CinemaCon’s annual State of the Industry address on Tuesday included a double attack on NATO leader Michael O’Leary’s keynote speech and an impassioned speech on piracy from MPA leader Charles Rivkin.
O’Leary suggested investors for the exhibition and addressed what is already shaping up to be a key theme of his tenure: the independent sector and low-budget film.
“Investing more capital in the formula will create benefits for everyone: creatives, studios, operating companies, local communities, and most importantly, moviegoers,” O’Leary told attendees at the Coliseum.
“Movies on the big screen offer advantages for everyone. More captivating videos attract more viewers to the theater, which in turn increases consumers’ preference to come back and see what’s next. It’s a win-win situation.
NATO’s President and CEO continued: “We will have to help partners and market decisions that increase film production and offer more films with transparent and exclusive theatrical release and marketing assistance in their cinemas.
“We know that a film that begins its adventure with theatrical exclusivity is more successful on all subsequent ancillary platforms. “
O’Leary spoke of what he called an ongoing “reinvention,” referring to his reference to last year’s brutal Hollywood crackdowns that shut down studios, streamers and much of independent production for six months.
“We saw it last year in the arts network and in collective bargaining that were about exclusive, vital issues that would have been just a few decades ago,” he said, adding that distribution and exhibition were also on the verge of “tipping points. “
He continued, “And the last year has shown me that the long term of this industry – indeed, the state of this industry – is limitless. “
Last year’s moves by actors and writers resulted in what is expected to be a smaller portfolio in 2024. Experts expect the North American cash could be between $8 billion and $8. 5 billion, up from just over $9 billion in 2023.
O’Leary added, “To have a truly successful film entertainment industry, a variety of films that appeal to moviegoers is essential,” he said. “It’s not enough to rely only on blockbusters: we want to have a strong and dynamic market for low- and mid-budget films. “
He said the Coalition of Independent Theater Owners held its all-hands meeting in Las Vegas on Monday, but provided details.
Ahead of O’Leary’s speech, MPA President Charles Rivkin said the organization is “leading the charge” to enact a court law on site blocking in the U. S. He said the U. S. government said it was a notable absence in about 60 countries, adding that the U. K. , which has legislation in place.
Rivkin claims that blocking sites disrupts the connection between hackers and viewers, adding that it “significantly reduces piracy. “
“There’s never been a better time for us to pass legislation in line with the rest of the world,” he said, after noting that global online virtual piracy costs movie theaters more than $1 billion in box office revenue a year.
The MPA leader said of the hackers: “Remember: they’re teenagers making an elaborate joke. The perpetrators are full-fledged gangsters, organized criminal syndicates, many of whom interact with child pornography, prostitution, drug trafficking, and other social ills.
“Its features attract millions of unsuspecting visitors, whose non-public knowledge can then fall victim to malware and hackers. In short, piracy is obviously not a victimless crime. “
According to a testimony through Karyn A. Ms. Temple, MPA’s senior vice president and global general counsel, told a House committee last December that the U. S. Congress had thought in the past about blocking sites and reversed itself in 2012 after considerations were expressed that the move could simply destroy the Internet.
Temple noted that since then more than 40 countries have passed site blocking laws, prompting courts and agencies to disable more than 90,000 domain names used on more than 27,000 Internet sites “engaged in blatant piracy. “
Meditation on the banality of evil created in Locarno.
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Binns will receive the award at CineEurope in June.
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