Paramount Plus to stream movies to the big screen 45 days after their theatrical release

Paramount Plus, a new streaming service replacing CBS All Access next week, will stream select new Paramount Pictures films 35 to 45 days after their theatrical premiere, while other Paramount films will arrive on the service in line much later. Paramount Plus’s release plans for these new theatrical movies, although a big change from pre-pandemic standards, aren’t as aggressive as some of the other streaming competitors have been in bringing the movies. movie streaming early.

A Quiet Place Part II and Mission: Impossible 7 will both land on Paramount Plus to air 45 days after their first theatrical release; This would make the sequel to Quiet Place available to stream on November 1 and Mission: Impossible 7 on January 3. PAW Patrol: The movie is set to land on Paramount Plus on October 4.

But other big-budget movies, like Top Gun: Maverick, will hit Paramount Plus in 2022 after longer windows after their theatrical premieres. Movies like Top Gun, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Transformers 7, Dungeons and Dragons, Scream, and Snake Eyes will be on Paramount Plus after their full theatrical tours or, in some cases, after they’ve made sales and door-to-door rentals and even a some availability on the Epix pay-TV network. The earliest these films could be available to stream, it seems, 90 days after they hit theaters, and the company does not yet have specific streaming release dates for individual titles.

The news was announced at an investor event on Wednesday, which focused on a dizzying roster of programs that ViacomCBS hopes to attract new Paramount Plus subscribers to, even as customer streaming choices exploded over the course of the year. of the past year and a half.

Paramount Plus marks another new video service to roll out, such as Disney plus, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, peacock, Discovery More and others that came before it. Like them, Paramount Plus is hoping that their particular concoction of TV shows, movies, and originals will hook you into their vision for the future of television. But these so-called streaming wars also complicate the number of services you use – and pay for – to watch your favorite shows and movies online.

The move makes Paramount Plus the latest streaming service to overturn film release conventions during the coronavirus pandemic. But the Paramount Plus movement was less aggressive than some of the competition. In a move that shocked many and indignant some when it was announced in December, AT&T’s WarnerMedia said all new movies from its Warner Bros. – including Wonder Woman 1984, Dune, and The Matrix 4 – would be available to stream on its own HBO Max streaming service on the same day. cinemas at no additional cost to subscribers.

Even Disney, which had racked up more blockbusters in the years leading up to the pandemic than any other studio, experimented with releasing some of its films to the big screen on its Disney Plus streaming service the same day they hit theaters. He tested a so-called Premiere Access model with his live-action remake of Mulan in September, putting it on Disney Plus for an extra $ 30. Disney will relaunch the format next week by releasing its animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon in theaters and on Disney Plus with an additional cost at the same time.

A year ago, movements like these would have been unthinkable. For decades, theatrical release standards have kept movies exclusively in theaters for 75 days or more.

For other movie options on Paramount Plus, the company has entered into a deal with Epix to create thousands of legacy movies from a wide variety of studios available on Paramount Plus. Starting in late spring, the service will air films from franchises such as James Bond, Hunger Games, The Addams Family, and The Avengers, expanding the catalog of films on Paramount Plus to 2,500 titles.

And new MGM movies will be available on Paramount Plus after their full theatrical releases and a window of time when they are exclusive to Epix. This includes films like House of Gucci, Creed III and the new James Bond film No Time to Die.

Paramount Plus is slated to launch in the US and Latin America on March 4 with a premium tier of $ 10 per month. It will expand the service with a cheaper level and limited to $ 5 per month in June.

Check Comprehensive CNET coverage of the Paramount Plus event.