Updated: The legacy of MGM Domestic Distribution Chief Erik Lomis was remembered this morning at CinemaCon by his Paramount Domestic Distribution boss Chris Aronson, who worked with the former at MGM years ago. Lomis died suddenly March 22, having just released MGM’s Creed III to record box office results — a win also for the studio’s streaming parent Amazon.
Later on this Am, when exiting NATO President and CEO John Fithian took the stage, he exclaimed, “I’m dedicating this CinemaCon to Erik Lomis and everyone he touched.”
“Erik coached, guided, and mentored many in this industry,” Fithian said.
Lomis was a force during the pandemic. When most studios were looking to jettison their tentpoles to streamers as the state of exhibition remained shuttered and in doubt, Lomis lobbied for a theatrical release for the final Daniel Craig James Bond film. Not only did he ensure that the movie be held until theaters reopened,...
Later on this Am, when exiting NATO President and CEO John Fithian took the stage, he exclaimed, “I’m dedicating this CinemaCon to Erik Lomis and everyone he touched.”
“Erik coached, guided, and mentored many in this industry,” Fithian said.
Lomis was a force during the pandemic. When most studios were looking to jettison their tentpoles to streamers as the state of exhibition remained shuttered and in doubt, Lomis lobbied for a theatrical release for the final Daniel Craig James Bond film. Not only did he ensure that the movie be held until theaters reopened,...
- 4/25/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exhibition trade group the National Association of Theatre Owners announced Monday that its 24-year CEO and President John Fithian was retiring.
While that’s not as long as the late Motion Picture Association boss Jack Valenti’s 38-year run at that trade org, who left behind his own legendary streak with the creation of the ratings system, Fithian well deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence. As movie theaters were closed for the first time in their existence due to the pandemic, Fithian and his team tirelessly championed lawmakers from the federal to the city level to get cinemas reopened and the motion picture industry back on its feet. Not only that, but as studios experimented aggressively for a theatrical day-and-date model, Fithian and company behind the scenes poured water on that broken model as the box office returned.
Sure, Halloween Ends is going day-and-date on theatrical and Peacock this weekend,...
While that’s not as long as the late Motion Picture Association boss Jack Valenti’s 38-year run at that trade org, who left behind his own legendary streak with the creation of the ratings system, Fithian well deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence. As movie theaters were closed for the first time in their existence due to the pandemic, Fithian and his team tirelessly championed lawmakers from the federal to the city level to get cinemas reopened and the motion picture industry back on its feet. Not only that, but as studios experimented aggressively for a theatrical day-and-date model, Fithian and company behind the scenes poured water on that broken model as the box office returned.
Sure, Halloween Ends is going day-and-date on theatrical and Peacock this weekend,...
- 10/13/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
What began as a gig as outside counsel turned into a three-decade run at the National Association of Theatre Owners for John Fithian. For 22 of those years, he has served as president and CEO of the lobbying and trade association.
NATO announced earlier this week that Fithian will retire (yes, retire) on May 1, 2023. His last hurrah, so to speak, will be CinemaCon, the annual gathering of Hollywood studios, cinema operators, filmmakers and stars on the Las Vegas strip.
Fithian deftly led NATO and its members through the most challenging era in history for exhibitors — the Covid-19 crisis, which prompted unprecedented theater closures and the collapse of the box office. And even before the pandemic, the lobbyist (and witty orator) wasn’t afraid to go to battle when needed, including over the ratings system or theatrical windows. Recent moves under Fithian’s leadership included NATO’s new non-profit affiliate,...
What began as a gig as outside counsel turned into a three-decade run at the National Association of Theatre Owners for John Fithian. For 22 of those years, he has served as president and CEO of the lobbying and trade association.
NATO announced earlier this week that Fithian will retire (yes, retire) on May 1, 2023. His last hurrah, so to speak, will be CinemaCon, the annual gathering of Hollywood studios, cinema operators, filmmakers and stars on the Las Vegas strip.
Fithian deftly led NATO and its members through the most challenging era in history for exhibitors — the Covid-19 crisis, which prompted unprecedented theater closures and the collapse of the box office. And even before the pandemic, the lobbyist (and witty orator) wasn’t afraid to go to battle when needed, including over the ratings system or theatrical windows. Recent moves under Fithian’s leadership included NATO’s new non-profit affiliate,...
- 10/13/2022
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The National Association of Theater Owners announced on Monday that its President and CEO John Fithian will step down on May 1, 2023, ending a three-decade association with the movie theater trade organization.
“It is nearly impossible to sum up a career of three decades in a few sentences,” said Fithian in a statement. “I will leave that to others. But my highest goal was always to leave this organization and this industry stronger and more effective than I found it – and more importantly – to ensure that it remains strong and effective after I am gone. The professional and experienced staff I leave behind and the culture of service we have built together is a legacy to be proud of.”
Fithian’s run with NATO began as outside counsel back in 1992 before he joined the organization full time as president in 2000. During his tenure, Fithian has steered movie theaters through immense change,...
“It is nearly impossible to sum up a career of three decades in a few sentences,” said Fithian in a statement. “I will leave that to others. But my highest goal was always to leave this organization and this industry stronger and more effective than I found it – and more importantly – to ensure that it remains strong and effective after I am gone. The professional and experienced staff I leave behind and the culture of service we have built together is a legacy to be proud of.”
Fithian’s run with NATO began as outside counsel back in 1992 before he joined the organization full time as president in 2000. During his tenure, Fithian has steered movie theaters through immense change,...
- 10/10/2022
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
After more than a two decades run as the Boss of trade org the National Association of Theatre Owners, John Fithian is retiring, effective May 1, 2023. Technically, Fithian counts 30 years working for NATO, having begun working with the org as a former attorney at Washington DC’s Patton Boggs, LLC.
NATO’s Executive Board has begun a search process for Fithian’s successor.
Fithian has arguably seen his most pivotal and monumental days during the last two years of the pandemic. Not only has Fithian been a champion for theatrical windows on behalf NATO’s membership which counts over 35K screens stateside and 101 countries worldwide, however, the big screen trade boss and his team have been lynchpins in keeping exhibitors alive during largely a year and a half when they were forced to close down due to Covid from 2020-21. NATO, under Fithian, got exhibition included under the 15 billion congressional Covid-...
NATO’s Executive Board has begun a search process for Fithian’s successor.
Fithian has arguably seen his most pivotal and monumental days during the last two years of the pandemic. Not only has Fithian been a champion for theatrical windows on behalf NATO’s membership which counts over 35K screens stateside and 101 countries worldwide, however, the big screen trade boss and his team have been lynchpins in keeping exhibitors alive during largely a year and a half when they were forced to close down due to Covid from 2020-21. NATO, under Fithian, got exhibition included under the 15 billion congressional Covid-...
- 10/10/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
NATO executive board begins search for successor.
John Fithian, the CEO and president of National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) who guided members through a conveyor belt of existential threats to the exhibition sector, will retire as the top US cinema lobbyist on May 1, 2023.
Fithian has served NATO for 30 years. Popular with his constituents, distributors and reporters on the trade beat, he continues to work with the industry to steer theatre owners through the pandemic and address ongoing issues such as co-existing alongside streamers and the preservation of the theatrical release window.
NATO’s executive board has begun a search process for Fithian’s successor.
John Fithian, the CEO and president of National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) who guided members through a conveyor belt of existential threats to the exhibition sector, will retire as the top US cinema lobbyist on May 1, 2023.
Fithian has served NATO for 30 years. Popular with his constituents, distributors and reporters on the trade beat, he continues to work with the industry to steer theatre owners through the pandemic and address ongoing issues such as co-existing alongside streamers and the preservation of the theatrical release window.
NATO’s executive board has begun a search process for Fithian’s successor.
- 10/10/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
NATO executive board begins search for successor.
John Fithian, the CEO and president of National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) who guided members through a conveyor belt of existential threats to the exhibition sector, will retire as the top US cinema lobbyist on May 1, 2023.
Fithian has served NATO for 30 years. Popular with his constituents, distributors and reporters on the trade beat, he continues to work with the industry to steer theatre owners through the pandemic and address ongoing issues such as co-existing alongside streamers and the preservation of the theatrical release window.
NATO’s executive board has begun a search process for Fithian’s successor.
John Fithian, the CEO and president of National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) who guided members through a conveyor belt of existential threats to the exhibition sector, will retire as the top US cinema lobbyist on May 1, 2023.
Fithian has served NATO for 30 years. Popular with his constituents, distributors and reporters on the trade beat, he continues to work with the industry to steer theatre owners through the pandemic and address ongoing issues such as co-existing alongside streamers and the preservation of the theatrical release window.
NATO’s executive board has begun a search process for Fithian’s successor.
- 10/10/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
In a wide-ranging talk at a Goldman Sachs conference on Monday, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said that his company is in talks with Amazon Studios and Netflix about their plans for releasing films in theaters.
“We are having conversations with Amazon about, is it going to be 15 days, 25 days, day-and-date? There is no one way or another,” he said. “Certain movies even on Netflix now, they are going to do four weeks in theaters … There is no set model right now, because they are still figuring it out.”
The same could probably be said for almost all of Hollywood’s major studios. While Sony has kept a stable partnership with Netflix for streaming release of their films after their theatrical run, the other legacy studios — Disney, Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros. — have tried different experiments with theatrical windowing and choosing which films to skip theaters entirely. The goal — try to...
“We are having conversations with Amazon about, is it going to be 15 days, 25 days, day-and-date? There is no one way or another,” he said. “Certain movies even on Netflix now, they are going to do four weeks in theaters … There is no set model right now, because they are still figuring it out.”
The same could probably be said for almost all of Hollywood’s major studios. While Sony has kept a stable partnership with Netflix for streaming release of their films after their theatrical run, the other legacy studios — Disney, Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros. — have tried different experiments with theatrical windowing and choosing which films to skip theaters entirely. The goal — try to...
- 9/13/2022
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
CinemaCon launches Monday at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the second in-person gathering of theater owners and Hollywood studios since August, and Covid. That edition was shadowed by the Delta Variant, ongoing theater closures and shifting release dates. Now the picture is significantly brighter. Domestic attendance at the confab, including a full complement of studio heads, is at a pre-pandemic level (international still a bit softer given challenges in some markets). Moviegoing is on the rise and the release sked looks full and fixed. NATO President & CEO John Fithian and MPA Chairman-ceo Charles Rivkin fielded questions from Deadline on the evolving post-Covid landscape and relationship between the two camps. (Some responses are condensed and edited for clarity.)
Deadline: Compare last CinemaCon to what you anticipate this coming week. What’s changed in the studio/exhibition ecosystem?
Fithian: This show comes at a really important and historic time in our business.
Deadline: Compare last CinemaCon to what you anticipate this coming week. What’s changed in the studio/exhibition ecosystem?
Fithian: This show comes at a really important and historic time in our business.
- 4/24/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics art heist caper The Duke, Neon’s tender Petite Maman, and Charlotte from Good Deed Films, an animated biopic with mature themes, open an eclectic specialty weekend ready to draw older crowds if they’re ready to return.
Younger demos are back when they like the pic, as per A24s Everything Everywhere All At Once. Families also, based on Sonic The Hedgehog 2. With CinemaCon opening Monday to set the theatrical table for the rest of 2022 and beyond, NATO chief John Fithian predicts the reluctance of the 35 to 40+ crowd is “definitely going to change.”
“I think the growth is going to come as much from smaller budget films as from blockbusters,” he tells Deadline ahead of the first full-blown confab of exhibitors, studios and indie distributors since Covid. Audiences that have stayed the most at home are “the most excited about coming back out,” he said.
Younger demos are back when they like the pic, as per A24s Everything Everywhere All At Once. Families also, based on Sonic The Hedgehog 2. With CinemaCon opening Monday to set the theatrical table for the rest of 2022 and beyond, NATO chief John Fithian predicts the reluctance of the 35 to 40+ crowd is “definitely going to change.”
“I think the growth is going to come as much from smaller budget films as from blockbusters,” he tells Deadline ahead of the first full-blown confab of exhibitors, studios and indie distributors since Covid. Audiences that have stayed the most at home are “the most excited about coming back out,” he said.
- 4/22/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
As Brent Lang and Rebecca Rubin aptly pointed out in their Dec. 30 story, the mega-success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” — with global ticket sales of nearly $1.4 billion to date — reminds us that movie theaters “still create a kind of grand cultural happening that simply can’t be replicated on Netflix.”
While that is certainly the case, I remain personally troubled by the fact that so many other year-end releases, including “West Side Story,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The King’s Man,” “King Richard,” “Belfast,” “C’mon C’mon,” “Spencer” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” among others, failed to lure crowds to multiplexes.
I adore John Fithian, leader of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, and I have always shared his love and faith in moviegoing and its ability to survive challenging times, particularly over the past two years, when Covid-19 and the enormous popularity of streaming wreaked havoc on exhibition. However, I...
While that is certainly the case, I remain personally troubled by the fact that so many other year-end releases, including “West Side Story,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The King’s Man,” “King Richard,” “Belfast,” “C’mon C’mon,” “Spencer” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” among others, failed to lure crowds to multiplexes.
I adore John Fithian, leader of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, and I have always shared his love and faith in moviegoing and its ability to survive challenging times, particularly over the past two years, when Covid-19 and the enormous popularity of streaming wreaked havoc on exhibition. However, I...
- 1/6/2022
- by Claudia Eller
- Variety Film + TV
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