The Day in Cinema, Thursday, November 5

MOVEMENT 01

The mystery ticket is beating the marketing campaign.

Exhibitors spent the fall testing how much information an audience actually needs before buying a ticket, and the answer turns out to be: a rating, a runtime, and a Monday night. Variety notes that advance word-of-mouth tours and mystery slots are drawing younger crowds back into midweek auditoriums. On the Pass, AMC Screen Unseen has twenty-four newly indexed Monday rooms across twelve cities from Boston and Atlanta to Detroit and Phoenix, alongside free Gofobo passes for Ti West’s Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol in San Francisco, Seattle, and Austin.

“Variety notes that advance word-of-mouth tours and mystery slots are drawing younger crowds back into midweek auditoriums.”

MOVEMENT 02

Genre franchises are looking for a second vocabulary.

The Hollywood Reporter has Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski developing an animated John Wick prequel feature, while Deadline reports Rosamund Pike will headline the psychological thriller Feed for mid-size theatrical release. One project trades bruised stuntmen for animation; the other bets that a tight mid-budget thriller still belongs in a dark room rather than a streaming carousel. If you want the physical stunt version right now, David Leitch’s How to Rob a Bank has free Amazon MGM passes in Washington, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles on Monday night.

IN BRIEF

In brief.

Robert Pattinson will receive the American Cinematheque Award in Beverly Hills, per Variety. Searchlight Pictures has set 35mm advance screenings of Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Focus Features opened RSVP passes for Simon Stone’s Elsinore in Portland and Seattle. Ti West’s gothic adaptation of Ebenezer begins its national advance tour on Monday evening.