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When I was much younger, I really enjoyed going to record stores and browsing the thousand of albums that were set out is various kinds of display bins. Lifting the albums out admiring the art on the front cover and then reading the back seemed to be a noble way to pass the time. Almost going to a pop culture kind of art gallery. It was both entertainment and education. I used to do the same thing at a local poster shop, looking at the large 27×40 posters or really admiring the British quad posters that were hung up. This habit evolved into walking up and down the aisles of video stores, again admiring artwork and reading the back cover. For the most part we picked the movies we were going to see based on the compelling cover art.
There was a classic old theater in the town that I lived in that one year prior to its release in 1991 displayed a poster for “SILENCE OF THE LAMBS”. It was haunting artwork that combined female figures into a skull with bees on it. It was stunning. When the movie was finally released it was the artwork that made me go see it.
At one time the entertainment section of the local papers had huge ads proclaiming the movies that were playing in your market. Huge ads proclaimed the arrival of a certain movie or would boast of how well the movie was doing. Movies were treated as something special and a real event. For me though the interesting thing was how fair and democratic this was. While the studios did attempt to sway you in the end your viewing choices were truly your own. Because a blockbuster was only released into 600-800 theaters, there were crowds lining up and a building of excitement. Movies were special and sat on the top of entertainment period.
This has all changed. I get that technology does change things. Netflix and Amazon do try to emulate a video store ( they do it very badly). Netflix has set up algorithms which choose your movies for you and show you various kinds of artwork based on their profile of you and what they think you think. For the most part they get it totally wrong. I really regret the loss of a free market system and the loss of the sense of democracy which was instilled in movie going.
Fandango is an American ticketing company that sells movie tickets via their website as well as through their mobile app. They are owned 70% by NBCUniversal and 30% by Warner Media. Fandango is a ticket service which is owned by the studios. They gather email addresses and a movie profiles of your customers and even own their own streaming service Fandangonow. Needless to say on top of the higher cost of ticketing through them….the folks at Fandango are not your friends.
Earlier this week I received a call from a theater operator I respect. He was justifiably concerned about a move that Fandango had made. It turns out that it is offering theaters which subscribe to its service early access to the movie, ‘How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’. The “How to Train Your Dragon 3” offering is to say the least incestuous. NBCUniversal owns 70% of Fandango and Dreamworks is a wholely owned subsidiary of Universal. Fandango is looking to use this promotion to widen it’s streraming subscriber base by offering a perk to members of Fandango VIP rewards, a free DreamWorks Animation movie through the FandangoNow streaming service.
The Feb. 2 screenings, 20 days in advance of the Feb. 22 premiere date for the third and final installment in the “How to Train Your Dragon” movie franchise, is one of the earliest advance nationwide screening events for a major release. At first blush the question that arises is why is this at all legal. It is restricting screenings to those theaters which are currently involved with Fandango.
Of course the larger circuits are jumping at this, The “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” early screenings on Feb. 2 will run across 1,000 theaters in the U.S., including select AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark Theatres, Marcus Theaters, Harkins Theatres, Southern Theatres, National Amusements, and B&B Theatres. There will be just one showing per theater on that date. It is truly baffling why the major circuits are consistently drinking the hemlock offered to them by the studios. Again, it is another indicator that movie going will be sustained by the efforts primarily of the independents.
It seems that this promotion has been crafted keeping a close eye on State laws like Pennsylvania’s law which prohibits motion picture distributors from giving exclusive licenses to show a first run film lasting longer than 42 days unless the license provides for showing the film in other theaters in the geographical area. The State Of Kentucky has similar legislation. My opinion is that the actions by Universal and its subsidiary Fandango contravenes the intent of laws put in place to combat the dangers of exclusive booking.
After thinking about the motivation of Universal, I believe that it comes down to propping up a stagnant movie ticket system by providing added benefit to its user and to breathe some life into a streaming service which is facing a more than crowded marketplace. Whatever the motivation is, I just do not think it’s right.
I am a big believer in free enterprise and all theaters should expect is a fair playing field. We all should demand no more and no less.
