Comscore has sold its industry leading box office data tracking division Comscore Movies to private equity firm Advaya Capital in a $70 million deal. As part of that deal, Comscore Movies will rebrand as Rentrak, the name it held before it was acquired by Comscore in 2016.
“This acquisition is a commitment to theatrical industry’s past, present and future,” Advaya Capital managing partner Anat Guptal said in a statement. “Returning to the Rentrak name reflects a return to the spirit of service and innovation that made this platform what it is. We look forward to engaging with studios, distributors and theaters alike to hear how we can continue to improve upon the legacy of the business.”
One of the major names involved in the deal was Chris Aronson, the former distribution chief at 20th Century Fox and Paramount, who will serve on the board at Rentrak alongside Arturo Guillén, who served as global managing director and EVP of Comscore Movies.
“The theatrical business is entering a period of profound evolution, and data is the compass that will guide its future, “Guillén said. “By combining Comscore’s unmatched historical data and global footprint with the agility of private enterprise along with the strategic vision of Chris Aronson and Anant Gupta, we are building a platform that doesn’t just report numbers, it builds the future of cinema. We are committed to helping the movie industry grow as a whole.”
The Comscore/Rentrak deal comes as the box office is enjoying its hottest period since the COVID-19 pandemic, with a decade-best year-to-date total of $3.4 billion in North America. Studios and exhibitors are expecting the summer box office season, which lasts from the first Friday of May through Labor Day, to be the first $4.1 billion-plus summer since 2019.
Comscore Movies/Rentrak has been known as the industry standard for box office gross figures and data collection, gathering real-time grosses from theaters across North America and 95% of international theaters.
Advaya says it plans to deepen Rentrak’s international footprint by deepening datasets in underrepresented international markets, develop new AI-fueled data collection and predictive analytics, and develop new services for the theatrical ecosystem as it pivots back to longer theatrical windows.
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