


The "second-screen experience" - using another device to enhance the main attraction - is growing for people at baseball games and rock concerts, and while watching TV shows or playing video games. Sometimes it's just to read reactions on Twitter, though recently apps have been designed for use during a specific program or event.

Now that technology is beginning to spill over into movie theaters.

"We believe that movies, by definition, are a social experience," said Cliff Marks, president of sales and marketing for National CineMedia, which is producing pre-movie, second-screen content.


Industry observers think that most moviegoers will easily accept the second-screen experience before films, but they're wary about it during full-length screenings.

But with more people expecting to use their second screen at all sorts of events, theaters will be pressured to follow their patrons' desires. And even with the warning to put away cell phones and iPads, some patrons pull them out during a movie anyway. So instead of fighting a trend, theaters and Hollywood could exploit it.





Content coming

Next month, FirstLook will launch its second-screen content.






"We acknowledge that these Millennials, this age group, want to engage and be social," Marks said. "But it's a matter of teaching them when it's OK."


Last fall, Disney tried it with its re-releases of both "The Little Mermaid" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas."


It was marketed as "Second Screen Live" and available only in select locations, including the AMC Town Center theater in Leawood, Kan.

Disney declined to comment for this report.

AMC Theatres, purchased in 2012 by the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, said, "We're always open to innovations that make moviegoing more fun for our guests. However, we don't have any plans for additional second-screen showings at our theaters."

Eric Wold, a senior analyst at B. Riley & Co., said adding new experiences for patrons was essential to keeping a theater afloat.


One architect in Kansas City thinks it's "a foregone conclusion" that second screens will become commonplace - and permanent fixtures - at the movies.

Mike Cummings, a principal at TK Architects, said he envisioned theaters with small monitors on the back of each seat, similar to the screens on some airplanes.

The firm doesn't have any solid plans to start building theaters with built-in second screens, he said, and like most companies exploring the idea is still working out kinks.

Limiting distraction

A top concern would be figuring out how to keep one person's second screen from distracting the rest of the audience. Cummings said he was looking to develop a screen that would be visible only to the person using it, but that could prove difficult.

He also sees a potential to use the screens for subtitles for hearing-impaired visitors.

If second-screen content continues to veer toward social media, privacy will also need to be addressed, especially for embedded screens. Theaters would need to clean those screens after each show - physically for sanitary reasons, and digitally to clear any personal account information.

Internet access also is a hurdle, especially for second-screen content that requires audience members to bring their own tablets. Many tablet users rely on Wi-Fi only, avoiding the cost of a data plan, so second-screen theaters would need to provide Wi-Fi access and find a way to ensure patrons used that access for their content and not for other services.

Despite these obstacles, Cummings said he thinks second screens are sure to hit theaters.

"People need to view it as being more immersive in the story, in the experience, than just a distraction," Cummings said. "A way to engage with the story. That's how we're approaching it."