#Ipic westwood movie times series

“Many moviegoers are also gamers and we want to make our theaters must-visit places for them.”įor theaters, hosting video game contests and other alternative entertainment also addresses a long-standing problem of low occupancy rates. “We’ve tried to create an environment that caters to all our customers,” said James Meredith, who heads marketing at Cinemark.

#Ipic westwood movie times series

to present a viewing party for part of the world championship series of the video game “League of Legends.” Cinemark, for example, recently partnered with Coca-Cola Co. Video games have also proved to be a popular draw. To boost profits, big theater chains have been trying new ways to draw in crowds who want to be entertained as part of a group experience. and Canada last year was 1.27 billion, down from 1.5 billion in 2004, according to the Motion Picture Assn. Reflecting the trend, attendance at movie theaters in the U.S.

That’s exactly what theater owners are banking on.Ĭinemas are having to work harder than ever to lure younger patrons to the multiplex because they have more entertainment options in the home, including streaming movies on their tablets and playing video games online. “I liked meeting people and playing ‘Minecraft’ with them,” Solis said.

stared intently at the movie screen in front of him, watching people scramble around dinosaurs.īut the 11-year-old wasn’t at Westwood’s iPic theater to catch a matinee screening of the summer blockbuster “Jurassic World.” He and about 100 others filled the seats to play a video game called “Minecraft,” where they built dinosaurs in a virtual world controlled from their laptops and simulcast on the big screen.