At a time when box office content is lacking and audiences seem to be pickier than ever, Fathom Events is experiencing record-breaking revenue growth.
The joint venture between has been going on for 20 years AMCshelf and Cinemark is best known for bringing alternative content to the big screen in the form of classic Hollywood titles, live broadcasts of theater and opera productions, concerts and even television series.
Most recently, it ventured into specialty distribution to bring audiences “The Blind,” “The Chosen,” “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” and “Waitress: the Musical.” “Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration” is still coming.
In 2023, Fathom earned $100 million at the box office, a 116% increase over 2019 and its highest-grossing year ever. And that momentum continued into 2024, as the company posted first-quarter revenue of $43 million, up nearly 140% compared to the $18 million in the same period last year.
Fathom’s relationships with Hollywood’s largest studios and its cinematic reach – partnering the industry’s three largest theater chains – have made it a formidable force at the box office. Its value proposition is twofold: It breathes new life into older films and cinemas.
“Anniversary titles, which largely fall under the banner of event films, appear to be more in vogue today than in years past, with a particular focus on these popular older films,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “These new anniversary releases are a win-win situation as they bring joy to film fans and, most importantly, bring additional revenue to cinemas, often decades after the first theatrical release.”
In the post-pandemic era, Fathom acted as a crutch for many smaller theater operators, delivering much-needed content to the big screen amid a drought caused by the pandemic and strike-related production shutdowns.
Season 4 of “The Chosen,” a faith-based television show about the life of Jesus, brought Fathom $32 million at the box office, about 75% of its first quarter revenue.
“’The Chosen’ was done [Fathom]and it was huge for us,” said Brock Bagby, president and chief content, programming and development officer at B&B Theaters. “It gave us a lot of additional revenue in February and early March that we wouldn’t have had.”
Fathom also benefited from its anniversary titles and cinema classics. Each year, the company brings films back to theaters to celebrate milestone years alongside fan-favorite titles.
“We saw that there was a growing segment at the box office, people interested in seeing older films on the big screen,” said Jordan Hohman, vice president of project development at Phoenix Theaters. “These audiences are getting to enjoy classic films, either for the first time or for the first time, in a new way. I think that’s valuable.”
This year the company celebrated the 85th anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind” and the 35th anniversary of “Steel Magnolias.” Still on the calendar are the 50th anniversary of “Blazing Saddles,” the 70th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window,” the 40th anniversary of “Neverending Story” and the 20th anniversary of “Mean Girls.”
There is also a film series called Studio Ghibli Fest, which shows 14 films from the studio in their original Japanese and English dubbed versions. This year the program celebrates the 20th anniversary of Howl’s Moving Castle, the 35th anniversary of Kiki’s Delivery Service and the 30th anniversary of Pom Poko.
And these titles can continue to generate big box office returns decades after their initial release.
Fathom’s three-weekend run of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy grossed $8.2 million at the box office.
“Lord of the Rings was a huge success across the country and for us,” Bagby said. “We just screened 4DX’s The Lord of the Rings this weekend at our new theater in Dallas and every single showing was sold out.”
4DX is a screen format that uses moving seats, practical effects and sensory elements to immerse the viewer in a film experience.
Audiences are already buying tickets for August’s performances, which mark the 15th anniversary of “Coraline” and will be shown on a large scale in 3D for the first time since its initial release.
Fathom has re-released “Coraline” twice to great acclaim. In 2022, the film was shown in 800 theaters for one day and grossed $1.2 million in ticket sales. Last year, the film’s release extended its release to five days and grossed $7.1 million, making it the highest-grossing classic film release in Fathom history.
That $7.1 million amount represents about 10% of “Coraline’s” initial domestic take in 2009 and 42% of its opening weekend, according to Comscore.
Additionally, 53% of viewers who attended screenings last year were 34 years old or younger.
“Although the film is 15 years old, this is the first time new audiences are seeing it,” said Ray Nutt, CEO of Fathom Events.
Fathom reports that advance sales for this year’s screenings of “Coraline” sold seven times as many tickets per location as the same period last year, with two-thirds of those tickets sold for the 3D version of the film.
Because Fathom has a large presence through its parent companies and national marketing, it does the heavy lifting for smaller theater chains.
“[Fathom has] We built a lot of relationships,” said Phoenix Theater’s Hohman. “They’ve worked out the licensing and created the marketing for the re-release of these classic films that, you know, we just can’t do ourselves.” It’s a national campaign. So I think they just provide a lot of value.”
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2024-06-30 15:21:20
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