At the National Association of Theatre Owners‘ annual CinemaCon in Las Vegas one thing rang true with movie distributors and theater owners alike — more diversity means more money.
The annual convention is a chance for Hollywood executives and local cinema owners to mingle, celebrate the successes of the year prior and prep for the year to come. 2018 was a banner year for the industry, as ticket sales in the U.S. and abroad smashed records.
The year also marked a changing tide in the types of films that can now be considered blockbuster-worthy. In the past, diverse casting has been reserved for low-budget indie films and Oscar-aspiring period pieces and biopics.
“Black Panther” changed that tune.
The superhero flick, which had a predominantly African American cast, garnered more than $1.34 billion at the global box office.
Its director, Ryan Coogler, was the second black director to direct a film that has crossed the billion-dollar mark, and now holds the title for highest-grossing film by a black director. F. Gary Gray was the first black director to reach that distinction with “The Fate of the Furious” in 2017.
And “Black Panther” isn‘t an outlier.
“The reason we do diversity and inclusion is not just that it‘s the right thing, the right thing should certainly always lead us, but second of all it‘s right for business,” Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, president and CEO of Marcus Theaters, said during a panel Tuesday. “And we are starting to see that.”
Jon Chu‘s “Crazy Rich Asians” film, based on the best-selling book of the same name, smashed records at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing romantic comedy from a major Hollywood studio in a decade.
Source: More diversity, more money: Theater owners want more inclusive films | Stock Daily Dish