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You can see 'Gemini Man' in 120 fps or 4K, but not both
Ang Lee wants people to see his latest movie, Gemini Man, in 3D at 4K resolution and 120 frames per second. But it'll be a tough ask to watch the Will Smith thriller that way if you're in the US -- it seems no American theaters will project it in the director's intended format.
Regal Cinemas movie subscriptions are reportedly coming this month
Regal Cinemas is reportedly preparing to join the unlimited movie ticket subscription fray. It's said to be revealing its plans later this month. According to Variety, the three pricing tiers ($18, $21 and $24) will all offer unlimited tickets and will vary based on theater location, unlike the state-based pricing of AMC's year-old Stubs A-List service.
Netflix wants to buy a landmark Hollywood movie theater
Netflix has its sights set on buying its first movie theater. It's in the early stages of talks to acquire the famed Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, according to Deadline Hollywood. Netflix would supposedly decide what to screen during the week, perhaps giving subscribers another way to watch Netflix releases. Current owner American Cinematheque would handle weekend programming, including festivals and lectures.
AMC's MoviePass rival ends 2018 with more than 600,000 subscribers
How is AMC's MoviePass competitor faring as 2018 winds to a close? Quite well, if you ask the theater chain. AMC reports that Stubs A-List has over 600,000 subscribers as of the end of the year, or six months after its June debut. As the company has repeatedly mentioned, it only expected to rack up 500,000 members within a full year.
Italian law requires domestic movies hit theaters before they stream
France isn't the only country particularly wary of streaming services. Italian Culture and Tourism Minister Alberto Bonisoli recently unveiled a law that would require all Italian-made movies to show in theaters before they reach Netflix, Prime Video and other streaming providers. It also formalizes a 105-day delay between the theatrical and streaming releases, although that can be shortened to 'just' 60 days if a picture either shows in fewer than 80 theaters or has fewer than 50,000 viewers in its first three weeks.
Sinemia will help movie theaters create their own subscription plans
While MoviePass' money woes have led it to change its service and its users' plans a number of times, Sinemia seems to have avoided the issues that have plagued its rival. The company offers a number of plans, including an unlimited version as well as family plans, but it'll soon add another service, this one for theaters themselves rather than moviegoers.
Streaming services in talks to release movies in IMAX theaters
Outside of Netflix's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel, streaming movies haven't really had a chance to shine on IMAX screens. They might make a regular appearance before long, though. IMAX chief Richard Gelfond told investors that his company is in "active discussions" with "all" streaming services about IMAX releases. It's not certain how close the two sides are to a deal, but Gelfond saw it as just a matter of time. If streaming firms were going to have a giant "opening day" for their releases, the executive argued, the best way to do it was on an equally giant IMAX screen.
Marvel Studio's 10th anniversary movie festival is IMAX-only
Marvel is going all-out to mark the 10th birthday of its Cinematic Universe, and that includes upgrading the quality of the movies themselves. It's hosting a 10th Anniversary Film Festival between August 30th and September 6th, and you'll have to visit "select" IMAX theaters across North America if you want to join in. To that end, it's promising digital remasters of every movie to take advantage of IMAX's picture and sound quality, including movies that have never been shown in IMAX before. This will be your first chance to watch Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: The First Avenger in the premium format.
PlayStation's E3 2018 event heads back to theaters on June 11th
Sony is once again showing its PlayStation E3 event in movie theaters, although this year there's a slight twist. The tech giant has announced that its PlayStation E3 Experience will come to certain screens in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile on June 11th at 9PM Eastern. Unlike in the past, though, you already have an idea of what to expect: Sony previously teased that you'd see Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima and Marvel's Spider-Man in addition to news from the usual round of third-party studios. You're attending more for the cinematic experience than to be bowled over by surprises, although we're hoping there are a few unexpected twists and turns.
cPass wants to be the European MoviePass for all entertainment
It might surprise you to learn that MoviePass has been offering unlimited movie tickets as a monthly subscription for over five years now. But the name only really rocketed into the public consciousness last summer, right after the price per month dropped below $10. MoviePass struggled to keep up with the wave of new interest, and its continued rapid growth caught the attention of many. Enter cPass, a new service hoping to fill a MoviePass-shaped hole in Europe. Only it doesn't want to limit itself to movies. Co-founder brothers Puya and Pedram Vahabi hope cPass will become an all-you-can-eat subscription for all kinds of entertainment.
Samsung's first 3D Cinema LED screen launches in Swiss theater
Want to watch 3D movies at the theater without the picture quality limitations that come with projectors? You'll want to plan a trip to Switzerland. Samsung's 34-foot 3D Cinema LED screen has premiered at Arena Cinemas' Silhcity theater in Zurich, promising moviegoers 3D without the usual drawbacks (and, hopefully, a few perks). It promises 10 times the peak brightness of projectors while retaining the full 4K resolution and consistent picture quality, avoiding the usual problems with dim, low-resolution 3D images that vary based on where you're sitting. HDR video support and JBL Professional audio help, too.
MoviePass offers an even bigger discount if you pay for a year upfront
MoviePass is dropping its price point yet again. In August, the company reduced its subscription cost to just $10 per month -- down from $15 to $21 depending on where you lived -- and upped the amount of movies its subscribers could see from two per month to one per day. Now, if you're willing to pay for the whole year up front, you can snag the no contract, subscription for $7 per month.
MoviePass is struggling to keep up with all its new members
Despite the sluggish summer box office, it seems plenty of people are still interested in going to the movies. As long as it comes cheap, that is. Last month, MoviePass launched a $9.95 no contract, unlimited subscription that allows customers access to a standard film (no 3D or IMAX) per day in theaters, without blackouts. The offer was bound to attract a lot of attention. But, no one was prepared for the resulting frenzy (especially not MoviePass). The subscription service claims its website was overwhelmed by the ensuing volume of traffic from interested patrons. And, it's still struggling with the load. Although its site looks like it's running smoothly, it's the card logistics that are causing issues now. That's a big problem. You see, in the absence of a card, you'll have to rely on e-tickets, which are only available at select locations.
Fox hopes you'll binge-watch at theaters like you do on Netflix
Let's say you run a movie studio and notice that people would rather stay home and plow through the latest Marvel series on Netflix than pay through the nose for a trip to the theater. What do you do? If you're Fox, the answer seems simple: offer a taste of that marathon viewing experience at the theater. Hollywood Reporter understands that Fox wants to release three film adaptations of RL Stine's Fear Street books within three months -- a given movie would still be fresh in your mind when its sequel is hitting theaters. You'd be "bingeing movies" (as one tipster puts it) just about as quickly as the big screen format allows.
Samsung made a giant 34-foot LED TV for movie theaters
So you just spent $120,000 on a 120-inch 4K HDR screen and think you've got the biggest, baddest TV around? Nope! Samsung has unveiled the Cinema LED Screen that's an epic 10.3 meters (33.8 feet, or 406 inches). It runs at full 4K (4,096 x 2,160) resolution, features HDR and peaks out at 146 fL of brighntess, "ten times greater than that offered by standard projector technologies," Samsung said in a news release.
Hollywood again considers $30 early movie rentals
Slowly, movie studios are putting the pieces in place for reducing the time between a film's theatrical run and when you can watch it at home. The latest step toward this is news that Warner Bros. would be cool with people watching its movies as soon as 17 days after theatrical debut, according to Variety. That privilege would come with a $50 price tag -- the same price Napster founder Sean Parker proposed over a year ago for his Screening Room service.
Netflix deal screens movies both online and in theaters
Netflix's first experiment with showing its original movies in theaters didn't extend very far, but you're about to get a better chance at catching those productions on a giant screen. The streaming service has forged a deal with iPic Entertainment that will screen movies in iPic's upscale theaters the same day they're available online. The agreement covers just 10 titles (starting with The Siege of Jadotville on October 7th) and will be limited to theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, at least at first. However, it's a start -- and iPic's posh dine-in experience should make it more engaging than firing up a projector at home.
Scientists create glasses-free 3D for the movie theater
Watching glasses-free 3D on a TV is no longer an outlandish concept, but that hasn't been true for movie theaters. How are you supposed to create the same parallax effect for everyone, whether they're up front or way in the back? Researchers at MIT CSAIL and Israel's Weizmann Institute for Science finally have a practical answer. Their Cinema 3D tech creates multiple parallax barriers in a single display, using lenses and mirrors to deliver a range of angles across the whole theater. And unlike previous attempts at large-scale glasses-free 3D, you don't have to take a hit to resolution.
Watch PlayStation's E3 2016 event in a movie theater
It's almost E3 time, and that means something big for theater-going PlayStation fans: Sony's PlayStation E3 Experience is back. This year, you can watch the company's gaming presentation on June 13th at over 85 theaters in not only North America, but Latin America as well. Everyone who gets in will walk out with some obligatory swag, including a currently-mysterious digital "gift basket." Tickets will be free when they're up for grabs on May 31st at 1PM Eastern, so you'll want to move quickly -- there will be plenty of gamers curious to see Sony's future products on the biggest screen possible.
Vimeo brings its videos to movie theaters
When you head to an independent theater in the near future, the pre-movie entertainment that plays might be slightly different. Vimeo is partnering with Spotlight Cinema Networks to show select videos from its Staff Picks Channel as well as content from the Vimeo Brand Studio. That latter video project lets brands used original content as a means of promotion, like Samsung's "Gary & Gabe."
