Category: Press Release

Year-Round Events and Quarterly Activations to Promote Moviegoing in 2025

LOS ANGELES – December 10, 2024 – On the heels of a record-breaking Thanksgiving at the box office, The Cinema Foundation, the non-profit organization from the National Association of Theatre Owners (Cinema United), today announced an exciting series of year-round events to promote the moviegoing experience through 2025. Titled “@ The Movies,” the campaign is designed to resonate with a wide range of moviegoers and will commence with National Popcorn Day on January 19, 2025. Movie theatres across the country will offer unique promotions for each event.

As part of the campaign, which is presented by Fandango, The Cinema Foundation will work with theatres across the country to come up with a dynamic and engaging program of activities and events tied to the year-round series. Building on the success of previous events like National Cinema Day, these expanded events will include quarterly targeted campaigns, including a “Sneak Peek Saturday,” timed to CinemaCon, the world’s premier showcase of theatrical exhibition hosted by Cinema United.

“The Cinema Foundation is committed to this year-long campaign by offering exhibitors opportunities to engage with their communities in fun and exciting ways,” says Bryan Braunlich, Executive Director of The Cinema Foundation. “This is the result of months of hard work and collaboration among our industry partners, and we cannot wait to invite moviegoers across the country to participate in what will be continued enjoyment at the movies.”

The Cinema Foundation’s four events, starting in 2025, are as follows:

• Q1 2025: National Popcorn Day (January 19)
• Q2 2025: Sneak Peek Saturday–an exclusive look at upcoming summer and holiday films with behind-the-scenes cinematic content and sneak peeks following CinemaCon 2025, shown in theaters nationwide for the first time. (April 19)
• Q3 2025: Date Night @ The Movies (August 15)
• Q4 2025: Family Day @ The Movies (November 9)

“Cinemas are an indispensable part of our culture. These celebrations emphasize the power of moviegoing to bring us all together to share and create long-lasting memories with our friends, families, and community,” says Mike Bowers, Chair of The Cinema Foundation.

ABOUT THE CINEMA FOUNDATION

The Cinema Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit dedicated to strengthening the cinema industry and engaging moviegoing audiences around the country. The Foundation promotes and enhances the exhibition industry through programming, events and activities, while spearheading the development of vital industry data, research and consumer insights, education and community involvement to advance the moviegoing experience.

Since March 2022, the Cinema Foundation’s mission has been dedicated to supporting and impacting the health of the cinema sector both in the short term and for years to come, while continuously expanding its contributions to the magic of moviegoing. The Cinema Foundation builds on Cinema United/National Association of Theatre Owners’ mission and relationships and expands Cinema United’s impact in ways that help individual employees, companies and the industry as a whole. For more info, visit www.thecinemafoundation.org.

ABOUT Cinema United

The National Association of Theatre Owners (Cinema United) is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 32,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and more than 30,000 screens in 88 countries worldwide. Cinema United’s membership includes the largest cinema chains in the world as well as hundreds of independent theatre owners. Additional information about CinemaCon can be found at www.cinemacon.com

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Photo by Jonny B. Wooten

LOS ANGELES, CA – October 21, 2024 – The National Association of Theatre Owners (Cinema United) announced today it has named seasoned communications professional, strategist and former award-winning journalist Andrew Stewart as Chief Communications Officer. In this role, Stewart will lead all efforts for the association’s communications and media relations strategy, continuing to unite and promote the cinema industry as the leading out-of-home experience for current and future generations.

As a key member of Cinema United’s leadership team, based in Los Angeles and reporting directly to President & CEO Michael O’Leary, Stewart will lead a comprehensive and aggressive communications strategy to raise awareness of exhibition’s critical role in the entertainment industry’s success and help map its innovative future, such as promoting the results of exhibition’s recent $2.2 billion commitment to modernize and upgrade theatres of all sizes over the next three years. An immediate priority for Stewart will involve CinemaCon, Cinema United’s cornerstone annual event and the world’s premier exhibition convention held at Caesars Palace each spring, to amplify its impact and increase visibility with members, key stakeholders from across the industry, the media, and the general public. He will also work in close partnership with the Cinema Foundation on efforts to promote moviegoing. 

“We were so impressed with Andrew’s drive and strategic know-how in navigating today’s ever-evolving media landscape,” O’Leary said. “Andrew will be invaluable to ensuring that exhibition is a part of the on-going conversation about the future of filmed entertainment. Not to mention, it’s clear he has a deep passion for going to the theatre, with a desire to see the business of moviegoing not only succeed, but innovate and grow.”

“For me, storytelling is at the heart of communications, so the opportunity to join a venerable organization such as Cinema United, to tell their story on behalf of the exhibition community, is nothing short of perfect,” Stewart said. “I couldn’t be more excited to roll up my sleeves and roll back the curtain in telling this next chapter in the theatrical exhibition story.” 

Most recently, Stewart served as Vice President at 42West, one of the leading entertainment PR agencies, where he led the Los Angeles-based team for the company’s Strategic Communications Division, working on a wide range of clientele across industries, including entertainment, gaming, technology, social impact, as well as crisis communications and issues management. Prior to that, he served in various communications roles for Participant and IMAX Corporation. During his time at Participant, he worked on campaigns for such box office hits as “Wonder,” “The Post,” “RBG” and “Green Book,” while at IMAX, he was part of the team for such record-setting IMAX releases as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Jurassic World,” the “Fast and Furious” franchise, among others. Stewart began his career as an entertainment journalist for Variety, where he reported on box office, film distribution, digital and on-demand platforms, as well as independent film and theatrical exhibition. As a journalist, he has been honored multiple times by the Southern California Journalism Awards. Prior to being a Variety film reporter, Stewart worked as an online editor for the LA-based trade publication. Stewart comes from the Midwest, where he received bachelor degrees in both journalism (news-editorial) and film studies from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

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ABOUT Cinema United 

The National Association of Theatre Owners is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 32,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and more than 34,000 additional screens in 89 countries worldwide. For more info, visit www.theatreowners.org.