To fill up the slow gaps in theaters during the week, Sony’s Hot Ticket will start providing different digital content to theater chains. Soon you will not only be able to go to your favorite movie, but also see a concert, a play or some sporting event. “In the beginning this business is not going to be a huge moneymaker, but this is a long-term play,” Sony’s Rory Bruer said.

Some chains have tried similar initiatives to fill theaters during their slow periods. Theaters in Europe tried showing big soccer games during the summer. And The Metropolitan Opera recently started transmitting their operas in HD live to theaters worldwide with mixed results.

5,000 of the 38,000 screens in the US and Canada can display the digital content. “As digital cinema starts to roll out in a big way over the next couple of years, you’re going to see so many new applications. Just as people are pounding the table for 3-D, ‘alternative content’ will be another part of the business,” Bruer said.