Hollywood Studios join forces to lure moviegoers to return: NPR

Action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger On Wednesday he made a show for fans to return to the cinemas. It’s been more than a year since COVID-19 first shut down cinemas. Some will not reopen the industry shed Hundreds of thousands of jobs. New movie releases It was postponed. Some were shown for the first time on broadcast or video-on-demand platforms. Some have opened in both theaters and living rooms in the same day.

Schwarzenegger was part of a group of Hollywood executives and filmmakers who met at the AMC Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday for an event called “The Return of the Big Screen.” Each studio featured loud reels of trailers for their upcoming movies opening in theaters, showing the kinds of movies that people would love to watch on the big screen.

“During the last year, the year of the pandemic, we have seen people watch movies on small iPhones and iPads,” Schwarzenegger said. “They had to put on their glasses to see what was happening, and they were missing the special effects and the visual effects and all the cool things that you usually see on the big screen.”

Before the studios offered trailers for their upcoming movie roster, Schwarzenegger led the audience in chanting, “We’re back. We’re back. We’re back …”

The National Association of Theater Owners reports that more than 60 percent of movie theaters in the United States have reopened, with safety protocols in place. And according to the National Research Group (NRG), seventy percent of moviegoers now feel comfortable coming back.

“Audiences are optimistic. They are optimistic. They really want to be back in theaters once there are movies they can watch,” NRG Executive Vice President Ethan Tetelman said during the event. Audience levels are expected to rise to 80 percent by the end of June, ahead of Marvel’s Black Widow Opens.

Titelman reported that while audiences want to continue their face mask policies in theaters, “they are now actually more comfortable relaxing restrictions in terms of social distancing in theaters. So we’re kind of slowly getting back to normal.”

About 90 percent of moviegoers are expected to say they are comfortable returning to theaters when vaccines are widely available. “This is the case for most adults and it will soon be the case for children.”

Cinemas in China, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Spain have been open for some time, and some major European markets are starting to reopen. China is the model Titelman expects the world to eventually replicate; More than 90 percent of Chinese audiences returned to theaters last fall, setting world records at the box office.

In the United States, he says the return of audiences to theaters has been stronger than expected for Godzilla vs. KongAnd the Mortal Kombat And the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Market research firm NRG has interviewed 1 million moviegoers in 13 countries. They noted the benefits of watching movies in theater rather than at home, including a shared social experience, freedom from distractions and quality.

“People think that watching movies in theater is the best way to see a movie,” Titelman told the assembled audience. “Going to the movies makes a very memorable event, and it’s something the audience really looks forward to. They plan their week around it.” He added, “We also missed the social connection that cinema provides not only with your friends and family with whom you go to the cinema, but also this greater contact with the audience. Going to see movies in the theater also forces us to stop working. Our phones and we completely immerse ourselves in.” Storytelling. “

“Film magic” and “popcorn” were two additional reasons to frequently mention the studios in their presentations. The event was an extraordinary alliance of competitors. Executives from Warner Brothers, Universal, MGM, United Artists, Searchlight, Focus Features, SONY, NEON, Lionsgate, Paramount, and Walt Disney Studios had the same goal: to give audiences a reason to return to movie theaters.

“It’s hard not to be excited, now that we’re seeing an escalation in a return to some version of normality,” Jeff Goldstein, head of local distribution for Warner Brothers Pictures, told NPR. “You walk in the door and you see the people in the hallway, you smell the popcorn. Then you enter the hall and you see the big screen. It’s pure magic.”

While Warner Bros. Tenet In theaters around the world last summer, in a move that upset some in Hollywood, the studio ended up changing its strategy and showing new films in both theaters and the broadcast platform, HBO Max, on the same day, as it did with Wonder Woman 1984 in Christmas. Next month, Warners will do just that again, as it will debut its prolific music film In the heights, Full of singing and dancing on the streets of Washington Heights, New York, both in theaters or on HBO Max the same day (June 11).

In a video clip while … The big screen is backAnd the In the heights Director Jun M Chu talked about how happy he was to see his young daughter watching his movie on a big screen for the first time, and how important it was to watch movies like Joy Club Lac On weekends with his family. “I remember going to Dim Sum afterward and talking about it and laughing at it, and I feel very visual.”

Producer Jason Bloom, The CEO and founder of Blumhouse noted how the recovery from the pandemic coincides with changing business models and corporate consolidation in the film industry. “It’s tempting to quickly draw conclusions about what all of that means, but,” he said, raising the case for theatrical experience, “if you’d told me now that you’d turn down the lights and show me any of the films previewed here today, I would have made the two-hour trip, knowing It might change my perspective. It might make me laugh, make me cry, or frighten me if it is one of our films. Or it shows me something profound about the human condition. “

Universal Pictures premiered the trailer for the latest installment in the Fast & Furious saga, F9, Which will open in the United States on June 15th. Full of elaborate car chases shot from above, massive crashes and tons of action, it’s the kind of potentially mega-movie the studio made to be super-visual. the film Already struck In China.

an actress Maggie Q, Who starred with Samuel L Jackson and Michael Keaton in the upcoming Lionsgate movie Protected, Says their action movie is also designed for theatrical experience. She told the audience, “I think the big lesson we learned in the last year is that none of us can go through this life alone. We all need human contact. There is something magical about sitting in a dark theater with an audience to express feelings together. Yes, there is.” Scenery on the big screen and yes, perfect sound. And yes, there will be snacks. But the real reason to go to the movies is to be part of the amazing chemistry that happens in movie theaters. Strangers transform together by being together, we transform into a united audience through feelings the film “.

On the red carpet after his presentation, director JG Abrams thought about seeing all of the movie clips on the big screen in the theater. “After returning to the movies, I actually feel like I’m breathing oxygen,” he said. “Watching a movie, this sound, this crowd, this feeling, there is nothing like it. As much fun as it is to watch it while broadcasting and being at home, and there is comfort and wonderful, it does not have the energy. It does not have the strength. And I don’t think it sticks in your experience. Life, in your memory, the way you work in theater. “

Among other films coming soon to a cinema near you: respect, MGM biography Aretha Franklin, starring Jennifer Hudson; Soul SummerBy Questlove Director; And Disney Jungle excursionWith Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. And yes, there will be popcorn.

This story was edited by Nina Gregory and adapted for the web by Petra Meyer.