Blog,

Cinemas and theaters

16 November 2021

Turn the print page for the -almost- all digital

We are approaching the end of the year, a traditionally busy time for cinemas and theaters. But, in fact, how are they doing?

According to some press articles, in general, cinemas and theaters are struggling to attract audiences.

The pandemic effect is obviously not the only reason. Fewer tourists, higher prices, a lack of interest in certain leisure activities, a certain taste for home comforts and health passes are among the many factors that have led to a drop in cinema and theater attendance, despite the arrival of blockbusters and headliners.

However, according to the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée and Libération, even if attendance is lower than before the Covid-19 pandemic, attendance in enclosed spaces is timid.

So let’s cultivate optimism and consider together what are the means to support cinemas and theaters in the digital age.

Among these means, digital signage is one of the essential digital solutions to enhance the value of this sector of activity. Let us see how…

Complementarity rather than competition, same for print versus digital

Cinemas

In France, with 2,184 cinemas and 5,241 active screens, we have one of the largest cinema parks in Europe. Only Germany, in terms of number of screens, and Spain, in terms of number of seats, have comparable equipment.

Cinema is certainly facing powerful SVOD offers and streaming platforms (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Canal + Séries) that young and old are fond of. But this diversification of the types of entertainment must be seen as complementary rather than rivalry.

The same is true for the implementation of digital signage in cinemas, which complements and reinforces traditional print signage.

Theaters

As for theaters, the offer is also rich, with, in Paris alone, about a hundred theaters and some 500 shows within the city.

The eighteen months of closure have been an opportunity for some to modernize their establishments, to digitalize them in order to provide the public with even more comfort and novelty.

Cinemas are more equipped than theaters, where there is still a lot of work to be done to enhance the service offer. Here are some arguments to take the step.

How can digitalization support cinemas and theaters?

Unlike print communication, a digital device allows you to deploy a multimedia, animated, interactive, eye-catching communication, in the air of time.

It’s easy to use: a computer to create, one or more digital screens to broadcast, a box (or player) to link the elements and a new universe is offered to you.

PRODUCER SIDE – From print to digital signage – Digital tools and high-tech screens to :

Enrich the DNA of your establishment with new technologies
Reach a wider, connected and mobile audience
Communicate simultaneously at a national level (cinema operators)
Plunge consum’actors into the heart of the action
Promote live current and future shows/films
Create a buzz
Instantly update dates and times of shows in case of unexpected events

When digital signage makes its show

PUBLIC SIDE – advanced digital tools (digital kiosks, touch screens, totems…) are now familiar to a large majority of people and their functionality is ideal for :