The window between theatrical release and home-theater release keeps getting smaller. And while that may be a positive for home-theater viewers, theatrical owners aren’t pleased about it.
Paramount is drawing the ire of theatrical owners for its release of “G.I. Joe” and “The Goods” less than three months after they debuted theatrically.
“G.I. Joe” will hit home-theater November 3, a mere 88 days after its theatrical debut. “The Goods” will come out on November 10, also 88 days after it debuted in theaters.
“Our members are ballistic,” National Association of Theatre Owners president John Fithian said.
On average, Fox maintains the tightest theatrical window among major studios. Fox Home Entertainment tags its DVD releases at 122 days — about four months — after they open in theaters.
NATO stats show Par with the second-tightest window, at an average 123 days. And its unprecedented scheduling of quick “street dates” for two titles at once has exhibitors worried that a new wave of accelerated DVD releasing will sweep through Hollywood.
NATO posts window averages on its Web site and issues “early warnings” when studios schedule unusually early DVD releases. The trade association leaves it to individual exhibs to decide on an appropriate response.
If the film in question is still in theaters, exhibs might pull it from their circuits. Alternately, theater owners might put the squeeze on any future negotiations on film rentals with the offending studio.
“We don’t know what Paramount is up to, but it’s highly objectionable,” Fithian said.
“I view the studios as our partners, but it seems like the rules of the game are changing,” Cineplex chief Ellis Jacob said. “That’s a concern. We at Cineplex have invested a lot of money in our theaters and in new technology such as 3D. So when something like this happens, it creates an issue with people from the standpoint of entertainment choices. If a guest of ours knows a movie is going to be on DVD in less than 90 days, then they know that if they miss it they can catch it on DVD not too much later.”
It seems as though NATO members still doesn't understand what business they are in. They are not in the business of screening movies. They are in the business of providing a experience worth paying for while screening a movie. They are two very different things. If people are skipping the theater it's because the experience at the theater does not provide sufficient value for the $40 it will cost you to take a date to a movie and buy some snacks. Fix the experience and the release window becomes a moot issue.
Soon will we see movies immediately released to web. The resolution will be higher than IMAX. The presentation will be available in 3D and Digital Dolby HD.
Later everything will be released in a direct to brain format as was used in "Brainstorm".
Many movies today are not worth seeing on the big screen unless they are visually powerful like "Up" in 3-D or something that maximizes the effect of a big screen.
Any movie that is simply a big talking set of heads on the big screen loses almost nothing when on DVD.
My wife and I always evaluate whether the film needs to be seen on a big screen to be appreciated before we decide to spend increasingly higher ticket costs to go see one.
This may be very naive on my part but I always figured that if a movie was a huge hit then it would stay in theatres as long as possible to get every dollar. Then on the opposite side, a terrible movie with low box office returns would get shuffled to DVD quickly.