Is the Biz neglecting 2 timers ?

By ANDREW STEWART Aug. 28, 2010

When 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" -- the poster child for repeat business -- re-entered the market Aug. 27, thousands of moviegoers who had already seen the near $3 billion B.O. behemoth undoubtedly saw it again.
Yet because studios don't typically track that sort of thing, Fox has no way of knowing just how many repeat viewers that amounted to beyond a ballpark guess.

And while knowing likely wouldn't add much to "Avatar's" already bulging bottom line, the lack of data about repeat viewing points to a larger question: Are studios leaving money on the table by focusing primarily on opening weekends and not marketing to repeat viewers?

Ideally, opening-weekend hype builds word-of-mouth, which brings in new audiences. Such hype could also remind viewers why they liked a film the first time and might want to revisit it. Conventional wisdom says that major tentpoles and franchises with rabid fanbases ("Inception," "Eclipse"), draw the most repeat viewers. However, several titles this summer, from "Grown Ups" to 3D toon "Despicable Me," have seen surprisingly strong staying power from week to week, with some box office observers suggesting that a good chunk of that durability can be chalked up to repeat business.

Read more at Variety

ICAA Confirms progress Independent Cinemas VPF at Movie Convention

As reported in Inside Film magazine, ICAA Chief Executive Mark Sarfaty  has confirmed that ICAA, which represents nearly 650 screens across Australia and New Zealand, is in advanced VPF discussions and is close to completing an agreement with three out of the four major studios

Also from the floor at the Movie Convention, Omnilab Media has announced a new business Omnilab Media [Cinema Services] which itends to become a digital cinema integrator and deployer of digital technology to exhibitors across Australia and New Zealand.  In particular it aims to provide services to meet the needs of the many dedicated, independent cinema operators in the region.  Since 2008, ICAA and Omnilab Media have been working toward the creation of an integration and deployment entity to represent Australian and New Zealand exhibitors.

Read more at Inside Film Magazine