How 'Event Cinema' is becoming a bigger part of exhibitors' audience strategies

How studios and exhibitors are using Q&As, immersive experiences, fan-led moments and exclusive merchandise to transform cinema screenings into must-attend events.

Cinemas have had a tough time of things recently.

The rise of working from home, COVID-19, plush home cinemas, and streaming platforms offering instant access to massive libraries of movies, are all reasons audiences have not leaving the house.

This means cinemas need to work harder than ever to coax them back into the popcorn palaces. Simply putting a film in cinemas is no longer enough to guarantee attention or turnout.

In response, studios and exhibitors have started reshaping film releases into full-scale events.

From live appearances and one-night-only formats to fan-led viral trends and immersive environments, the industry is finding new ways to make cinema feel immediate, social, and culturally significant.

This transformation is changing how films are marketed, when they are released, and how audiences engage with them.

I’m going to cover this trend in four parts:

• The Planned - The engineered cinematic events such as Rocky IV's live Q&A, Secret Cinema’s immersive Dirty Dancing, and Disney’s Frozen sing-alongs.

• The Unplanned - Fan-driven moments like Barbenheimer, The Rocky Horror Picture Show rituals, and the Gentleminions.

• The Playbook - Marketing tactics including Barbie’s pink dress code, exclusive IMAX showings, and Taylor Swift’s etiquette-bending Eras Tour screenings.

• The Outlook - The future points to blended models such as Twisters' live fan events, personalised local screenings, and digital tie-ins, alongside growing concerns about overuse, rising costs, and accessibility gaps.

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1. The Planned Event Strategies

Studios and exhibitors are turning screenings into one-night-only occasions, prestige experiences, or collective celebrations. They aim to create urgency, elevate the perceived value of attendance, and offer something that cannot be replicated at home.

There most common types are:

1. Live and Simulcast Q&As

2. Limited-Time Engagements

3. Immersive and Themed Screenings

4. Sing-Alongs and Interactive Editions

5. Premium Formats and Exclusive Extras

1. Live and Simulcast Q&As

One of the most effective tactics for cinemas today is the live Q&A session. These events allow audiences to interact directly with filmmakers, stars, or subject experts, adding a compelling sense of intimacy and insight that streaming at home cannot replicate.

MGM utilised this format during the Rocky IV re-release. Sylvester Stallone took to the stage at the Philadelphia Film Center for a 25-minute live Q&A, simulcast to over 900 cinemas across the US.

Fathom Events has also built a thriving business around live screenings with interactive Q&A elements. Running over 150 events per year, Fathom covers opera, concerts, and cult film reunions complete with pre-event introductions and exclusive behind-the-scenes talks.

Other industry players are achieving similar successes. International Film Festival Rotterdam launched IFFR Live, simultaneous screenings of festival films across several countries, each event accompanied by streamed filmmaker Q&As linking audiences in cinemas and online.

Smaller distributors are leveraging the Q&A model effectively too. Glimmer Films ran a dedicated preview tour for Your Fat Friend, with post-screening discussions featuring star Aubrey Gordon connecting directly with audiences through local independent venues and bookshops.

2. Limited-Time Engagements

Shortening a film’s theatrical window creates urgency. Films promoted as only available in cinemas for a few nights transform an ordinary screening into a must-see event. Audiences realise if they miss their chance now they may lose it forever.

Only a few days ago Blumhouse launched their 2025 "Halfway to Halloween" series. Their single-night revivals of older horror hits like M3GAN and Annabelle reignited interest through scarcity.

At a blockbuster scale, Disney’s tightly coordinated global debut of Avengers Endgame in 2019 turned its opening weekend into a worldwide moment. The simultaneous release prompted many cinemas to run midnight screenings and 24-hour marathons.

The Cinema Foundation’s National Cinema Day in the US offered tickets at heavily discounted prices for just one day only. It proved exceptionally popular, attracting over eight million attendees and generating more than $34 million in a single day. In 2025 it has been rebranded as “@ the Movies” and will feature four themed days throughout the year.

3. Immersive and Themed Screenings

Some planned events go far beyond the film itself. In the UK, Secret Cinema has mastered immersive screenings by transforming venues into film sets. Their audience for 28 Days Later watched from hospital beds in a quarantine ward (pre-Covid, when the idea felt a little more science-fiction than science-fact).