Indie art house distributors Kino Lorber launched its new Kino Marquee initiative is several art house cinemas across the nation. Every theater in major U.S. markets closed this past week over the coronavirus. Kino Marquee is designed to serve moviegoers while creating a modest revenue stream for the art house.
Rather than going to popular streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, or VUDU, several Kino Lorber titles are available only by visiting the website of your local art house. From there you can rent a title, view it at home, and the theater takes a cut of the rental price. Films will be booked from Fridays to Thursdays and presented on dedicated web pages headed by each theater’s branded marquee. Virtual “holdovers” will be determined by performance, and revenue will be split between distributor and exhibitor.
“When theaters started to close, we at Kino Lorber turned our thoughts to how we could collaborate with our independent theater partners across the country. We cannot release the kinds of films we do without their support,” said Wendy Lidell, SVP of Theatrical Distribution at Kino Lorber. “Of course we wanted to find a way to keep our current film release in front of audiences but to do so in a way that would also benefit our exhibition partners. We want to help ensure that these theaters will be able to reopen their doors after this crisis passes. The Kino Marquee program offers an opportunity for theaters to generate revenue while their doors are closed.”
“…offers an opportunity for theaters to generate revenue while their doors are closed.”
The first film to arrive via Kino Marquee is Bacurau, a Brazilian thriller about a small town in Brazil picked off one-by-one by hunters led by the inimitable Udo Kier. It can be “seen” at one of these theaters.
Film at Lincoln Center (New York, NY)
BAM (Brooklyn, NY)
Jacob Burns Film Center (Pleasantville, NY)
The Little Theatre (Rochester, NY)
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Riviera Theatre (Santa Barbara, CA)
The Frida Cinema (Santa Ana, CA)
Denver Film / Sie FilmCenter (Denver, CO)
Belcourt Theater (Nashville, TN)
Loft Cinema (Tucson, AZ)
Austin Film Society (Austin, TX)
Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, OH)
Aperture Cinema (Winston Salem, NC)
Your support is needed to expand the number of titles made available during the current outbreak. Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber commented: “As a company whose mantra has always been “experience cinema” we’re keen to help our exhibition partners maintain their visibility and value in launching the whole media career of the carefully curated films we all care so much about. We’re all in this together and will come through it stronger with the support of the film-loving communities our theaters serve.”
