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AMC and Warner Bros. made a deal to keep the studio’s films to remain cinemas exclusive for 45 days, instead of being immediately available digitally (via Hollywood journalist). The news was announced by AMC CEO Adam Aron during an earnings call, and it means Warner Bros. won’t make its 2022 films, which include The batman and Sesame Street, available at home (or on HBO Max) until a little over six weeks after their theatrical release.
Warner Bros. had already made a similar deal with the owners of Regal Cinemas, but today’s news really seems to herald the end of the streaming experience the studio was trying in 2021. While HBO Max may not receive any movies on the same day as theaters plus, things don’t go back to exactly what they were before the pandemic: theaters used to claim exclusive movies for 75 to 90 days, which is much longer than the agreements made now. Streaming is also clearly still a priority for Warner Bros. AMC said on the call that “all Warner Bros. movies In 2022 would have the exclusivity window, but the CEO of WarnerMedia said that HBO Max would get 10 exclusive movies next year.
Warner Bros. isn’t the only studio negotiating to bring back theatrical exclusives. AMC and Universal also have an agreement, which allows for a window of exclusivity of only 17 days, and Disney, along with Paramount, will also make a window of 45 days. Most of these studios have their own respective streaming services to manage and sell, but theaters still seem to be important to the movie business. During the call, AMC said it has an “active dialogue with all the major studios” on cinema exclusivity windows.
Aron said on the call that the movie company “was not at all happy” when Warner Bros. ‘ the plan was to have its streaming and theatrical releases happen on the same day. The theater chain was not alone in its anguish. Directors like Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Dune) and Christophe Nolan (Principle, Start) all said same-day streaming was the end of cinema.
The actors, whose salary may be tied to box office performances, were also unhappy with the date-and-date streaming releases, with Scarlett Johansson suing Disney for Black Widowthe Liberation. With actors, filmmakers, and theaters opposing them, it’s not hard to see why studios are considering going back to the old way of releasing movies (if with shorter windows).
A wave of new theaters and acquisitions was also mentioned in the call for earnings – AMC announced the opening of a dozen new theaters around the world, as well as the acquisition of a handful of non-theaters. specified from Arclight / Pacific, which announced it would not reopen after COVID earlier this year. Good news if you want to see a movie as soon as it’s available to the public.
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