Two months ago, no one could have predicted the film industry would be in the position it is right now, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. In just a matter of weeks, we’ve seen theaters all around the country close down, productions around the world halted, and studios scrambling to find ways to earn income with films that were supposed to be in cinemas. For Universal, that included releasing “Trolls World Tour” on VOD, bypassing theaters entirely. And as we’ve seen since, the results of that decision include some pretty great financial gains but also a ton of criticism from theater owners.
READ MORE: Regal’s Parent Company Calls Universal’s VOD Strategy “Completely Inappropriate”
In a new conference call (via Deadline) with NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, the executive responded to the recent criticism and threats lobbed by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) and cinema chains such as AMC and Regal. And while Shell is quick to point out that the studio is going to continue to work with theaters “someday,” right now he has to take into consideration the state of the world.
“The question is when we come out of this, what is going to be the model,” said Shell. “I would expect that consumers will return to the theaters and we will be part of that. And I also expect that PVOD is going to be a part of that in some way. It’s not a replacement, it’s going to be a complementary element. We’re just going to have to see how long that takes and where it takes us.”
“There’s no question that theatrical will someday be a central element to our business and film business, it’s how people make their movies and how they expect their movies to be seen,” said the exec. “But the flip side is the majority of our movies, whether we like it or not, are being consumed at home, it’s not realistic to assume that we’re not going to change, that this part of the business isn’t going to change like all parts of the business are going to change.”
As mentioned, these comments come after NATO and theater chains condemned Universal for breaking the theatrical window by releasing ‘Trolls 2’ directly on VOD without a theatrical release. This has led to AMC’s CEO saying the studio is effectively banned from the chain, and Regal Cinemas’ parent company, Cineworld, threatening similar action if the studio continues to release films on VOD.
But with Universal reportedly earning more revenue on “Trolls World Tour” after three weeks of VOD release versus the first film’s entire domestic theatrical run, it’s clear the studio is more interested in survival during this pandemic than making sure theater chains feel good about their future.
