Release schedules and Social Distancing

[Travis Ballstadt]

‘Birds of Prey’ Will Be Released on VOD Early

Warner Bros. will release "Birds of Prey" on demand early.

variety.com

It will be interesting to see how many other studios follow suit and attempt to entertain audiences during these times of staying home.

Interesting contrast to the 007 release delay. I was surprised that they didn’t attempt to try something new with that release and offer a widespread digital release event, a one-time viewing window at a premium price for a new blockbuster.

This could prove to be an interesting time, and possibly a window to the future of film delivery. It would be a great time for studios to get creative and test ideas.

 

[tripplej]

They will all push to go online since in a lot of places theaters are closed..

 

[Todd Anderson]

This is going to put a HUGE gap into the top-tier disc release schedule. Seeing as tho this will likely last months, 2020’s disc possibilities are looking bleak.

On the bright side: hopefully this will inject some health into the disc market

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Here’s the thing. I’ve always said that I would pay a premium for a digital copy of a movie still in theaters, with the promise of a physical disc delivered on day 1. And it would seem that this would help studios with two metrics.

For example:
Friday #1: Theatrical release exclusive
Friday #2: Premier Home Digital Release ($40-50) gives me a 48-hour window to watch a 4K HDR streaming version.
2-3 months later, a UHD Blu-ray is delivered to my doorstep on the same day or release. Or maybe the Friday before it hits store shelves.

They could likely call this both a ticket sale (or 2-4) AND count it toward their week 1 home video sales.

Win win.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Welp. At $20 a pop, it's a little easier to hit $100M, but still. Studios have to be feeling pretty good right now about the ability to skip the commercial theaters for many titles, even after there's a vaccine.

‘Trolls World Tour’ racks up nearly $100M in digital rentals

Universal Pictures’ bet to release kids movie “Trolls World Tour” directly to video-streaming services during the coronavirus lockdown has spurred a surprise windfall — and …

nypost.com

 

[tripplej]

lol. Everybody is at home so to keep the kids entertained, streaming is a pot of gold for the studio.

 

[tripplej]

Looks like theaters as expected would not like direct to home releases.

From yahoo,

"AMC Theaters is fighting back against Universal Pictures after the studio sent Trolls World Tour straight to Video on Demand.

The movie theater chain announced it would no longer play any Universal Pictures movies after the children’s film earned an estimated $100 million in premium VOD rentals in its first three weeks in the U.S., according to The Hollywood Reporter. In response, a spokesperson for Universal Pictures told PEOPLE in a statement that the studio is "disappointed" by AMC's actions."

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Looks like theaters as expected would not like direct to home releases.

From yahoo,

it makes sense. I’d wager that AMC gave up quite a bit of free advertising to Universal in the form of lobby stand ups, cutouts, posters, light boxes, etc prior to being forced to close, only to have Universal take the ads and run, giving AMC nothing in return for the advertising.

 

[tripplej]

Looks like other theaters are pushing back against universal like AMC..

From theverge,

"Regal Cinemas owner Cineworld has warned Universal that it will not show films that “fail to respect” the theatrical window after the studio decided to move Trolls World Tour from a theatrical release to a digital exclusive.

The warning comes after Universal touted the success of Trolls World Tour’s straight-to-digital release. Yesterday, AMC Theaters went further, deciding to bar Universal movies because of comments made by NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, arguing that Universal didn’t take theater chains into consideration when it made the decision to go direct to consumer."