Disney's repurposing of the 1991 hit animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" into large format, and the company's commitment to releasing one large format film per year for the next five years, has the industry hopeful that these films will shift from purely educational content to take a more commercial path, according the Large Format Cinema Assn. President Christopher Reyna.
"In truth, we're still not seeing as much commercial, mainstream product as the industry needs," Reyna said. "Both kinds of theaters [commercial and institutional] play both kinds of product, so there is crossover. But we had all hoped there would be more commercial product this year, but those bankruptcies hurt distributors."
Despite a push by the industry toward commercial films, about 60% of the record 21 new large format films (15 features) that will be screened at the LFCA's Annual Conference and Large Format Film Festival May 16-18 in Los Angeles are still geared toward institutions museums and other educational facilities. But the appearance of Don Hahn, producer of "Beauty and the Beast," among other blockbuster Disney animated features, as keynote speaker has the association looking toward a mainstream future.
Disney's "Fantasia/2000" grossed approximately $64 million worldwide in its four-month run starting Jan. 1 on 75 Imax screens, making it the fastest grossing Imax film ever. Per screen average exceeded $50,000 per week, which is more than 10 times the $5,000 per week generated by conventional film releases, according to Imax.
"In truth, we're still not seeing as much commercial, mainstream product as the industry needs," Reyna said. "Both kinds of theaters [commercial and institutional] play both kinds of product, so there is crossover. But we had all hoped there would be more commercial product this year, but those bankruptcies hurt distributors."
Despite a push by the industry toward commercial films, about 60% of the record 21 new large format films (15 features) that will be screened at the LFCA's Annual Conference and Large Format Film Festival May 16-18 in Los Angeles are still geared toward institutions museums and other educational facilities. But the appearance of Don Hahn, producer of "Beauty and the Beast," among other blockbuster Disney animated features, as keynote speaker has the association looking toward a mainstream future.
Disney's "Fantasia/2000" grossed approximately $64 million worldwide in its four-month run starting Jan. 1 on 75 Imax screens, making it the fastest grossing Imax film ever. Per screen average exceeded $50,000 per week, which is more than 10 times the $5,000 per week generated by conventional film releases, according to Imax.
