Game Awards to Live-Stream in Theaters With Early Screening of 'Jumanji: The Next Level'

The annual video game awards show will be live-cast in 53 Cinemark auditoriums across the U.S. coupled with a showing of the upcoming Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart sequel.

The Game Awards has partnered with Cinemark Theatres and Sony Pictures to offer a live cast of the annual awards show in 53 Cinemark theater locations across the U.S., followed by a screening of Jumanji: The Next Level. Tickets for the event, set for Dec. 12, are available for $20.

Jumanji: The Next Level is a follow-up to 2017's reimagining of the franchise, which went on to gross $962 million worldwide. Unlike the 1995 original film, which centered on a magical board game that brought the jungle to life, the new set of films focuses on enchanted video games that offer a similar, dangerous challenge. The new film is set to bow Dec. 13.

“Given that the premise of our last two Jumanji films is about getting transported into a video game, we couldn’t think of a better pairing than this,” said Ann-Elizabeth Crotty, exec vp global client services and exhibitor partnerships at Sony Pictures Entertainment. “As soon as it became clear that our release date perfectly aligned with The Game Awards, we knew we had to do something special for fans.”

The Game Awards, which first debuted in 2014, are held annually at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets to the event are open to the public and the show is live-streamed on various platforms.

“The Game Awards is all about bringing the game community together, and this year, for the first time, we’re giving fans the option of gathering live in a Cinemark auditorium...with the added perk of being some of the first fans to see Jumanji: The Next Level,” said Game Awards creator and host Geoff Keighley.

The partnership is similar to events hosted by Fathom Events, which routinely hosts screenings of classic films, concerts and other live events across theaters nationwide. Cinemark has also partnered with minor league esports organization Super League Gaming in the past to host competitive gaming events in its auditoriums.