Israeli company Bigger Picture is bringing back cinemas with artificial intelligence and technology, by transforming them into experiences that offer more than just a film and some snacks.

“The new generations are looking for places to socialize. After the pandemic, and with the rise of on-demand services, young people lost the main reasons to leave the house. So now they are searching for activities that allow them to meet other people, not just to do something, but to have an actual connection,” Amit Bohensky, founder and chairman at Bigger Picture, told The Jerusalem Post.

According to Bohensky, theaters are working hard to create this “social environment” that goes beyond the movie, but lack the technology to conduct a real analysis of what they need to do to offer these experiences.

“They are already situated in malls and commercial districts, sometimes even having bars where people can hang out after the movies. But they lack the technology to create digital profiles of their clients and offer them the services based on previous purchases, giving these venues the possibility of even larger margins,” Bohensky pointed out.

This is how Bigger Picture came up with the idea of offering venues a full platform that allows them not only to offer touchless experiences that can start from the moment the client parks the car, but also to conduct big data analysis of clients.

“We can offer cinemas a platform that gives their clients a barcode, an app, or something similar, and helps identify them. This makes purchases more seamless and allows venues to offer more variety in their services,” Bohensky explained.

Bohensky explained to the Post that Bigger Picture is using AI to analyze not only client data but also data from shows and other cinemas to offer a scheduling strategy that maximizes profits and aims to ensure that most screenings are sold out.

“Sometimes we don’t understand why the model decides that a movie needs to be in a specific slot. And having a human do the tracing calculations to maximize scheduling efficiency is not worth it. With our AI model, we get reasoning over scheduling decisions and a real-time learning curve on mistakes,” said Bohensky.

“This is our strongest selling point and a unique feature that we are offering. The chance to analyze everything and make decisions using an AI model is something that I’ve only seen in our products,” Bohensky claimed.

Additionally, the company offers the platform without requiring server installation and provides IT support to its clients for all products, from app development and debugging to software malfunctions on their terminals.

“We unite all of our clients' IT needs into one place, making a seamless experience for movie goers, and we also create many more touch points for the clients, which in place lets us have better tracking of their needs,” he concluded.