Theatrical windows to close?

Last month’s lockdown may have forever challenged the sacrosanct theatrical film exhibition 90-day window.

The film that led the charge? Trolls: World Tour!

Scott Mendelson writes in Forbes that Universal is reporting that Trolls: World Tour has earned around $100 million in the first three weeks of domestic “premium VOD” or PVOD (which costs $20 for 48 hours.)

After further analysis, he concludes:

“I think that the coronavirus-related closures and unease will hasten an inevitable process whereby movie theaters become the place where only the biggest would-be mega-budget blockbusters (or genre-specific tentpole releases) play on the big screen while almost everything else goes to VOD, DVD and/or streaming.”

Indie Wire quotes the WSJ that Universal Studios CEO Jeff Shell says: “As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”

In protest, the AP reports that AMC (the world’s largest theatre chain) counters:

“Going forward, AMC will not license any Universal movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms. Accordingly, we want to be absolutely clear, so that there is no ambiguity of any kind. AMC believes that with this proposed action to go to the home and theatres simultaneously, Universal is breaking the business model and dealings between our two companies.”

Stay tuned.

My take: in the current environment, this is inevitable. How else can the audience see new movies? However, as things relax, will the traditional window prevail? The studios may be quite content to continue releasing on PVOD, especially if a sizable chunk of viewers prefer to stay in the comfort of their homes and avoid sticky theatres. If the DOJ rescinds the Paramount Consent Degrees, I wonder how long it will be before theatre chains either buy studios or go into production for themselves?

Drive-ins still showing movies

Apparently, you have to go South, way down South, to see a movie outside your home right now.

Beth Webb wonders in Huck if in the age of lockdown, are drive-in cinemas the future?

“With social distancing measures enforced across the world, the film industry has taken a huge hit. But against the odds, a handful of independent drive-ins across the US have adapted to stay alive. Is this the start of a comeback?”

She quotes one drive-in owner:

“Dad and I believe that we have succeeded with our old theatre because basically we treat it as a service and a way to give back rather than as a job or business. And that’s the way we plan on continuing.”

Here are five drive-ins I could find that are still open:

Texas

Alabama

Georgia

South Carolina

Road trip, anyone?

My take: the drive-in is uniquely positioned to offer an entertainment service, being the intersection of wide-open space and automobile culture. It had its heyday in the fifties and sixties but could very well become relevant once again in The Great Pause.

Enter the Corman Quarantine Film Festival

Stuck at home? Whatcha gonna do? How about making a movie?

Roger Corman is 94 and wants to see what you can do in two minutes.

Just don’t forget to tag it @RogerCorman and #CormanChallenge.

The deadline is April 30, 2020.

My take: this is a lot harder than you might think.

Finally, Some Good News!

John Krasinski of The Office and Jack Ryan fame continues to hit it out of the park!

Since the end of March, John has been anchoring the home-produced SGN show.

SGN stands for “Some Good News” — something we can all use more of right now.

Episode 3 belies its home studio look and feel with some top-notch field work. The co-ordination required for this episode is second to none!

See all his Youtube videos.

btw, here’s one if you’re looking for a good news website.

My take: kudos to John for using his isolation time to bring a smile (and more than a few tears) to tens of millions of viewers. Thank you! SGN is a weekly vlog posted on Youtube but I can see this jumping over to late night TV soon. (If I may blow one raspberry here: hey, CTV Comedy Channel, do you think you could ban the “All Covid, All the Time” news promos and any “we’re all in this together while our stores are closed” commercials between and during your shows for the foreseeable future? You realize the reason I’m watching more comedy is to tune this reality out, right?)

Drive-in makes a comeback in Texas

Jim Amos reports in Forbes about a Texas cinema chain and its quest to reinvent itself by reviving a blast from the past: the drive-in.

“[Last] weekend, Lone Star state-based EVO Entertainment debuted its drive-in concept at its multiplex in Schertz, Texas, providing movie fans an out-of-the-home outlet to watch recent Hollywood blockbusters. To say the first weekend was a success was an understatement as every show of ‘Spider-Man Homecoming’ since it opened on Friday has been sold out. In fact, every ticket through Tuesday has been sold and the theater is planning on adding additional showtimes later this week.”

“As to how it works from a technical aspect, the exterior wall of the theater was painted with high-gain white paint for increased visibility and sound is transmitted directly to each vehicle through AM/FM radios. Indoor rest rooms are available with sanitary and social distancing measures in place. Films begin at dusk and end in time to meet the local area’s 10 p.m. curfew restriction.”

UPDATE: they’ve been shut down, after their one and only weekend!

“Due to new shelter-in-place restrictions, we have been ordered by the City of Schertz to halt operation of the EVO Drive-In Experience.”

My take: gosh darn! Just when it looked like someone had come up with a safe way to watch movies out of your house by recreating a COVID-safe drive-in!

China Closes Cinemas, the Sequel

The Hollywood Reporter reports that China Shuts Down All Cinemas, Again.

Only two weeks ago it appeared China was gradually reopening some of its thousands of cinemas while maintaining strict physical distancing, among other health measures:

“‘To lower the risk of infection, cinemas should strictly implement epidemic prevention measures, and audiences are required to have their body temperature tested and present their health codes at entrance and wear masks during the show time,’ Yin Xin, spokeswoman for the Shanghai municipal government, told the state-backed news service Xinhua. Theaters also will be required to leave an empty seat between patrons in every direction.

According to THR:

“The phased reopening of China’s vast network of 70,000 movie screens had promised a rare bright spot on the global distribution map, given that cinemas are shuttered in virtually every other major market around the globe, including North America, Europe, Japan and elsewhere. Beijing’s decision to reclose — or stay closed — was met with dismay by stakeholders throughout the Chinese industry.”

My take: hmm, okay, which is it? Either the authorities predict the pandemic is coming back, or patrons simply continued to stay home out of fear. Or it might be that having an empty cinema seat between everyone just doesn’t seem like much fun — might as well just stay home on the couch.

Hootsuite releases two must-read reports

Hootsuite has just released two documents I think you should read.

The first main one, Digital 2020 Global Digital Overview, links to Digital 2020 Global Digital Yearbook, that has summaries for over 200 countries.

“Our report has been a trusted resource for policymakers, journalists, businesses, and NGOs over the last ten years, during which we’ve consistently tracked consumer digital behavior around the world to bring you a comprehensive, scalable, and replicable resource for identifying your audience and building your digital strategies with confidence.”

The insights are fascinating. For instance:

  1. Page 7 states digital stats around the world in 2020. Did you know there are 200 million more cellphones than people on the planet? That almost 60% of us are Internet users?
  2. Page 87 shows absolute growth in Social Media. Did you know India increased 48% last year, adding 130,000,000 users?
  3. Page 166 lists the most-viewed Youtube videos of all time. Did you know that Despacito has over 6.5 billion views?

Fill out a simple form to download your copies today.

My take: my hunch is that Internet use will reach record levels in April 2020.

Pandemic Closes All Cinemas

The COVID-19 pandemic has closed all 165 Cineplex theatres in Canada (as well as Landmark Cinemas and Imagine Cinemas.)

329/365 - empty house.

In the United States, all AMC and Regal theatres have also closed.

The Los Angeles Times reports that:

“AMC Theatres said it would close all of its U.S. locations, starting Tuesday, for six to 12 weeks in response to the pandemic after President Trump declared that people should avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.”

The moves follow widespread orders to close bars and clubs and other places where people gather to socialize.

My take: although the movie exhibition industry has been in decline for the last decade, it only took one week of this pandemic to kill it. Suddenly VOD is an option for new movies as the 90-day theatre window proves impossible. People will be streaming everything for the next two weeks to two months and it’s going to be hard to get them back into the theatres.

In the meantime, here’s something funny to watch:

COVID-19 infects film business

The latest fallout from COVID-19 and China closing almost all of its 70,000 cinemas in January: 007 has decided it’s No Time to Release its latest instalment, No Time to Die, postponing it from April to Thanksgiving.

Elsewhere, Vulture‘s Chris Lee reports that the total fallout “could result in a loss of at least $5 billion from diminished box-office returns.”

He then quotes David Unger, chief executive of Artist International Group:

“Who wants to go to the theater right now? Do you want to go sit in a room with a bunch of people that are coughing? It’s going to change viewing patterns. It’s going to change behavior. It’s going to change the way people consume entertainment. This is where streaming becomes normalized for the world and it’s going to be disastrous for the entire industry.”

Meanwhile, Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter reports that some film studios had their best year ever last year: “Among key trends for 2019, Disney hit an all-time film profit record that many say may stand for years.”

The Netflix insights are huge:

  • 167 million total members
  • 61 million U.S. members
  • 106 million international members
  • 2019 free cash flow losses of $3.1 billion
  • Projected 2020 free cash flow losses of $2.5 billion
  • $15.3 billion spent on programming in 2019
  • CFO Spencer Neumann: “well over 50 percent of our cash spend is on originals.”

My take: COVID-19 has the potential to rewire society completely. Imagine if every cinema had to remove every two out of three seats and every second row. OMG, tickets just became six times more expensive! Is this the push VR has been waiting for?

Stareable wants to help you monetize your web series

Hannah Buczek, asks on Bold, ‘How Can Content Creators Monetize Their Work?

Ajay Kishore, Founder and CEO, explains to Julia Sun and David Grasso that: “Stareable provides tools that help creators build an engaged audience of fans who will pay for bonus or premium features.”

Beyond building the Stack Exchange of web serious, Stareable seems to be having a lot of fun.

They put on a three-day conference and festival each year:

Sign up here.

My take: I’m currently developing a web series, so I’m a potential customer. I realize Stareable is concentrating on web series producers right now but as a content consumer too, I find the website lacking. I wonder if an A or B model would work better: one side for consumers and the other side for producers. Heck, why not just put the producer side behind a log in screen: dangle some success metrics in front of producers and they’ll all sign up. How big is this community of web series creators, and how large is the viewership?