Movie Theaters Add New York Times Games to Pre-Show Experience (EXCLUSIVE)

Attention “Wordle” and “Spelling Bee” fans: interactive offerings from The New York Times Games are coming to a movie theater near you this fall.

Through a new partnership between NYT Games and in-theater ad company Screenvision, the pre-show experience will begin rolling out nationwide by Thanksgiving.

The deal (which has initially been set as a one-year pact) marks the first time NYT Games is bringing an interactive play-along experience into movie theaters. NYT Games and Screenvision plan to “refresh” the pre-show Games content regularly and see potential to “experiment with additional formats” over the course of the collaboration.

The maker of “Connections” sees the partnership as “a new way to introduce audiences to new products and features, like Bonus Puzzles, through the experience of actually playing them.”

The NYT Games-Screenvision deal was announced Wednesday evening at a Screenvision event at the Angelika in New York City, which included a screening of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and a Q&A with Matthew Broderick.

“Cinema has become one of the most powerful places for premium content to reach audiences because it combines scale, unparalleled attention and shared experience in a way no other platform can,” Screenvision Media CEO Geoff Schiller said. “We’re proud to partner exclusively with The New York Times to bring NYT Games to moviegoers nationwide, creating a first-of-its-kind experience that transforms the theater into a place not just to watch, but to participate.”

The New York Times chief marketing officer Amy Weisenbach added: “New York Times Games has become a shared daily ritual for millions of people, sparking conversation, connection and a little friendly competition. Working with Screenvision gives us an exciting and unexpected way to bring that experience to the big screen, inviting moviegoers across the country to play together and discover more of what NYT Games has to offer.”