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Where’s Peter Pan when he has to face the pirate Captain Hook?
Throughout the pandemic, new photos of studio events – from Wonder Woman 1984 at Godzilla vs. Kong at Black Widow – fuel piracy due to their dual streaming and cinema releases. As soon as a movie hits a streaming service, blank copies are available on a myriad of sites. Normally, there are no options of this quality until a title reaches the end of its traditional theatrical release, but the COVID-19 crisis has dramatically shortened the windows to the goal. to develop streaming services.
After a long period of relative peace between exhibitors and studios, the National Association of Theater Owners on July 18 blasted The Walt Disney Co. for compromising the fate of cinema by revealing that Black Widow raised $ 60 million in revenue from Disney + Premier Access on top of its global box office debut of nearly $ 159 million over the weekend of July 9-11, marking the global debut for over $ 218 million for advertising.
Insiders say movie theater owners were furious that Disney + disclosed the revenue in what they saw as an attempt to make headlines. The Hollywood giant hasn’t disclosed any other viewership numbers or revenue for the films sent simultaneously to Disney + Premier Access – which carries an additional $ 30 price tag – and the big screen.
The NATO statement did not mince words, asserting that the date and date release strategy for Black Widow undermined the tent’s box office potential and fostered piracy – besides being responsible for the film’s “staggering collapse in its second weekend in theatrical earnings,” in addition to a drop without previous 41% from Friday to Saturday during its opening weekend. Black Widow was the # 1 pirated title of the week of July 19, according to the TorrentFreak news site; Ditto for many other versions of tentpoles of the previous day and date of Disney + or HBO Max.
“Piracy is clearly having an impact on male-directed fanboy movies. They will go out and find it for free, ”explains a studio director. Still, NATO did not attack HBO Max even though such day and date titles during the pandemic era were also heavily hacked. Sources noted that streamer WarnerMedia has much less reach than Disney + and that HBO Max has never revealed viewership numbers like Disney.
Most event films during the pandemic period suffered huge drops in their second week, including Universal’s F9, which received an exclusive theatrical release and fell 67% on its second weekend. the Fast Furious installment, however, went on to earn nearly $ 600 million at the global box office. The film grossed over $ 200 million in China alone, while Black Widow is not likely to be released in this country.
Disney declined to comment on the NATO statement. Insiders, however, say the company is proactive in protecting its films from pirates while trying to find new ways to reach all consumers in these difficult times. They also note that Black Widow grossed $ 80 million in box office revenue around the time of the pandemic in its first frame. Sources say the studio intends to comply with an exclusive theatrical release – barring a major setback in terms of a box office resumption – for its roster of upcoming films, including the 20th anniversary comedy. century. free guy in August and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings early September.
Box office and Wall Street analysts agree the date-and-date release will be scrapped once the theatrical industry is fully freed from the scourge of the pandemic. They also caution against looking beyond the initial decline, noting the success of A Quiet Place, Part II, which received an exclusivity in theaters.
“The second weekend is just one piece of the puzzle,” says Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore. “It’s the length of time a film is in theaters exclusively – and of course positive word of mouth and other factors – that is the key to long-term box office success.”
This story first appeared in the July 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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