With CinemaCon currently on in Las Vegas, the studios and exhibition chiefs have been weighing in on the quickly changing landscape that is theatrical distribution.
Sony Pictures is in a rare position in being one of the majors that plans to stay independent and not be either sold on to a bigger studio and/or streaming service or launch a streamer of their own.
So for them, keeping the exhibition business healthy is important and Sony’s co-president of the Motion Picture Group, Josh Greenstein, doubled down on the studio’s commitment to the theatrical experience and slammed those engaging in day-and-date releases in cinemas and on streaming:
“At the core of Sony’s movie strategy is a commitment to preserving, protecting the exclusive theatrical window. Debuting movies simultaneously in theaters and in the home is devastating to our collective business. Over the last 19 months there’s been a lot of doom and gloom. Without dismissing very real challenges, we at Sony take the long term view of the business. We’ve been here before when a new content experience emerges… but we know movie theaters and the theatrical experience will triumph.”
Sony won over the crowd with a strong showing including the first footage from “Uncharted,” “Bullet Train” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse,” which recently released “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer, and a full screening of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”.
Exhibition’s big kahuna, North American Theater Owners chief John Fithian, also spoke about the state of play in his industry right now after highlighting what Sony’s Greenstein said. Fithian adds that exclusive theatrical windows are key:
“Exclusive release periods remain vital to the success of the theatrical experience. Theatrical windows won’t be what they were before, but they can’t be what they were during the pandemic either. What the future holds is up to our members and distributors to decide but let us be clear about one thing today: simultaneous release does. not. work. It doesn’t work for anyone.
A steady stream of recent movies, released with exclusive windows is essential to exhibitions recovery and to the profitability of the entire movie ecosystem. To make one thing crystal clear. The best work that is made is made for the big screen. I applaud artists who refuse to accept the false narrative that movie theaters are a thing of the past. And that the future will be one in which every movie is consumed at home. These leading creatives know better and they are on the right side of history.”
NATO has been quite upfront about the various experiments in release strategy that Hollywood has conducted during the pandemic and their dislike of it.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Pictures’ Domestic Distribution president Jeff Goldstein spoke about the studio’s 2020 day-and-date HBO Max model, admitting “controversial choices” were made but “we worked through it all with you, our partners”.
He then says: “Going to the theater is simply in our DNA, and that will never change. That won’t be replicated in any way.” Warners previously announced a commitment to a 45-day theatrical release on its 2022 event titles.
Source: Cinema Blend