For years, going to the movies has been a popular outing. Whether it was a romantic date night, a school field trip, or just a spur-of-the-moment thing to do, the theater has been a popular way to find the next big thing, revisit a TV favorite, or get emotional with your loved ones or a bunch of strangers.
But while going to a theater was once the only way to see moving pictures, technology has greatly changed since the early 20th century thanks to televisions, VCRs, DVDs, and high-speed internet. While theaters may have changed from single screens to drive-ins to large megaplexes, the overall experience has remained mostly the same: a new hit (or soon-to-be hit) is released to theaters, people pay for tickets to see it, and if you missed it, you can wait a few months for it to be released on home video. Now, though, chains like Goodrich Quality Theatres have been struggling thanks to the rise of streaming options and soaring ticket and concession prices, but then COVID-19 hit and really put a damper on theaters. Studios suddenly had a slate of blockbuster titles and little chance of making blockbuster money.
So then, because of the pandemic, Universal Pictures decided to take movies like Trolls: World Tour and make them available for rent digitally, on or in place of their planned theatrical debut. They weren’t the first to come up with this idea, but it was the first major Hollywood studio to do so. The experiment paid off royally, with the Trolls sequel making more money for Universal in under a month as a digital rental versus the original’s five months in theaters. NBCUniversal’s CEO was so thrilled with the $100 million reception that he revealed that their movies would be released on demand and in theaters together. This incensed the largest chain, AMC Theaters; its CEO declared a ban on Universal Pictures if they planned on not respecting the traditional theatrical window and threatened the same for other studios.
Meanwhile, other movies also went direct-to-streaming. Some, like Warner Bros.’s SCOOB!, also was available to rent (or own). Others, like Artemis Fowl from Disney, was added to the studio’s streaming service. Some movies, such as Wonder Woman 1984, have had their debuts pushed back — sometimes once for a few months, others several times and/or pushed into 2021 or later.
So as various release dates gets shuffled, for those of you worried about Universal Pictures’ films not being available whenever AMC Theaters reopen, well, good news: the two companies announced a deal that would allow the studio to put their films on-demand 17 days after being released to theaters in the US, and AMC would get a share of the profits. This is a dramatic reduction from the current 75- to 90-day window.
Other studios and theater chains could follow suit, but a rival theater CEO was not impressed with the deal and its ramifications.
While analysts like this one from Variety see the likelihood of similar deals, one company they predicted would not be interested is Disney. The entertainment giant however is conducting its own experiment. Their live action version of Mulan is their second priciest remake, costing over $200 million. Between the setting and its cast, Disney hoped Mulan would make a particularly large splash in China, but the COVID-19 pandemic there and in the US caused them to delay the film to August 2020. However, they later removed it from the calendar until further notice.
Now, like some other films, Disney’s legend of Hua Mulan will be going straight to streaming – but with a twist. Disney+ subscribers can pay $29.99 for Mulan and will have permanent access to it for as long as they keep their Disney+ subscription. This has caused a lot of debate, with some arguing that $30 (or even $37 with the cost of Disney+) is cheaper than a movie night out, while others deem it a rip-off, especially since it is significantly different from the animated version.
Both the shortened release window and higher (or in addition to) video-on-demand pricing could dramatically change the movie experience as we know it. While these changes probably won’t affect most anime movies, as they are usually given limited engagements, it could have a profound effect on Hollywood remakes and adaptations. Especially since we’re finally getting some good movies based on Japanese properties like Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog, both of which have sequels in the works and set box office records for video game movie adaptations. There are several other Japanese-inspired movies in the works like Attack on Titan and your name. which also will face this new theatrical landscape.
Which leads to the question of whether anime and game fans will support these changes. Families may be willing to dish out $20-30 for a rental or semi-ownership, but most of the upcoming films are action and/or buddy films, not family-oriented flicks. These are more likely than some of the family-oriented movies listed here to have only one or two people in a household interested in them. Yes, a lot of the upcoming Western remakes of Japanese properties have high profile directors like J.J. Abrams, so that could help boost sales, but they aren’t going to have the name recognition of Trolls or Mulan. There’s also the possibility that no future premium video-on-demand flick will reach the heights they are now because of the pandemic, so we’ll have to see how many people choose going out versus staying home to see the latest blockbusters.
I am also curious as to whether Blu-ray/4K prices will rise as a result of these changes. Trolls World Tour debuted as a digital release in April, and the physical version came out in July. Most places have been selling the Blu-ray and 4K for around $20-30 (MSRP $40-50). That comes with two discs plus a digital copy. But if Disney, for instance, finds out that people are willing to pay $30 for a digital copy about two or three months before a physical version, why not charge closer to $40 after discounts for a combo pack? For anime fans who rely mostly on streaming, this may not be much of an issue, but if they want to see an Alita: Battle Angel sequel or see more good anime-related films, it may seem like a lot of money to pony up front. And for one or two people, it’s not going to be easy to see it multiple times like I know people did for Alita.
Personally, I haven’t paid $30 for a 4K Disney Blu-ray combo pack, and that includes a digital copy. And to those that argue that it’s such a nightmare to go to the movies…you do go other places, right? You somehow get yourself and/or your kids to the grocery store, park, aquarium, bowling alley, and other places at least occasionally, right? I know I live in an area with a lower cost-of-living, but there are ways to get cheaper tickets and concessions, like $5 Tuesdays.
Plus I’d rather buy a combo pack versus a digital-only version even though I could view it much earlier on digital. Even if I only wanted a digital copy, I’d probably buy the physical version and then sell the Blu-ray to recoup most of my money and still pay less than what some companies want. I supported and want to support good Hollywood adaptations of anime and games, but there’s no way I would have paid $20 to rent Detective Pikachu or Sonic for two days on my 42″ TV eating snacks I can have anytime, and I’m not going to do it for your name. or any other upcoming Japanese-influenced film.
So the Great Streaming Wars are greatly shaking up the movie watching experience. No doubt that some of these changes would have eventually come anyway, as many theater chains were already struggling pre-pandemic. But it will be interesting to see what the market equilibrium is. Can studios charge $30 on their own streaming service for a big budget film? How many people will try to make it to the movies within the first 17 days in case their theater decides to pull a feature since it’s already on-demand? Can movie budgets go up now that studios can get a higher percent of revenues online versus in theaters? Can smaller chains survive without deals like AMC’s and Universal’s? Or are they going to be as frustrated as this guy here? It’s uncharted territory, and the public will ultimately decide the path forward.