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03.01.2024 19:44, Vladimir Fetisov
The American cinema chain Alamo Drafthouse announced the cancellation of screenings on New Year’s Eve due to problems with Sony projectors. What exactly caused the problem is not said, but it is known that shows were canceled in several cinemas of the chain across the country.
Image Source: 3NU/Reddit
“We apologize! We’re having problems with Sony projectors, which means we can’t show movies in some theaters today.”, said a message from Alamo Drafthouse, which appeared on social networks on December 31. In addition to this, it was said that five cinemas would be closed by the end of the day, but, according to the source, the problem was later resolved in most cinemas.
Image Source: Alamo Drafthouse/X
It’s unclear what exactly caused some of the screenings to be cancelled, as Alamo or Sony officials were unavailable for comment due to the holidays. Considering that difficulties did not arise in all cinemas of the network and the problem did not even affect all sessions, the reasons for this failure look very mysterious.
However, that didn’t stop at least one movie theater from making the issue “national” in a notice posted outside its Woodbury, Minnesota location. It is noteworthy that the person who captured this announcement still managed to get into the show, although until the last moment it was unclear whether the show would begin. “When we took our seats, the cinema representative warned that, despite the fact that there was a preview on the screen, we would not be able to find out whether the screening would take place until the film itself began playing. If this didn’t work, the screen would simply turn black. Fortunately, the film went off without a hitch.”said a cinema visitor.
Alamo later issued a statement saying that many theaters had been restored to service, adding that some screenings were still in jeopardy. It is unknown what exactly could have influenced the partial disruption of the cinemas.
Image source: Sony
Reddit community users suggested that the problem could be related to expired digital certificates, which are used to unlock encrypted movies. However, Alamo or Sony officials have not confirmed this version. Note that Sony exited the digital film projector business back in 2020, and all of the company’s projector models are listed as discontinued.
