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Prepare to witness Team USA’s competitors at the 2024 Summer Olympics in a novel way — projected in cinemas.
For the very first occurrence, the 2024 Paris Summer Games will be showcased in theatres nationwide. Over 150 IMAX cinemas will transmit the opening ceremony live on July 26. Following that, starting July 27, throughout 160 AMC Theatres across the nation, selected live NBC daytime broadcasts will be displayed daily until the Games conclude on Aug. 11.
“Enthusiasts of sports prefer to unite in celebration, and during the last [Summer] Olympics, we were intrigued by the viewers’ gatherings across the USA that NBC highlighted during their broadcasts,” mentioned Ryan Noonan, the director of corporate communications at AMC Theatres, in a discussion with Yahoo Entertainment. “Whether congregating to support a local Olympic contender or youth sports teams joining to back their preferred athletes, the excitement in these collective viewings was unmistakable.”
The growing interest in joint virtual screenings has motivated NBC and AMC Theaters to collaborate and deliver the Olympic festivities to the cinematic environment, he mentioned.
“This introduces a fresh dynamic,” Jason Squire, host of The Movie Business Podcast and emeritus professor at USC School of Cinematic Arts, conveyed to Yahoo, clarifying that screening live sports events in cinemas serves as a mutually beneficial scenario for all parties.
Opening ceremony
The inaugural ceremony of the Olympics on July 26 will, for the initial time, be aired live in chosen IMAX cinemas throughout the country, commencing at 1:30 p.m. ET.
This edition’s ceremony will be an extensive four-mile procession along the Seine, with an approximate ensemble of 100 vessels escorting thousands of athletes past numerous landmark structures in Paris. The spectacle concludes at Trocadéro.
Exact cinema locations are yet to be determined but will be announced before tickets become available on June 26, as indicated by an IMAX spokesperson to Yahoo. Devotees keen on group screenings can also organize a private viewing by renting an entire IMARK theater, with prices set by each establishment.
Watching the games
Planned showtimes for NBC’s Olympic coverage are set to last approximately four hours daily per show, Noonan revealed.
A single admission will allow entry for a timed duration on the date of purchase. As stated by Fandango, presentations will commence at variable times between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET daily, adapted to the event schedule, including live coverages of sports like basketball, swimming, volleyball, and athletics.
Supporters desiring an intimate, large-scale viewing experience may purchase the entire cinema through AMC’s collective sales gateway for significant group events.
MAP: Discover if an adjoining cinema is exhibiting the Olympics
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‘If you assemble it, they will arrive’
The demand for cinema experiences extends beyond merely films. According to a 2024 Fandango investigation, surveyed ticket purchasers expressed their interest in an assortment of events they would enjoy in a theater setting, like comedy tours, live concert films, television debuts and finales, along with sports contests.
Cinemas are simultaneously exploring new strategies to occupy seats this summer, which conventionally signifies the “most gainful period” for the film industry, as outlined by Squire.
“The motion-picture industry is in distress,” he elaborated. “Introducing the Olympics to the silver screen is an examination to gauge the capacity of cinemas to fill seats in the absence of major stars or high-budget flicks.”
Following the successful cinema debut of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which garnered an excess of $261 million in worldwide ticket receipts, Squire highlighted that devotees are craving alternative modalities to savor live occurrences, such as sports and concerts, freed from soaring ticket charges.
“It mimics an amphitheater ambiance,” he depicted regarding viewing sports in a cinema. “It merges fellowship with the traditional cinematic sense of unity and charm that comes with it.”
Recent IMAX presentations of the Disney+ documentary The Beach Boys, in conjunction with upcoming showings of the NBA Finals in Hong Kong and Taiwan, are indicative that a novel realm is emerging centered around fandom experiences and live productions, he conveyed.
“It embodies the expansion of admirer and brand cultures,” Squire, who anticipates NBC and the Olympics to engineer substantial marketing offensives prior to the screenings akin to those deployed for major motion pictures.
Should the auditoriums be filled, he added, it might signify a pivotal shift for AMC Theatres, which encountered a downturn in ticket earnings post the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, leading to temporal closures, as well as sequential Hollywood industrial actions in 2023, which postponed cinematic productions and distributions. Anticipations for the summer box office have not yet materialized as the movie quarters forecasted.
“This has never transpired previously,” he stated regarding the Olympic screenings. “But historic evidence suggests that if you erect it, they will flock.”
