Posted in: Cinemacon, Film Promo, Movies | Tagged: cinemacon, Sneak Peek Showcase

CinemaCon Sneak Peek Showcase: Good Idea, Bad Execution

We went to the CinemaCon Sneak Peek Showcase last week, and if it continues, some work will be needed to get it where it should be.

CinemaCon was a few weeks ago, and for the first time, movie fans were invited to come out to theaters last week to experience a Sneak Peek Showcase, full of things shown from upcoming movies presented by the studios at the event. For $3, of which all went to charity, you could buy a ticket and enjoy looks at films from Lionsgate, Warner Bros, Universal, Disney, and more. This is a fantastic idea, so I happily bought my ticket the minute it went on sale and counted the days until I could go. CinemaCon is a bucket list destination for me, so if I had a chance to get close to it, I would take it. Sadly, the Sneak Peek Showcase was not a great first-time event, and if it continues, drastic changes should be made.

CinemaCon Gets Us To Pay To Watch Trailers

When I arrived at the theater, there was no signage, nothing on the marquee, and if you didn't know this was happening already, nothing to tell you it was a thing. I walked up, and even the employees had no clue what I was there for until they scanned the ticket. They did give me a free large popcorn, though. As I feared, I was the only one there, which, from my standpoint, was nice, but I am sure that's not what anyone else wants to hear. As the commercials ended, trailers began, and I snickered. I already assumed what I would be shown, which was a bunch of trailers debuting at CinemaCon, but I was hoping for some behind-the-scenes footage and some featurettes on the show itself. Nope. It was 70 minutes of trailers, broken up by studio, including four that they showed before the Showcase started. Liongate did provide a featurette and trailer on Ballerina, the upcoming John Wick spin-off, but that was it. Seeing the Tron: Ares trailer on the big screen was cool, but I was pretty bored about halfway through the event. Somehow, the studios, CinemaCon, and Regal figured out how to get me to pay to watch nothing but trailers.

I left bummed, but also already thinking of ways to fix this if they continue to do it. First, do it a week later; it needs to be closer to the actual event, so excitement is still there. Weeks later, all of the trailers that will be released from the show have been playing in theaters and online for too long to be exciting. Second, advertise! People had no idea this was happening. I bet they would have done better getting people in the door if they had any kind of advertising in theaters playing the Showcase, or if CinemaCon itself put out that this Showcase was a thing more than a week out. Third, please give us some tours of the actual show. Give us interviews with the stars from backstage to go in front of the trailers. Give us anything that makes us feel like we are getting even a tiny fraction of the experience of being in Vegas.

I like the idea of this being for charity and getting us as close to the show as we can without having to be there. This could be an awesome tool for studios and theaters going forward, but if it stays this way, I feel like I will be the only one going—until I actually go to CinemaCon. Then I won't have to.

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