starting to take place with regard to some of the smaller and mid-tier films.
Interestingly, as you look at the environment today with a more dynamic window, even though some of the smaller and mid-tier films have reduced in volume, partly because of the pandemic and partly because of some of the near-term dynamics with some of the streaming platforms.”While Gamble didn’t delve into the economics, he was referring to a tighter window between theatrical and streaming, which enables distributors to consolidate marketing costs. “The actual risk factor associated with that has actually improved because of the more dynamic window,” Gamble said. “So, I think there’s the potential over time that we may start to see more of the smaller and mid-tier films getting released theatrically, which could balance out the mix.”The CEO conceded that it’s unclear where everything will shake out in the future. “There continues to be an evolution and things to sort out
Read more on deadline.com