Cinemacon 2019, the annual Convention presented by NATO (National Association of Theater Owners) started today, April 1, 2019, with International Day. Beginning at a breakfast presentation hosted by DTS:X and GDC Technology, attendees were present as Swedish executive Jan Bernhardsson received the Cinemacon Triumph award. There was also a discussion boasting the staggering statistic that the film industry's International market has grown 6% every year for the last ten years, with India showing the greatest increases in ticket sales followed by China. These numbers certainly solidify the global film distribution markets and reinforce the need for the industry as a whole to place value on International audiences.
Next, the convention offered three breakout sessions dealing with a variety of international-based concepts. The first was a high-energy presentation by Bar Rescue host Jon Taffer who spoke to the room about excuses and failures. As he bluntly put it, "No one ever blames themselves. They always have excuses and excuses are the common denominator of failure". He also discussed the importance of recognizing that the reaction is the product rather than the actual merchandise. Finally, he briefly touched up the idea of the audience challenging themselves to determine what their "sales barriers" are in their establishment. His practical ideas and no-nonsense approach offered those in the room the opportunity to change their thinking about their business and how they can bring an excellent movie-going experience to their patrons.
Sessions two and three focused on theater owners including local films to their lineup and the challenges facing theaters such as streaming services, government issues, social media, and technology respectively. Session two also saw a brief presentation from Filmnation Entertainment's founder and CEO Glen Basner who urged the audience to strongly consider looking at local productions for additional content in their theaters as these have produced some amazing films including Oscar Nominee, and Shoplifters.
Lunch, which was hosted by Comscore and Dolby Laboratories, once again touted the strengths of the international and global markets while also handing out a few awards. This year's recipients included Comscore International Boxoffice Achievement Award given to Walt Disney Studios, International Filmmaker of the Year given to Bohemian Rhapsody Producer Graham King, Career Achievement in Exhibition Award given to CEO of Les Cinemas Pathe Gaumont Jerome Seydoux, Cinemacon Passepartout Award given to Senior Vice President of International Distribution for Paramount Pictures Helen Moss and Emerging Market Spotlight award given to Nigeria.
The opening night events included a welcome from Managing Director Mitch Neuhauser who dressed as one of the creatures from this month's blockbuster, Us. He then introduced Neon executives who presented clips from Amazing Grace about a never-before-seen 1970s performance by the legendary Aretha Franklin and a documentary entitled The Biggest Little Farm. They then introduced the evening's feature, Wild Rose. The evening wound down with opening night festivities at Omnia Nightclub sponsored by Dolby.
The first day of Cinemacon 2019 offered lots of great information and fun and has set the tone for what is still to come as the week continues.
Filed Under: cinemacon, neon, wild rose, nato
