Home » Entertainment » America is heading for the stream, Czechs are fighting for cinemas. How has coronavirus changed the film industry? – ČT24 – Czech Television
America is heading for the stream, Czechs are fighting for cinemas. How has coronavirus changed the film industry? – ČT24 – Czech Television
One of the things that the coronavirus pandemic has changed is the established rules of film release. When cinemas around the world began to close gradually with the first wave of spring in March, Universal’s studio responded most flexibly. It had smaller titles in cinemas at the time, such as the horror film The Invisible Man or the thriller Hunting, but quickly made it available through VOD (so-called video on demand), so viewers, especially in America, could watch it at home. But it was not enough for Universal.
In April, the company completely “skipped” cinemas and released the big-budget animated film Trolls: World Tour directly on VOD platforms. Universal did not please the experienced cinema owners, who were already counting huge losses at the time – and relied on an agreement that the studios would not release films on the Internet until after 90 days in cinemas. But this “window” limits the pandemic – Universal even agreed with the US cinema operator AMC in the summer that it will be able to make films available for digital release as early as 17 days after its premiere.
But what works in America may not be true in the Czech Republic. “The American market is very different from the Czech market. In the Czech Republic, the share of cinemas in film sales is 90 percent, digital 10 percent. In the USA, the digital market is sometimes around 60 percent, “said producer Vratislav Šlajer for ČT24.
According to him, the studios will behave differently on the domestic market when planning premieres and differently, for example, in Europe, where the cinema is still planning to distribute films that premiered in America only on digital platforms.
Back in the spring, it might also have seemed that the emphasis on VOD premieres or streaming would be overrun by a pandemic. Gradually, however, it became apparent that it could be a defining trend for the future, especially in America. In the spring, all the big blockbusters, such as No Time to Die, Black Widow, Mulan or Top Gun 2, began to be postponed (so that they could be postponed again in the autumn during the second wave). But studios in the United States are increasingly relying on cinemas. And the best ones are those that have their own streaming platforms.
Warner Bros. heading with the whole premier plan to stream
In September, Disney unexpectedly released a feature remake of the animated film Mulan on its Disney + platform for a special fee, which cost him $ 200 million. Interiors have so far debated whether it was a success or not, but Mulan reportedly did not earn more than 100 million from the digital release. If you add $ 70 million from open cinemas around the world, including the Czech Republic, it’s still a loser to which Disney isn’t very used to its titles.
The numbers are embarrassing, even though the company didn’t have to share that much money with the cinemas, and it also saved on advertising that will cost tens of millions of dollars in the case of blockbusters. The fact that such big movies from the stream are not worthwhile, but the studios began to look a little different.
Mulan (as well as Pixar Soul’s animated film) serves as an advertisement for the Disney + platform, which the studio has already announced as a priority. In addition, in mid-December, it presented shareholders with a grand prime minister’s plan, which largely concerns the service just mentioned. The future is serial: there will be ten series from the world of Star Wars, a similar number of serial comics from Marvel, and from the films, for example, the new Petr Pan, Pinocchio or the third Sister in Action. But Disney didn’t announce the move of big movies like Black Widow, Eternals or Free Guy to the stream.
The Warner Bros. studio, which stated in a shocking announcement at the beginning of December that all its films, including the biggest ones such as Duna, Matrix 4, Godzilla vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, or the previously announced second Wonder Woman, will perform simultaneously in cinemas and on stream. This means such a large breakdown of the experienced distribution model that, according to observers, it will irreversibly damage cinemas. However, the company said in a statement that it would try this step only for one year, when cinemas in America are closed or people are afraid to go to them.-