“It’s been incredibly useful and powerful for us to have that direct-to-consumer relationship that we don’t usually have the luxury of. “The most exciting thing that has come out of the virtual cinema experience for us as a distributor is that each transaction comes with an email address,” he said. “It’s about the right films being in the right places for the right audience.”ĭeutchman also said the use of virtual cinemas, while 5,500 theatres in the US remain closed, created an opportunity to forge closer relationships with audiences. “We cannot wait for cinemas to be back up and running… but we also want to be able to test, challenge and try new opportunities,” added Pearcey. From July 5, it will see films such as Knives Out, The Hunger Games and Dirty Dancing screened at Goodwood Motor Circuit. Lionsgate launched ticket sales this week – alongside Disney and Studiocanal – for drive-in events through immersive film experience pioneer Secret Cinema. “It’s very exciting and something that traditionally hasn’t necessarily worked in the UK, but we feel really positive about it,” said Nicola Pearcey, UK and EMEA strategy and operations president at Lionsgate. The UK has also seen the launch of drive-ins during cinema closures. “We decided to use this time to experiment and not let a crisis go to waste, so to speak,” added Deutchman.

In total, Neon enlisted more than 250 partners.

Neon moved to launch Matt Wolf’s timely quarantine experiment documentary Spaceship Earth at US drive-ins and through pop-up cityscape projections as well as through the websites of theatres and small businesses such as restaurants and bookstores. I think it is something that will hold over from this experience.”ĭeutchman was speaking on a virtual panel at Cannes’ Marché du Film Online, discussing ‘fresh ideas for reaching audiences’ in a year that has seen cinemas shut down around the world and the adoption of innovative approaches to release films. “A lot of people have discovered the pleasure of the drive-in that had never experienced it previously. “I do think will become a part of the typical theatrical footprint,” said Jeff Deutchman, executive vice president of acquisitions and production, at Neon. The recent boom in drive-in cinemas will continue beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, suggests a leading executive at US distributor Neon.

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