There’s no one more famous than Tom Rothman when it comes to getting theater owners excited at CinemaCon, the annual gathering of theater owners in Las Vegas. The head of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group used profanity more than once when targeting enemies of the theatrical experience who make it too easy for consumers to watch a movie at home. “Netflix, my ass,” is one of his most famous jokes.
But his comments at this year’s edition of CinemaCon took a surprising turn on April 13 when he instead took issue with cinema operators and the consumer experience they provide, or lack thereof.
“What I’m about to say, I say as a lifelong advocate for movie theaters. But I’m urging you all now to make some tough choices for the long term rather than the short-term health of your business,” Rothman helps. “Now is your Olympic moment with three instant goals.”
First, Rothman called on the departments to enforce the windows. While this comment was met with loud applause, the applause quickly diminished when he addressed the lengthy pre-shows, many of which now last 30 minutes as a result of allowing commercials to play between trailers.
“Stay away from the advertising crack,” he said. “Few moviegoers come at showtime and hate being forced to watch endless commercials, which they don’t have to do at home where movies are free.
He also said rising ticket prices were a real concern. “Affordability is by far the number one economic issue in the majority of the Americas. Going to the movies needs to be affordable again. I know the business has been tough. I’m not picking on you; I’m turning to you because many of you have made great investments in upgrading your theaters.”
Rothman said the timing couldn’t be more perfect, because he expects the 2026 box office to be the best in years. “I think all the studios — hopefully including us — have strong rosters coming up,” he said. “So this year will be a great time to push for some long-term improvements in the customer experience. And as I said, we will work with you on all of these improvements, because the Olympics recently added another word to their slogan… ‘Together.’ We have to meet our end, and you meet your end, but together I firmly believe that theatrical action will prevail.
It remains to be seen how Rothman’s comments will affect exhibitors, or how Cinema United will react, since they believe the windows are the bigger problem. (Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary delivers his annual address Tuesday.)
In recent weeks, Universal — the leader in PVOD — backpedaled by saying it would again wait 45 days before making a movie available at home (specialty department focus features excluded). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal and AMC Theaters signed a landmark deal that essentially collapsed the exclusive theatrical window from 72-90 days to 17-45 days, depending on the film’s opening. Since then, several major films from every studio — except Disney — have been able to debut on PVOD after just a month.
Sources say Sony intends to keep Rothman at the helm for the foreseeable future Hollywood Reporter. His boss, Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Ravi Ajuha, took an immediate liking to Rothman when he stepped into the top job more than a year ago.
That should be good news for exhibitors as well, although Rothman showed some tough love Monday night. “And as I said, we will work with you on all of this,” Rothman told theater owners at the end of his opening remarks. “I’m going to hop off my streaming platform now and start the show.”
