Theater chain owners have fought tooth and nail for the last several years to protect the theatrical window; fearing any changes to it would devastate their business. Threats to boycott any film released early on premium VOD (PVOD) were sufficient to prevent studios from experimenting; that however is no longer the case. COVID-19 and the resulting theater shut down have allowed studios to experiment with PVOD with little to no consequence from theater owners and have come to realize that it is a viable option.
Now in a landmark agreement that will reshape the movie industry, Universal Pictures and AMC Theatres, the largest movie theater chain in the world, put aside their feud over early release windows and signed a multi-year agreement that will allow the studio’s films to be available on premium video on-demand.
This insight examines how this ground breaking deal will reshape the movie industry, creating new opportunities and challenges across the value chain.
Table of Contents
Impact of the deal on Universal and AMC Theaters
How will other studios react?
How will the other major theater chains react?
How will consumers respond to premium VOD?
How will small theater chains react?
Will this effect production?
How will this affect SVOD service such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBOMAX?
How will this effect pay TV providers and other services offering TVOD?
Conclusion
Exhibit 1: Terms of Universal Pictures/AMC Theatres Deal
Exhibit 2: North American Box Office and Admissions