By Michael O’Leary, President & CEO, Cinema United
As we gather at CinemaCon to celebrate our wonderful industry, it’s important to take a moment and remind everyone that we are not a Hollywood industry. We are a Main Street industry. We unite communities around the globe.
Movie theaters of all sizes are the cornerstone of communities in cities, big and small, across all 50 states, from Arizona and Nebraska to Missouri, Georgia, and Wisconsin. This has been true for more than a century, and it will be true for generations to come. It is not just the hundreds of independent theaters that dot our great nation, but also the industry’s largest circuits, which are based in Kansas City, Knoxville, and Dallas—not New York or Los Angeles. As a Main Street industry, theatrical exhibition is universally a hometown-focused “real people” business that connects neighbors and is made up of hard-working, entrepreneurial people who have proved time and again that they are resilient when things are often stacked against them.
Despite the existential challenges facing our industry during the past five years, many failed to comprehend the strength and spirit of the women and men who operate movie theatres across this great nation. Theaters did not perish, as some suggested they would: Our industry is now on the verge of a renaissance—the next great era of moviegoing.
Operators of all sizes around the globe are leading the charge by reinvesting in their theaters and working doggedly to create experiences that will thrill and entertain audiences for generations to come. Consumers everywhere are responding.
CinemaCon’s program this year boasts a powerhouse lineup of the world’s greatest film distributors, including Angel Studios, Lionsgate, NEON, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures/Focus Features, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, along with Amazon MGM Studios joining the main stage presentation for the first time. We thank all of them for their commitment to exhibition and look forward to what I know will be an amazing show.
Their support speaks directly to the cultural and economic power of the theatrical experience. The studios know that despite consumers today having more options than ever before, nothing competes with the magic of seeing movies on the big screen. That is why movies that start their journey in your theater are more successful than those that do not. Due to your hard work and passion, going to the theater remains the world’s premier entertainment option.
As we look to the future, we must tirelessly promote this message, not just at CinemaCon but beyond. In Las Vegas, we intend to continue highlighting the probusiness, proconsumer face of our industry, because you—members of a newly reimagined Cinema United—are the most essential part of what makes this industry so vital. Your energy and commitment to moviegoing is reflected in our new name. As a modern representation of theater owners around the world, we are unified in promoting the cultural and economic importance of the theatrical experience.
Together, we are Cinema United. Our mission is moviegoing.
Welcome to the movies!
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