Optimus & Prime: CinemaCon 2023

It’s great to see that there appears to be a lot of money to fix the shortages but apart from the excellent, exciting WIE (Women in Exhibition) program, there doesn’t yet seem to be enough action to address how to get new people into the industry. Likewise, it feels as though we need to address how to keep over-stretched staff in the sector, because we can’t afford to lose more skills or knowledge.

Projecting Positivity

All the projector manufacturers presented their deep commitment to the industry. Christie, Cinionic and Sharp/NEC showed up with wider ranges and there appeared to be a lot of improvements particularly with lasers. Yes there are component and chip issues but there really is across the manufacturers, a projection solution for every cinema. The same applies to the other big cinema brands such as Dolby, GDC and Harkness. These are companies that have struggled through the pandemic but have continued to innovate and create exciting products that can help improve the cinema experience. LED screen supporters such as MiT and Ballantyne Strong presented their news including flexible LED-Screen supports for most LED manufacturers. Acoustics and fit out experts Eomac continued to grow their acoustic treatment products and looking at these, it immediately reminded me of the importance of the work THX did and how some cinemas still have a long way to go in improving sound quality. But sadly across the show, I didn’t see that many new manufacturers entering the market, perhaps a sign of the size of the industry or the perceived risk in entering what those outside the sector would see as volatile and unstable. That was quite noticeable with LED screens. Despite there being more than 10 LED screen manufacturers with DCI approval, almost all were noticeably absent from view and in particular the trade show floors. Perhaps a sign that whilst LED screens may or may not be destined for cinema, they might be some years down the road. For sure the pandemic may have slowed that technology adoption down but the challenges remain, especially now. The high price tag, audio challenges, cost of install and lack of graded content might mean that outside of big showcase venues LED is still limited for a good five years.

Big Industry Events

Whilst the industry is transforming, it was absolutely great to be outside in the sun with giant Transformer statues on Wednesday’s outdoor party in the non-desert streets of Vegas. The event was a real highlight and everyone said how great it was to have more outside events taking advantage of great weather after spending so many hours in a black box every day - hopefully something that will be transferred in to CineEurope in June.

The Green Agenda

It felt as though the issues around making the sector more environmentally friendly didn’t reach CinemaCon strongly enough. There is a big focus in Europe around reducing the carbon footprint of cinema, less so at CinemaCon. That’s not to suggest the show itself hadn’t taken steps to reduce waste and use better products but in general it feels like the US needs to play catch up with the rest of the industry on carbon reduction. Whereas in the UK there was a two-day conference all about Greening the Big Screen, at CinemaCon it felt like there was a lack of new ideas or incentives to feature less waste.

A Coming Together

Things were fractious going in to, during and after the pandemic but it felt like the whole industry was re-aligned again. It felt like the activities of the likes of CTC and Celluloid Junkie during and after the pandemic had played an important part in generating greater cohesion - the more we work together, the better the result will be!

Tell Better Stories

My personal shout: The whole cinema industry has to continue to write more stories not just in movies. Like some of the international panelists explained “...we have to play more with the variety of our content and how to market the non-top ten movies”. In essence we have to be able to identify the dark horses and know how to back them to help them succeed. In a crowded and noisy world, just emails and notifications aren’t good enough any more, we must tell more stories in full concert mode.

Studios, distributors, manufacturers and operators have to align more closely. We need to leverage skills and creativity to do a better job of marketing movies and the industry. We need to identify the best pathways to moviegoers and divide and concur as a team. In short, know the movie-goer and who is most likely to inspire them through different platforms such as TikTok. As one executive said “creativity is not like a battery farm”. We all need to recharge, rethink and unite much more especially in a year when we have an incredible slate.

Focus On Now With The Future In Mind

Cinema is back and the sector is buoyant, so let’s ride the wave. But we are still a complex industry with even more complex customers with differing needs. It’s not just about PLFs, it’s about end-toend premium experiences and premium service offerings for movie-goers. We need to use this platform of success to focus on securing a positive future. We need to work harder than ever to make the sector attractive for the next generation. We need more young, and in particular creative people in the industry to help drive ideas. From storytellers and script writers through to cinema designers and technology evangelists, we need more. Don’t wait on ChatGPT for ideas, they won’t come. Focus on content, focus on customer experiences, gather customer insights rather than customer data - rinse and repeat.