EXCLUSIVE: Former EDO Theatrical President Derek McLay has acquired EDO Box Office and EDO Screenings from EDO, and is opening the doors to his new firm, Insight Theatrical.
McLay will continue EDO’s groundbreaking work in box office audience analytics, research, and prediction, while expanding the service, which is already used by nearly every distributor in Hollywood, to include new technology-based offerings.
“Almost ten years ago, Edward Norton and Daniel Nadler offered me the opportunity to work with some of the brightest young minds coming out of Harvard, and we created EDO Box Office and EDO Screenings,” said McLay. “Now is the time for the next chapter. As EDO focuses on outcome measurement for convergent TV advertising, Insight Theatrical will continue to offer the same industry-leading services in test screenings, research, and predictive analytics.”
Formerly EVP at IAG, and later President at NRG, McLay joined EDO ten years ago to create a new system that allows test audiences to communicate with filmmakers in ways that moviegoers prefer, and allowed filmmakers and studios to analyze superior data much more efficiently.
“As someone who was at the very first NRG screening, when Apocalypse Now was screened at the Bruin in Westwood, test screenings have always been a passion for me,” McLay added. “As President of NRG, I relished every screening and watched brilliant filmmakers work. However, the process back then always seemed outdated, and I knew there was a better audience experience that would improve the accuracy of scores to match opening weekend exit polls. At EDO we created a world class paperless system—one we will now build on to take the test screening process to new heights, including the continued use of cutting edge technology to make the process even more effective and efficient.”
EDO Box Office also broke ground with the first product in the Theatrical Sector built purely to predict economic outcomes for films from both a very long-range point of view as well as during the crucial period just before release. EDO Box Office is prized by motion picture studio, distribution and marketing execs for being a reliable predictor of opening weekends, providing prompt feedback for marketing strategies. EDO has assisted those in the specialty film market, where smaller films are difficult to track using polling.
Josh Greenstein, President, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group also said: “Nobody knows audiences like Derek. His unwavering commitment to the business and insight into market strategy makes him invaluable.”
Mary Parent, Chairman Worldwide Production, Legendary, said “Because of the unique aspects of our creative business, data can be misleading without proper context. Derek has a unique ability to distill and interpret data to positively impact the creative process.”
Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman added, “Derek has taken such an unusual career path through the theatrical sector; he’s been at Studios, Market Research Firms, Distributors and Exhibitors. Because of his expertise in so many parts of our business, he is able to analyze issues crucial to the industry in uniquely interesting ways.”
McLay is joined in his new venture by the EDO Screenings team, including Barry Sloan and Adam Bonilla, who were pioneers at Nielsen/NRG and EDO in finding new sources of quality audiences, and were a major part of building EDO’s screening system.