very interesting stuff :)

Box office on the move comes to the iPod and iPhone
‘Insanely great’ is the punchy epithet applied by author Steven Levy to describe the development and rise of the Apple Mac computer. After initial success there followed a period of waning fortunes in the late 1990s, until the iMac turned around the iconic company’s performance. But it was the development of iTunes and the iPod that had a truly transformative effect, not just on Apple’s stock price but also on the way we buy and listen to recorded music. As a result the music business has changed forever.
The iPod has since developed into an interactive multi-media centre, able to screen films and TV shows, and the iPod Touch and iPhone variants also allow users to surf the internet. Organising and playing back music is just one of many features of new generation iPods, and there is now a burgeoning interest in ‘apps’, little software add-ons that allow users to play games, check stock prices, keep up to date with social networks and so on. And now, thanks to Rentrak, users can also track box office figures in the US and internationally through their iPod Touch or iPhone.
Rentrak is offering the service through its first consumer applications, known as FilmScope and FilmScope WorldWide.
According to Rentrak’s press release, FilmScope ‘will provide film enthusiasts with top line U.S. domestic box office results and expanded film information, [while] FilmScope Worldwide will offer an international perspective with box office intelligence on multiple international territories, all of which was previously only available to Rentrak subscribers.’
And there’s more: you can also use the Rentrak database to search for film information, by actor, title or director, alongside a calendar feature that provides a schedule of upcoming film releases. The service also allows users to book tickets for theatrical screenings and consult film reviews (although I’m not sure if this is available outside the US). It’s basically IMDb on the move, with the added bonus of up to date boffo numbers.
Here’s what Ron Giambra, Renrak’s executive vice president of theatrical, has to say: "Film fans have never been able to access this level of detailed information so quickly, all by using FilmScope. FilmScope allows iPhone and iPod Touch consumers a fun and comprehensive way to find out everything they ever wanted to know about new and previously released movies and the actors, directors and studios behind them."
The launch of this service comes a few weeks after Webalo revealed it had entered into a deal with Lionsgate to make market intelligence data available to executives via their smartphones. That was a business-to-business application, which simply took a company’s existing data and fed it to remote handsets whenever someone needed the information.
The Rentrak service is aimed at consumers, and provides access to the company’s box office data. You’d probably expect to pay a premium for such a privilege. Not so. FilmScope services are available for a one-off fee of £2.99 ($4.99) for U.S. domestic box office information and £5.99 ($9.99) for FilmScope Worldwide. That’s less than the cost of a cinema ticket in the West End. And there’s absolutely no subscription charge.
What an insanely great idea.