COVID-19 made life come to a standstill this spring, and for the first time ever the entire world was urged to stay home. For many people, it felt like a farfetched disaster movie had suddenly come to life.  

Cineplex, Canada’s largest theatrical cinema company, was dealing with unparalleled disruption. Within days, each of its 165 theatres across Canada shut down, and the film distribution companies that supply its content postponed all major releases. As Canadians gradually adjusted to the “new normal”, it was evident that theatre closures were not going to be a short-term thing. 

Knowing how big a role movies play in people’s lives, Cineplex wanted to provide a moment of escape and joy, and to let Canadians know they will be there for us when normal life returns.  

On a quiet Saturday night, we surprised an apartment complex with an outdoor screening of How to Train Your Dragon. Residents were provided FM radios tuned to a frequency that ran the movie soundtrack. Even though the movie was a “kids” film, it provided all the residents – adults and kids alike – exactly the kind of cinematic escape they needed to make them forget about COVID, at least for a while.  

We formed a special partnership with Skip the Dishes so everyone could order genuine Cineplex popcorn and movie snacks.   

The cinematic gesture was a delight for audience members – and beyond. Roaring applause from the residents capped off the screening and surprised even the crew members on the ground who made it all happen. 

Social content was posted organically to the Cineplex social channels with strong results across all channels: There were more than 30,000 views in the first 72 hours.  

The campaign more than achieved the goal of surpassing digital brand norms for viewership and engagement by 50%. Even though the experience was focused on a finite number of people, its impact spread much further.