Usually in a time of crisis, people who have a common interest arise to challenges together and put differences aside and work for a common goal. That is the way of most people, and certainly the aspiration of all well-intentioned people. I see a lot of drive-ins being put up, I see communities ensuring the perpetuation of moving going. I see the supposed leaders in this business doing bupkus. The spirit of free enterprise certainly is active and profoundly active in the business of motion picture exhibition but is absent from the top.
At the top-level people seem to not be doing the right thing. There seems to be such an abdication of leadership and thoughtfulness amongst the perceived leaders of this business and a liberating innovation on the lower end. The circuits are floating rumors and making tentative plans, while the studios are behind closed doors scheming and looking to fortify the streaming market. There is a skewed agenda at work, and movie-goers are beginning to re-invent exhibition.
Although there has been substantive crowing about the revenue derived from titles like Trolls 2 on streaming, I think a much purer picture would be presented if the study of September’s numbers is presented. I think the pandemic has presented a false economy for streaming and the studios know it but are floating numbers that are pushing them towards a firm day and date future.
It took Trolls 2 three weeks to make $100 million on VOD. I am going to make an argument, a strong argument, that this movie did this well because of a scenario of a perfect storm. The kiddos were out of school bouncing off the walls and parents were desperate for anything to entertain the rampaging hordes of children erupting in family rooms across America. Theaters were closed, hmm let’s light the fires and kick the tires of a true VOD release? AMC got angry, Regal got angry and NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell had to pledge that he still believed in movie-going. I think he still believes in movie-going but I do not think his Comcast overlords in Philadelphia do.
Jeff Shell told The Wall Street Journal, “As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.” That is, both in theaters and on VOD. Not so fast, speedy.
The often contradictory president of AMC, Adam Aron, sent out a more than angry letter stating in no uncertain terms that, “Going forward, AMC will not license any Universal movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms.” Regal, adrift in the sea that is Cineworld, tweeted out through their official Twitter account that they would play movies that “respect the theatrical window.” There should have been a crisis council within exhibition to deal with the challenges being presented by the pandemic, instead, the studios decided to spread acrimony/
Movie studios are facing pressures as well. Production has ground to a halt. The AMC series “The Walking Dead “was forced to delay the last episode in season ten due to the effects of the pandemic. Hollywood has been totally shut down since March. Nothing is being produced. There is some deep doubt going forward on the insurability of movie production due to COVID 19.
A further example of a profound lack of industry leadership is the following. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has made a one time “temporary exception” to allow movies initially made available via streaming or video-on-demand to compete for best picture at next year’s Oscars. Personally, my opinion is that this is a bunch of malarkey, once the horse is out of the barn, it’s out forever. This is going to be a permanent change. The Academy, under the cover of a pandemic, stole the Oscars under the guise of a pandemic.
Okay for a second let’s take a look at the top five movies on Netflix
Uncut Gems, Adam Sandler released 2019
Just Go With It, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston released 2011
The Lovebirds , Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani released 2020
The Wrong Missy David Spade released 2020
Despicable Me Steve Carrell released 2010
Let’s face it, watching a movie at a theater is like eating a steak at a good restaurant, and watching a movie on Netflix is like eating a Happy Meal in your car. This action by the Academy is revealing the fundamental truth behind its very existence, it’s not about cinematic merit or promotion of the art of the movies, it’s about the money….pure and simple. If David Spade gets nominated for anything….well it’s over between me and the Academy…and I used to watch the show when Carson and Hope hosted it.
The inmates are running the asylum and someone has to take their keys away before they drive the car off the cliff.
Meanwhile, right now over 500 drive-ins are being built. Farmers are attaching screens on barns, diners are showing Dirty Dancing, Fairgrounds are erecting 100-foot screens. The grassroots are coming alive. The future of movie-going is strong….people are doing the right thing for movie-going. The studios are not and as a result, they are diminishing.
Movie-going is exploding, the business of exhibition is imploding. The public is speaking…and the industry better start listening.
Here is a quote from the famed director, Spike Lee. “I know I’m not going to a movie theater. I know I’m not going to a Broadway show. I know I’m not going to Yankee Stadium. Corona is a bitch. Corona is not playing. You f**** around you’re going to get killed, you’re going to die. I’m not ready to go.”By the way, it looks like Spike has an output deal with Netflix. Lee is releasing his new film, the Vietnam War drama “Da 5 Bloods,” straight to Netflix on June 12
Houston, we have a problem.
