< PreviousFeel the difference Feel more of everything that makes seeing a film in theaters an exceptional experience at the Roman Ballrooms.The world reopened in 2022, enabling us all to work and travel in ways we hadn’t in far too long. And while I’ve been able to hit the road again over the last year, representing the Motion Picture Association in cities across the globe, few things compare to reconnecting at CinemaCon with some of the best business leaders I know. As the heroic Evelyn Wang tells her daughter in the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, “Of all the places I could be, I just want to be here with you!” I come to CinemaCon every year to be inspired in new ways by our industry, which continues to be among the world’s most innovative, resilient and creative communities. For more than 100 years, we have experienced cultural revolutions, paradigm shifts in technology, advances in distribution models, and changes in consumer tastes and behavior. And with every development, we continue to evolve and grow stronger every time. CinemaCon is like the crystal ball of success. Last year in this very room, we enjoyed Top Gun: Maverick , which just a few weeks later went on to bring people back to the theatres in huge numbers. We also got a sneak preview of Avatar: The Way of Water, before it became the third-highest grossing movie in history at $2.3 billion. Magic happens here. And I can’t wait to see what future successes we’ll be watching this year. While the theatrical side of the business continues to recover from the pandemic, the trendline is positive. The worldwide success of those two blockbuster hits, along with many others, confirms once again the value of theatrical openings and the reality that audiences are hungry for the cinema experience. In fact, NATO predicts that in the U.S./Canada alone, the number of wide theatrical releases will increase by over 40 percent in 2023. I’m also confident in the future of CinemaCon, and the National Association of Theatre Owners, under the leadership of incoming NATO President and CEO Michael O’Leary. For decades, John Fithian’s name has been synonymous with movie theatre owners, and his influence and impact on this industry have been immeasurable. I am proud to have partnered with John for the past six years, and I know that Michael, an MPA alum, will bring his own invaluable set of skills, knowledge and experiences to lead NATO into an exciting new chapter of growth. My travels over the past year remind me that it’s a privilege to support storytellers and their artistic freedoms, to ensure creators can produce and distribute their content anywhere in the world; and to protect that content by combating digital piracy in every corner of the globe. Everywhere I go, I’m proud to advocate on behalf of an iconic industry that connects global audiences everywhere, helping us see each other in new and different ways. I look forward to speaking to you all on Tuesday. CHARLES H. RIVKIN Chairman & CEO Motion Picture Association I’ve Seen the Future and It Looks BrightCinemaCon Would Like to Thank Its Exhibition Partners for Supplying Courtesy Crew Staffing to this Year’s Convention CinemaCon Would Like to Thank Christie for Supplying the Use of the Video Wall at this Year’s Conventionrience with Q-SYS from QSCww ©2023 QSC, LLC all rights reserved. Q-SYS is part of QSC, LLC. QSC, LLC’s trademarks include but are not limited to Q-SYS™, Q-SYS logo, and all trademarks are listed under www.qsys.com/trademarks, some of which are registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Today’s cinema experience is so much more than movies! And Q-SYS is so much more than a cinema processor! With the Q-SYS Platform and QSC loudspeakers, you can deliver sound to each theater and every other space in the theatre complex where high quality sound is important. Use your theatre for conferencing, business presentations, eSports and other live events. Plus, control and monitor sound system components, projectors and may other devices remotely from anywhere with a network connection. qsys.com/cinema To the big screen, and beyond! Create A Full Multiplex Experience With Q-SYS Visit us at CinemaCon booth 2203AOn behalf of the membership of the International Cinema Technology Association I would like to welcome everyone to CinemaCon 2023! The past year has been a busy one for the ICTA. There’s a lot to share, so here we go. In 2022, NATO created The Cinema Foundation, and we have been working in partnership with this group to bring our seminars and educational programming closer to the industry. This partnership grants the ICTA a seat on The Cinema Foundation’s Board of Directors. In addition, I was asked to Chair the steering committee of The Cinema Foundation’s Center for Innovation and Technology. The ICTA and Cinema Foundation partnership will ensure technical collaboration between our organizations for years to come. We recently concluded our 2023 Los Angeles Seminar Series in partnership with The Cinema Foundation in January. We collaborated on all programming for this successful seminar near Burbank, CA. The ICTA is building a tradition of recognizing key contributors to our industry that innovate and contribute in meaningful and creative ways with the annual ICTA North American Cinema Awards. Our membership nominated and recognized a group of outstanding exhibitors in January with awards in several categories. With a nod towards excellence in theatre design, Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in Crystal City, VA was awarded the Best New Build Cinema. Phoenix Theatres in Kentwood, MI was awarded the Best Cinema Refurbishment, recognizing that old cinemas can be refreshed to current standards and a new vision. The Best Use of New Technology was awarded to Cinema Triomphe PX, Lachenaie, Quebec, Canada for outstanding use of innovative cinema technology. The annual Los Angeles Seminar Series event was highlighted this year with the presentation of the prestigious Icon Award to Ioan Allen at the Tuesday evening dinner. Ioan was central to the introduction of all early Dolby cinema sound formats. He’s also a Past President of the ICTA, creator of the LASS, and unparalleled in his contributions to the motion picture industry and the ICTA. Congratulations to all of our award winners! ICTA Awards are not limited to North America. We also award the EMEA Cinema Awards annually. These awards include Best Cinema Refurbishment of the Year, Classic Screen of the Year, and New Build Screen of the Year. Should you know of a cinema, organization or individual who should be considered for these awards, please contact an ICTA member. Did you ever wish that you knew more about the technology behind your excellent presentation, but you don’t want to take long classes formatted for service technicians? At CinemaCon this year we continue our partnership with the Cinema Foundation with an educational seminar geared towards non-technical positions in exhibition, entitled The Fundamentals of Cinema Presentation. This 2 hour seminar is a crash-course covering Audio and Acoustics, Projection and Media, TMS, Networks and Maintenance. This course will be offered at CinemaCon on Monday, April 24th in Neapolitan III at 10am and repeated at 1pm. This program is free but you must register at https:// internationalcinematechnologyassociation.com/cinemacon-sessions/. We continue our ICTA programming this week with a 1-hour look at the technology behind event cinema and live events – “Beyond the PLF”. Industry experts will present what it takes to simulcast and stream live content into cinemas. This seminar will be held at 7:45am on Thursday in Palace Ballroom III – Emperors Level. FRANK TEES President, ICTA Vice President, Moving iMage Technologies Welcome to CinemaCon 2023 (Continued on next page)(Frank Tees Continued) The ICTA will continue our programming with the Barcelona Seminar Series in Spain at the Cinesa Cinema Diagonal Mar starting on June 18th in conjunction with CineEurope. The 2023 ICTA Annual Convention will be held on July 23-26th at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The program includes visits to technology vendors and studios, along with discussion and presentations from some of the most knowledgeable technology innovators in cinema - all in a family-friendly format. Please join us in LA; registration is open. The ICTA hosts many events throughout the year supporting exhibition with the latest in cinema technology at most major trade shows. Our members attend every cinema trade show worldwide. All technology vendors, dealers, integrators and cinema exhibitors are encouraged to join the ICTA. More information can be found at ICTA- WEB.COM. Finally, I continue to urge those involved in exhibition and the cinema technology landscape to engage and mentor those with even a glimmer of interest in the inner workings of our industry. Ensure these candidates are educated with the many OEM and college courses required to design, install, service and operate cinema technology. Please also guide and encourage a career in cinema technology. Building our industry’s support infrastructure will help to bolster the state-of-the-art technology and cutting- edge innovations being discussed this week at CinemaCon. We need technical people that have roots in cinema. We need the help, and all of you are our best resource. Look forward to seeing you at CinemaCon 2023! Feel free to stop by booth 2519 in Augustus Ballroom to learn more about the International Cinema Technology Association.Next >