Editorial: studios look to close theatre-to-digital gap

The times they are a changing, as Warner Bros and Universal Studios look to shorten the length of time a film plays in theatres, in favour of a quicker jump to digital and the home market.

When I was a wee lad, it wasn't unusual for a movie to stick around our local cinema for weeks, even months. I remember Raiders of the Lost Ark playing in town for 30 to 40 weeks - that's seven or eight months!

The last movie I remember getting such a long theatrical run was Titanic, which played for almost a year.

Variety reports Warner Bros and Universal want to shorten the theatrical run starting next year, with other studios expected to follow suit. On average, a film like Avengers: Infinity War hits DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital about three months after opening night.

Why? There's more money to be made on the home market. Ticket prices are going up. I can buy a Blu-Ray (yup, I'm old school) for the amount it costs me and me alone to go to the movies, with snacks of course. If my wife, son and I go, we're looking at a $70 afternoon.

I'm sure our family isn't alone. So, pay $70 for one matinee, or rent or stream at home for $6.99 a movie. You can watch 10 movies for the cost of going to see one, or purchase two or three. Do the math. People prefer to stay home.

The cost of getting a movie into theatres is on the rise too, with prints and marketing coming in on par with a movie's production budget. A film that costs $150 million to make needs to earn about $750 million worldwide to break even. If more people are staying home, then guess where the money is at?

And studios know this. Warner Media and Disney are launching streaming services soon. Give it a few years and, I'm sure, almost every studio will have one of their own. This isn't a trend that's going to go away.

I'm torn about this. I grew up going to the movies, and would sometimes see two or three a week. That's as recent as a decade ago. Now, I'd prefer to stay home and watch, if only as a cost-saving measure. And I can drink a few beers at the same time.

Theatre chains aren't happy with this news, but if they want to compete, they need to make going to the movies more affordable. That's all there is to it. Nothing can replace the movie-going experience . . . except the bottom line.

Source: Variety

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