AMC and Universal Agree To Let Movies Go From Theaters To Digital Rentals Much Sooner 23
AMC Theaters and Universal have reached a new agreement that dramatically shortens the theatrical exclusivity window -- the amount of time that films have to play in theaters before they'e allowed to be sold or rented in other places, like iTunes, Amazon, or AMC's own On Demand service -- down to just 17 days (ensuring that the films will hit at least three weekends in theaters). From a report: The new deal marks a radical shift from the standard theatrical release window, which has typically been between 70 and 90 days in recent years, and could vastly alter the landscape of both theatrical and digital film.
Theaters are dead (Score:2)
Maybe they can be converted into homeless shelters along with the Google, facebook, Apple, and Twitter campuses?
Not in my backyard! (Score:3)
"Not in my backyard!" That is the comment that will really test ones ethics.
Affordable housing, Shelters, Rehab Centers.... People want more of them, just not near their homes.
However I expect after COVID-19 finally clears up. Theaters will get more popular again, as a lot of people do want the experience. As we normally want to be around people even the most introverted of us.
That said, I approve having it go into streaming much sooner, as their are a lot of movies, that I wouldn't say are worth the exp
Re: (Score:3)
I mean, COVID is really straining even my very introverted nature, but theaters certainly aren't up there on my "to do" list. I want to be able to go out to dinner, get a massage, a haircut, and go to the beach.
Theaters just seem pointless to me. You're not supposed to talk during the movie anyways, and when factoring in seating distance most people can get a similar quality experience from an ever more affordable giant LCD TV and home sound system. Back in the 90's when 27" CRT was considered a good siz
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That's fine, everyone is different.
But it's a social thing - the dinner and a movie on date night, wher
homeless shelters with the theater food markup (Score:2)
homeless shelters with the theater food markup passed to government
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe, but the reality is that most people who are homeless for extended periods of time (not just a brief period where they get down and are figuring things out) are either mentally unstable or drug addicted. Most people who are otherwise stable will either have family or friends who will take them in, or will at least be able to maintain a job of at least enough wages to live at least with a roommate.
That makes it hard to maintain a homeless shelter in a lot of cases, though I've often sat and toyed with
There are some movies you should see in Imax (Score:2)
There are a whole lot of other movies you can watch just as well with a halfway decent TV in your living room/bedroom.
Why even bother with theatrical releases for many of these? Follow the Disney model of releasing recycled junk direct to DVD umm I mean streaming?
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And will Disney stop their trend of "Limited time only, after that it's going back in the Disney Vault!"?
Or will they simply change it to "Limited time only, after that it's going back to the Disney Off-Site Backups!"?
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Did they change the box offIce cut? (Score:2)
I wonder if theaters get a bigger cut of the box under this new model? Depending on what the traditional drop-off is for most movies after 2 weeks it may not be that big of a revenue hit.
Personally, I think two types of theaters will be in the best shape: IMAX that caters to the movie crowd and the Bar/theater that is selling an inexpensive night out that happens to include a movie. My local one sells a large mug that you can refill for cheap and $2 Tuesday movies; their money is in the food and drinks.
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According to TFA, only premium rentals are allowed after the 17 days, regular price rentals still have to wait 90 days, and AMC gets a cut of the premium rental income, that's how they're working it.
Aron notes that AMC will “share in these new revenue streams” and get a cut of those early rentals, although the two companies haven’t revealed any details.
non IMAX high end rooms. That at home maybe $100K (Score:2)
non IMAX high end rooms. That at home maybe $100K in hardware to match
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The combination restaurant/theater/bar places are where it's at. Paying $15 for actual good food beats paying $10 for shitty popcorn.
Really? (Score:2)
What's a movie theatre?
(He says, in front of a 96" diagonal pull-down screen, with HD projector, personal audio system, popcorn and slushie-makers, a laptop and NAS full of content, subscription and on-demand content for everything else, and no need to brave crowds of virus-infected people crunching in my ear).
Honestly, how that part of the industry hasn't just died already I don't understand.
Re:Really? (Score:4, Insightful)
There is the aspect of the crowd that can help enhance the movie experience.
For example When I went to watch Star Trek VI, watching the Enterprise and the Excelsior destroy the Bird of Pray was very exciting in the movies. Where everyone applauded when it was destroyed. Watching it on video or something similar alone, I was more like, that was expected... ho humm...
The crowd res ponce helps influence your own response, and it isn't always a bad thing. Because you go to the movies to be entertained, and the crowd help improve your level of being entertained.
Sure late you can sit back and nitpick the movie apart to a point where your enjoyable experience has turned the movie into a drudge to watch, as you can pin point every production mistake.
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If we were talking a comedy stand up night, I'd be right behind you.
In a movie, if people were to spontaneously clap, it would piss me off while I was trying to watch the movie. Every time there's a round of laughter, you miss the next joke.
Sorry, there are things that obviously benefit from crowd, but to me movies are not one of them, and certainly not one I'd pay extra for the privilege.
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Movies rarely go Joke after Joke in a bang bang methodology. They even have a pause to let the audience laugh, clap, or recover from shock.
Car accident, a second in black, a slow scene in the ER.
A joke, actors giving odd looks at each other for a few seconds.
Movies are meant to be shared communally, they are not info dumps into your brain. I am sure a lot of people who are now use to playing youtube at 2x speed think that.
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Nope, a movie is there for me to enjoy. Pause buttons exist, so I don't miss a line. I wouldn't speed them up, but there's a couple that could do with being slowed down so I can get every reference.
If I'm paying for a one-off special viewing, even more so. If it was just a DVD that I could rewind or re-watch later when everyone had gone home, it wouldn't be so bad. But a cinema doesn't allow either of those.
It's like going to watch a work of art on a one-off gallery showing and there being a thousand pe
What's a movie? (Score:1)
These days the popular videos are 120 seconds; and are best watched on a 4" screen.
Sitting 2 hours for a movie is like sitting 90 days on a boat crossing the Atlantic.
Awesome, goodbye theaters (Score:1)
Great News! (Score:1)
Great News! Now there will be hundreds more crappy movies that I can ignore sooner!
Fuck the MPAA (Score:1)
How to activate the Nat Geo channel on Roku? (Score:1)