Cinemark Reaches Deals With Hollywood Studios to Show Movies
May 07 2021 - 10:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Dave Sebastian and Matt Grossman
Cinemark Holdings Inc. struck agreements to show films from some
of its major Hollywood studio partners, a move aimed at
establishing how long movies play in theaters before moving to home
video.
The movie-theater company on Friday said the deals -- with
Warner Bros. Picture Group, Walt Disney Co., Paramount Pictures and
Sony Pictures Entertainment -- build on a November pact with
Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.
Cinemark didn't disclose terms of the deals. "Some go for
multiple months; some go for multiple years," Chief Executive Mark
Zoradi said on a call with analysts.
Under Cinemark's deal with Universal, movies that gross more
than $50 million domestically during their first weekend in
theaters will continue to be shown in theaters exclusively for five
weekends, or 31 days. After that, while theaters can continue to
screen a film, the title would be available concurrently on premium
online rental platforms like Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
"In our ongoing efforts to maximize attendance and box-office
during the pandemic and beyond, our goal is to provide the widest
range of content with terms that are in the best long-term
interests of Cinemark, our studio partners and moviegoers," Mr.
Zoradi said.
Separately, Cinemark on Friday reported a wider first-quarter
net loss because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr. Zoradi said recovery
is on the horizon.
"We are highly optimistic ... on account of a range of factors,
including the rapid pace of the vaccine rollout, improving consumer
sentiment about returning to movie theaters, recent box-office
successes and confirmation of consistent product supply," Mr.
Zoradi said.
The Plano, Texas-based company posted a quarterly loss of $208.2
million, compared with a loss of $59.6 million in the year-ago
period. Cinemark's revenue fell to $114.4 million from $543.6
million for the period a year ago.
Cinemark said it plans this year to add six new theaters and 72
new screens to its current aggregate count of 5,872 screens.
In the U.S., 98% of Cinemark's theaters have reopened, Mr.
Zoradi said. But the pace of recovery has been uneven as Covid-19
cases surge in certain parts of the world. Mr. Zoradi said only
half of Cinemark theaters are operating in Latin America due to new
government restrictions.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 07, 2021 10:34 ET (14:34 GMT)
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