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
NATO
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
Samba TV has provided an update on the number of U.S. Smart TV terrestrial households which have tuned into Disney+ Premier’s Black Widow with a running cumulative U.S. household viewership of 2 million. Last weekend, Samba TV reported that 1.1M U.S. households bought Black Widow in its first weekend. That means an additional 900K households bought the Scarlett
The National Association of Theatre Owners have finally spoken out about the financial peril involved in Disney’s ambitious day-and-date theatrical Disney+ release of Black Widow. In a press release dropped this afternoon following our analysis of what went sideways with the Marvel Cinematic Universe title, NATO asks how can a well-reviewed, well-received, highly anticipated Marvel title
With Disney already having erased two big movies from the holiday schedule, Free Guy and Death on the Nile, and Warner Bros. expected to punt its Christmas Day release of Wonder Woman 1984, movie theaters really don’t know how they’re going to be able to weather the next few months of the pandemic. The National Association of Theatre Owners today urged
CinemaCon has set its dates for next year and is being extra cautious due to the pandemic. Originally scheduled for April 26-29, the exhibition-film distribution confab at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas will now happen between Aug. 23-26, 2021. This year’s CinemaCon was cancelled as COVID-19 took its grip on the nation, with a slew
The nation’s fourth-biggest cinema chain Marcus Theatres saw revenue plunge and swing to the red in its most recent third-quarter earnings released Tuesday. It beat Wall Street forecasts, however, and emphasized its solid financials underpinned by the fact it owns most of its theatres. Family-owned Marcus, based in Milwaukee, owns or operates 1,110 screens at
The association of theater owners, NATO, called on Congress Tuesday to get an aid package approved, saying exhibitors are desperate for help. It’s begged for help before. Now Senators Schumer, Cardin and Shaheen have included relief for movie theaters as part of the Save Our Stages initiative, which is included in the COVID relief bill
As the exhibition industry teeters, global cinema owners beseeched New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to reopen theaters in areas of the state with low infection rates. The response was not promising. The executive committee of the Global Cinema Federation — led by Alejandro Ramirez Magaña, CEO of Cinépolis, in a letter to the governor Wednesday,
Thanks, but no thanks, San Francisco Mayor London Breed. While San Francisco County gave the go-ahead for movie theaters to reopen today, members of the National Association of Theatre Owners of California/Nevada have unanimously agreed to remain closed in the City by the Bay. Why? San Francisco current ban on movie concessions “makes it economically
What’s going on right now at the box office and with theaters goes far beyond the muted $30M domestic results of Tenet. This isn’t a death knell piece for exhibition, nor is this more rhetoric to freak studios out and have them delay even more movies. Studios, you’ve created enough damage in that space. It’s
A federal judge Tuesday upheld New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy’s closure of movie theaters in the state, dismissing a motion for an injunction by the National Association of Theatre Owners and five cinema chains that would have allowed them to open their doors. Judge Brian Martinotti ruled that the state is not infringing on the
Broadway theaters aren’t expected to reopen in New York City for quite a long time, Deadline sources saying not before 2021. And according to New York State governor’s recent reopening phase plan, indoor cinemas are in the same final phase 4 classification as Broadway theaters, entertainment venues, museums and arts and recreation businesses. Yikes. Weren’t
Not to deflate a rousing round robin of mudslinging between AMC, Cineworld and Universal, but this whole OMG melee between exhibition and studios over PVOD, theatrical-window crunching and hurt feelings is poised to calm down soon. Some industry insiders believe the situation has already eased, and the statements made this morning on Comcast’s Q1 earnings
2nd Update, 8:05PM: Following the National Association of Theatre Owners’ earlier statement today deflating NBCUniversal’s $95M PVOD victory with Trolls World Tour in the Wall Street Journal, the exhibition organization has issued another public statement tonight after Uni accused them of being in cahoots with AMC over the chain’s refusal to play Uni films. Earlier
As states like Georgia will ease their COVID-19 shelter-in restrictions as early as this weekend, with movie theaters allowed to re-open on Monday, April 27, the National Association of Theater Owners issued a statement today, reminding that moviegoing will take a while to return to form. “While some states and localities are beginning to authorize
Lionsgate, in conjunction with Fandango, YouTube and NATO, is launching Lionsgate Live! A Night at the Movies a four-consecutive Friday night live-stream of movies which kicks off on April 17 with The Hunger Games on the distributor’s YouTube page and Fandango’s Movieclips YouTube page. Lionsgate’s initial donation as well as the audience and partner donations throughout
Today Scott Cooper issued an open letter, applauding the Senate’s passage of the $2.2 trillion relief bill as a “much-need positive news to an industry I cherish”, particularly in regards to how it’s primed to help movie theaters during this time when they have fixed costs to maintain over several months, and zero revenue coming
In advance of the Senate’s passage of the $2 trillion relief bill, The National Association of Theatre Owners already is celebrating the agreement as a big win for movie theaters, particularly the $454B loan guarantee fund which will help cinemas get by on their fixed costs as local and state governments force a shutdown out of
Despite Senate Democrats blocking the near $2 trillion stimulus package intended to rescue the U.S. economy during the coronavirus crisis, the National Association of Theatre Owners chief John Fithian is “hopeful” that a bipartisan compromise will be reached in the near future. “They’re not at an impasse,” Fithian told Deadline Sunday. “This is just part
The movie theater industry is urging Congress to consider immediate relief for its 150,000 employees as they weather the current COVID-19 pandemic. They are asking for the following relief measures: Loan guarantees that ease a liquidity squeeze imposed by fixed costs in the face of non-existent revenues Tax benefits to assist employers with providing support