Cineplex Odeon Theater at Dundas Square in Toronto on Dec. 16, 2019.Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press
Who would have imagined that Jack Black and a cartoon chicken would save moviegoing? But while the blockbuster (and block-busting) success of A Minecraft Movie has helped briefly alleviate the anxious mood at the box-office after a string of high-profile 2025 disappointments, the film industry isn’t nearly guaranteed a stress-free year.
After the annual gathering of theatre owners and movie-studio executives for the confab CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier this month − where debates politely raged about everything from studio output to the window of how long films should play theatres before moving to digital markets – The Globe and Mail caught up with Ellis Jacob, chief executive of Canadian exhibition giant Cineplex, to talk about the state of the multiplex.
How are you feeling coming out of CinemaCon?
After a weekend of Minecraft, I’m feeling really good.
Have your theatres been seeing that kind of explosive reaction from Minecraft audiences, where kids are throwing stuff at the screen, yelling? Some theatres in the U.K. have posted warnings threatening to call authorities if crowds get too rowdy.
When there are movies like that which get positive encouragement, we just have to calm them down a bit and they’re fine. It’s not a real problem for us – people are just enjoying the movie. It’s like with Barbie, when people were dancing in the theatre and having a great time. But we don’t allow recording of footage – we discourage that in a big way.
One of the big topics at CinemaCon was increasing the number of and kind of movies that are released in theatres each year. Amazon MGM in particular seems to be making a big play for the theatrical market. Why do you think they’re prioritizing theatres, after years of concentrating on their streaming service?
I think it’s a great brand builder for them, it’s awareness for Amazon. And they’re going to be a major player in 2026. From an overall perspective, though, a few things felt key. One is the kind of content that the studios are delivering. The second is awareness, because one of the things we’re finding is that awareness levels aren’t there. And then the theatrical window is another discussion. Some audiences don’t know how long the window is, and it’s confusing. But we had some good discussions about keeping the window to a 45-day minimum. Some studios were happy to say yes to that. Others were a bit shaky.
Adam Aron at U.S. giant AMC said three of the major six studios are onboard for the 45-day window.
I was in the same meetings, yes. Amazon MGM is committing to go with the window. And another group that was a good discussion was Apple, and I feel it depends on how the Brad Pitt movie F1 does this summer. But we’ll do a lot of promoting of that title, especially in Montreal with the F1 race.
Another issue that came up was studios asking exhibitors to ensure their operations were embracing innovation. This past fall, North America’s eight largest exhibitors collectively pledged US$2.2-billion to upgrade their facilities over the next three years. What does that look like for Cineplex?
The bottom line is that we continue to focus on improving our premium offerings. When you look at the percentage that we do in premiums, it’s quite significant when compared to other circuits in North America. Things like new IMAX screens, ScreenX, Ultra AVX, installing new digital laser projectors with Barco. And we continue to put recliner seating where we can. We spent a lot of money in the fourth quarter because we opened a new theatre in Royalmount Montreal, and a bunch of Rec Rooms at the same time. As the box office gets stronger, which I expect in the back half of the year, it allows us to look at other improvements.
One thing that Paramount’s Chris Aronson made a point of talking about was pricing – asking theatres to either extend matinee pricing or expand discount Tuesdays to other days of the week.
I think having a Tuesday gives the guest the opportunity to come in and get the benefit of that pricing. The trouble is that not all studios agree that discount pricing is the way to drive the business, so there’s a balance.
Do you see more experiments like Paramount’s 2023 comedy 80 for Brady, where a new release had a discounted price compared to other titles?
I’m close with Chris and would work something out about what is the most sensible thing to do. I don’t think it makes sense to discount the new Mission: Impossible film, right? But there are movies where it may be a good idea to get people in and drive the business.
The tariff situation doesn’t really apply to theatres because there aren’t goods being transported across the border in terms of film rentals. But from a concessions perspective, is there concern about food and drink getting caught up in this?
That’s only if we have counter-tariffs. But most of the items we’re already working to get resolved with Coca-Cola and the other companies, just to make sure we’re not hit with anything that will have a major impact.
I was talking with chief theatre lobbyist Michael O’Leary, and he noted tariffs are one thing, but discretionary spending is another, especially if North America slides into a recession. Is that a concern?
I have to be honest with you: Every recession that we worked through, our box office and concession has actually gone up. What guests tend to do is they don’t travel, they stay closer to home and moviegoing is one of the cheapest forms of entertainment. Go to a baseball or Raptors game, and you could go to the movies for a year on what you spend on one ticket.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
