Theatrical Future/PVOD Thread

[belloq87]

9pm EST on Sunday nights would be an excellent spot (until the NFL season starts, anyway, but even then I think it could still work).

Apologies to international viewers.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

WarnerMedia and Regal/CineWorld have joined into a venture that will ensure a required 45 day theatrical run, before it can go elsewhere [Effective in 2022].

Regal Cinemas To Reopen In April; Parent Cineworld & Warner Bros Reach Multi-Year Deal To Show WB Films In U.S. & UK

EXCLUSIVE: Cineworld has set plans to reopen its Regal cinemas in the U.S. for the first time in six months. The phased process will start with a limited number of cinemas opening for WB/Legendary’s Godzilla Vs Kong on April 2 (note the movie opens on March 31). Regal locations will open more...

deadline.com

WarnerMedia now joins Paramount/Viacom in the 45 day window. Additionally, Regal Cinemas will be reopening in April.

 

[rageofthegods]

Wonder if this'll be standard. This helps Cineworld dig its heels in but Universal has gotten number 1 and number 3 on its side with its 17 days/31 days scheme, and I doubt they're gonna surrender those gains. On the opposite side of proceedings, I doubt Disney+ Day-and-Date is gonna be standard because it's affecting their gross everywhere, not just in the US.

Edit: I stand corrected.

Disney Shifts ‘Black Widow’ & ‘Cruella’ To Day & Date Release In Theaters And Disney+, Jarring Summer Box Office

Just when it looked like studios were returning to theatrical release windows as they emerge from pandemic, Disney has smashes that to bits.

deadline.com

 

[quinnmac000]

Wonder if this'll be standard. This helps Cineworld dig its heels in but Universal has gotten number 1 and number 3 on its side with its 17 days/31 days scheme, and I doubt they're gonna surrender those gains. On the opposite side of proceedings, I doubt Disney+ Day-and-Date is gonna be standard because it's affecting their gross everywhere, not just in the US.

Edit: I stand corrected.

Disney Shifts ‘Black Widow’ & ‘Cruella’ To Day & Date Release In Theaters And Disney+, Jarring Summer Box Office

Just when it looked like studios were returning to theatrical release windows as they emerge from pandemic, Disney has smashes that to bits.

deadline.com

more studios are gonna block disney films.Remember when people called Universal the bad guy for theatres last year and Disney and Warner so good for cinema.

 

[Legacy]

I gotta say... Disney was not the studio I expected as the one holding the line. Pulling this with Black Widow is basically their trump. Theaters that don’t play it would be turning down the biggest release (so far) of 2021 as the first Marvel film of the pandemic.

They’re finding enough success with D+Prem to risk a nuclear option.

Astounding.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I really hope the financial performance of these Pixar films doesn't make them start churning out sequels again. Hopefully Disney releases Soul and Luca in theaters one day so they get the the theatrical time they deserve.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Black Widow will easily be the biggest film coming out soon.

Wanda did really great on viewers and Falcon first episode did better than any other show before it...so to cut an MCU movie is just hurting yourself. While yes it sucks what Disney is doing they are just speeding up what is to come...at some point these big studios are going to release them in both...you either take the money or refuse to show it and lose out on the money. People will seek out the MCU, DC, Harry Potter and Star Wars.

Theaters need to focus on indies more they might be the only exclusive films in a few years and Anime releases...lol

 

[TheGentTrent]

I really hope the financial performance of these Pixar films doesn't make them start churning out sequels again. Hopefully Disney releases Soul and Luca in theaters one day so they get the the theatrical time they deserve.

It's become legitimately worrying about what Disney has planned for them. I can't think of a good reason why Disney doesn't seem to want to do theatrical releases for Pixar's films anymore. Especially since Luca would probably make more money than Cruella could ever hope for.

more studios are gonna block disney films.Remember when people called Universal the bad guy for theatres last year and Disney and Warner so good for cinema.

To be fair, Universal made themselves the guinea pig in that situation. At a time when all the studios seemed committed to the 90-day window, they were the first ones to take the leap of faith. It was no surprise that the theater chains panicked.

 

[joelbryant11]

I didn’t think I would become less optimistic about the future of the theaters after 100 million shots, but here we are

 

[Jamesh22]

I'll wait until I can hopefuly see BW on the big screen.

I still can't understand why Paramount moved Quiet place II up from Sept 21 to May 21.
It looks very out on it's own in that month now.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I'll wait until I can hopefuly see BW on the big screen.

I still can't understand why Paramount moved Quiet place II up from Sept 21 to May 21.
It looks very out on it's own in that month now.

They're probably betting they'll get more attention by releasing in a quiet month as vaccinations start to increase. And it's a bet without much downside, since the film likely didn't cost that much.

Might ruin the movie's franchise potential though.

 

[DK745]

I'll wait until I can hopefuly see BW on the big screen.

I still can't understand why Paramount moved Quiet place II up from Sept 21 to May 21.
It looks very out on it's own in that month now.

It can come out on Paramount+ 45 days after theatrical release. They can use that to push subscriptions for the service and still try to be a summer movie hit. Maybe good WOM from people who did see in theaters will lead to people paying to see it on Paramount+? *shrug* I don't really know though.

 

[Nick]

I gotta say... I might be willing to fork over the $30 if I can get some friends to split the cost with.

It’s annoying this movie got delayed again though as mainline MCU has been held back from starting (and this is a prequel) while Disney+ shows are just continuously on a release schedule to the point where I wonder if they may need to slow down the frequency so that spoilers for future movies don’t come into play.

 

[belloq87]

I'm bummed to have to wait an extra two months for BLACK WIDOW, but it essentially guarantees I'll be seeing it in theaters on opening weekend. I'm not sure I would have been vaccinated in time for May 8th. I'm not paying $30 to see it on Disney+, in any case.

The shifting of Disney's slate also pushed back DEATH ON THE NILE, which I was very much looking forward to, to make room for SHANG-CHI in September. Really, September through December is going to be insane, assuming things stay on track. There's quite literally something I want to see scheduled for release every week of those four months. So while I can't speak to the health of cinemas going forward, they're sure going to be getting a lot of my money in the second half of this year.

 

[HalfGlass]

Alright - I guess I will finally go to a movie theater on July 9th.

Ain’t paying $30 and a lesser home viewing experience instead of $16 for an Dolby showing.

 

[Nick]

From July to December, there’s five Marvel movies coming out (4 MCU + Venom 2). There’s also The Suicide Squad, + ZSJL just came out and all of the Disney+ shows, etc.

If this fabled superhero fatigue is ever actually going to happen, this next year or so is the true test of how much the marketplace can handle when it comes to the genre.

 

[Tobias]

While it's good to see Black Widow does have a seemingly more solid release date now, add me to the list that's utterly befuddled that Disney isn't giving Luca a theatrical release at all. I can understand giving BW a same day theatrical release for obvious reasons, but if they're also gonna' give Cruella a theatrical release (A film which I honestly feel doesn't have the same demand as BW to see in theaters), I just don't see why they wouldn't give Luca one as well.

It's a bummer since Luca is one of the films I'd actually return to theaters to see.

 

[Nick]

While it's good to see Black Widow does have a seemingly more solid release date now, add me to the list that's utterly befuddled that Disney isn't giving Luca a theatrical release at all. I can understand giving BW a same day theatrical release for obvious reasons, but if they're also gonna' give Cruella a theatrical release (A film which I honestly feel doesn't have the same demand as BW to see in theaters), I just don't see why they wouldn't give Luca one as well.

It's a bummer since Luca is one of the films I'd actually return to theaters to see.

I’d assume it’s because Cruella likely cost more than Luca.

Although what a rough past 15 months (by the time Luca comes out) for Disney’s animation studios:

Onward - came out right when corona hit and then straight to Disney+.
Soul - Shifted to Disney+ original
Raya and the Last Dragon - Premier Access (which caused some theater chains not to play the movie)
Luca - Shifted to Disney+ Original

 

[TheGentTrent]

I’d assume it’s because Cruella likely cost more than Luca.

That would be truly stunning considering that Pixar's average budget is $175 million. It'd also be par for the course for "Disney spending" though.

 

[Nick]

That would be truly stunning considering that Pixar's average budget is $175 million. It'd also be par for the course for "Disney spending" though.

Disney tends to spend a lot of money on their Live-Action Remakes, too.

But more than budget, I think what's at play here is this is an all ages movie like Soul, meaning it's WAY more likely to draw in subscribers than Cruella is. I know I will watch Luca. I personally wouldn't even have been watched Cruella if free. I still haven't watched Mulan and it's been free to subscribers since December 4th.