Regal Cinemas to Test Charging More for Blockbusters

Regal Entertainment Group plans to experiment with its own form of Uber-like “surge pricing,” as the country’s second-largest theater chain looks to rejuvenate its business after a brutal summer slump.

On the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call Tuesday, CEO Amy Miles told investors and analysts that the chain “expect[s] to conduct a ticket pricing test in several markets in early 2008” in partnership with online ticket seller Atom Tickets. Such a plan would be a significant change in an industry that tends to use a one size fits all strategy, whether it’s a box office smash like “Dunkirk” or a flop like “The Emoji Movie.”

“If an alternative pricing model is going to be successful we believe that one, it must provide a clear economic benefit to both exhibitors and our studio partners, and two, it should provide a compelling value proposition for our consumers.” Miles said on the call. “This test could be the first step towards a pricing model that drive incremental revenue in peak periods and incremental attendance in non-peak periods. Changes to the historical pricing structure have often been discussed but rarely tested in our industry and we’re excited to learn even more about how pricing changes impact customer behavior.”

Also Read: Open Road Owners AMC, Regal Explore Sale After Reporting $100 Million in Losses

Later in the call, Miles elaborated on the plans, saying Regal wanted to roll out that dynamic pricing in a statistically significant number of markets.

Miles also weighed in on subscription service MoviePass, which made waves when it was acquired by an analytics company earlier this month and dropped its price to $9.95 a month to see as many as one movie a day. MoviePass uses a debit card that reimburses theaters in full for films seen by passholders, but the low price caused the world’s largest theater chain, AMC Entertainment, to immediately push back, calling the service “not in the best interest of moviegoers.” Miles also drew a line in the sand at the possibility of Regal discounting its tickets.

“We will take a wait and see approach and we’re going to continue to enjoy the benefits of the full priced movie tickets that we’re receiving for all MoviePass customers,” she said on the call. “What we will not entertain is a discounted ticket arrangement or any participation in our concession sales as part of the arrangement.”

10 Biggest Billion-Dollar Entertainment Deals in 2016 (Photos)

Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.
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10. Disney buys a minority stake in BAMTech

Price tag: $1 billion

In August, the Mouse House announced that it paid $1 billion for a 33 percent stake in streaming video technology company BAMTech, which was spun off from Major League Baseball’s MLB Advanced Media. Disney plans to use BAMTech’s technology to launch a standalone ESPN streaming service – but without the same content as linear ESPN.
Disney
9. Dalian Wanda Group buys Dick Clark Productions

Price tag: $1 billion

The real estate and entertainment conglomerate owned by China’s richest man continues to snap up showbiz companies by the billion, acquiring the Golden Globes and American Music Awards producer for a cool $1 billion earlier this month.
Dick Clark Productions
8. Rovi acquires TiVo

Price tag: $1.1 billion

Video technology firm Rovi Corp., bought the pioneering live-TV recording tech company for $1.1 billion in a deal that was finalized in September. After the deal was complete, Rovi adopted the better-known TiVo name.
Getty Images
7. AMC Theatres buys Carmike Cinemas

Price tag: $1.2 billion

Wanda-owned AMC Theatres acquired Carmike, the U.S.’ fourth-largest exhibitor, forming the biggest theater chain in the country with more than 600 theaters. That surpasses Regal Entertainment, which operates 565 locations.
AMC/Carmike
6. AMC Theatres buys Odeon & UCI Cinemas

Price tag: $1.2 billion

AMC also added Odeon & UCI Cinemas, Europe's biggest chain, to its ever-expanding suite of cinemas. AMC will rename the company to Odeon Cinemas Group and maintain its London headquarters.
AMC/Odeon & UCI
5. Dalian Wanda Group buys Legendary Entertainment

Price tag: $3.5 billion

Wanda was responsible for the first megadeal of 2016, when it acquired the “Jurassic World” production company for $3.5 billion. Legendary lost $500 million in 2015, but its action-packed fare such as “Warcraft” is popular in China’s fast-growing movie market.
Legendary/Wanda
4. Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks

Price tag: $3.8 billion

The blowout success of animated films like “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory” was one of the stories of 2016, and NBCU doubled down on the genre by adding the “Kung Fu Panda” and “Shrek” studio to its fold.
DreamWorks
3. Lionsgate merges with Starz

Price tag: $4.4 billion

The “Hunger Games” studio and premium cable channel announced their merger plans in June, a year after telecom billionaire and major Starz shareholder John Malone bought a stake in Lionsgate. Starz will become an independently run subsidiary of Lionsgate once the deal is officially approved.
Lionsgate/Starz
2. Verizon buys Yahoo

Price tag: $4.8 billion – or maybe less

The embattled Internet 1.0 company finally found its lifeboat, selling its core business to Verizon for $4.8 billion in July, eight years after rejecting a $45 billion bid from Microsoft. But after the extent of Yahoo’s 2014 hack was revealed, Verizon was pushing for a $1 billion discount, and has been taking a second look at the deal.
Verizon/Yahoo
1. AT&T agrees to acquire Time Warner

Price tag: $85.4 billion

AT&T agreed to buy Time Warner, combining two century-old companies to create a content and distribution powerhouse in the biggest media deal since the ill-fated 2000 AOL-Time Warner merger. One caveat: Donald Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of Time Warner’s CNN, had threatened to block the deal. However, a Wall Street-friendly Republican Congress could provide a smoother path.
AT&T/Time Warner

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Rewind 2016: From China’s Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, deep-pocketed buyers were chasing content all year

Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.

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10 Biggest Billion-Dollar Entertainment Deals in 2016 (Photos)

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