One could argue that the past several months of theaters being shut down has had more of an impact on the future of the film industry and the box office than in the 100 years before it. And that’s even after you take out the fact that the chains and cinemas have been earning zero dollars over that time. Purely from a viewpoint looking at where the future of film distribution, we’ve seen some pretty incredible moves happen since the spring and it appears that even more change is coming, according to the CEO of ViacomCBS (parent company to Paramount).
READ MORE: Cinema Chain Owner Calls ‘Mulan’ Release On Disney+ A “Death Blow To Theaters”
Speaking to investors on a recent earnings call (via Deadline), ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish talked about the future of the film industry and how that might affect his entertainment company. Needless to say, after the recent deal between AMC Theatres and Universal, combined with the news about “Mulan” heading to Disney+, the executive sees big changes heading to the world of theatrical distribution.
“We really are in sort of a ‘COVID rules’ phase of the business right now,” Bakish explained. “Studios, including Paramount, are doing things they wouldn’t normally do because theaters remain closed. We remain committed to theatrical and believe a lot of this reverts once the world normalizes. But we do believe theatrical windows will probably shorten and some of these new monetization paths, including strategic ones and others, probably will become more” common.
Paramount, much like the rest of the major studios, has done whatever it takes to release films during this dark period, particularly with selling some of the features to Netflix, such as with “The Lovebirds.” But really, the fact that even the CEO of ViacomCBS sees the writing on the walls regarding theatrical windows is pretty telling and doesn’t bode well for the folks trying to keep the post-COVID-19 distribution model the same as previously.
As mentioned, the theatrical window debate heated up last week, when it was announced that AMC and Universal struck a deal that reduced the exclusivity window from 75 days to 17. This allows Universal the option to release its major films on Premium VOD a mere three weekends after it debuts in AMC locations. The full ramifications of that deal have yet to be felt, as it’s unclear if other chains will do something similar with Universal and if other studios will try to strike the same agreement with chains.
Paramount has several high profile theatrical releases just waiting to be released when theaters reopen in the future, led by “Top Gun: Maverick” and “A Quiet Place Part II.” And I’m sure studio execs would love the opportunity to release those in homes ASAP.
The guy in charge of ViacomCBS sure does think that the nearly three-month theatrical window will be a thing of the past though, and with Disney showing its willingness to skip theaters altogether with “Mulan,” perhaps the cinemas are in for a rude awakening from the studios when things get back to “normal.”