If you want evidence that there’s a lot of posturing going on from the theatrical side of things, the Cinemark CEO stated his opposition to the window-shortening deal back in August. Studios hold all the power and have been looking to reduce long and expensive theatrical windows for a while. Yes, the deals struck so far are only between a single studio and two of the leading theater chains, but these high-profile business announcements are broadcasting best practices to their competitors: these are the deals they could be getting. But what does that mean for me, the guy that wants to go see a movie sometime in the mysterious far-off future where films actually open in safe, COVID-free theaters? Effectively, the standard is now being set for the deaths of theatrical sleeper hits and the long runs of big-budget flops. In exchange, theater chains get a cut of the VOD revenue and it’s all very complicated.

Cinemark’s addendum is that if a movie opens to more than $50M, theatrical exclusivity gets expanded to five weekends.

That’s a massive drop from the previous 90-day standard. The new deal with Cinemark elaborates on AMC’s, which allows Universal to put new movies on PVOD after their third weekend of theatrical release.

Now, thanks to the pervasive efforts of the government to ensure the pandemic isn’t taken seriously and the crafty culmination of a long-time business strategy, the future of theatrical film exhibition has the potential to change dramatically.Ī recent deal between Universal and Cinemark regarding shortened theatrical windows is the second domino to fall, with the studio nailing down a similar deal with AMC over the summer. economy, with in-person moviegoing one of its biggest victims.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on much of the U.S.

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