Cinema owners, studios and indie distributors gathering in Las Vegas this week for exhibition’s biggest confab seek visibility into a theatrical landscape gut-punched by Hollywood strikes last year just as a post-Covid recovery was revving up. Production halted for months led to fewer releases on the schedule. But there’s reason for optimism, from Dune 2
NATO
Former National Association of Theatre Owners executives John Fithian, Patrick Corcoran and Jackie Brenneman have launched a new consulting firm The Fithian Group to advise global exhibition clients on strategy, partnerships, innovation and strategic communications. “We have spent the last couple of decades helping to guide the cinema industry through the biggest challenges it has
The National Association of Theatre Owners has expanded the purview of its government relations chief Todd Halstead to include a new position, director of Independent Exhibitor Engagement. In the role, which is dedicated to indie theater owners, Halstead will collaborate with NATO’s Independent Theatre Owners Coalition (ITOC) “to help the group thrive.” The indie theater
The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) Executive Board of Directors has elected B&B Theatres President & CEO Bob Bagby as the new NATO Executive Board Chair. He’ll be taking over for previous chair, Rolando B. Rodriguez, who is exiting; his retirement as the top executive at Marcus Theatres announced last year. In addition, Harkins Theaters
Deadline has confirmed that the National Association of Theatre Owners Tech Advisor, Jerry Pierce, has resigned from the exhibitor trade org following the dismissal of EVP and General Counsel Jackie Brenneman. Pierce is a former Universal SVP who was key in exhibitors’ transition from film to digital cinema projection. Pierce is the third staffer from
EXCLUSIVE: The National Association of Theatre Owners’ EVP & General Counsel Jackie Brenneman has departed, several sources inform Deadline. This became effective Friday. Brenneman was also one of the founders, and the President of NATO sister org, The Cinema Foundation. The news follows in the wake of the new administration at NATO led by new
The National Association of Theatre Owners VP & Chief Communications Officer Patrick Corcoran is departing after 24-plus years. The news comes in the wake of NATO CEO and President John Fithian retiring after a 24-year run at the exhibition trade org. Together with Fithian, Corcoran, known for being a straight-shooter with the press, has had
CinemaCon 2023 officially drew to a close this evening in Las Vegas, with NATO handing out its Big Screen Achievement Awards to such recipients as Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Zendaya, Chris Meledandri and Melissa McCarthy. The evening’s sentiment continued the running theme of the four-day conference: celebrating and preserving the theatrical experience. Nolan and Thomas
The National Association of Theatre Owners on Thursday said it has appointed Michael P. O’Leary president and CEO of the association beginning May 1. He takes over for outgoing NATO boss John Fithian, who announced his retirement in October after working with the exhibitor trade org for three decades. “On behalf of NATO’s Executive Board
Exhibition trade group the National Association of Theatre Owners announced Monday that its 24-year CEO and President John Fithian was retiring. While that’s not as long as the late Motion Picture Association boss Jack Valenti’s 38-year run at that trade org, who left behind his own legendary streak with the creation of the ratings system, Fithian
As of Sunday, 88% of moviegoers were “very or somewhat comfortable” going to the movies, up a percentage point from a week ago and hitting a new high, according to the latest data from NRG released by the National Association of Theatre Owners. That compare to 65% in January at the height of the Omicron
CinemaCon launches Monday at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the second in-person gathering of theater owners and Hollywood studios since August, and Covid. That edition was shadowed by the Delta Variant, ongoing theater closures and shifting release dates. Now the picture is significantly brighter. Domestic attendance at the confab, including a full complement of studio