CinemaCon 2024 has come to a close, leaving us with popcorn-filled bellies and WICKED tulips still illuminating shades of green and purple. We hope everyone had a safe trip home and a restful week. Our team had a blast connecting with everyone, tuning into studio slates, and enjoying the Vegas strip. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to say hello! 💜
Here’s a recap video that takes you through our week!
Missed us at our booth? Need a refresher on our services? Here's a link to our capabilities deck, as well a link to our recent projects where you can discover the ways + strategies in which we can support your cinema! That’s not all, Onni Creative has some new initiatives in store for 2024 ⬇️
EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
As technology continues to evolve and audience expectations shift, we believe it is crucial to enhance the cinema experience beyond traditional movie-watching. By integrating our art + production expertise in experiential design, we can work hand in hand with studios and cinemas to create unique and tailored experiences that align with must-see films.
Experiential design brings together elements of immersive storytelling, cutting-edge technology, and interactive environments to create unforgettable experiences for moviegoers. As we embark on this journey into the realm of experiential design for film, we invite you to join us in exploring the limitless possibilities of immersive storytelling. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements and prepare to be transported to a whole new dimension of cinema experiences with Onni Creative.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
SEO is crucial for your cinema's website as it helps improve your website's visibility on search engines like Google. By optimizing your website, you can increase your ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs}, leading to higher organic traffic and more potential customers finding your cinema online. SEO is a long-term strategy that requires consistent effort and optimization to achieve sustainable results for your cinema.
LOOKING FOR FAST RESULTS WITH PAID ADS?
If you're looking for immediate results, paid ads can be a great way to supplement your SEO efforts. Paid ads, such as Google Ads, allow you to advertise your cinema and drive traffic to your website instantly. While SEO focuses on organic traffic, paid ads provide a short-term solution to attract visitors and promote your cinema's services.
For more information about SEO + Paid Ads, here is a link to some frequently asked questions about our services. If you would like a free SEO audit for your cinema, reach out to hello@onnicreative.xyz to get started.
PRESS + PUBLICITY
Need marketing campaign support? OC offers publicity services to increase brand awareness through print, digital, and audio opportunities. By leveraging our network, we assist clients in promoting events, promotions, and activations from local to nationwide outlets. Contact us to discuss opportunities for your next campaign.
MEDIA BUYS
Our team taps the expertise and resources of a roster of top vendors and operators in the media space with units ranging from billboards to wild postings to in-theater postings, such as digital lobby boards and video pre-roll. We monitor the latest technological advancements to maximize the creative execution of our campaigns. Ask us about illuminated units, motion sensor audio integration, and how to leverage projection technology to set your brand apart!
We loved meeting everyone, discussing our services, and getting a look at the upcoming slates from the studios. We listened and learned while surrounded by our peers in the industry. Below are some observations from CinemaCon 2024:
Studio + Exhibitor Relations
We listened to the major studios, NATO, and ITOC discuss the industry and the 2024 slate. We noticed underlying tension between the studios’ requirements for films in cinemas (ie. how many screens for a particular film, the run day, and even run times) and cinemas’ needs for independence and trust. On the one hand, studios want their films to be as successful as possible and for fans to have plenty of time to catch these exciting stories. Meanwhile, cinemas know their audiences. They know their communities as they’re interacting with them every day. Cinemas believe they know which movies will do well in their region and which may not be as big for their audiences.
There were standees, interactive & static, throughout the hallways of CinemaCon. We loved seeing the different ideas come to fruition and how people interacted with them. Unfortunately, we know that not every cinema gets standees. With tightening budgets due to Covid-19 and the strikes of last summer, studios have been decreasing their in-cinema assets with small to mid-sized independent cinemas suffering the most. We, at OC, know that independent small and mid-size cinemas have HUGE buying power when ordering collaboratively! If independent & mid-sized cinemas ordered together, collectively they would compete with the top grossing cinemas in terms of size! Studios have to recognize this to revitalize exhibition and keep more independent cinemas from closing.
Open Dialogue
We learned, we learned, we learned. We all chose to attend different panels like Data: The Knowledge of Today’s Consumer is the Currency of Tomorrow or Additional Revenue Streams: Family Entertainment Centers, so we can better understand the peaks and valleys of exhibition. And while we were learning, we hoped to provide input and ask questions, but there was very little opportunity. Particularly, the Industry Think Tank session allowed for a Q&A that allowed exhibitors to comment on studios requirements for films, physical & digital asset support, and the upcoming slate. This type of open dialogue could help to solve some of the tension points mentioned above.
Should there be more open opportunities for studios & exhibitors to discuss this? Yes–but throughout the year. With new, looser regulations surrounding membership into ITOC (International Theater Owners Coalition), we hope that this group will facilitate more dialogue. More panels, but even more Q&A sessions. Cinemas & studios both deserve the chance to discuss grievances and also which parts of the current systems are satisfactory or great.
State of the Industry
CinemaCon brought a lot of excitement for the 2024 slate, but it touted even bigger movies for 2025. Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Entertainment, was questioned about the $8B projection for this year’s domestic box office and that only 64 films were to run this year (the previous year saw 84 titles). He noted that 64 was about what the film industry needed to maintain health and more than 64 titles was “gravy” for the whole industry.
During the WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, studios pushed back film titles years down the line. Studio presentations showed amazing titles for 2024, but the most anticipated films seemed to be coming in 2025. The new Captain America: Brave New World, The Thunderbolts, M3gan 2.0, Fast X: Part II, Michael, Zootopia 2, Avatar 3, Elio, and Blade are a few of the monumental titles slated (as of right now) for 2025.
With that said, is it time for cinemas to lean into alternative programming? Fathom, Iconic, live sports, and concert movies did a lot to supplement last year’s lack of content. Cinemas cancapitalize on that with different live entertainment, activations, and promotions. Has your cinema held a concert, trivia, karaoke, or a stand-up comedy night? Start strategizing by reaching out to local bands, hosting your own horror movie themed trivia night, finding a popular local comedian to perform at your cinema, or singing your heart out with Wicked themed karaoke. These types of events ingratiate your cinema further within the community, provides another revenue stream, and will be a boon for your concessions stand, bar, and/or restaurant.
We hope you had fun at CInemaCon! We look forward to working with studios, exhibitors, and other vendors for a successful 2024! ✨🎦
Sources: