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Sean Gamble
Chief Executive Officer, President & Director, CINEMARK HOLDINGS INC

CinemaCon 2022: Warner Bros. Unveils The Flash Footage and an Interview with Cinemark CEO Sean Ga...

🎥 Apr 08, 2025 📺 Boxoffice Pro ⏱ 55m 👁 3 views
On today's episode of The Boxoffice Podcast hosts Daniel Loria, Rebecca Pahle, and Shawn Robbins go over Tuesday's events ...
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About Sean Gamble

Sean Gamble, CEO of Cinemark, discussed the company's priorities and industry outlook during a CinemaCon 2022 interview. He described 2022 as a "continued year of recovery" and outlined three areas of focus: managing pandemic-related expenses and health protocols, reigniting theatrical moviegoing with studio partners, and developing the company for a post-pandemic landscape. Gamble stated that the company is investing in presentation upgrades, including laser projectors and luxury recliner seats in over 65% of its domestic circuit, as well as enhancing food and beverage services with frictionless ordering and seat delivery. Gamble addressed the relationship between streaming and theatrical exhibition, saying that "the most active streamers are the most frequent moviegoers" and that an exclusive theatrical window "drives bigger box office results, reduces piracy, creates bigger cultural moments and ultimately increases long-term revenue and brand value for content." He also noted Cinemark's interest in alternative and event content, citing examples such as BTS concerts and college football playoff screenings, while emphasizing the need to identify events that can achieve "meaningful scale" and manage costs through flexible programming.

Source: AI-verified profile updated from Sean Gamble's recent appearances. Browse all interviews →

Transcript (44 segments)
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Narrator0:00
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Sean Gamble0:29
There's almost been this false narrative, I think, created in the media of streaming versus theatrical. That's just not true. I mean, the reality is we've seen through numerous surveys and conversations with our consumers and just our own behavior that the most active streamers are the most frequent movie goers. It's not one or the other.
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Host0:54
This is the Box Office Podcast in our daily Cineacon edition brought to you by Ice Theaters. Today is Wednesday, April 27th, the third day of Cineacon 2022. In today's episode, we are going to be reviewing everything that went down on Tuesday here in Las Vegas. And we will be joined by Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble, who taped an interview in advance of the event, going over his expectations, not only for Cinemark, but for the industry in 2022. A great interview we have with the CEO of the third largest circuit in North America. But before we get there, let's start with today's schedule because it's another early start. 7:45 a.m. over at the Palace Ballrooms. And if you end up missing it, well, there's not too much to worry about because on Friday, we'll actually be having highlights from that panel session moderated by NATO's Jackie Brennan with executives from both distribution and exhibition going over some of those HR challenges that will be appearing on our Friday episode here on the podcast. Today, we have another busy day. Moving on in the agenda, a 9:45 a.m. studio presentation from Disney. As we all know, Disney skipped the 2021 edition of Cineacon. They screened Shang-Chi instead, but this year they are actually coming in with a slate presentation. We'll be very curious to see what happens, and we will be sharing our recap of that in tomorrow's episode. Today's schedule finishes up at 4:15 p.m. with a presentation from both Universal Pictures and their specialty arm, Focus Features, again in the Coliseum. We will also be going over those highlights in tomorrow's episode. But today, I am joined once again by Shawn Robbins and Rebecca Paulie, our co-hosts here on the show. So, I don't know about you guys, Sean, Rebecca, I'm pretty tired. It's only Tuesday night as we record this, but these are long days here in Vegas. Am I still jet-lagged? I don't even know. I've talked to several people and asked, 'Is it just me or does everyone seem more tired this year?' And I think it is a legitimate thing. I think we're out of practice with it or something.
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Co-Panelist3:24
Yeah, it's getting used to being in crowds like this again. We're relearning how to socialize with movie people.
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Host3:31
I mean, last year was a little bit tentative. Everyone was really careful. Also, there was the existential threat to the industry. So, you had survival panic, survival adrenaline just pushing you through everything. But it's definitely a different tone this year at the event. So, let's start with our recap of the day because it was an early morning at 7:45 a.m. with a marketing panel. We're actually not going to go over that because that is going to be our feature interview segment on Thursday's episode. So, we're going to be having excerpts from that panel conversation with exhibitors on Thursday morning's episode here on the Box Office Podcast. So, we're going to jump right into it. After that, we had the state of the industry. It's a nice occasion here at Cineacon. They gave out the NATO Marquee Award to Ellis Jacob. That was a nice little speech, some nice remarks. And then John Fithian came on stage and this is probably going to be the headline of the show so far.
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Co-Panelist4:38
Absolutely. And he was preceded by Charles Riffkin, and we spoke about this yesterday emerging as the theme of this year's Cineacon: piracy, why we hate it, but also why it kind of accidentally did us some good. Sean, you were saying it was a little bit of the enemy of our enemy is our friend situation. In his remarks, the quote that stood out for me was John Fithian saying simultaneous release is dead as a serious business model and piracy is what killed it. With the data we have, I think that's an argument to be made. We'll see where it evolves. We've seen titles go to streaming. Of course, Disney's Turning Red, that Pixar title, originally scheduled for March. That's the most high-profile example of an unexpected disruption to the release calendar. But what John is saying, a day release of a major tentpole like we had last summer with Black Widow, like we had in the fall with Dune, we haven't seen that this year. Sean, is it something that you're expecting at this point?
Very rarely. I think we'll see it. We'll see one from Universal in a couple of weeks with Firestarter, but that's far from a major tentpole. Not to knock any movie, but just realistically speaking, that's not a movie that's going to be blowing down the box office doors like a Doctor Strange or a Top Gun next month. We'll see examples, I think, throughout the year, but certainly far fewer. And John Fithian is probably right. I think the general idea behind what he's saying here is that the move back to exclusivity is certainly in full play and we're going to see that play out this year.
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Host6:14
Feels appropriate that this happened on the day that the Warner Brothers studio presentation, which we'll be talking about later. I apparently missed The Rock.
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Co-Panelist6:20
Yeah, you did miss The Rock at the Warner Brothers presentation, Rebecca. A great example of what a movie star can bring when they're allowed to promote a movie and just publicize it. We'll be going into detail on The Rock's appearance in that presentation shortly, but the first one off the bat here was actually Neon, Rebecca. We got to see David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future. Not the whole thing. You saw the trailer. What were your reactions to the film?
Not only did we see David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future trailer, we also saw David Cronenberg, who was there to introduce the trailer for what is his long-awaited return to the horror genre after going into more dramatic space with things like A History of Violence, Eastern Promises. Here returning with Viggo Mortensen for a script he wrote when he was thoroughly in that body horror era. I mean it looks disgusting, which is what I was going for. You're going for gross stuff. You got a Cronenberg ticket. You want some gross stuff and you want some Viggo Mortensen. It's a good deal. It's a good combo. I'm looking forward to see how that plays out. Of course, Neon had a similar challenge in the body horror vein when they got the French language Palme d'Or winner Titane last year. They were able to push that to AMC's. I mean, that played in shopping malls. So, if they were able to get something that tough and push it past a million dollars in domestic box office, it's pretty good for a movie like that. I think this is the right distribution team for a Cronenberg body horror movie. I think we're looking forward to it. Their slate is just what holds it together is the fact that it's also unexpected kind of. I mean, none of it really is the same genre. I mean, the second film that they talked about actually was a film that you've seen, Daniel. It's about volcano scientists in love.
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Host8:14
Volcano Hunters. That actually sounds like a reality show.
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Co-Panelist8:20
It is a documentary. Volcanologists, I think, is the term. I might have just made that up. Fire of Love. That's a good title for a highlight. It's a great title. I saw this at Sundance. It's a documentary about a married French couple that loves studying volcanoes. And it's a wonderful love story about people that are passionate about something and just explore their love and relationship through their shared passions. It's a crowd-pleaser. This is through a partnership with Nat Geo. Neon has done this before. They've gone to documentaries that you wouldn't think would have a life theatrically and they pulled it off. Sean, you know, there's some examples in the recent past here from Neon coming out of documentaries that really surprised folks.
Yeah, they've had a lot of success with films like Apollo 11 and Three Identical Strangers. And I think these are good examples of movies that cross into the mainstream and find a theatrical audience in an era where it's really questioned whether that's possible and they've really proven that. Apollo 11 was impeccable, amazing. I loved it. It was one of those movies, you know, you go home for the holidays and your parents are like, 'What do you need to see?' And Apollo 11 was the one I was like, apparently I have a thing where I really like archival footage documentaries, which coincidentally this is what Fire of Love is. It's a solid archival footage. And so was the third film that Neon had in their presentation, Moonage Daydream, about David Bowie, the only film to be licensed by his estate, which means they had a treasure trove of never-before-seen, never before screened theatrically footage throughout his career. I mean, at this point it is my most anticipated movie outside of Cineacon with the caveat that we do have two more days. But it was just I it looked amazing. It made me feel human emotions. And then the emotional whiplash when the director came afterwards and part of what he said is that they played the wrong version that wasn't color corrected properly. So apparently this was the second best version and it was still amazing. So, that's coming out from Neon. A good trio of titles from this specialty outfit. Always interesting to see what they have in store. But now let's go to Warner Brothers. They closed out the day's worth of presentations. An interesting reception. I think everyone was a little bit cold, right? I mean, Toby Emmerich, one of the studio executives going out being very cautious in the words he used, but things started heating up once he brought Matt Reeves on stage. Matt Reeves announcing The Batman 2 is confirmed. He's coming back as director and we're gonna have Robert Pattinson back in the starring role again. That was a nice little bit of an introduction, but I think things really kicked off when Baz Luhrmann came on stage. Baz Luhrmann, Elvis, I love musicals. I like Baz Luhrmann movies. What are we expecting here? As we look through the latter half of 2022, it seems to be Warner Brothers' major title that they're banking on. Did you get that impression and what sort of new stuff? Before we delve into it, I'm just curious, Sean, are you a Baz Luhrmann fan?
I'm not and I approached this title as not a fan, but after this, I'm intrigued. What's your relation?
Yeah, I've always enjoyed his films. I can't say that I'm a diehard fan enough to the point where I've bought everyone, rewatched them a thousand times, and there are those Baz Luhrmann fans out there. It's interesting because we can say we probably aren't huge fans, right? We're probably not people, Sean, you and I, that are excited to hear about a Baz Luhrmann movie. Sure, it's part of the job, but Rebecca, this guy came on, he's so charming. I mean, Baz Luhrmann coming on in person on stage here at the Coliseum and just riffing in an unscripted conversation that was just rambling, but he was genuinely excited and impassioned about this project. And his approach to the film really sold me on being interested in it. He mentioned that his version of the Elvis movie isn't a biopic. So it's not a movie about the rise and fall of Elvis. The way Baz Luhrmann described it, it's a movie about the United States in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. And that is a story that is very interesting when told through the prism of the stardom of Elvis. I was hooked after he said that. That's a really interesting take on three decades of US history through stardom. I mean, Sean, how did you react to before you even saw the footage?
I think the way he contextualized that and framed it in how he's done his past films, Great Gatsby being a prime example of it being an early 20th century film, but modernized in a heavy way. And what we saw in the footage tonight, Elvis is cut from that same cloth. And I think what we saw tonight really for me sold it even more as maybe that movie that brings back the baby boomer generation to movie theaters for the first time because that's my parent, that's all our parents' age essentially. But I think it's going to expand beyond that and what we saw tonight really kind of showed to me why Baz Luhrmann does what he does. But I was impressed by how Baz Luhrmann spoke about the project from a conceptual level and I was equally impressed by the footage we saw. Capping off Baz Luhrmann's appearance at Cineacon, he said something that I think is really at the heart of why this movie is so important this summer. Coming out on June 24th, halfway point of the year, Baz Luhrmann said, 'I loved The Batman, but man cannot live by Batman alone. We need to bring all audiences into the theater, and I'm right there with you.' And you know what, guys? He's delivering on that promise and we'll see how this performs. A tricky play here to market it to older audiences. But he sold that room. I think he sold it. Now you have to sell people that haven't been going to theaters. And this movie I don't think will thrive with just the usual frequent movie goers. This is where you need to tap into the people that don't come back that often.
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Host14:39
Well, one man cannot live on Batman alone. Thanks to Baz Luhrmann for the transition because obviously a large chunk of the Warner Brothers' presentation is going to be these DCU films. But before we dive into what announcements there have been on the DC front, a few non-superhero, non-capes and capers films. We had the Wonka film, Don't Worry Darling, Salem's Lot, which I'm excited for because the book is amazing, and then the Barbie film. Of those four, what were your takeaways?
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Co-Panelist15:15
So, Barbie, we didn't really get to see anything. We just got the release date for that film. Barbie is coming out in theaters on July 21st, 2023. So, that's something to look forward to. That's really all we saw from Barbie, but of those other titles you mentioned, we did get to see quite a bit. Sean, did you know Wonka was going to be a musical?
I didn't see that coming. I did. I'd read about it. To see it in action though, I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm a Timothée Chalamet fan and I like the Wonka mythos, but I was encouraged by what I saw and I think the fact that his time is a holiday movie and a musical and a children's kind of IP, but something that's going to appeal to parents and kids. I'm very fascinated about where they could go with it. I'm just curious as to over this last year we've seen musicals be hit or miss. I mean, In the Heights, Serrano, which is a really good musical. I mean, In the Heights, absolutely. These are movies that really should have worked better, didn't they? For me, the frame of reference for Elvis, for example, coming out on June 24 of this year is just comparing that to where In the Heights was. That was a June 21 release. So, we're going to have a year's worth of difference on somewhat similar titles in terms of who they're trying to appeal to. And that box office performance is going to be a key data point on the recovery. I think unless I'm over interpreting, Sean, obviously Wonka when it comes out in Christmas 2023, that's going to give us a different perspective, right? 2023 Christmas. I mean, that feels so far away at this point. It'll be here fast, but right now we have so much to get through. Elvis is absolutely going to be a test of the summer market because that's one of those mid-range movies, so-called like a Rocketman or a Bohemian Rhapsody, that can come out and really support the market with a strong performance. Now, the Salem's Lot movie, Stephen King adaptation, small town, vampires. Is that a musical? I hope there's a version that is, but I'm happy with the one we have. The one that we have kind of looks really good. And it looks like it's going to be tied into this cinematic universe that we saw Warner Brothers exploring through those pair of IT movies a couple of years back. It doesn't look like a standalone. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to take this in that cinematic universe direction with all the King Cinematic Universe is there. But that exists in the novels. A big part of that Stephen King fandom are those cameos in those books that hook you in, right? It has a great position in September. I mean, that's where Warner Brothers has had a lot of success with horror movies. That's always been a successful corridor for them. And to wrap up, some people do think of Harry Styles as a superhero. So, maybe this is a superhero film, but Don't Worry Darling with him directed by Olivia Wilde. It's not a film that I know much about. I like Olivia Wilde's Booksmart, her directorial debut. I thought that was a really good film. What genre is this even? What are we looking at? When's it coming out? What's its role? There was like a Stepford Wives vibe to what we saw. But to be very honest, you were there with me last year, Rebecca, when we saw the first footage for this movie. We didn't get to see much more. I'm not sure how much the public has seen, but from what we saw last year to what we saw this year, I didn't learn a lot more about the title. Sean, this is the first time you're engaging with so much footage from this movie. What are you curious about from this film?
I think the fact that she kind of compared it to Inception and The Matrix and The Truman Show, a cross-section of those movies and Stepford, that really tracked me after I saw that footage. I think Florence Pugh has been a star on the rise for years and this could be one of those movies that really continues to push her even further. Even though Marvel's kind of helping do that too at the same time, but she is clearly someone who has a lot of range. And this is one of those head-trippy movies that's going to stand out, I think, and really kind of continue to extend this recovery of non-IP movies. Original movie. I mean, this is what we've been asking for. Elvis is a brand to itself, right? But it's the type of movie that we're not seeing in theaters that often. So we have that opportunity. We'll have that opportunity obviously with Don't Worry Darling at the end of September. And then it's the DC universe and we saw a lot. So is The Flash coming out? Because this movie's been delayed multiple times, has had multiple directors. It is a real movie. It's very real. We saw quite a few shots. Essentially a trailer or an extended trailer I would say and a lot of first looks at some of the characters including Michael Keaton's Batman who had a great cameo in what we saw. Fantastic. I mean nailed it. It was the sort of reception, Rebecca, that is comparable not exactly the same but comparable to what we saw when Spider-Man: No Way Home premiered that trailer at Cinecon last year. Nothing's going to top that. But this was in a similar vein. Sean, I think of what we've seen these first two days at Cineacon, the Flash footage is what got the most enthusiastic response from the crowd. It's certainly up there so far. And I think it was Keaton that probably pushed it over at the end because that's for a lot of people the original Batman, especially in this industry where Batman was one of the very first superhero movies to make superhero movies a thing in the '80s. So that's the next one that we have coming out of the well we have DC League of Super-Pets which is sooner but that's animated, that's family. I mean that is technically part of the DCU? I think everybody's wondering what is and what isn't part of the DCU right now because we're jumping around from Joker and The Batman to Super-Pets to Black Adam and Wonder Woman. This is a brand still figuring itself out and that's going to be one of the tasks of the new leadership at Warner Brothers now in Discovery. That's something they have to figure out. Maybe they're starting to. I think they can coexist things that don't necessarily tie in as neatly as Marvel does it. But we certainly saw a great variety tonight. So, we saw sequels, we saw some stuff from the sequels to Shazam and Aquaman. Did we see a lot from those sequels? What kind of stuff did we get? Shazam, we essentially got a new trailer. I believe it's the first trailer if I'm not mistaken. And that looks like an extension of the first movie, which I think a lot of people love. And Aquaman was a little bit of new footage. They were very clear that James Wan's working on it and you know kind of that usual spiel when a director comes out to Cineacon and reveals new footage for the first time. But all in all everybody that loved those previous movies will probably like these next ones based on what we saw. But listen, I'm not a huge fan but I know a movie star when I see one. And I think we were all a little bit disappointed when The Rock shows up on the screen, not on the stage, with a backdrop in Hawaii, saying he's sad that he couldn't come to Las Vegas and speak to everyone there. But then, plot twist, it was a fake backdrop. He was there all along. What? Blown. I know it was cheesy. The magic of it was cheesy. It worked. You got excited. Come on. It was fun. Man walked five rows in front of me. I mean, that might be the highlight of my week. He's a big man. Don't mess with that guy. In person, you can't like wow. I wouldn't mess with them. I think you can fit like four Timothée Chalamets in one The Rock. I think that's how it works. You just tie them with a string and you'll more or less get to that. No, I'm picturing like a Wonka DCU crossover. Just wait till next year. But he was there. He showed up. And I think what he did was a great reminder of how refreshing it is when you have a star that's engaged in promoting a film. He goes up there and starts name calling CEOs of circuits. But he calls out Adam Aron, he calls out Mooky, he calls out Sean Gamble. He's just having conversations with CEOs unscripted, just going back and forth. It was lively. I think the audience appreciated it and it was really fun. He was very much there to fill the role of the movie star in capital letters selling movie theaters in capital letters and we hadn't seen that for a long time. We didn't see that at Cineacon last year. And this is what Cineacon needed as an event. It's been 3 years since we had a major star come be charismatic, take the stage, engage the audience, and this year we get Viola Davis and The Rock. It's been great. We're only halfway through the week. And they're committed to promoting these movies. We really didn't see this from stars last year, guys. And that's a big part of making sure that theatrical releases work. Stars putting in the work. The Rock did that today. Really funny anecdote here. He singled out Cinemark as a theater where his mom who apparently lives in South Florida. She apparently goes to a Cinemark location close to her house and she'll tell the Cinemark team 'I'm going to go to my local theater, can you set me up in the screening?' Cinemark being very smart, they'll put a couple of Rock posters, put like a Moana poster there, some stand-in theater marketing, and a couple corners. The Rock's mom shows up, the guy makes you money. You treat the family right. You treat his mom right. Apparently, the mom will just walk out with whatever posters they put up. So, a pro tip here. Any of our listeners in South Florida, go to a Cinemark location, tell the staff you're The Rock's mom, you might walk out with a free poster. Just take a stand with you. I'm not sure they'll be able to call you out on it. That's adorable. That's such mom behavior. That's wonderful. It was really nice. And it was just really great to have him there. I guess going through all of this, Sean, what was the one thing you learned from this Warner Brothers slate? Because we said this coming into the event. This was going to answer a lot of questions with a studio that went from day and date to a 45-day window.
I think for me this was a giant underlying message that signaled perhaps leadership, new leadership's intent to return to the good old days because even when we went in there, they're showing photos of all of their archival films from the '50s through the 2000s. I mean, you name a Warner Brothers movie, there was a still showcase for about 15 minutes and Driving Miss Daisy music playing leading into Harry Potter music. It was just a kind of a best of Warner Brothers. And to me, that was the takeaway because it's hard to signal out with all the movies we've talked about, Elvis, all the DC stuff, Salem's Lot, virtually all of it landed in some capacity. And that's a really encouraging sign. Fantastic job from Warner Brothers, fantastic job from The Rock. Really good site. I would shout out to Aisha Tyler. She did a great job carrying the hosting duties as well. You need moderators in these things like lively hosts. She did a really good job. Really conversational talk show style format. Really great job. I'll be interested to tune in tomorrow when we will be dissecting the Disney presentation to see if they can thread the needle like Warner Brothers apparently did. Bar has been set.
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Host27:19
Well guys, thanks so much for this new segment. Great insights here from day two at Cineacon. Coming up shortly, we've got Sean Gamble, CEO of Cinemark, joining us for an exclusive interview, going over his perspective of the business today and why his circuit believes so strongly in theatrical exclusivity, its value proposition, but still isn't afraid of working with streamers. An interesting conversation coming up after this sponsor message.
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Narrator27:49
Spotlight Cinema Networks delivers the only income producing programs that meet the need of luxury dining and arthouse cinemas. Programs are designed to entertain and increase revenue with less advertising, ensuring the best moviegoing experience while generating revenue for your cinema. Visit spotlightcinemanetworks.com to learn more today.
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Host28:13
And we have here Sean Gamble, president, CEO, and board director at Cinemark, the third largest circuit in North America. Sean, thank you so much for joining us here in the daily Cineacon edition of our podcast.
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Sean Gamble28:26
Absolutely. Thanks so much for having me, Daniel.
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Host28:32
So, we've got a lot to talk about here. Obviously, you've been part of the Cinemark family for a number of years, starting your new role, helming this circuit in January 2022. But could you go back in time a little bit and share with our listeners your beginnings in the entertainment industry because you've actually worked both sides of the table here. You've been working with the studio side of things and also in exhibition.
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Sean Gamble28:55
Sure. I'll take you back even one notch further than that. I actually spent the majority of my early career at General Electric largely within their industrial businesses, a little bit in their financial services businesses. So I have a long history there working in finance and operations and actually that's what somewhat led me to the entertainment space. I got involved with supporting the acquisition of Universal when NBC bought Universal back in the 2003-2004 time frame and that was my foray into the space actually. I'd worked on a couple deals, got put on that deal and then GE liked to insert particularly finance folks into the new businesses that had acquired. So I was one of those individuals who went in to be the first head of FP&A for Universal Pictures. And then had a brief stint after that back in GE's oil and gas business and then got asked to come back to be the CFO for Universal Pictures back in the 2007 time frame, excuse me, 2009 time frame and wound up being the CFO of Universal Pictures for 5 years under GE's watch and then GE sold all of NBC Universal to Comcast so three years with Comcast. And then the opportunity came along to join Cinemark about seven and a half years ago as CFO. And that what led me here is just was a good blend. I mean, Cinemark looked like a good blend of my entertainment background on the studio side as well as somewhat my GE background from a retail and just overall business standpoint. And it's been a fantastic experience being within the exhibition space.
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Host30:48
Yeah, you've been here now, as you mentioned, since 2014, leading Cinemark on the financial side and now you are helming the circuit as it emerges from a very difficult position I think like all of exhibition worldwide from that perspective. Sean, what are your top priorities for Cinemark in 2022? What are you guys really focusing on this year?
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Sean Gamble31:13
Sure. Well, clearly the exhibition space has been one of the harder hit industries within the pandemic. As we've looked to 2022, we viewed this year as a continued year of recovery for our industry and for our business. So we've outlined really three main areas of priority for our company in 2022. The first one is just continuing to effectively navigate the pandemic because even though it seems like it's ending, it's not fully gone yet. So, we're continuing to be mindful about expense management and liquidity and the way we're operating our circuit and clearly health and safety and employee engagement. So all those things remain on the mind and we'll continue to focus on those. While doing that, the second big bucket of priority is just reigniting theatrical movie going, right? Again, we've been working actively with our studio partners to get back to a more steady stream of content film releases, which is fortunately we're finally back to that state of more week to week release of commercial films, as well as working with our consumer base and getting out and speaking to our consumers to improve both awareness that theaters are back open and movies are out there as well as confidence coming to theaters. Has everybody still getting comfortable getting back into society post pandemic? And then the third big bucket is just continuing to develop our company for ongoing success in a post-pandemic landscape. Clearly there's been a lot of change and evolution that was already happening to a certain extent before the pandemic and certainly happened during the pandemic. So, we're just actively working on how we continue to position Cinemark to be successful in the new norm as that fully takes shape post pandemic.
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Host33:16
And I think related to that, one of the big questions that everyone in the industry is figuring out from exhibitors to vendors to studios has to do with one of those priorities you mentioned. How do you engage that moviegoer in 2022? And is that very different to the way we used to engage moviegoers in 2019? I'd love to get your thoughts on that difference that these last three years have made in bringing that audience back to the movies on a consistent basis.
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Sean Gamble33:42
Sure thing. Well, yes, I would say it's continuable. I mean, I think the engagement piece I'll talk to more specifically in a second, which I would categorize more as what we're doing in the areas of marketing in particular. But it all starts with just the phenomenal experience, right? The product, the service, it has to be exceptional. And I'd say that if nothing else, just the availability of more options for people buying for people's time or entertainment sources, it just continues to put an emphasis for us on how do we take that overall experience to the next level. But specifically on engagement, how do we engage our consumers? We're fortunate to have been leaning heavily into more sophisticated marketing efforts prior to the pandemic and we've really built I would say an industry leading world-class marketing engine in terms of building awareness, driving impressions and exciting consumers to come to our theaters. So we're getting actively in front of them when they're making their entertainment plans weeks in advance. There's a heightened focus clearly from consumers coming out of the pandemic. I would say in terms of the value they're seeking, the quality of experience, their expectations around safety and cleanliness, all areas we've been focusing on. So that's a big part of our message as we try to get consumers comfortable and excited about returning to theaters. So that's like a big part of our focal point. But again, I'd say we're leaning much more heavily than ever into our marketing channels as a way to build our audiences and drive that awareness and engaging, enticing people to come. And then when we have them with us, it's all about providing them an exceptional experience.
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Host35:36
And of course, part of that appeal is leveraging the unique aspects of the moviegoing experience to the consumer. We've seen a number of circuits actively invest in their movie theaters. Cinemark is one of them. You guys are one of the leaders, if I'm not mistaken, in luxury seating footprint in the United States. And you've also invested very heavily in your premium large format strategy. Cinemark XD, your local brand, and you also work with partners like D-BOX for immersive seating, like IMAX for the big screen experience. Could you go into some of those areas of focus that you guys are currently looking at to ensure that you guys are still dynamic and up-to-date across your locations?
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Sean Gamble36:20
Absolutely. And you're absolutely right. I'd say we've had a fairly consistent history here at Cinemark of investing in our circuit at probably the peak levels of the industry, not only in new amenities, but also just in the general maintenance of our circuit, which is really important in terms of maintaining a theater looking like it's current even if it's an older theater. Cinemark is an industry leader in presentation and service. So we talk about our experience, I mentioned it's paramount to take that overall experience to the next level. So we're certainly looking at how we do that even though we may lead the industry in those areas. How do we take that to the next level? So with regard to presentation, we have the best light levels in the business today and we're in the process of converting our projectors to laser projectors over time. We have a whole heightened service initiative that we're undergoing to take our guest service to that even next level. Premium amenities. We've seen a big interest in spike in interest in premium amenities coming through the pandemic. You mentioned it. We have the highest penetration of recliner seats amongst the major exhibitors in the industry with over 65% of our domestic circuit already featuring our luxury lounger reclining seats. We're continuing to work on that. We're continuing to advance our enhanced food beverage, which is clearly both a revenue opportunity, but really also part of that experience, giving consumers more choice and greater options in terms of heightened levels of food and beverage when they come to our theaters. We're also focused on just making the overall ability to transact with us more frictionless and easy and simplistic. So, we rolled out over the course of the pandemic a new online opportunity to purchase food and beverage with our Snacks in a Tap platform where now you can actually order your food and beverage before coming to the theaters, avoid waiting in line, either pick up your food at the concession stand or even have it delivered directly to your seats. Just making that overall experience more seamless and easy. So those are some of the key things I would say that we're focusing on currently in terms of how we're advancing that overall experience.
H
Host38:47
And of course, the other half of that equation is programming. What movies you guys put on the screen, what's available. One of the things that I think has been really interesting from Cinemark over the past couple of years is your willingness to work with major streamers given an exclusivity window. And we've seen that with your work through Netflix. If I'm not mistaken, I think you guys are probably the biggest circuit worldwide that is working with Netflix through an exclusivity basis. Could you speak about that in general? That importance of making sure that the content that comes to your screen is exclusive to you guys for a period of time for you to optimize that run, whether that comes from studios or major streamers.
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Sean Gamble39:27
Sure thing. Well, I would say conceptually, even before the pandemic, we recognized that the world wasn't necessarily a one-size-fits-all proposition. We had been talking about the possibility of a more dynamic window depending on what type of content it was. So, we were open to trying that and testing that. And there's been a lot of testing and learning throughout the pandemic. And we certainly have been doing the same thing as this pertains to different types of windows and different types of content as we're all just trying to figure out what's that optimal model going forward that will present a win-win for both our studio partners as well as for us in exhibition. I would say more specifically to windows in general. We still absolutely believe and we think that clearly the data shows continues to show over the course of the releases in 2022 that an exclusive theatrical window is of high value not just for exhibition but for content providers. It's a way to drive bigger box office results, reduce piracy. There is an aim to create these bigger cultural moments having that runway and time you need in order to achieve that goal. Increase just overall revenue value and increase revenue. And long term because of those things a window just helps to elevate that perception of content and emotional connection which ultimately leads to better brand building and heightened promotional value for films. So even though we're testing different things, I think we still very much believe that that is necessary and something that you just see how the films and a lot of momentum that's been building in the theatrical results of the films that have been released to date in 2022. Many of which are performing at levels comparable or better to pre-pandemic. And those windows have really been a key component of being able to deliver. We've seen the difference in how those films have performed relative to films that have not had that. So it's valuable in terms of the ultimate promotional impact it can provide studios for their streaming platforms and their other windows. It's important for filmmakers and talent. And it just provides an overall lift for those films for everyone.
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Host42:02
And you spoke about it a second ago, how the pandemic was really a time for testing, for experimentation, and we saw that from partners like Warner Brothers going out day and date at a time when we just needed release dates to stick on the calendar. They provided that, the market stabilized and now they've instituted I think it's a 45-day window that works for them. But it's such an evolving conversation, Sean. We've got examples like Apple TV Plus with the Best Picture winner this year, CODA, taking a different approach to theatrical. Disney still on an on and off basis, I think missing Turning Red in the first quarter left a big gap for exhibition once we all look at the numbers this year. From your perspective, having worked with streamers and having worked with studios in defining that post-pandemic window, how confident are you that things are going to stabilize moving forward that studios and streamers alike are realizing the value of the exclusivity proposition you speak of?
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Sean Gamble43:01
Well, it's interesting. I would say, just to answer your question, we're very optimistic about future prospects there. There's almost been this false narrative, I think, created in the media of streaming versus theatrical. It's just not true. I mean, the reality is we've seen through numerous surveys and conversations with our consumers and just our own behavior that the most active streamers are the most frequent movie goers. It's not one or the other. And I actually find the data more compelling that the least frequent movie goers. Half of movie goers, half of people surveyed who don't go to movies don't stream. And another 20% of those same individuals beyond that only stream one to three hours a week. So it's not as if people are trading off one thing for the other. It's just people who love content love it in all formats. I know that was my own behavior. I love going to our cinema theaters and watching movies. I don't watch movies at home. It's not for those. And the reality is there is a true value of quality and the perception and the connection that consumers have with content in theaters that creates value for those platforms. It's no different than how movies historically that were released theatrically, they consistently perform better in the home, whether it was on VHS or DVD or in the paid TV window. They're just a perception of value. It creates better awareness. There's a promotional element to it. So, I don't see how that's any different when it comes to streaming as well. There's a real positive here in how these two different types of distribution can be complementary to another versus one versus another. That doesn't mean that all films necessarily will have the same window or all films necessarily should have. If anything, I think one of the things that we've seen which was a challenge prior to the pandemic is some of the smaller or more niche films they had a much more challenged financial model for the studios and because of that you weren't seeing as many of those types of movies being released theatrically they'd get pushed out direct to video or to VOD and those types of formats. Now with a more flexible window, I can actually see a situation where more of that content comes back into theaters because there's a more viable theatrical model or more viable holistic film model for the studios that works. So again, I think there's still going to be some evolution and learning, but I'm very optimistic about how these different types of distribution channels can actually be very complimentary to each other versus this false narrative of them competing against each other.
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Host45:57
One of the things I think exhibition has learned in the last two years is how to optimize those gaps in the release schedule, especially when titles move, when there's quiet periods, when you can't consistently depend on a studio title to come in and fill those gaps. We've seen event cinema and alternative programming really take off and be optimized in those periods. You've seen anime grow to a top 10 genre here in the US and event cinema events like concerts. We had that K-pop concert not too long ago do fantastic worldwide. Cinemark did something very interesting last December when you guys partnered with ESPN to bring the college football playoff to your screens. Could you talk about those efforts that you guys are doing outside of the studio release slate to bring on other types of content that may engage audiences in these in-between periods?
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Sean Gamble46:50
Absolutely. We've been big believers in alternative content as we call it for a long time. If anything, had more of a frustration that it hasn't become bigger than it is at present but you're starting to see more and more examples of success like the BTS concert recently. There have been more and more of these types of films recently that have really had some significant results. We were very thankful to our partners at Disney for helping us to enable the ESPN event with the college football playoffs and championship like you said. It was just something that we were trying out to see what type of interest there would be in the future potential. One of the things we've seen and again this comes back to your last question about the optimism of where we go from here. One of the things we've seen particularly with these types of events is just the incredible fan excitement that they produce. I mean, we will show things like the ESPN championship and playoffs as an example, right? Something that you could see at home. We've had numerous examples of that with different gaming types of events we had. People come to the theaters because the energy level and the crowd engagement. It's just a totally different experience that you're giving the fans something. The owners of this content, they're providing their fans with this experience that they might not otherwise be able to and they love it. So it's a way to actually support your fans by producing these types of events. So, I think we're going to see more and more of those types of opportunities because of that. The key is you're talking about filling gaps. The key is figuring out what types of content really can have meaningful scale because a lot of these events take a lot of work to put together. And so the question becomes all right how much can they do something like the BTS concert did where it did $7 million almost in the US on two show times? Is it going to have that robust scale or is it going to be a lot of work and just have a limited size? So that's really the solve. The other thing that we've been doing just on the flip side of that equation of how we're managing some of those gap periods. If anything, I would say one of the other learnings through the pandemic is how to operate that much more flexibly in terms of the scheduling and programming of our theaters. In the past, I would say operating hours tend to be more set in terms of more consistent throughout the course of the week, maybe varying a little bit from the weekend. Whereas now we're far more flexible and dynamic just in terms of the way we're flexing our hours of our theaters based on the demand and program that's going on. So that actually helps with just the cost side of the equation in managing the business.
H
Host49:56
And of course, this interview that our listeners are tuning into is airing during Cineacon 2022. The spoiler alert for them as we're recording this in advance because I know both our schedules were going to be hectic in Las Vegas. But with that preamble, what are your expectations for Cineacon 2022? Because last year, I don't know about you, I mean on my end it was just a sigh of relief. You know, we're still here. Now, since last August, we've had a number of massive box office hits that emphasize the value of theatrical exclusivity that show studios what happens when you put films consistently on the schedule. With that context, what are you expecting from this year's edition of Cineacon?
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Sean Gamble50:46
Well, hopefully as folks are listening to this during Cineacon, my predictions here will be accurate. But I suspect it's going to be a great event with a tremendous amount of energy. You just said it, the momentum of movie going just continues to build with the majority of films released in 2022 overperforming expectations and delivering results as I said earlier at the level if not better than 2019. So, I think there's just a real sense of positivity and positive energy there. And I expect that's going to be rampant while we're in Las Vegas at Cineacon. And I suspect, while the studios had to do what they needed to do to get to it, I suspect there's going to be a lot of studio leaning more heavily back into theatrical. We're going to hear a lot of that messaging while we're there because again, it's in everybody's best interest, the fans, the filmmakers, the studios, and exhibition. So, I think it's going to be a fantastic event and I'm looking forward to being there.
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Host51:51
And this year's edition just kind of feels like a reunion, right? Like huddling back as a team to figure out what the next years are going to be looking like. What factors from your perspective do you believe will help the theatrical industry not only recover, but thrive even in the coming years, even with all this competition and noise we're hearing from media fragmentation around us?
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Sean Gamble52:17
Well, look, I think it all starts with great content. That's something that we always look to filmmakers, our studio partners and alternative content providers to provide us. Then it's on exhibition to really continue to provide a phenomenal experience and make that experience better. I mean, we all need to lean heavily into how do we make service better and cleanliness better and the overall cinematic value of movie going better and the amenities. So, I know we're not alone in working on doing that. Leaning more heavily into marketing as I talked about sophisticated marketing. It's not just enough to expect that people are going to come to the movies now with so many competing forces. You got to really be out there and in the consumer's mindset when they make their plans. So I suspect that's something else we're going to be leading into and this of course is how are we going to thrive in the near term and long term. I think just fully getting past this pandemic and people getting back into their more social communal behaviors will bode really well for movies and going to the movies because when you strip it all down it's a great experience. It's a great value. It's a great use of time and when you consider going to the movies versus alternative forms of local entertainment, we're still just one of the least expensive and most rewarding experiences you can choose from.
H
Host53:37
And that will do it for today's edition of the Cineacon podcast here from Box Office Pro, live from Las Vegas, presented to you by Ice Theaters. Thanks again to our feature guest today, Sean Gamble, the CEO of Cinemark, for joining us in that very lovely conversation we had about everything exhibition. And thanks again to my co-host Rebecca Paulie and Shawn Robbins. On behalf of myself and our entire team here at Box Office Pro, thanks again for listening. We've got another episode coming to you tomorrow with highlights from that Tuesday morning 7:45 a.m. session that maybe some of you guys here probably slept through. It's okay if you did. We'll have highlights from that in tomorrow's episode. Some marketing insights from executives from AMC, from Cinépolis USA, Reading Cinemas, and Warehouse Cinemas. So, be sure to tune in. The Box Office Podcast is produced by Box Office Pro in collaboration with the Box Office Company and Recorded Podcast. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and review us. We'll be back again here tomorrow with another episode of this podcast series. Thanks again for listening.