Killing It at the Box Office: How Cineverse’s Horror Sensation Won Opening Weekend
Moderator
Thomas K Arnold, Media Play News
Panelist
Chris McGurk, Cineverse
Lauren McCarthy, Cineverse
Speakers
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Chris McGurkCEO, Cineverse
Chris McGurk is chairman and CEO of Cineverse, a publicly traded entertainment company on a mission to uplift storytellers and entertain fans with the power of technology.
Cineverse distributes content across all windows and platforms, from theatrical to digital to physical, and most recently released the breakout box office success, Terrifier 3 which opened at number 1 and was lauded by the Ringer as an “indie horror hit.”
McGurk has enjoyed a long and transformative executive career in the film, TV and streaming content industries. Before joining Cineverse in 2011, McGurk was the founder and CEO of Overture Films and CEO of Anchor Bay Entertainment. Prior to that, McGurk served in several executive leadership roles including Vice Chairman and COO of MGM Studios, President and COO of Universal Pictures and President of The Walt Disney Motion Picture Group.
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Lauren McCarthySVP, Marketing, Cineverse
of Marketing, she tells the story of Cineverse – overseeing the strategy and execution of all marketing, communication and creative initiatives for the company across releases, products, brands and business lines. Lauren leads a customer-obsessed team to build engaging and effective title, brand, business and consumer narratives – supporting revenue generators with measurable, data driven results.
Most recently her team designed and executed the campaign for the highest grossing unrated movie in history, Terrifier 3, which opened at No. 1 at the box office thanks in part to what Forbes referred to as a “Masterclass in niche marketing.”
Prior to Cineverse, she has held senior roles in the technology space, including at SaaS startup Tangelo.ai, along with various marketing, product, creative strategy and filmed entertainment positions, including VP Creative Affairs at Broad Green Pictures.
Lauren also has a number of producer credits to her name spanning independent and major studio releases. This includes The Transfiguration, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the 2018 Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, Wish Upon, directed by Jon Leonetti (Annabelle), starring Joey King and Ryan Phillippe, as well as Bad Santa 2, Break Point and Learning to Drive.
Additionally, Lauren is an advisor to the top-rated entrepreneurial course, “NUVention: Arts & Media” at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering. Self-described as “Funny, Ha Ha,” is a graduate of the Second City Chicago, and lives in Southern California with her husband—actor Jerry Minor—and their son.
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Thomas K. ArnoldPublisher and Editorial Director, Media Play News
Thomas K. Arnold is the publisher and editorial director of Media Play News, one of the five Hollywood trades and the only one to focus on home distribution: streaming, digital transactional, and disc. Arnold is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, summits and other events, including CES, Digital Hollywood and events produced by trade groups OTT.X and DEG. He has appeared on television to talk about home entertainment issues on CNN’s “Showbiz Tonight,” “Entertainment Tonight,” and the G4 network’s “Attack of the Show.” Arnold is a veteran journalist who has been published in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the San Diego Union-Tribune, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, San Diego Magazine, Billboard, Ad Age, the San Diego Reader and various other local, national and regional publications.