https://variety.com/2020/film/news/wonder-woman-patty-jenkins-aaron-sorkin-streaming-1234849063/

Went to the theater last night for a screening of Die Hard. I don't think there is a safer place to be during COVID. 20+ screen theater with IMAX, Dolby and Prime screens. 2 people in the entire theater at 7-10PM other than a few staff. Granted it was a Tuesday night but still.

Sad to watch the death of some great theaters.

Some interesting Disney news, event tomorrow. Quote pulled from the article (not sure if it's paywalled).

Disney to Reveal Plans to Turbocharge Streaming Offerings
Some big-budget movies will first go to theaters. Other offerings will debut online. All will ultimately strengthen Disney+.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/business/media/disney-plus-new-movies.html

Quote:

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LOS ANGELES A significant expansion of the "Star Wars" universe. Tom Hanks as Geppetto in a live-action "Pinocchio," and Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell in a live-action "Peter Pan & Wendy." Footage from new Marvel projects. A star-studded prequel to "The Lion King."

On Thursday, as part of a four-hour investor presentation focused on streaming, the Walt Disney Company will discuss a Death Star-size trove of coming content all of the above and more, said three people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private planning.

Some big-budget Disney movies will continue to have exclusive runs in theaters. (The "Lion King" project, directed by Barry Jenkins and focused on Mufasa's back story, is a good bet.) Others will debut online. (That is where "Pinocchio" is headed.) All will ultimately serve one goal, which is strengthening Disney+, the company's flagship streaming service.

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WB's top two filmmakers have now publicly spoken out against them...

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/dune-denis-villeneuve-blasts-warner-bros-1234851270/

https://deadline.com/2020/12/dga-hbo-max-warner-bros-movies-unacceptable-1234654391/

the times they are a-changin

Directors are trying to flex their muscle here but I don't think they have much leverage. I'm somewhat sympathetic, but also not. Especially not to Nolan. He literally forced them into a bad situation, it turned out ****ty, and this is in part his fault.

I'm just interested to see who ends up having the most leverage here. I really doubt its going to be the artists, but maybe the financiers will be able to put up a fight. its possible Nolan and some other directors will refuse to work with WB again, but I promise you plenty are lined up to take those opportunities.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel though with the vaccine. The world will hopefully be pretty normal by the summer, so Warner doesn't have to do this. Seems like the pandemic is an excuse for them at this point.

I didn't see Tenet and now likely won't unless it's on cable and I'm looking through the channel list for something in the background while I fold clothes.

If they had put it onto a streaming service the weekend of release, I would have most definitely watched it that weekend.

Apropos of nothing.

Tenet was made to be seen in a theater and I'm so happy I saw it there.

you fought the good fight

Bunk Moreland said:

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Tenet was made to be seen in a theater and I'm so happy I saw it there.

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Are there any plans to do a Post Pandemic ReRelease?#PPRR

Duncan Idaho said:

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Tenet was made to be seen in a theater and I'm so happy I saw it there.

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Are there any plans to do a Post Pandemic ReRelease?#PPRR

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I haven't seen plans for one, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did one around the anniversary of the original release. Nolan has been a HUGE proponent of the theatrical release and he's getting more and more pissed as these events unfold.

So Top Gun 2 this summer??

Big Al 1992 said:

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So Top Gun 2 this summer??

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Fingers cross, yes. Paramount does't have a platform to just throw their titles into.

Big Al 1992 said:

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So Top Gun 2 this summer??

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it is scheduled to open July 2, 2021

WB is burning so many damn bridges. Offers to make up for the lost theatrical backend are being called "woefully inadequate" by talent, and I just don't see how this works itself out...

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/warner-bros-under-siege-no-one-is-angry-at-the-streamers-its-these-guys

That illustration is fantastic.

It's interesting to watch this play out. WB/AT&T tried to make it look like they "had no choice". The pandemic had somehow stolen any chance at profitability for the entirety of the 2021 slate.

Then comes Disney. Of course they have their platform and they'll use it in a way that's most profitable. But, withi their 4 hour presentation last week, they reaffirmed their faith in the theatrical release. Disney recognizes a) the upside of the blockbuster release and b) the downstream revenue magnification from the theatrical release.

So, if you're looking to sell a movie in the coming months/years, where are you going to go? Disney or WB?

just a personal preference, but there's nothing about comic book movies that makes in-theater viewing required

can't say the same for Dune, for sure

I take it back, Dr. Strange was pretty great

Wouldn't that kill profits for the theater too? They get a percentage of each ticket, not a guaranteed amount. Seems to me it'd be smarter just to not show those specific films at all.

Isn't the idea of Alist at AMC to get people in the door to buy concessions? I don't know the specific financials of what percentage of the ticket sales theaters send back to the distributors.

YNWA_AG said:

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Yeah...uh...no.

YNWA_AG said:

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Isn't the idea of Alist at AMC to get people in the door to buy concessions? I don't know the specific financials of what percentage of the ticket sales theaters send back to the distributors.

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Yeah, concessions are definitely where theaters make the vast majority of their money. So I guess a full showing of The Matrix 4 at a discounted rate would potentially be the same or better than a half-full showing of something else at full price? Because the added popcorn sales would outweigh the marginal loss in ticket revenue?

TCTTS said:

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YNWA_AG said:

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Isn't the idea of Alist at AMC to get people in the door to buy concessions? I don't know the specific financials of what percentage of the ticket sales theaters send back to the distributors.

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Yeah, concessions are definitely where theaters make the vast majority of their money. So I guess a full showing of The Matrix 4 at a discounted rate would potentially be the same or better than a half-full showing of something else at full price? Because the added popcorn sales would outweigh the marginal loss in ticket revenue?

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In this scenario, the ticket price is the loss-leader that gets people in the door to buy concessions.

I suspect the studio has a much larger percentage of operating margin tied to ticket sales than the theater does. Therefore, while this would hurt the theaters, it would hurt WB more.

YNWA_AG said:

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Isn't the idea of Alist at AMC to get people in the door to buy concessions? I don't know the specific financials of what percentage of the ticket sales theaters send back to the distributors.

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That's why we've seen the success of Alamo and others that have followed suit. Their business model is more "restaurant/bar that shows movies" than movie theater.

TCTTS said:

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YNWA_AG said:

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Isn't the idea of Alist at AMC to get people in the door to buy concessions? I don't know the specific financials of what percentage of the ticket sales theaters send back to the distributors.

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Yeah, concessions are definitely where theaters make the vast majority of their money. So I guess a full showing of The Matrix 4 at a discounted rate would potentially be the same or better than a half-full showing of something else at full price? Because the added popcorn sales would outweigh the marginal loss in ticket revenue?

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Will theaters be able to recoup the cost? Would a chain like Alamo or Studio Grill offer a 'free' movie viewing with a one-drink minimum? Or maybe a promotion to buy a large Popcorn: get a free refill + a free movie ticket!

Very informative. Thanks.

Fascinating. Thanks for posting.

For fun, I'll add in another fun caveat. The chain "keeps 45%" of the film. The 65% costs they are paying on the film mostly consist of film "rental" or the the fee they pay back to the studios. There are some other costs, depending on how the chain prefers to present their results, including the cost of advertising a film or other promotional costs that the theaters might be willing to pay to bring in additional customers. The studio take often depends on how much $$$ the movie brings in. If it's a huge blockbuster they may require a fee of 55% to 60%. Lower level films might be negotiated at a lower rate.

If a studio wants to go rogue, like say WB has, the chains have a couple of options. The first option would be to negotiate a lower rent scale. This is a good option if the base of patrons walking into the theaters isn't too low (ie. only 30% of customers prefer HBO max on an individual movie and the chains retain 70% of their normal customer base). The second, more interesting option, is to ask the studios to fork over a fee based on VOD views. So say the theater would have retained $1 million is box office in a normal world, but in this new environment they'll only retain $0.5 million. The ideal scenario would be to push the studio to pay some per/VOD fee that would offset the lost box office margin, offset by some estimate of variable costs that the theater can eliminate.

The deals between the theaters and the studios are going to change. By how much, who knows? I think this will be a big opportunity for both parties to come together and create contracts that mutually benefit the 1) studios, directors, actors, etc. and 2) theaters, theater employees, etc.

For what it's worth, Disney's 4 hour presentation last week proved that they are on the side of theaters to the extent that they recognize the value of the "theatrical event" driving downstream revenues, including merchandise and their park revenues. They don't get those same benefits downstream if the theaters don't show movies.

My hope is that movie attendance kicks back up quickly as the pandemic subsides. There is an entire industry on the chopping block if it doesn't.