Universal, Warner. Pitch Theater Owners About Offering Films In Homes Early!!

[Pvt. Himmel]

  Universal and Warner Bros. are having discussions with theater chains about possibly limiting the amount of time between a film's theatrical release and its debut on home entertainment platforms.

Bloomberg first reported that studios had engaged in talks with exhibitors about shortening the period of time in which films are exclusively on the big screen. The studios are looking for ways to bolster home entertainment revenue, which is suffering from an 18% decline in DVD sales. The talks are the clearest sign yet that windowing, the industry term for the amount of time a film is in theaters, is going to be hotly debated in the coming months and that a major change in release patterns could take place as early as next year.

Spokespeople for Warner Bros. and Universal confirmed that the studios are having discussions with theater owners about shortening release windows, but offered no additional comment. In a presentation this week at the Credit Suisse conference on technology, media, and telecom, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara said that he was having "constructive conversations" with the exhibition community.

The studios have yet to determine whether or not the films will be just higher-priced rentals or will be available for purchase. Bloomberg reported that the time frame being weighed is two weeks to a month and that the price being considered is between $25 and $50. Insiders say that the price is likely to be on the higher end of that range and that a month delay between a film's theatrical opening and its home entertainment bow is the most likely scenario. Theater owners would get a cut of the revenue in exchange for agreeing to the new windows.       

     http://variety.com/2016/film/news/universal-warner-bros-theater-owners-early-windows-1201931478/ 

[Corporal Hicks]

Back when DVD was becoming a thing, I remember specifically ordering American DVDs because they'd be out by the time stuff was in the cinema. Whether that was a huge delay in theatrical release over here, I can't remember.

Personally, I've got no issue with this. Just as long as it still gives the home entertainment people time to put together a good release. I really can't stand the idea of a barebones release like a month after the film is out and then waiting another year or whatever for the Special Edition to try and squeeze extra cash out of us.

[fiveways]

This seems like a terrible idea at that price point.  With a shorter turn around less people will be willing to go out and see a film because they know they will be able to watch it from home in a few weeks.  The other factor is this will only increase pirating as people will snicker at the $25 - $50 price tag and just buy a $5 a month proxy in Countries with sterner downloading laws

While the current system has flaws, this doesn't seem like the most logical approach to a dying industry.  Maybe it is time to accept that like the music industry, the film industry with regards to purchasing physical copies is becoming a niche market and the decline is natural given that technology has surpassed the physical medium to most people. 

[g2vd]

Ughh, NOOOOOOOOOOO!

That's a terrible idea!

[whiterabbit]

Nothing more, nothing less.