PaperAirplane Media

So maybe, it turns out that the reports of the death of the movie theatre going experience may have been greatly exaggerated (at least for this weekend)?  As we know, those questions were spawned from a year to date box office that entered this weekend trailing last year by -26.6%. It also comes from a Pixar brand that had several films go direct to streaming and had not had a $100 million opening since TOY STORY 4, which was 5 years ago. So yes the questions were out there… Turns out that the answer to both lines of questioning is eerily similar, serve up great content and people will indeed come to experience it in a movie theatre. And the good news is that not only did INSIDE OUT 2 exceed expecations, it is absolutely blew them out of the water. Comscore, Inc. Senior Media Analyst, Paul Dergarabedian Dergarbedian, sums up this weekend as “The industry is about to be turned inside out (in a good way) with the debut of Pixar's latest animated creation and with a morale boost provided by some BAD BOYS, the theatrical marketplace is preparing for could be the biggest domestic opening weekend of 2024. With INSIDE OUT 2 poised for a stellar showing (benefitting from a perfectly timed Father's Day weekend debut), animated films have been a bright spot this summer with both IF and THE GARFIELD MOVIE showing long-term playability and showcasing the importance of the family audience in the summer. This is also good news for the forthcoming DESPICABLE ME 4, that will get a boost from the excitement (and in-theatre marketing) surrounding big screen family fun offerings at the multiplex”. A great release date, stellar reviews (A CinemaScore) and audience with pent up demand all will add up to, the 2nd biggest animated opening of all time, the 2nd biggest opening in Disney/Pixar history and the biggest total weekend box office the 2nd weekend of the Barbenhiemer last July 28th. INSIDE OUT 2 is appealing to virtually everyone and Disney is reporting a 3 day opening of $155 million. Most pre-release estimates had INSIDE OUT 2 doing around $85 million for the 3 days, so this number is only 80% above that. Our friends over at EntTelligence are reporting that the average ticket price for the film this weekend was $12.53. They are also reporting that from a daypart perspective 22% of tickets were sold for showtimes prior to 1pm; 35% between 1 – 5pm; 26% between from 5pm – 8pm and 17% after 8pm. INISDE OUT 2 was not the only overperformer as BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE continues to also exceed all expectations. Sony is estimating a 3 day of $33 million which bringing the 10 day total to $112.34 million. That puts the film was off 42% from last weekend which is better than the 2nd weekend drop of 46% for the last film in the series BAD BOYS FOR LIFE. Overall box office looks like it will come in close to $215 million which put it about 30% better than the same weekend as a year ago and the best overall weekend since July 28 of last year.

I am devastated by the tragic loss of George Rouman. He was my dear friend, confidant, and partner in Geneva Convention. George’s leadership skills, business acumen, and experience were invaluable to the support he offered others in his community and across the nation. He was a mentor to so many and happily provided advice and knowledge. He was humble and never sought the limelight, but it always found him because of his selfless demeanor. So many will miss his passion for the motion picture industry, professionalism, and selfless leadership. May his legacy live on forever. ❤️ Please click on the link below to view his extensive obituary which is too large for a Linkedin post. https://lnkd.in/g68HwYCz

Join us for our May #WIESpeakerSeries with Special Guest Mike Polydoros, a tech entrepreneur and former Lionsgate executive who helped launch PaperAirplane Media, the game-changing Cinema Channel Marketing Agency. They’re all about total solutions for cinema and in-theatre marketing, with unmatched support for exhibitors, studios, and partners. Register and join us MAY 22, 2024 @ 10AM PT / 1PM ET https://lu.ma/35v8pj96 Sponsored by Onni Creative #cinemaexhibition #wie #womeninexhibition #paperairplanemedia #onnicreative #networking #speakerseries

In December 2022, Daniel Dockerty began a quest to visit every Marcus Theatres location. 153 movies and 5,310 Magical Movie Rewards points later, he completed that quest on March 14, 2024. To celebrate, Daniel was presented with the Spotlight of Excellence Best Customer Award by the Marcus Theatres Executive Team. Congratulations Daniel! #moviemagicexperience

It’s been a while since I have posted but here we are just one week out from the kickoff of the “official” Summer Moviegoing season (which by the way, for the first time since 2007-pandemic years not withstanding -does not have a Marvel Title on the date). It is not a surprise that we enter this weekend down 21% from last year (which had about $445 million of gross from SUPER MARIO) If you factor out the MARIO effect, 23 and 24 are virtually even during the same period.   That may be a “Pollyanna” view, but it also illustrates that we are just one MARIO away from closing the gap. During my studio days, we would look at our slate of films using a “portfolio” approach, meaning that we would wait and judge the entire slate not just one film. It feels like 24 should be looked at using that “portfolio” approach as well. The 4th quarter is loaded and the story for the year is far from over. There were over 50 films that showcased footage at CinemaCon Comscore, Inc. Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian puts it this way “As we stand on the cusp of the summer movie season with a 21% YTD deficit the industry can take solace in the fact that the titles on the horizon starting with THE FALL GUY look truly amazing and moviegoers will focus on the solid array of films and not the necessarily the ebb and flow of the box office. Goodwill will be a powerful currency that will be generated by the eclectic and appealing lineup of films over the 18 weeks of this all-important corridor for theatres.” Before we get to next week, there is this week and thankfully, there are a couple of solid films opening to help weather the storm. Leading the way is a film that actually was one of those pushed out of last year as CHALLENGERS is opening this week in 3,477 venues and Amazon/MGM is reporting an opening day total of $6.22 million (Including $1.9 million from Thursday). That should playout for a 3 day total of around $15 million or so which would be on the higher side of most pre-release predictions. CHALLENGERS looks to have some nice runway in front of it as well as both critics and audiences responded to the film. CHALLENGERS currently sits with an 88% fresh rating with Rotten Tomatoes and earned a B+ CinemaScore grade last night. With Zendaya as the lead (and now a bona fide star) The audience leaned heavily female (60%) and younger (75% under 35). In the runner up spot from Lionsgate and the Kingdom Story Company is UNSUNG HERO. The film took in $3.65 million on Friday (including $1.67 million from Thursday shows and advanced screenings). The film received a rare A+ CinemaScore grade from an audience that was heavily female (61%) and older (77% over 35). The film is most likely on track for an opening weekend total of around $8 million or so which have the film exceeding most pre-release projections. Lionsgate really rolled up their sleeves on this one with a heavy gross roots program that doesn’t always show up on tracking and is clearly paying dividends.