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Cinemas in Action finds practical initiatives from cinemas around the world, separates activity from evidence and shows operators what may be worth adapting, testing and measuring.
UPDATED WEEKLY· 182 published ideas· Latest update: 2 November 2026See this week’s update
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2 November 2026 edition · Published 2 November 2026
Practical ways to welcome audiences and build repeat visits
Seven new ideas explore community programming, access, group offers, festival distribution and membership. Two updates add reported reach from Cinesa Room and a new technology route through ICA Marketplace. Each article separates the documented activity from the results still to be established.
7 new ideas and 2 updates · 182 published in total
Lead feature
Practical IdeaObservedLocal partners / audience choiceBuild a local film season with partners and audience choice
Combine partner curation, audience choice and a local activity in a short season. Test which elements bring people across the programme.
Read the briefingFeature 2
Practical IdeaObservedAccess / community partnershipMake a neurodivergent film club a regular monthly appointment
A free monthly club makes participation predictable and welcomes essential companions. Co-design the experience with the community it serves.
Read the briefingFeature 3
Practical IdeaObservedGroup sales / venue hireMake business and group cinema offers easy to compare
Separate private hire, bulk tickets, group bookings and staff rewards. Make the price basis and conditions clear for each buyer’s task.
Read the briefingFeature 4
Practical IdeaObservedFestivals / online windowPair a city festival tour with an overlapping online window
Stagger local cinema dates while offering a selected programme online nationally. Measure who each route reaches and who uses both.
Read the briefingFeature 5Updated
Practical IdeaReachUpdate / reported reachBuild a fan occasion around the film programme
Cinesa reports more than 1,000 attendees across six cinemas for its first Horror Edition. The fan-event format now has reported reach; commercial and repeat-visit results remain unknown.
Read the briefing
Featured briefing
AI customer service works best with escalation and quality control
AI customer service works best with escalation and quality control
ODEON combined an AI customer-service assistant with brand training, human escalation and active quality checks. The company reports faster handling and substantial automated resolution or deflection, but these are unaudited operational claims rather than commercial results.
Give membership tiers clear benefits and clear limits
Use different membership tiers for different patterns of participation. Explain guest benefits and the screenings that unlimited access excludes.
Put disabled filmmakers at the centre of a themed programme
Connect a genre programme with disabled creators and specific access arrangements. Give specialist partners a meaningful role in delivery.
Plan accessibility across the whole cinema visit
Combine access information, a plain-language introduction, less advertising and an interval. Check how the elements work together for visitors.
Short practical ideas
One-page ideas you could test this quarter.
Give membership tiers clear benefits and clear limits
Use different membership tiers for different patterns of participation. Explain guest benefits and the screenings that unlimited access excludes.
Read the briefingPut disabled filmmakers at the centre of a themed programme
Connect a genre programme with disabled creators and specific access arrangements. Give specialist partners a meaningful role in delivery.
Read the briefingPlan accessibility across the whole cinema visit
Combine access information, a plain-language introduction, less advertising and an interval. Check how the elements work together for visitors.
Read the briefingPair a city festival tour with an overlapping online window
Stagger local cinema dates while offering a selected programme online nationally. Measure who each route reaches and who uses both.
Read the briefingStay updated
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Seen an initiative we should look at, or spotted something to correct? Email markdequervain@actionmarketingworks.com.