By India McCarty
Experts claim movies’ short theatrical windows are to blame for flagging box office numbers.
“We are reaching the point…where we’re starting to say, ‘Hey, we need some clarity. We need some stability in terms of what the windows are,’” Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United, told Deadline.
He explained that studios and theaters need to establish “a meaningful window in order for movies to be successful.”
“We have concerns about some of the shorter windows not allowing enough time for a movie to kind of take hold and build an audience,” O’Leary explained, adding that he and others in the industry want to see those windows “stabilize.”
He added, “We think there’s confusion among the moviegoing public as to how long movies are going to be in theaters. It kind of varies from film to film, and that’s just not a way to reach audiences — if they don’t know from one weekend to the next what’s available. How long is it going to be available? Where can I see it?”
“We think that theatrical exclusivity is core to the success of this entire industry, not just exhibition, but in order to see the studios getting the chance to recoup their investment,” O’Leary concluded.
AMC’s CEO Adam Aron made similar comments in February, telling Deadline, “We would like to convince all the major studios that they should keep movies in theaters longer.”
“In our view, 17 days or 30 days are too short, [and] this is a conversation that is front and center, live,” he continued, adding that he believes “everybody would make more money” if the windows are increased.
Director Sean Baker even used his acceptance speech for Best Director (ANORA) at the DGAs to call for larger release windows for movies.
“Let’s do whatever we can do for us feature filmmakers to expand that theatrical window again; demand it. Let’s get it back to what it used to be,” Baker said, via IndieWire. “At least 90 days, and really support movie theaters” (see his full speech via YouTube below).
Related: Could Longer Theatrical Release Windows Save Entertainment Industry? AMC CEO Says…
While some blame low box office numbers on an industry that’s still trying to recover from COVID-19, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, doesn’t think so.
“Nearly every live thing has come back successfully,” he said at a recent event, per Deadline. “Broadway’s breaking records right now, sporting events, concerts, all those things that we couldn’t do during Covid are all back and bigger than ever.”
However, at the box office, “the trend is not reversing.”
“I think you’ve got to look at that and say, what is the consumer trying to tell you?” Sarandos asked.
Whether it’s too-short theatrical release windows or the aftershocks of the COVID-19 lockdowns, it’s clear studios and theaters need to work together to bring audiences back to the movies.
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