The COVID pandemic put theaters in a tough spot. According to a breaking story from Variety, Cinemark has reached a deal with the five major studios that could limit the theatrical window, meaning movies can and will hit streaming faster. This isn't the first deal Cinemark has signed since COVID ravaged the world. They made a deal with Universal in early November that allowed the studio to put new movies on premium VOD platforms only 17 days after they open in theaters. In that deal, films that made at least $50 million opening weekend had to play exclusively in movie theaters for 31 days. We have no new details on the deal struck with the other studios, but it would seem to be very similar to the one above. Cinemark has said that “each deal has unique attributes specific to the individual studio that mutually benefits both parties.” So we wonder what the differences could be—it seems like these will be based on what each studio uses as their streaming service. We know Paramount plans to put all new releases onto Paramount+ after 45 days. I wonder if Disney and Universal have similar plans. Read More...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Friday, 7 May, 2021