Cineplex Entertainment is bringing a different kind of blockbuster to theatres with the launch of a new gaming tournament built around the most recent instalment in the military combat videogame franchise, Call of Duty.
The company has partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment Canada (SCEC) on a series of national video gaming events. The “Cineplex WorldGaming Canadian Tournament presented by PlayStation” will pit opponents against each other in on-screen games of Call of Duty: Black Ops III for the chance to win a $20,000 grand prize.
Call of Duty is the fifth best-selling video game franchise of all time, with more than 175 million copies sold prior to the release of Black Ops III. The newest entry in the series reportedly generated worldwide sales of US$550 million in its first 72 hours.
The partnership makes Sony the official presenting sponsor for the tournament, and gives it the right to select a title sponsor for Canadian championships taking place throughout the year.
It also grants Sony’s PlayStation brand access to on-site signage and inventory in both Cineplex Magazine as well as its French-language counterpart, Le Magazine Cineplex. Sony will also be featured in pre-show advertising at Cineplex’s 162 theatres across the country.
The tournament begins with online qualifiers taking place Jan. 16 to Feb. 7, with the regional finals taking place at 24 Cineplex theatres across the country on Feb. 21. It culminates with the national finals, which will take place at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto on March 6.
Cineplex is also incorporating its Scene loyalty program by enabling people to attend the events by redeeming 1,000 points and by awarding points to users who pay for admission.
The move comes as competitive gaming, also known as eSports, becomes more entrenched as an entertainment option, particularly in markets like Asia – where crowds fill arenas to watch competitive games of Starcraft.
A reported 27 million people watched the League of Legends world championship in 2015, while the game streaming service Twitch.tv attracts more than 100 million monthly unique visitors who spend an average of one hour and 46 minutes each day with the service.
Market research firm SuperData last year valued the global e-sports market at US$748 million, with year-over-year growth being fuelled by brands entering the market (sponsorships and advertising accounted for $579 million in revenue last year).
The firm predicted the e-sports market would be worth $1.9 billion by 2018, thanks to the growth of direct revenue sources such as betting sites and amateur tournaments.
“It’s growing in popularity so rapidly and becoming a global phenomenon, so that’s why there’s a lot of interest among the gaming community in competitions of this nature,” said Sarah Van Lange, director of communications for Cineplex Entertainment in Toronto. “It’s exciting for us to be at the forefront of bringing this type of tournament to Canadians.”
Cineplex first signaled its interest in eSports last year, when it acquired an 80% interest in the WorldGaming Network for $10 million (it also pledged to invest an additional $5 million to expand the business).
An analyst told Forbes at the time the transaction made sense for the company, since three quarters of its business comes in the Friday through Sunday period, and events like eSports could create additional revenue.
Box office receipts accounted for just over half (52.6%) of Cineplex’s $328.2 million in revenues in the most recent quarter.
While Van Lange said the endeavour is about attracting a new customer base, she stressed the gaming universe is far more diverse than the adolescent males who are typically regarded as representative of the gaming audience.
“The gaming community is far richer than that,” she said. “It isn’t necessarily that 18-year-old we picture in our mind’s eye. There are a lot of misnomers about what the demographic is; it’s about engaging a new customer base of game enthusiasts versus a new customer base of younger patrons.”
Cineplex is not alone in attempting to incorporate eSports into its product offering. Last year, several U.S. chains including Regal, AMC and Cinemark partnered with Super League Gaming on a summer tour that enabled gamers to play the hugely popular game Minecraft – which has garnered in excess of 100 million downloads – on theatre screens. The tour stopped in 80 theatres in 28 cities.
