Ed Mintz, the founder of the motion picture industrys tried-and-true audience polling serviceCinemaScore, died February 6.
And with this, CinemaScore was born.
Soon after, while in temple for the high-holiday Jewish services, a pledge card was handed to Mintz.
Ed Mintz
The pledge card had perforations on the amounts to donate; no pens or pencils were needed.
This gave Mintz the idea for CinemaScores infamous audience polling ballot.
However, the grades, just like the ticket sales, never lied.
If the grosses were good, you could add that A and it gave a feeling of invulnerability.
If grosses were less than expectations, the A would give a feeling of hope.
Either way, Ed was a marketing execs best friend on opening night.
Giving CinemaScore its first break in the mid 1980s was AMC theatres.
Mintz proved that CinemaScore could help determine which movies AMC should book in its multiplexes.
That made Mintzs day.
Mintz was born on December 24, 1940.
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin where he majored in math.
In the 1970s, Mintz formed a company called Dentametics which heled introduce computerized billing for the dental industry.
As a computer programmer, Mintz wrote his own software to create reports that showcased CinemaScores results.
He was a longtime practitioner of DOS long after the computer language went obsolete.
CinemaScore extended beyond moviegoer polling.
CinemaScore has also been used by Las Vegas casinos when it comes to slot machine additions on the floor.
Ed will remain A+++ in the history books, said Warner Bros.
Domestic Distribution Chief Jeff Goldstein.
He pioneered an essential global rating benchmark for the entertainment industry.
RIP, our dear friend.
