Commentary
Game-to-movie crossovers boost cinema’s comeback
The cinema trade isn't sitting still in the wake of the pandemic and the streaming TV revolution. Amusement and entertainment IPs are key factors in the resurgence.
May 22, 2023 by Kevin Williams
This has been a pivotal year for the cinema and amusement sectors, having been reported as dead by mainstream media during the global health crisis.
The cinema trade recently revealed how hard the U.S. movie theater business was impacted by the past global health crisis with a state of the industry report by the Cinema Foundation, a non-profit arm of the National Association of Theatre Owners. It was reported that some 2,000 theater screens were lost across the country. It was also reported that average ticket prices have risen from $9.16 to $10.53 during the period of 2019 to 2022.
Much of the findings paints a picture of the industry not just battling with the aftermath of the pandemic, but with current economic conditions.
How much of the impact on the box-office is the continued impact of the depression in the movie theater business, fueled by the fires of the streaming TV revolution, was not made clear in the report. Further moves to address the downturn are evident in a greater entertainment component added to the theater operation mix.
Studios strike back
Sony Pictures Entertainment has introduced four race rig simulators running the PS5 smash hit "Grand Turismo 7." These race rigs use the brand-new D-Box motion system with its HF-L4 employed on several rigs. The reason for the promotion was in another movie tie-in with video gaming with the August release of "Gran Turismo –—the Movie," charting a story of a gamer's rise in professional racing.
This is based on the smash hit series of racing games across the PlayStation family, and marks the latest game-to-movie crossover. The simulators will be rolled out in theaters to promote the film.
Speaking of race simulation, Spider Entertainment announced a partnership with Base Performances to represent its race-rig platform, the "Phoenix," in the location based entertainment sector. The simulator was recently installed at Andretti's indoor carting location in Orlando and the two companies will be announcing a major rollout of the system for venues that need to have a reliable and profitable sim racing solution for their guests.
Betson Enterprises, meanwhile, has introduced amusement pieces for theater operators to consider — including the deluxe "Fast & Furious Arcade" motion racer from Raw Thrills. The popular movie franchise is immortalized in its own deluxe amusement release in a compelling crossover from big screen IP into amusement ROI.
Amusement/cinema crossovers
Amusement representation has also focused on the FEC ambitions for some cinema operators such as from Shaffer Distributing, Amusement Products — representing the Vex Solution VR platform.
For many in the traditional amusement trade, the cinema scene has been a difficult market to fathom, but the move to greater entertainment technology to draw the audience is starting to increase its viability.
VR360Action has introduced its two-rider "Dream Simulator" and the child-focused "Baby Shark VR."
Cinema chains such as AMC and others have installed lobby-based VR attractions from the likes of Dreamscape, while developer Immersive Gamebox has also installed its mixed reality based immersive enclosure system.
The industry is paying close attention to how these entertainment additions are accepted by the audience.
The reality seems to be a resurging business — seeing rebounding box office sales in some cases, as an audience votes with their feet regarding films they want to see.
Global cinema expands
The international cinema business was also seen to be making investments towards growing market share — especially in emerging territories — looking to grow a new audience.
In India, retail giant Ingka Centres has signed a partnership with multiplex chain PVR Inox for a nine-screen movie theater rollout across its Indian holdings. What will be called the "Meeting Place" will be high-end multiplexes — the first of these opening in 2025.
Meanwhile, in China, Imax recorded, over the six days of the May Day holiday, a record $7.8 million, its second highest grossing income.
There have also been several deployments in the "Super Premium Cinema" scene, such as the Tokyo-based 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku venue chain opening in April, with plans to open some SPC sites in the territory.
This is the adoption of a premium experience, with cocktails and meal service, and offering VIP seats and a high quality immersive screen auditorium.
Super premium experience emerges
The SPC scene has been populated with numerous brands that are building on reimagining the movie theater business. One such example is Everyman Media and its Everyman chain of 38 bespoke cinemas in the U.K. The company recently posted revenue of £78 million ($97.09 million) after last year's £49 million ($61 million) — and reporting profits of some £402,000 ($500,410), making a return to strong business. The operation announced it will be moving forward with an organic expansion and evaluating acquisition opportunities.
These SPCs are accelerated in popularity by big film releases that make full use of the immersive experiences, as seen with the success of "Avatar: The Way of Water," acting as a strong impetus for audiences to hunt down cinemas offering premium screens rather than the more traditional experience.
This was also reflected in Imax remaining the largest global provider, while CJ 4DPlex and its Screen X, 4DX Screen and 4DX brands carve out a significant part of the market.
This all depends, in some part, on the D-Box haptic cinema seating and immersive technology.
CJ 4DPlex announced that the "Super Mario Bros." movie has broken the record for highest grossing animated movie on the 4DX platform, $6.3 million across some 58 4DX theaters.
Imax announced it will partner with Evo Entertainment Group to install eight installations within Evo Entertainment and ShowBiz Cinema locations in North America, mainly in Texas and Florida. This will see the inclusion of a more high-end cinema and entertainment offering from the group, with the new upscaled Imax installations including the latest projection technology and seat layout, supporting the Evo venues' inclusion of bowling, dining and high-end amusement and attractions.
Loyalty and subscriptions support
The cinema sector has also been investing in its audience, seeing numerous new loyalty programs supported by subscription apps being rolled out. One such saw SeatHero announce a partnership with CinemaPlus to grow its new loyalty program, supported by an updated POS system.
Several of the planned blockbuster releases for the next part of the 2023 season are major moves that will play on their "experience" element — such as with "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning," "Dune: Part Two," and "Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny," among others.
Videogame IPs make a difference
The movie industry can thank a lot of its renewed box office success to tentpole movie sequels, from "Avatar," to "John Wicks" and "TopGun" — but also the movie franchise building on successful videogame IP has been established in movie and streaming from "Pinball Man," "Tetris" to "Super Mario Bros." and "Sonic."
The importance of IP from the videogame sector for movie and streaming releases is gathering full pace — with releases based on the production adventures of the classic game "Tetris" and the rebirth of pinball gaming gaining recognition.
There are more game-based movies in the works, such as with the announced "Gran Turismo — the Movie." But next to this, it was revealed that several movie studios are working on entertainment venue concepts that incorporate a strong mix of movie, videogame and attraction.
Challenges remain
One of the most momentous developments has been the departure, under a cloud, of NBC Universal's CEO. Owned by Comcast, this development has seen a scramble to fill the influential theme park, movie studio and streaming corporation chair — with even the recently-fired Disney CEO reportedly placed in the running to fill this position.
At the same time, The Walt Disney Co. has also been linked to high level discussions regarding its streaming and movie studios — such as LucasFilms and Marvel Studios. This is in the face of the ongoing Disney layoffs that have seen impact in its studios, with some prominent executive departures and the 20th Digital Studio being dissolved.
News comes of talks that have been rumored to include tech giant Apple. All part of plans laid out by the CEO towards investing some $17 billion into the entertainment corporation investment in Walt Disney World alone over the next 10 years.
Challenges continue, but the cinema industry isn't sitting still.
(Editor's note: Extracts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published by Spider Entertainment and its director, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive out-of-home entertainment news service covering the immersive frontier and beyond.)
About Kevin Williams
Along with advisory positions with other entrants into the market he is founder and publisher of the Stinger Report, “a-must-read” e-zine for those working or investing in the amusement, attractions and entertainment industry. He is a prolific writer and provides regular news columns for main trade publications. He also travels the globe as a keynote speaker, moderator and panelist at numerous industry conferences and events. Author of “The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities,” the only book on this aspect of the market, with the second edition scheduled for a 2023 release.
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