WEBVTT - It’s a Wonderful Life for Specialty Content Distributor Fathom Events 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:12.600 But welcome to Strictly Business Varieties weekly podcasts featuring conversations 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:16.160 with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:21.160 I'm Cynthia Littleton, co editor in chief of Variety. Today, 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:25.040 my guest is Ray Nut, CEO of Fathom Events. I'm 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:27.440 happy to have him as a guest because one aspect 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:30.040 of the business we haven't covered as much on Strictly 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:34.080 Business is exhibition. It's a sector that is in transition. 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:37.440 It's also in many ways still in a world of hurt. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:42.320 As moviegoing recovers from the pandemic, Fathom has emerged as 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.400 a specialty distributor of content that is a little off 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:48.880 the beaten path for movie theaters. It has a longstanding 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:51.960 distribution deal with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:56.680 for live screenings of the Met's incredible productions. Fathom is 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.840 also the distributor bringing Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:05.119 to America this winter. Patiently explains the business model behind 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.520 the company that is owned by the nation's three largest 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:14.000 exhibition chains, AMC Entertainment, Regal and Cinemark. Ray has been 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:16.640 the head of Bathom since twenty seventeen, and he has 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:21.000 a long background in exhibition. In closing, he offers his 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.120 thoughts on what the road to health looks like for 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:28.160 the multiplex business. That's all coming up after the break. 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:39.720 Y Nut, CEO of Bathom Events, thank you so much 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:42.319 for joining me today. Thank you for having me. It's 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.840 great to be with you. Guys. Well, it's an interesting 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:49.440 time to talk about the exhibition business. There's no shortage 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:54.160 of transition, no shortage of opportunity, and for obvious reasons 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:55.920 that the world has been talking about for the last 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.800 three years, a lot of challenges in movie going, which 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:03.920 although I have grown up covering the television business, I 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:06.640 have since I was twelve years old and able to 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:10.919 ride my bike to my favorite movie theater. I have loved. 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:14.680 I truly loved the moviegoing experience. I'd like to start 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:18.000 just by having asking you kind of describe this sort 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:21.200 of size and scope of your business and what Fathom 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:28.240 brings to the exhibition community. Well, Fathom, Fathom is currently 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:32.280 an event cinema business, but to get some context from that, 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:36.960 you know, I spent most of my years on the 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.000 theater exhibition side of the business with United Artists Theaters 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.839 and then Regal Entertainment Group and then I came over 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:46.920 to Fathom about five and a half years ago. And 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:49.640 when I came over, it was things were known as 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:55.919 alternative content, and alternative content was something that over the 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:57.800 first couple of years in doing this job, I got 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:01.920 a little uncomfortable with. It just didn't didn't resonate with me. 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:03.720 I don't think it resonated with a lot of our 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:07.200 audience as well, or even the industry. So we started 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.600 to transition into what we're calling now event cinema. And 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:15.360 that's as technology developed, and you know, there became a 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:18.280 new interest and a little thing called the pandemic cap 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:22.520 and Whi's got people thinking much differently about content on 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:25.679 the screen, not just commercial product, but other content and 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:31.280 backups in production and everything. So so right now, you know, 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:36.040 the scope of the business is isn't giant, but it 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:39.640 is an opportunist to growing business right now, and it's 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:44.520 a great place to be where theater exhibitors and content 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.920 providers are coming up with new content, exhibitors are hungry 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:52.520 for additional content, and so you know, it's a it's 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:55.080 a great place to be right now. And you know, 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:59.560 my crew is definitely excited about the opportunities ahead of us. 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:04.440 You are jointly owned by AMC, Regal and Cinemark, which 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:08.440 is that's a big footprint in exhibition ranked there. But 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:12.080 you also send your events. Your special events can go 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:14.640 to any exhibitor that raises their hand and says, I'd 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.320 like to bring this to my theater or is it 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:19.760 just for that those three circuits. No, I'm glad you 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:23.679 brought that up, because there are misconceptions about there because 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.360 we're owned by AMC, Cinemark and Regal, that we only 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.719 distribute to them, and that's not the case at all. 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:32.960 We distribute to them obviously, but we distribute to ninety 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:38.840 seven other theater circuits domestically and theater circuits worldwide as well. 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:43.880 In fact, you know, when it comes to distribution, probably 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:48.159 our owners are you know, exercised as much discretion, if 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:50.520 not more, about the content that we bring to the 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:54.120 screen because they are the biggest and everybody's knocking on 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:57.440 their door to distribute content to them, including us obviously. 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.720 So it's it's it's really good. We you know, from 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:04.760 a technology standpoint, we have one of the most cost 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:09.279 effective ways to get content from our office or from 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:12.880 the content providers to the movie theaters, and that's through 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.520 what we call our Digital Broadcast Network. It's a satellite 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:19.160 based network that has eleven hundreds theaters and twenty two 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:24.200 hundred screens domestically, and it's very easy to get content 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:26.760 and efficient to get content. So a lot of our 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:30.160 content partners like that. But we also launched something just 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:34.479 last year. You know, eleven hundred theaters doesn't sound like 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:38.080 a lot, but it is sometimes for events cinema. But 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:42.240 we launched something called DCP only, and what that is 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:45.480 is we have the ability to now just go ahead 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:50.200 and do things like a regular movie, distribute content like 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:53.599 a regular movie to movie theaters. And so some of 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:58.000 our recent events like The Chosen for example, and others 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:03.760 that decent distribution are up to two thousand plus screens. 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:07.719 And what we changed is our philosophy. And we used 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.120 to anyone and we partnered with on the exhibition side 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.680 used to have to have and install that digital broadcast network. 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.000 We've eased that a little bit now and said, you 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:19.159 know what, if you've got a digital projector and you 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:21.919 can accept a DCP, then we're in business with you 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.280 if you if you want our content and we think 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:28.760 it's right for you as well. How do you go 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:34.400 about what makes for good a good Fathom event offering. 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.719 Your upcoming slate, which we'll talk about, has a quite 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.159 a range of things going on. What do you look 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:44.800 for to make up for the right thing for Fathom Events? Yeah, 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:47.039 you know, as I previously mentioned, this is one of 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:51.160 the things that cause me to balk a little bit 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:56.120 about the brand alternative content and move into events cinema 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.800 and actually talk a little bit about where we're going 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:03.240 in the future, because we're actually working on transitioning the 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:07.040 industry and our company from away from the events cinema 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:12.560 brand into what we're calling a specialty distribution. But what 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:17.480 we look for is content that has an audience, and 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:19.560 that's the first thing a lot of people. The reason 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:22.320 I was uncomfortable with alternative content because it makes it 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:27.000 sound like anything other thing commercial product that's out there 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:29.480 can be slapped up on the screen and boy, there's 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:31.920 going to be an audience there. But people have to 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:34.480 realize we started this business on a Monday through a 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:37.560 Thursday type of business. It's very difficult to get people 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:40.559 off their couching into movie theaters or you know, Monday, 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.040 it's going to be something special so there has to 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:46.040 be an audience out there. And I have a spectacular 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:50.960 team that does the research, does the programming, does the marketing, 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:54.560 and does all of the operations for everything. We're an 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.320 end to end solution for our content providers. But the 0:07:57.360 --> 0:08:00.600 main thing is that you have to have that audience. 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.400 And we've done some things that people, you know, when 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:05.880 we announced it, they'll raise their eyebrows and say, what 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:09.040 in the world is that, But they find out that 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:12.840 we've done our research. You know recently, you know, just 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:18.080 February fifteenth, we opened Winnie the Pooh and um, you 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:20.360 know this was a horror picture. We need to pooh 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:23.960 blood and honey, which is I should say, winning the 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:27.280 poo blood and honey, don't a mil I don't think 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:31.240 he ever anticipated Christopher Robin having this, but it is 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:36.200 an interesting it's an interesting example of copyrights. Have you know, 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:39.000 the copyright has expired, so Winnie the Pooh is now 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:42.840 the new versions can be had. But so you did 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.560 your homework on that. Yeah, it's a great example of 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:49.440 us identifying an audience for that. We were watching you know, 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:52.760 socials on that and you know, when my team first 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.600 brought it to me, I was like, I don't you know, 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:57.560 I don't get it. And then they brought me all 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:01.120 the backup and the research and everything, and I so, okay, 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.360 it looks like there is an audience for it. And 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:06.200 you know, opening night it did at least in North 0:09:06.200 --> 0:09:10.200 America about seven hundred and sixty thousand dollars, so you know, 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:14.160 on a Wednesday night, that's uh, that's that's pretty darn 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:17.520 good for for event cinema. So we were very happy 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:18.719 with that. But that gives you a little bit of 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.920 a flavor of of you know, how we go about 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.640 looking at our content. And by the way, our content 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:29.000 is very diverse, as you probably know, and you know 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:32.800 it's everything from the Metropolitan Opera to children's programming to 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:37.360 anime original you know, original programming. Uh. And the biggest 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.079 category that we had last year, which was huge for us, 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.520 was faith based. So um, so there's you know, you 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:46.400 have to do a lot of research and understand what 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.400 audience is. We'll get up off that couch I refer 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.480 to and get to the movie theater on on a 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:56.200 weekday or on weekends. We do get this distribution on 0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:59.959 weekends as well. We had, uh some of the time 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:05.720 documentaries we had ten of the thirty top documentaries in 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.800 the industry in twenty twenty two, and you know that 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:13.360 was led by our number two, the number two documentary 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:16.160 in the industry, which was Mother Teresa. So it was 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:19.160 a dot on Mother Teresa. So a lot of our 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:24.200 faith based content, our films, we have a lot of 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.200 live content that does come with them because we have 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:30.800 added values. So somebody through our network will do either 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:35.680 prerecorded or live added content, but they're added value, i 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:38.920 should say. So, so you know that has been a 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:41.880 and we're getting into different categories as well. If you 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:44.800 look at the Chosen, which we've done three events with them. 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:48.319 Now we're getting into episodics, so we did season three 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.560 episodes one and two late last year and then we 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:55.360 did episodes you know, the final episode seven and eight 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.600 as well. And you know, to your point that you 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:02.080 were talking about maybe early about the communal experience and 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.320 that type of thing, that's a great example about something 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:07.560 that we sourced out there. We've been talking to these 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:11.600 guys for years and we knew that they wanted to 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:14.160 gather communally because the only place they've ever been able 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:16.280 to see their content is through the app that they 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:20.760 have so we've made that available to them in movie theaters, 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:24.120 and they came out in droves for not only a 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:28.680 Christmas movie called The Messengers in twenty twenty one, but 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:34.600 also the episodics that I just mentioned as well, in 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:37.360 the example of faith based films or a Winnie the Pooh, 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:41.160 Blood and Honey. What is the benefit to a film distributor, 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:45.960 an independent distributor to going with Fathom rather than trying 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:48.839 to set up an you know, an art house deal 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:52.760 or a regional circuit deal with a more with an 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.360 AMC or a regal or a cinema. Do you offer 0:11:55.400 --> 0:12:01.760 them better better economic terms? The economic terms are very favorable, 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:04.360 But I think one of the biggest things they come 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:08.240 to us for is distribution. And they know that, you know, 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.520 per my previous comment about who we distribute to, not 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:14.160 only our owners but others out there. They know they're 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:17.800 going to get good distribution through Fathom, and they're going 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:21.959 to get a marketing partner as well. And with that marketing, 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:24.560 you know, comes things like you know, they'd have to 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:28.680 pay for trailering, you know, if they go to traditional route. 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:34.640 Our economic deal and our comprehensive deal involves dedicated trailering 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.320 that we have as a deal with our owners out 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:41.000 there as well. So so there's marketing assets that they 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:44.880 get get access to, certain things that we have access 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:47.800 to with our owners. Maybe that's the loyalty programs that 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:51.600 are out there. So a lot of its distribution, a 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:54.160 lot of its marketing, and again it's an end to 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:58.040 end solution. A lot of our content providers they just 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:00.440 you know, they don't want to, you know, go through 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:03.880 everything that there is to go through a traditional distribution 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:07.800 and it's a very turnkey approach with us. So that's 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:10.560 what a lot of the content partners do. And there's 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.959 a lot of content partners that are coming to us 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.719 that that have done traditional distribution as well. I mean 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:20.480 we did Life Mark with the Kendrick brothers. You know. 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.520 Fireproof is what they've done in the past amongst other movies, 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:27.520 thirty to sixty million dollar movies and Fireproof did about 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:30.840 five and a half million dollars with us. That was 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:33.600 a picture with Kirk Cameron, who we've worked with in 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:37.680 the past to do live events with us. So it's 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.319 it's just a it's we try to make it very 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:44.560 very easy for the content providers to get their content 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:48.600 on screen and distribute it. Is the box office split? 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:51.439 Is it about comfortable to what it would be through 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:56.640 a more traditional exhibition. Um, you know what our content 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:01.839 Our economic model is based on a rev share off 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:06.080 the tickets, and it's very unusual. We don't pay a 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.880 dime to acquire content. We basically license content for a 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:14.080 period of time and then there's a piece of the 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.560 box office that automatically comes off the top and goes 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:22.800 to our theater owners or theater affiliates, and it's all equals, 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.640 so it doesn't matter whether it's our owners or affiliates. 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:29.520 And that percentage is a little bit less on weekdays 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:31.800 because of the opportunity costs, and it's a little bit 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:35.440 more on weekends because the opportunity costs of getting that 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.720 screen on the weekend is a little bit more. And 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.880 then generally after that we would depends who. It depends 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:43.960 on who brings what to the table in terms of 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:48.720 a marketing plan, but generally it's fifty fifty after a 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:54.680 there's a contribution to our theater operators. And so the 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:58.920 reason it's set up that way is that everybody's got 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.600 a dog going to haunt that that way and everybody 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:05.800 has an incentive to bring what they have to the 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.600 table to make that film as successful as possible. Exhibition, 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:13.240 Fathom Content, and any of the marketing partners that might 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:15.880 be brought on as well to handle the P and A. 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:20.480 So so yeah, it's it's it's a very different model, 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:24.840 and in many cases it's it's much more favorable to 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:28.760 the content provider than they could get if they went direct. Well, 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.600 as you're talking about independent productions, that you know, a 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:35.200 turnkey solution to P and A, which is so such 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:38.960 a big part and important to get right and expensive 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.280 part of the movie making after you've spent all the 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:43.880 money to make the movie. So I can see I 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:46.800 can see the appeal of that, especially to independent Talk 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.080 a little bit more about the focus on Monday through 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.600 Thursday and why that matters to exhibitors. It sounds like, 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.200 you know, getting people in there, any anything that will 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.240 get people in there at a time when the room 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.960 is usually is going to be a good thing for 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:06.040 an exhibitor. It is. And you know, coming from exhibition, 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:09.240 and I'll speak maybe not in current times, but in 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:13.160 times you know, way prior to the pandemic. You know, 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:16.400 these theaters are all least for the most part, for 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:19.320 most of them, you know, probably ninety five theaters at 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:22.760 least are least out there. So there's a tenant landlord issue, 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:27.040 and they're paying rent. These theater operators are doesn't matter 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.280 whether it's Monday or a Friday night, they're paying. They're 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:33.360 paying the same rent. And I can tell you that, 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:36.280 you know, way back in the day, we actually had 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:38.560 discussions about does it even make sense to leave the 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:42.200 theater open Monday through Thursday, that's how quiet they are. 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.480 And you know, obviously the answer to that is the 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:49.440 least prohibited and you couldn't do that, but if you could, 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.960 it would make financial sense to do so, because you're 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:54.920 doing most of your business Friday, Saturday and Sunday, no 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:59.640 big secret. So I think starting the business, you know, 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.920 you're ago, you know, Alternative Content and starting the Fathom business. 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:08.040 That was actually a business that was purchased by amc 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:13.479 reegoing Cinemmark back in twenty thirteen from National Cinemedia. Now 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:16.800 National Cinemedia has made people know as the leading cinema 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.439 advertising operator out there. A company that I helped found 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:24.560 as well, and it was a step child. You know, 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:29.879 Alternative Content was a stepchild to advertising in theaters because 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.560 most of the revenue was coming from advertising at that time. 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:37.000 And so you know, the theater owners now amc reegoing Cinemark, 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:41.400 found it in their best interests to separate this business, 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:45.440 focus on itself, and then make it something more than 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:48.760 that Monday through Thursday business. And that's literally what it 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:50.879 has become. I can tell you it was probably a 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:57.120 thirty million dollar business when the Three Circuits bought the company. 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:01.720 When I joined in two thousand seventeen, that jumped to 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:05.600 fifty five million dollars, and then by two nineteen we 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:09.719 grew to eighty million dollars before the pandemic. And just 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:13.240 to give you some context, in two thousand and twenty two, 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:18.280 our company was eighty six percent of two thousand nineteen numbers, 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:21.639 where there's you know, the general industry was sixty six percent, 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.120 give or take of two thousand nineteen. So it gives 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:27.240 you a little context about the growth opportunities that I 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.879 talked about before with the Gun Cinema. I can't do 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.560 the Keger in my head, but I know it's good. 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:39.360 That's pretty impressive. And in terms of like, is there 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:42.439 a sweet spot for the time of day that you 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:44.919 have an event is in my understanding, it's kind of 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:49.760 earlier than an usual evening evening sweet spot for a 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:53.600 for a more traditional film. Yeah, we're usually taking up 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:55.960 maybe you know, one show time a day or a 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.480 traditional run during the days, maybe five show times on average, 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:02.320 that type of thing. And it depends, it really depends 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.800 on the type of content. If it's children's programming, we're 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:08.840 probably going to be looking at a Saturday or Sunday morning. 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:11.240 You know, we're trying to get in there where it's 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:14.160 between nap time with the kids, depending on the age 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.480 or we're you know. So these are the kind of 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:21.119 things that my team goes through in terms of recommending 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:25.200 optimal distribution times with play age and showtimes, and they're 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:28.359 very very good at it. So, you know, there's that, 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:30.640 and on the other end of the spectrum, maybe there's 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:34.280 the Metropolitan Opera, so that comes you know, we do 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:36.600 about twelve events a year and that comes out of 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:42.280 comes out of the Met in New York Live, and 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:46.520 that's a matinee on a Saturday. So that at the 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:49.280 average age of a Met goer is about seventy three 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:51.480 years old. So a little bit a little bit on 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.200 the other end of the spectrum from the kids, and 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:58.320 then we repeat it with a matinee and a evening 0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:01.400 show the following the Wednesday as an encore to give 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.760 that audience an opportunity to get to the movie theater 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:10.439 as well. So it really given how diverse our businesses 0:20:10.480 --> 0:20:13.280 and our content is. Um, you know we need to 0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:17.640 pooh for example, you'll you'll probably be running or exhibition 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:19.960 will be running maybe seven and a ten o'clock show, 0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:22.360 It doesn't matter what night, you know, that type of thing. 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:25.760 So it's it's really all over the place, but it's 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:29.000 very focused and targeted at when can we create a 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:31.120 convenient time for that customer to get to the movie 0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:34.360 theater Having been to that, I have had the good 0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:37.760 fortune to have gone to a Metropolitan Opera production, and 0:20:37.800 --> 0:20:42.919 I think it's it's wonderful that through this distribution, this 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:45.840 long standing distribution arrangement, I know that the MET is 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:49.399 one of your long standing partners, that people can see 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:55.000 the amazing spectacle and talent that is on display in 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:57.959 these operas. It is it is I think you know, 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:00.439 any anybody the MET will tell you that it is 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:04.320 an older audience and sadly seems like it's fading, and 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:08.080 hopefully this is a way to make it available to 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:10.600 people that would never be able to get to Lincoln 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:16.040 Center and see the the incredible spectacle that is just 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.199 that is just this this art form that is you know, 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:22.800 that that really needs that needs the boost of having 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:26.000 more people than can get to Manhattan and Los Angeles 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:29.159 and Paris and Rome to be able to hear this 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:33.560 incredible music, the beauty of the Met when that's I mean, 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:36.480 it's been You're right, it's been a long, long term relationship. 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:40.680 We have a great, great relationship with them, and it 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:44.160 was an ingenious idea that would predates my time at 0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:48.200 Fathom to actually take that live out of Lincoln Center 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:50.800 and bring it not only to the United States but 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:54.080 all over the world. And I think the one thing 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:56.600 that really impressed me when I first became familiar with 0:21:56.640 --> 0:21:59.320 the Met and the relationship and the programming of it 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:02.520 was was kind of like you said that if you're 0:22:02.520 --> 0:22:06.040 sitting in that movie theater, you're actually seeing something that 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:08.360 you cannot see. If you're sitting in that seat at 0:22:08.359 --> 0:22:13.160 the mat, you're seeing something in backstage. You're seeing costume changes, 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:18.600 you're seeing some backgrounds, you know, stories about the actors 0:22:18.760 --> 0:22:22.840 or whatever, and it really is fascinating and will grab 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:26.560 your attention in movie theaters. And that's also something about 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:30.320 Fathom in general. Every single one of our events, whether 0:22:30.359 --> 0:22:34.000 it's a classic movie or the mat or whatever, has 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:38.760 added value content. Like I said before, for example, for 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:42.359 some of our classic movies, now we just hired Leonard 0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:46.439 Malton to give a four or five minute introduction to 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:49.240 every single one of those. We have Casablanca coming up 0:22:49.320 --> 0:22:52.560 and I just saw, I just saw his intro to that, 0:22:52.680 --> 0:22:56.320 and he did an absolute fabulous job. So you know, 0:22:56.400 --> 0:22:59.600 one of the renowned critics that is still left out there. 0:22:59.640 --> 0:23:01.879 He just that he's a super super guy into the 0:23:01.920 --> 0:23:05.119 super job for us. So it brings that added value 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:07.720 to the audience. And by the way, we command a 0:23:07.760 --> 0:23:10.240 little bit higher ticket price at the box office as 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:15.119 well because of that added value. So that all plays 0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:19.560 into the model with Fathom with classic movies. I did 0:23:19.560 --> 0:23:22.640 see Casablanca was on your on your upcoming slate. What, 0:23:23.480 --> 0:23:25.800 of course there are many classic movies. Is there something 0:23:25.840 --> 0:23:29.760 that makes a classic movie that really work for a 0:23:29.840 --> 0:23:34.239 Fathom Events presentation? Yeah, the first The first thing is 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:37.600 an anniversary title. So it's it's it's got to be 0:23:37.640 --> 0:23:45.000 an anniversary. You love anniversary's. We love anniversaries, and I mean, 0:23:45.080 --> 0:23:47.359 you know, we look at things like every five years. 0:23:47.359 --> 0:23:49.320 So we do have a slate that says, Okay, this 0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:52.400 one's coming out, that one's coming up. But the as 0:23:52.440 --> 0:23:55.679 I always say, the classics are what reminds me of 0:23:55.680 --> 0:23:57.960 how old I'm getting when I see a rain Man 0:23:58.040 --> 0:24:01.600 that we're going to do later this year, or National 0:24:01.680 --> 0:24:05.320 Lamp Run's vacation or something that just doesn't really seem 0:24:05.359 --> 0:24:07.560 like it should be a classic, but it actually is. 0:24:07.600 --> 0:24:11.600