8:50 PDT 20.04.2021
of
Pamela McClintock
“It’s time to get off the couch,” said Brandon Jones, one of the event’s founders.
A broad coalition of theater owners is hosting Cinema Week, a six-day event in June designed to revive filming as the film business emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thousands of cinemas across the country will feature exclusive content, offer exclusive merchandise and arrange special guests, including directors and talent. The event takes place between June 22-27.
“The theatrical experience is very important and we are a better society for it. We go there for entertainment and, with the launch of Cinema Week, we want to keep the culture of going to the movies,” says Brandon Jones, one of the event’s designers, who is president. executive of the Founding Committee of Exhibitors and Studio Partners for Film Week.
“It’s time to get off the couch,” says Jones, who previously ran marketing for a medium-sized theater chain before forming his own company.
Cinema Week has support from the Independent Cinema Alliance (ICA), the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), dozens of cinemas and numerous sponsors, including Atom Tickets. Over 28,000 screens belonging to the mega exhibitors of AMC, Regal and Cinemark, regional circuits and independent chains will participate.
“We want to raise all the ships and we want everyone to be successful,” says Melissa Boudreau, who is the marketing director of Cinema Week. She, like Jones, previously worked for a medium chain. “And we work in the background to involve filmmakers.”
The activities of the film week will vary depending on the location. Affiliates will buy tickets as usual, and when they arrive at the theater, each experience will be unique.
“Nothing compares to the truly amazing experience of watching a movie on the big screen with visual and sound technology that can’t be played at home,” said Wanda Gierhart Fearing, Cinemark’s global executive vice president and director of marketing. “Film Week was created in collaboration between exhibitors and our studio partners to celebrate the captivating cinematic experience with moviegoers now that theaters are reopening across the industry.”
Rich Daughtridge of the Independent Cinemas Alliance added: “Representing more than 5,000 screens, ICA and our members will do our part to lean into marketing and advertising initiatives and help advance this inaugural event. We see this as an opportunity to celebrate movies and strengthen the communities in which our members work. ”