AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has confirmed discussions with studios to extend the theatrical window to at least 45 days before any titles head to VOD. Three of the major studios have already agreed that they need to reinstate the 45-day window, and several others are currently in talks.
This potential AMC deal with the studios would have films playing exclusively in theaters for a little under two months before being allowed to stream digitally.
Quentin Tarantino must be happy. He recently took aim at studios’ “show pony exercise” of not giving movies proper theatrical bows and instead releasing their titles on streaming after only a few weeks in theaters.
“What the f--- is a movie now? Something that plays in theaters for a token release for four f---in’ weeks, and by the second week you can watch it on television? I didn’t get into all this for diminishing returns,” Tarantino said in January.
Since 2020, or when the pandemic shuttered cinemas for many months, studios entered what many have called a “new normal” for moviegoing, where studios found a way to make a considerable amount of profit out of rushing their new titles to digital. It’s only accelerated these last five years, and come to the point where a very recent film like Steve Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” was released on VOD just 17 days after its theatrical release.
The most blatant example of this was “Wicked,” which, in late December, was still racking up big money at the domestic box office, but Universal decided that a month was more than enough time to make it available for online viewing. Recently released numbers indicate that “Wicked” earned $100M+ digitally since being made available on VOD. Unlike theatrical, VOD earnings had Universal taking in all of the profits, instead of giving its 50/50 share to exhibitors.
This “new normal,” where studios have found a way to make considerable profit out of rushing their new titles to digital, has completely devalued the worth of moviegoing, and it’s great to hear that studios have finally changed their tune on this matter.
“Hope,” Na’s first film in ten years — his last one being the exemplary “The Wailing” —is a gloriously messy, blood-soaked sci-fi epic that may become a cult classic despite—or because of—its polarizing nature.