Theatrical Future/PVOD Thread

[ThemeParks4Life]

I suspect A Quiet Place II is next to drop. I believe there were rumors about it before, but now that Mulan has made the move I suspect A Quiet Place II to do the same. Either Disney will drop something big in Hulu, or Netflix and Amazon are going to acquire something we'll see what film it is.

Paramount's in a lot of financial trouble right now. They need AQP2 to be a theatrical success, which is why it got moved to late April and not streaming like pretty much everything else on their slate save for Top Gun.

There were rumors a week or two ago that Disney is considering putting Soul on Disney+, so I feel like that's the likeliest candidate to move next. However, that's still 3 and a half months away. Theaters could be open by then.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Paramount's in a lot of financial trouble right now. They need AQP2 to be a theatrical success, which is why it got moved to late April and not streaming like pretty much everything else on their slate save for Top Gun.

There were rumors a week or two ago that Disney is considering putting Soul on Disney+, so I feel like that's the likeliest candidate to move next. However, that's still 3 and a half months away. Theaters could be open by then.

They could be, but everything from June got moved to August.... I just don't see theaters in 2020. Whether or not they're open, these films won't make profits because people will simply not want to go, at least not in the masses that produce $100 mil+ opening weekends. Thats why if anything dropping a major blockbuster NOW, being one of the first, when people are desperate for films, could be a huge success.

It kills me but I don't see theaters being very profitable for the next 2 years, its gonna take awhile and not just one MCU movie to revinvigorate the entire industry. I went to the movies 40+ times last year and it kills me, but I have zero intention of going anytime soon.

Drop a good movie on VOD though? I'll drop 25-30 bucks no problem. Just do it studios, times are changing and if people expect an immediate return to the box office they're just crazy.

 

[TheGentTrent]

I just wish that we had different options for viewing these movies. Put Mulan on Disney+ for $30, but also let those of us who want to go to see it in a theater be able to do so as well. That's the closest way they're gonna make as much money it would have generated before the pandemic started. But, of course, that would mean sharing money with other companies, and we all know that some studios just can't allow that to happen (i.e., certain ones that have streaming services still not available on Amazon or Roku because they can't come to financial agreements).

 

[n i c k]

I just wish that we had different options for viewing these movies. Put Mulan on Disney+ for $30, but also let those of us who want to go to see it in a theater be able to do so as well. That's the closest way they're gonna make as much money it would have generated before the pandemic started. But, of course, that would mean sharing money with other companies, and we all know that some studios just can't allow that to happen (i.e., certain ones that have streaming services still not available on Amazon or Roku because they can't come to financial agreements).

That is what they are doing. Mulan will release at available theaters on the same day that it is available for $30 on Disney +

 

[TheGentTrent]

That is what they are doing. Mulan will release at available theaters on the same day that it is available for $30 on Disney +

From what I understand, it's only the countries without Disney+ that will be getting full theatrical releases. Here in America, you're probably gonna be hard-pressed to find a handful of showtimes within the area. And that's not even including states who haven't even gotten the green-light to open theaters yet.

 

[TheGentTrent]

And another: Antebellum moving to VOD September 18.

 

[Nick]

And another: Antebellum moving to VOD September 18.

Yup, this being the first film by Lionsgate to do so now:

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I suspect A Quiet Place II is next to drop. I believe there were rumors about it before, but now that Mulan has made the move I suspect A Quiet Place II to do the same. Either Disney will drop something big in Hulu, or Netflix and Amazon are going to acquire something we'll see what film it is.

To bring this up--unlike a few films in particular, A Quiet Place II is not only done, but has had critical love when people got to see screenings of it in February.

It really, really wouldn't shock me if that's the next big one. Especially for the October window.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

To bring this up--unlike a few films in particular, A Quiet Place II is not only done, but has had critical love when people got to see screenings of it in February.

It really, really wouldn't shock me if that's the next big one. Especially for the October window.

Couldn’t agree more and people would pay for that one

 

[DK745]

A Quiet Place II already moved to April 2021. They seem to be committed to keeping that theatrical.

 

[rageofthegods]

FWIW James Wan's next movie, Malignant, and the next movie from the Searching guys, Run, are still undated.

 

[Cwoolboy]

This could be the final nail in the coffin or the death knell for movie theaters

The Paramount Consent Decrees Are Officially Over, And Theaters Might Never Be The Same - SlashFilm

A judge has put an end to the long-held Paramount Consent Decrees, and the movie theater industry will never be the same.

www.slashfilm.com

 

[rageofthegods]

I'm honestly unsure if this'll change anything because I can't see studios aggressively going into a space that Wall Street believes is dying (irrespective of there being any truth to that statement, mind). Maybe you would see National Amusements formally combine their theatrical assets with ViacomCBS, or like Comcast taking a 10% stake in AMC in exchange for...what? A greater take? Block Booking isn't gonna be as effective nowadays just because people have streaming and if there's a movie taking up space in the multiplex, they can just ignore it. They can't reasonably deny space to other movies from rival studios in the same way, it just doesn't make financial sense nowadays.

 

[Legacy]

This could be the final nail in the coffin or the death knell for movie theaters

The Paramount Consent Decrees Are Officially Over, And Theaters Might Never Be The Same - SlashFilm

A judge has put an end to the long-held Paramount Consent Decrees, and the movie theater industry will never be the same.

www.slashfilm.com

Comcast buys AMC in 3... 2...

 

[quinnmac000]

It’s less about block booking and more about greater return in investment. They are the content creators and the distributors meaning greater cuts of profit.

I.e Disney buys regal. Rather than 70-30 cut. Since disney owns regal it keeps 100%.

 

[rageofthegods]

It’s less about block booking and more about greater return in investment. They are the content creators and the distributors meaning greater cuts of profit.

I.e Disney buys regal. Rather than 70-30 cut. Since disney owns regal it keeps 100%.

That seems kind of counterproductive considering that they're also gonna have to be running Regal and eating all the costs. It's not like theaters have high margins anyways, if Disney takes a full 100% of the theatrical revenue, then they'll have to put most of that extra money back into the company to keep it running. Just doesn't make sense to me.

The scenario that makes the most sense to me is that a studio would invest in a theater in order to get data on who everyone buying tickets is and how frequently and who is subscribing to A-List what have you (I know PostTrak exists but having ticket sales will be monumentally more helpful) or to use theaters as marketing tools to push their own stuff; maybe Uni inserts an extra trailer right before the two trailers they have to play. I could see Comcast making a minor investment in Cineworld or AMC if it means getting that kind of info.

 

[Nick]

It’s less about block booking and more about greater return in investment. They are the content creators and the distributors meaning greater cuts of profit.

I.e Disney buys regal. Rather than 70-30 cut. Since disney owns regal it keeps 100%.

Yes, which is why Disney is doing Mulan on Disney+ PVOD. They get to keep 100% of the money and don't have to split with anyone. If Disney ends up with this as a theatrical model, they would be set.

Although, i'm not sure that Disney is in any position to make another acquisition after the FOX Merger. Comcast, Amazon, Google, or AT&T are probably all more likely.

 

[quinnmac000]

That seems kind of counterproductive considering that they're also gonna have to be running Regal and eating all the costs. It's not like theaters have high margins anyways, if Disney takes a full 100% of the theatrical revenue, then they'll have to put most of that extra money back into the company to keep it running. Just doesn't make sense to me.

The scenario that makes the most sense to me is that a studio would invest in a theater in order to get data on who everyone buying tickets is and how frequently and who is subscribing to A-List what have you (I know PostTrak exists but having ticket sales will be monumentally more helpful) or to use theaters as marketing tools to push their own stuff; maybe Uni inserts an extra trailer right before the two trailers they have to play. I could see Comcast making a minor investment in Cineworld or AMC if it means getting that kind of info.

Comcast gets that already from Fandango and Disney though Atom.

 

[Nick]

New movies opened in Canada this weekend with Spongebob 3 opening at $900k and Unhinged at $582K.

 

[Nick]

Chinese theaters seems healthy:


Meanwhile in the states, we had our first new movie with an opening weekend topping $1M since early March. Next week is our first bigger title to hit with The New Mutants, but the real test of how willing people are to go out to theaters again will be with Tenet.