Original excerpt from our December newsletter, now expanded with additional details. You can subscribe here.
Let’s ponder an extremely fun “What if?”
What if Walt Disney Imagineering designed movie theaters?
WDI designing movie theaters would be fresh and innovative. Taking a themed entertainment approach to regular movie theaters could be legendary. It’s clear movie theaters are at a dangerous crossroads, they have to become experiences or else they will die off.
Every theater needs to think of itself as an experience. From when you walk in until you leave, it should be an awesome time. That’s why Walt Disney Imagineering would be such a stellar choice to reimagine movie theaters. Now would that be feasible? Probably not but it’s a fun scenario to imagine. Disney owning a theater chain wouldn’t work for multiple reasons, but Disney outsourcing WDI or possibly creating a joint venture to make a chain of customized, Disney-fied theaters would be an intriguing proposition. Disney would then be able to own the entire theatrical experience from start to finish for these chains.
Walt Disney Imagineering excels at making magical spots. If given the proper budget, they could easily reimagine movie theaters. I could imagine innovative lobbies, concession stands that are themed, and the possibility of having a gift shop or other experiences within the theater. I’d also love to see what Imagineering would decide for seats. I’d imagine they would opt for something different. These theaters could maybe feature more innovative screens and effect options depending on the showing as well.
Just imagine the next-level experiences they could create. If going to the theater felt like going to a mini Disney Park wouldn’t you want to go more often? Plus reimagining theaters feels like a unique challenge for Walt Disney Imagineering and I would love to see what they could do with it.
Also, a non-Disney example, I’ve thought about is Amazon acquiring AMC Theatres. This is a bit different from Imagineering designing theaters but it’s the same idea. Amazon could potentially make the combination extremely valuable. The combo could create value for Prime members (discount days) and extra space at theaters could be used for other Amazon businesses (Prime fulfillment, Whole Foods, etc.)
Walt Disney Imagineering designing theaters would be incredible, it’s the type of thing Disney should explore. I will expand on this in a future story.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
