Revenue was also impacted by deals brokered by movie studios with streaming services to release movies in theaters and digitally on the same day.
For example, “The Suicide Squad,” a major Warner Bros. movie, was released on HBOMax and in theaters on August 6th. The film debuted on the first weekend for $ 26.5 million in US ticket sales. By comparison, the 2016 film “Suicide Squad” opened on the first weekend for more than $ 133 million. Ryan Reynolds-led “Free Guy,” which only hit theaters on August 13, opened domestically on the first weekend for $ 51 million.
“There is certainly something to be said about exclusivity,” said Hohman. “If you look at ‘The Suicide Squad’, ticket sales fell 72 percent in the second week. For ‘Free Guy’ it was only 44 percent. I think those numbers show how disposable things are when they’re in the Cinemas and appear online. ” . And you can’t keep up with the experience you get in a premium movie theater. “
Jacobson believes the change in theatrical / streaming release model is entirely related to a pandemic.
“I understand that part of the public is still reluctant to go to a theater, restaurant or bar. I think the studios felt the need to give people options,” he said. “But when you look at the general health of the industry, studios can’t afford big pictures and they can’t get them into theaters. The theater experience is very important.
“On the other hand, it’s also an economic reality that we can’t deny right now. Certain citizens will not go back at all until the pandemic is completely normal. “
Despite declining numbers recently, Jacobson is optimistic about the cinema industry as a whole.
Some big budget films that have been withheld due to the pandemic will only be in theaters over the next year, he said. Film studios need the money from ticket sales to survive, he said.
A change to the traditional window model was also discussed, according to which films with a smaller budget stay in theaters for 45-60 days and films with a large budget for 90 days.
“They have big pictures like the new Bond movie coming out in October and ‘Top Gun’ on Thanksgiving or something. I don’t see these streaming early because the studios need that cinema money for these films, because they are like that are expensive. ” “Jacobson said.” There is a deluge of films for the next 10 months to a year that has been withheld for the past year and a half, so 2022 will be a good year for movie buffs. ”
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