A new Independent Cinema Association of Australia initiative has bolstered the success of Last Cab to Darwin at the Australian box office.
The flim, starring Michael Caton and Jacki Weaver, is the first film released as a My Cinema Premiere event, following its announcement in May and features in the series with the support of Screen Australia.
The new initiative offers an experience often reserved for those in capital cities.
ICAA rolled out the red carpet at 57 sites across Australia.
Dendy Icon chief executive, Greg Hughes said Icon was extremely happy with the result of the Last Cab to Darwin from ICAA member cinemas.
"I am in no doubt that the ICAA My Cinema Premiere initiative has been a huge contributing factor to the successful launch of the film," he said.
The reports other from ICAA members were also postive.
A spokesperson for Majestic cinemas said it was very successful.
"We had a lot of very chuffed people exit who loved the film and the experience”, to further North in Port Macquarie “They LOVED the red carpet, were very excited about the competition … and were excited to be seeing the film at a premiere.”
ICAA President Scott Seddon said the My Cinema Premiere was created to allow cinema audiences throughout Australia to enjoy the glamour and excitement of an exclusive premiere event.
"ICAA Member cinemas currently represent 47 per cent of Last Cab to Darwin's total Box Office, compared to the usual 29 per cent – a fantastic
endorsement from our patrons, and a great result for our member cinemas and the creators of this heartwarming Australian film,” Seddon said.
Australian films feature in the series with the support of the Screen Australia Enterprise Growth program.
My Cinema Premiere events are hosted nationally by ICAA, who provide participating member cinemas with a targeted marketing and communications program.
By operating as a national umbrella circuit of Australian independent cinemas, My Cinema creates powerful marketing opportunities for cinemas and their audiences to participate in coordinated promotional campaigns across over 160 member locations.
The Disney, “Planes Fire and Rescue” promotion, offered audiences the chance to win a trip to Disneyland, and was the first in a planned series of competitions.
This was followed by “Paper Planes” from Roadshow, which gathered great momentum across Australia prior to its wide release.
Sony Pictures will partner with ICAA for the next competition, centering on the family 3D comedy “Pixels”, starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James.
By aggregating ICAA members as 30 per cent of the market, the My Cinema group has the strength to attract national promotions and campaigns with distributors and commercial brands that many individual independent exhibitors would not be able to attract.
ICAA chief executive, Adrianne Pecotic, said that both Disney and Roadshow Films quickly saw the value of My Cinema in building audiences for their titles across the independent circuit, including at regional locations across the country.”
“My Cinema has been carefully designed to provide ICAA member exhibitors with the benefits of working together on national promotions whilst still keeping the spotlight firmly on each member’s brand and customers," she said.
"With the tagline ‘The Heart of the Community’, My Cinema also provides an opportunity to promote the message that independent cinema is the social hub of communities, offering quality entertainment at affordable prices.
We want to ensure that consumers choose going to the movies as a priority and make independents their cinema of choice.”
All ICAA members are automatically part of the My Cinema group and can choose to ‘opt in’ or not to any promotions that meet their business needs.
Promotional materials and templates are available to all cinema operators, with the capability for large audio-visual files to be delivered via ICAA’s NOC digital operations centre.”
Pecotic said it was about working together to help each ICAA member compete effectively in the national market.
"We already have two fantastic national promotions and many more exciting opportunities on the horizon," she said. It’s a win/win scenario for ICAA members and our distributors and suppliers."