By The days of theatrical releases followed by digital and disc sell throughs three months later are long gone, and it turns out it’s financially working out for the studios.
One thing we’ve seen the rise of since the pandemic is the arrival of premium video-on-demand (PVOD) – premium-priced rentals or purchases ($20-25 rentals) that come just a few weeks after the theatrical release, weeks before the release on regular digital and months before the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, etc.
Universal Pictures in particular has been the most aggressive PVOD supporter with some releases as short as 17 days after they premiere in cinemas – others coming one month.
One thing that seems fairly clear is that PVOD releases hasn’t cannibalised the box-office – drop-off rates for films the week or two after hitting PVOD have proven to be not really any different than the weeks prior.
Now, a new feature in THR has gone into PVOD performance this year and found that the shrinking windows can actually benefit everyone – even cinemas.
Sources at several studios for the trade say a film going to PVOD for purchase or rental can better sustain its theatrical release in its latter weeks as a result of third-party advertising, such as Amazon Prime or Apple TV+ reminding people that though it’s now available at home – it’s also still in cinemas.
Universal’s “The Wild Robot,” “Twisters” and “The Fall Guy” reportedly saw themselves continuing to play on more than 2,000 screens for weeks after they hit PVOD. In fact, Paramount’s “Gladiator II” reportedly had a bump at the box office after it went to PVOD over the year-end holidays.
This fits in with comments from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Donna Langley last year where she indicated Universal would likely have had to produce fewer movies last year without the revenue generated by PVOD sales.
The post PVOD Benefits Theatrical Releases & Cinemas? appeared first on Dark Horizons.
