Movie theater chains are looking to rebound by bringing in more creator events, and the latest group capitalizing on that trend is Critical Role. The streaming show — in which a cast of professional voice actors plays role-playing games — is hitting movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada thanks to a deal with Fathom Entertainment.
The theatrical event will feature rebroadcasts of four Critical Role live shows. The group is currently on tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its show, which was initially inspired by the voice actors’ Dungeons & Dragons sessions. A show in Chicago has already occurred, but upcoming dates in Sydney (June 19), Melbourne (June 25), Indianapolis (Aug. 2), and New York (Oct. 7) will all get the movie theater treatment.
Fathom will host its screenings shortly after the corresponding live shows conclude. According to Variety, the run will reach 800 theaters in total.
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“We’re incredibly excited to partner with Fathom to bring the rest of Critical Role’s 2025 live shows to big screens across the U.S. and Canada,” said Critical Role SVP of Business and Content Development Ben Van Der Fluit. “These events are some of our most ambitious live productions to date, and now even more of our audience can experience the genuine energy, emotion, and camaraderie that plays out at the table.”
Critical Role has plenty of experience with live events, but this deal is described as the show’s largest theatrical run to date. The group’s live-streamed D&D sessions have already hit it big on Twitch, where Critical Role has a lifetime follower count of 1.41 million and a peak of 210,000 concurrent viewers, according to Streams Charts. Fathom will be looking to bring in that audience to put butts in seats at its 800 partner locations.
The success of a Critical Role Kickstarter campaign in 2019 suggests that those viewers will indeed show up. When given the chance to support an animated special inspired by the show, Critical Role viewers pledged so much money that the special expanded from a short to a feature one day after the campaign launched. The Kickstarter push ultimately raised $7.7 million.
As social media hubs ignite Gen Z’s interest in the cinema, creators are finding their way to big screens in greater numbers. A notable example of that trend occurs each year during spooky season, when haunted house explorers Sam and Colby partner with Cinemark to bring their latest adventures to movie theaters. In 2024, that run reached 350 theaters thanks to high fan demand.
Will the Critical Role event series prove popular enough to earn an extension of its own? If that happens, Fathom might be in for another strong year to build on its record-breaking 2024.
