NY.– The most controversial film of the year is … “Trolls World Tour”?
As innocuous as an animated film full of music and color may seem, the digital premiere of the sequel to “Trolls” has caused a storm in the film industry. Just as the pandemic was worsening and movie theaters closed, Universal Pictures turned the premiere into a video-on-demand (on-demand) premiere of a drastic change in the form of display.
Universal called the digital premiere of “Trolls World Tour” a success and hinted that this could be the start of a sea of changes in how it releases its films. Movie theater owners differed widely. AMC Theaters, America’s largest network, signaled an all-out war by saying it will no longer screen Universal movies.
Although few anticipated that a glitter explosion like “Trolls World Tour” would unleash a fray, it was on the horizon. Netflix, Amazon, and other streaming services have broken the industry’s traditional 72- to 90-day viewing window in recent years (and thus their films have been banned from major movie networks), and major studios sometimes They have been tempted to try their own luck by going straight home.
On Tuesday, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell told the Wall Street Journal that the digital premiere of “Trolls World Tour” fared well enough to demonstrate the viability of the premieres directly in homes. He indicated that once the theaters reopen, “we hope to release movies in both formats.”
The Journal reported that in three weeks of a la carte rents for $ 20, “Trolls World Tour” has raised about $ 95 million. The studio, which normally splits sales roughly halfway to movie theaters, pocketed about $ 75 million of that amount. A Universal spokesman did not refute those figures.
In comparison, 2016 “Trolls” billed $ 116 million in the United States and Canada and $ 346.9 million worldwide. The sequel cost about $ 90 million, according to reports, not including marketing costs that likely exceeded $ 50 million.
Whether that performance represents a “success” or merely an interesting experiment in the era of the pandemic has been a matter of debate. Under the order to stay home, moviegoers are stranded. Trolls World Tour benefited from being the first release of its kind during the crisis. And even in these extreme circumstances, it has grossed considerably less than the original tape. Rents would also have eaten up other sources of income derived from home entertainment.
“Universal has no reason to use unusual circumstances in an unprecedented environment as a springboard to skip true movie premieres,” said John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Movie Owners (NATO). He highlighted the irreplaceable and “endearing immersive and shared experience” of watching a movie in the cinema, adding that many families would have flocked to see “Trolls” if “the world were not kidnapped at home.”
AMC Theaters went further. CEO Adam Aron said his company had broken ties with Universal since Tuesday. He insisted that the policy would continue once the theaters reopen, would apply to its theaters worldwide, and that “it is not an empty or hasty threat.”
Aron said AMC would do the same for any distributor that “unilaterally abandons current display practices without good faith negotiations between us.”
He stated that there will be no more discussions, that “decades of incredibly successful business activity together have sadly come to an end.”
On Tuesday night, Universal replied that it was disappointed with the statements by AMC and NATO.
“We absolutely believe in the film experience and have never stated otherwise,” Universal said, adding that she would consider the video-on-demand “when that medium of distribution makes sense.”
Universal has been bolder than other studios. The day before, he said another upcoming release, Judd Apatow’s comedy “The King of Staten Island,” would turn to video on demand. He also quickly put on demand tapes such as “The Hunt” and “Emma.” Which were released in theaters just before closings.
But the studio is not the only one experimenting.
Warner Bros. to Play Scooby-Doo Tape “Scoob!” (“Scooby!”) Available for digital rental next month instead of waiting for theaters to reopen. The Walt Disney Co. will premiere “Artemis Fowl” (“Artemis Fowl: The Underworld”) on its Disney Plus streaming service. Some studios have simply sold movies to other services. Netflix acquired the Paramount Pictures comedy “The Lovebirds,” which was originally slated to open in theaters this spring.
Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been forced to host streaming. On Tuesday, he announced that he will allow movies that failed to premiere on the big screen – for years a hot topic for the Oscars – to compete next year at the Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, movie theater chains are grappling with losses from an indefinite shutdown. AMC earlier this month issued a $ 500 million debt bond offering to stay afloat. It has licensed some 26,000 employees and executives, including Aron.
But it remains to be seen whether the video-on-demand is a box office replacement or merely a useful band-aid in unprecedented times. Could a more expensive movie make up for the $ 500 million at the box office? Or a billion? For now, only titles like “Trolls”, “Scoob!” and “Artemis Fowl” are testing the waters. Larger productions such as Disney-Marvel’s “Black Widow”, the James Bond installment “No Time to Die” and “Wonder Woman 1984” 1984 ”), they are waiting for the pandemic to pass.
Also awaiting “F9” from Universal, whose premiere went from boreal summer to next year. The previous nine films in the “Fast & Furious” franchise have amassed nearly $ 6 billion together at the worldwide box office.
– .
