PaperAirplane’s digital asset management platform, The Hangar, has officially surpassed two million downloads. Announced during Cinema United’s Fall Summit, the milestone highlights how the specialized theatrical hub connects exhibitors with studio partners to streamline movie marketing distribution since its October 2020 launch.
PaperAirplane’s The Hangar Reaches Two Million Downloads Milestone
The Bottom Line
- Infrastructure Growth: Launched at the height of the pandemic by Mike Polydoros and Will Preuss, The Hangar now services over 105 industry partners across 27 global territories.
- Asset Shift: Social media videos dominated downloads this summer at 27%, outpacing static graphics, web banners, and production stills.
- Ecosystem Expansion: Beyond asset management, PaperAirplane operates companion platforms like The Tower and Flight Plan to support group sales and distribution metrics.
Building Industry Infrastructure During Global Uncertainty
When Mike Polydoros and Will Preuss opened the doors to PaperAirplane in October 2020, movie theaters faced unprecedented operational hurdles. Operating when only a handful of cinemas were open, the founders built The Hangar to solve a very specific friction point: giving exhibitors rapid, efficient access to studio-approved marketing materials. What started as a pandemic necessity has evolved into a vital piece of modern theatrical infrastructure. Today, the interface works alongside every major studio, exhibitor, and theatrical content provider in North America, alongside premium format giants like Imax, Dolby, CJ 4DPlex (ScreenX), DBox, and corporate partners like Coca-Cola.
The volume of digital marketing assets hosted on the platform has grown more than fivefold since inception. Annual asset additions skyrocketed from just 2,454 items in 2020 to over 61,000 assets by 2025. That growth reflects a fundamental shift in how local cinemas market upcoming releases.
Data Insights and Changing Exhibitor Demands
Studio partners have embraced the platform for more than just simple file sharing. By granting studios greater visibility into asset utilization, platforms like The Hangar offer clear analytics on which promotional tools actually drive consumer engagement. According to usage metrics from the platform, social media videos represented the most downloaded asset category this summer, capturing 27% of all downloads. Social media graphics followed closely at 23%, while digital lobby posters accounted for 19%. Web banners represented 12%, and production stills represented approximately 8%. These figures underscore a growing importance of digital audience engagement and localized marketing efforts.
| Asset Category | Summer Download Share |
|---|---|
| Social Media Videos | 27% |
| Social Media Graphics | 23% |
| Digital Lobby Posters | 19% |
| Web Banners | 12% |
| Production Stills | 8% |
Expanding Beyond The Hangar Into Comprehensive Distribution Tech
The success of The Hangar has fueled PaperAirplane’s broader suite of exhibitor-focused software. The company’s group sales management platform, The Tower, centralizes communication and lead management for theater operators, successfully handling more than 10,000 leads and facilitating millions of dollars in group sales revenue across multiple film campaigns. Meanwhile, Flight Plan offers distribution and marketing teams a centralized dashboard to track promotional, media, and exhibitor performance metrics across a title’s entire theatrical lifecycle.
PaperAirplane has produced nearly 75,000 studio-approved digital marketing assets for major studio campaigns while supporting independent distributors across more than 250 theatrical releases, which collectively generated nearly a half billion in domestic box office. Earlier this year, the company broadened its reach further by launching a National Radio & Media Ambassador Division and introducing The Kiosk, a grassroots audience activation platform designed to empower moviegoers as community advocates for upcoming theatrical releases.
