As movie theaters entered an inevitable crisis during the coronavirus pandemic. This accelerated certain changes, such as the fact that movies now take much less time before they can be watched at home. Now, the world’s largest cinema chain believes that the solution to getting people to return to them as before lies precisely in changing this.
What is the proposal?
Adam Aron, one of the top executives at AMC Entertainment, revealed to Deadline that he is currently in negotiations with the six major Hollywood studios with the aim of imposing a minimum period of 45 days before movies can reach the digital or streaming market. He himself advocates that
as an industry, we are leaving money on the table by not meeting the 45-day deadline
.
Currently, Disney is the only one that reaches this deadline, and even exceeds it, as it has a 60-day window in cinemas, while the rest fluctuate between 18 and 36 days. Aron also highlights that
A Disney has been a very successful studio
He insists that, at the very least, there must be 45 days:
So far, we have started conversations with almost all the major studios – we haven’t reached all yet – in the sense that, as an industry, we have to fix this collectively, and we have to restore at least a 45-day window, and then we can talk about whether it should be more than 45 days. But it can’t be 25 days. It can’t be 28 days, right? It can’t be 32 days, because it’s stealing from cinemas, from movie lovers…
A AMC is not alone.
At first, we might think that the majors have all the bargaining power to impose their conditions, but that behind this initiative is AMC is not a coincidence. This is because it is the largest exhibition network both in the United States, Europe, and around the world, with more than 900 cinemas and 10,000 screens spread across the planet. Any agreement that may arise also goes through them.
Moreover, AMC is not alone, since Eduardo Acuña, CEO of Regal Cineworld, the second largest cinema chain in the United States and also with global presence, supports Aron:
I think we have finally reached a point in the sector where we can give a greater push to the 45-day window
Michal O’Leary from Cinema United also recently defended the same:
For all movies released in theaters to be successful, it is essential that there is a clear and consistent exclusivity period, supported by significant national marketing, both by the distribution and the exhibition. It is the basis on which our collective prosperity rests.
O’Leary also points out that
an important part of the population will stay home and wait for it to be broadcast on television, and the film industry cannot afford to lose a percentage of viewers who used to go to the theaters when there was a 74-day window
.
What is the position of the studios?
Aron guarantees that three studios have already agreed to return to the 45-day window, but without wanting to specify which ones, although obviously Disney is one of them. The latest edition of CinemaCon gives us some clues regarding this, as Sony seems inclined towards it, but Universal not so much.
For example, Tom Rothman from Sony assured on the panel that the studio conducted at CinemaCon that
The cost and the windows can work for or against us. The movie industry must be smart in both aspects. I make it clear that Sony will work with you on both aspects.
. A clear position of openness to the request of the rooms.
However, Peter Levinsohn from NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios showed a less flexible stance regarding global deals, as the studio’s adjustments in recent years concerning distribution windows
made us more profitable, especially among small and medium films
and that it is necessary to consider the reality that the viewers
they will not see all the movies in the theaters
.
Doomed to understand.
There is a key detail in Levinsohn’s statements that should not be ignored: this new strategy did not work as well with the super-productions. It is increasingly difficult to surpass the barrier of one billion in revenue, which, combined with high costs, makes it more common for there to be major box office failures.
That is where a final clarification from Aron is especially revealing:
If Hollywood studios want cinemas to continue existing for the big super-productions they want to release, then there is an ecosystem that needs to be supported in order for enough revenue to flow through the theatrical system, so that the theatrical system remains healthy
.
Cinemas cannot exist only for blockbusters, because besides there being no guarantees that they will be successful – we recently have the case of
Snow White
– if you change the consumption habits of these viewers in this way, you can simply condemn cinemas as something massive to their disappearance.
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