Despite plenty of gloomy forecasts, top execs at IMAX, STX and AMC are optimistic about growth in the theatrical movie exhibition business.
“Having great innovative product is the thing that makes it easier to succeed than anything else,” said AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron on Tuesday during a morning session at TheGrill 2016, at the Montage Beverly Hills.
Aron, who took over the movie theater chain at the start of this year — following years in the sports and travel fields — warned against being pessimistic.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “Far more movies flop than succeed. But if you look at the first three, four months of 2016 there was double-digit growth,” he noted of overall box office returns.
While Aron admitted that May and June of 2016 were “pretty tough” and that people in the media saw “storm clouds,” he emphasized that summer box office finished strong this year.
Noting the volatile nature of the box office, Aron asked, “Would you be as pessimistic about the movie business if we were having this conversation right after ‘Star Wars’ … or ‘Deadpool’ opened?” Indeed, both movies were enormous hits.
If you look at moviegoing now compared to 15 years ago, it has grown — from 1.21 billion in admissions and $4.35 average ticket prices in 1995 to 1.32 billion tickets sold and $8.43 average ticket prices in 2015.
What both Aron and IMAX Entertainment CEO Greg Foster said they’re laser focused on is improving the moviegoing experience for audiences.
“The best way to get people to a movie a second time is to give moviegoers a good experience,” Foster said.
“Sure, there’s cord cutting,” he added. “Like everything else, there needs to be course correction.”
Foster noted that IMAX has moved into virtual reality to create an added revenue stream to its core business of giant-screen movies.
“The experience in a good movie theater can’t be replicated at home,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman of STX’s motion picture group, a new studio that just enjoyed success with “Bad Moms.”
“I’ve watched movies in rooms with 10, 17 people, and I’ve watched with 400 to 500 people — and [the bigger theater] is a significantly better experience,” he said about the “communal experience” of seeing comedies and horror films with a theater full of other audience members.
“We’re laughing at the same jokes, screaming at the same scary experience,” Fogelson said.
When you have the right type of offerings at the multiplex, argued the STX exec, “people don’t want to stay at home.”
The Scene at TheGrill 2016: TheWrap's Media Leadership Conference (Photos)
TheWrap's seventh annual media, tech and entertainment conference TheGrill kicks off at the Montage Beverly Hills.
IMAX Entertainment's CEO Greg Foster speaks on the future of moviegoing in theaters, online and overseas.
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Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, joins IMAX Entertainment CEO Greg Foster and STX Entertainment Motion Picture Group Chairman Adam Fogelson to discuss the future of moviegoing.
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Adam Fogelson, Chairman of STX Entertainment Motion Picture Group, Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, and Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment, speak with TheWrap's Thom Geier.
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Will Palmer, co-founder and CEO of Movio, and Luke Xiang, Vice President of Beijing Weying Technology speak to TheWrap's Matt Pressberg about online movie ticketing in China.
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Media and guests at the Montage Beverly Hills for TheGrill 2016.
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President and General Manager of BBC America, Sarah Barnett discusses the state of TV.
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David Nevins, the CEO of Showtime Networks, Sarah Barnett, the President and General Manager of BBC America, and John Landgraf, the CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, join TheWrap's Scott Collins to discuss the state of TV.
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John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, speaks during TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at Montage Beverly Hills.
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Guests enjoy the Virtual Reality Open Demos at TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at Montage Beverly Hills.
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Lawyer Nina Shaw, partner at Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein and Lezcano, discusses dealmaking in the digital age.
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Schuyler Moore, partner at Stroock and Stroock and Lavan LLP, joins Nina Shaw on stage to speak on deal making in the digital age.
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Bonnie Eskenazi, Entertainment Partner at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman and Machtinger LLP, and Susan Zuckerman Williams, Partner at Loeb and Loeb, also speak on dealmaking in the digital age.
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Sharon Waxman speaks with Rafi and Benny Fine during lunch TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
Andy Howard, partner at Shamrock Capital Advisors, Carlos Jimenez, Managing Partner at Moelis and Company, Andrew Siegel, Executive Vice President at Advance Publications, and Dan Schechter, Managing Director L.E.K Consulting, discuss "What Lies Beyond the $4 Billion Media M&A Move."
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Aric Ackerman, COO of The Cavalry Productions, and Brenda Robinson, partner at Greenburg Glusker, at lunch during TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
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VoteBlast's Ardy Falaki speaks during TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
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Van Toffler, CEO of Gunpowder & Sky, and Charlie Corwin, CEO of Endemol Shine, speak to Sharon Waxman about the magic of story development.
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Instagram star Chantel Jeffries speaks during the Innovators Panel at TheWrap's 7th Annual TheGrill at the Montage in Beverly Hills.
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Rob Goldberg, CEO and founder of Fresno Inc, speaks at the Innovators Panel.
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Tim Staples, CEO of Shareability, Mark Popkiewicz CEO of Mirriad, internet personality Chantel Jeffries, Mike Hopkins, CEO of Hulu, Rob Goldberg, CEO and founder of Fresno Inc. all speak at the Innovators Panel.
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Entertainment, media and technology converge at TheWrap’s seventh annual Grill Conference at the Montage Beverly Hills
TheWrap's seventh annual media, tech and entertainment conference TheGrill kicks off at the Montage Beverly Hills.