O utside of film business circles (and even sometimes in them), the acronym NATO refers to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the transnational military alliance between 3

The decision to re-name the 77-year-old organization was made by its executive board. The hope is that it will be more aligned with the names of both CinemaCon, as well as the Cinema Foundation, the organization’s charitable non-profit arm dedicated to promoting moviegoing.

The rebranding is designed to emphasize the importance of seeing a film on the big screen. It also means the org will no longer been confused with the other NATO.