|
|
This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
|
|
Author
|
Topic: Movie theaters are 'strangling the movie business
|
Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000
|
posted 12-01-2016 03:37 AM
As someone who has pretty much given up on movie theaters in favor of watching at home, I have an odd opinion about that "legitimacy" a theatrical release gives something. Even at home, I still regard something made for theaters more of a "movie" than something made directly for home video release, TV, cable or internet. What's most apparent, having watched several TV productions on laserdisc when that was "the" quality format and then DVD, is that even with a great technical presentation, stuff made for TV generally just doesn't have the level of production values that a real movie does- sure, there are a few exceptions, but for the most part I think that's fair to say.
At least when I see a good movie at home, I can picture how good it must have looked and sounded at a quality theater, even though I don't have any of those near me. Of course I think the switch from film to digital has blurred the lines a bit, and given me even less reason to go to a theater now. (I review Blu-Rays and DVDs for a website, and for movies released on film I judge the discs by how closely they resemble the original film prints.)
| IP: Logged
|
|
Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 12-01-2016 04:00 PM
Here we go again.... this time it's Warners.
I guess I don't understand why the chains and NATO don't just say, "Look, studios... you're going to destroy our business AND YOURS if you keep up this craziness. Here's the deal: There is a good long theatrical window, or we don't play your movies. PERIOD." and then stick to that. Instead there's all this crap of "we're looking to work with our exhibition partners to grow the pie for everyone"..... BULLSHIT, they want to grow the pie for themselves and that's all. They don't give two poops about exhibition, unless we don't pay film rent on time.
Studios Said to Want Films in Homes Two Weeks After Cinema Debut
by Anousha Sakoui
December 1, 2016 — 5:00 AM EST
Hollywood studios, looking to spark stagnant movie viewing, are considering offering fans high-priced home rentals of new films as little as two weeks after they debut in theaters, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
The studios are looking at rental prices ranging from $25 to $50 per film, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t settled. That’s in line with a pair of tickets at theaters in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Kevin Tsujihara, head of Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. unit, said at an investor conference Tuesday he’s held “constructive” talks with exhibitors about a premium home-video offering and is prepared to move ahead.
“We’re working with them to try and create a new window,” Tsujihara said. “But regardless of whether it happens or not -- whether we are able to reach that agreement with them, we have to offer consumers more choices earlier.”
Such a plan could still trigger a fight with exhibitors. Regal Entertainment Group and Cinemark Holdings Inc., two of the largest U.S. chains, have resisted Hollywood’s efforts to cut into the exclusivity they enjoy with new movies. Last year, the companies boycotted Paramount Pictures films that were released on home video seven weeks after their debut in cinemas. Theaters still produce a major share of Hollywood’s film revenue.
Cinemark, the nation’s third-largest theatrical circuit, acknowledged in early November it held preliminary talks with various studios about a premium video-on-demand window, without disclosing details. The company, based in Plano, Texas, declined to comment further. Regal and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Early home-video releases of new movies would upend a long-standing industry tradition that predates pay TV, streaming and video recorders. Chains including Cinemark used to enjoy as much as six months of exclusive rights to new releases. In recent years, that has shrunk to about 90 days, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. And by the third quarter of 2016, some new movies were available for online purchase two months and 26 days after their cinematic release.
But stagnant home-video sales are pressuring studios to ditch or alter that old arrangement. U.S. home entertainment revenue grew 1 percent to just over $18 billion last year, with DVD sales falling 12 percent, according to industry-backed researcher DEG. Domestic box-office revenue grew 2.1 percent to $10.7 billion in 2015.
James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox Inc., raised the issue in September at an investor conference. He questioned “crazy holdbacks that the theater owners put in place in terms of these blackout periods, that really make a lot of problems for movies.”
“Our business rules are of no interest to families who just want to see the movie,” Murdoch said.
Studios and exhibitors still have a lot to work out. While some executives have discussed releasing movies for home viewing after two weeks in theaters, others have said it could be as long as four weeks. Cinemark described its talks as preliminary.
That suggests studios may pursue different strategies. They’ll also have to decide whether to market films directly to consumers or through third parties like Apple Inc.’s iTunes or pay-TV operators.
In past discussions about earlier home-video releases, theater owners have said they need to be compensated for the risk that would pose to attendance.
Also, the fees that cable networks and services like Netflix Inc. pay for movies are based on box-office sales. Anything that reduces ticket revenue could have fallout for studios in their home-video businesses.
“It is a very difficult knot to unravel,” said Barton Crockett, an analyst at FBR & Co. “Everyone understands consumer tastes are changing and there is pressure to innovate.” But revamping the system has been difficult and means there’s likely to be “a lot of talk and very little changing.”
Bloomberg article
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
|
posted 12-01-2016 05:40 PM
quote: Bloomberg news article
But stagnant home-video sales are pressuring studios to ditch or alter that old arrangement. U.S. home entertainment revenue grew 1 percent to just over $18 billion last year, with DVD sales falling 12 percent, according to industry-backed researcher DEG. Domestic box-office revenue grew 2.1 percent to $10.7 billion in 2015.
So, let me get this straight. According to this news report, movie studio executives believe declining DVD sales and sluggish home entertainment revenue growth is the fault of movie release windows in commercial theaters? If that's true then they obviously have not been keeping up with current events in their own industry. There's all kinds of reasons why DVD sales are plummeting and overall growth is stagnant. But the theatrical release window is not a factor in it at all. I'll give one obvious observation: when home video sales and theatrical sales were at their peak we still had a pretty substantial theatrical release window.
I believe the main reason why home video industry sales are crappy is because of the gentrified, derivative movies Hollywood has been making. We're getting even more sequels, remakes, etc. Audiences might be willing to watch some of those movies in the theater. But it's another thing to expect those same audiences to buy lots of copies on DVD to just gather dust on their entertainment shelves.
I think the growing number of choices how people can watch movies at home is doing more to cannibalize sales rather than grow them. When a movie plays on Netflix or Amazon Prime it's almost like watching the movie for free. It's not much different than watching a movie on HBO, except the viewer watches the movie when he wants to watch it and is actually paying a little less for the subscription.
The ever shrinking release windows make it even more easy to just wait past a theatrical release for the DVD and even wait til the movie shows up for next to nothing on a streaming service.
I also think physical disc sales are being hurt by various retail stores closing. Lots of home video rental stores have gone out of business. Lots of regular music, book and video stores have closed. Those types of stores are put at an extreme disadvantage to online retailers who charge no sales tax, free shipping and lower overall prices.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
|
posted 12-01-2016 08:36 PM
quote: Mike Blakesley
Agreed. THere's also the sheer number of things to watch. A new movie gets forgotten fast when it shows up on one streaming service amongst hundreds of other choices, not to mention all the other channels and services, plus websites, social networks, and actual people all clamoring for your attention. I have a couple dozen TV shows set up to record on my Tivo and I hardly ever watch any of them.
Yeah, I forgot to mention that factor. It's one thing for someone to watch a Hollywood movie release on Netflix when that particular movie was in theaters not even a year ago. But it's another thing for studios to even expect viewers to watch said movie on Netflix when there's a shit-ton of different series to watch. It is a very very crowded field. Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are frequently cycling in/out content.
I've been hearing friends talk about Marvel's Luke Cage, but I can't watch that until I get caught up with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. There's several other series I can't find time to play catch up. Some big budget yet marginal Hollywood movie is going to fall by the wayside with all that viewing work to do.
The same thing is going on with premium cable channels. These days I very rarely ever watch a movie on HBO. I only have that set of channels (and HBO GO) for the original series like Game of Thrones or Westworld. I also like some of their news/documentary programs (some of which win Oscars). Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is often a laugh riot.
We have one video rental store left in Lawton. It's clear on the west side of town, making it a chore to go rent a movie on Blu-ray. I can't remember the last movie I bought on Blu-ray at regular price (I bought a few older movies at drastically marked down prices when Hastings liquidated their inventory). Usually by the time a movie I wanted to see comes on HBO I either already saw it at the theater or rented it on Blu-ray. But I'm not really doing either of those very often these days.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
|
posted 12-07-2016 01:54 PM
As long as the stories are interesting, I don't think it matters how often they brought them out. Of course, that means that they can't tread over the same ground over and over again, which would be challenging, but just look at the possibilities for origin stories, universe expansion, etc.
It just can't be the same thing over and over again. The story has to have a soul to strike a chord with audiences, because people see through CGI-generated empty shells with nothing interesting to say. Some movies wear out their "reason for being" within their own running time, much less multiple franchise installments.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic