AMC will no longer show Universal movies due to on-demand spat

[ShagnWagn]

Only thing I can think of, and have seen a couple of times, we offering real food instead of junk food. Basically, its a movie theater with table service and a restaurant kitchen. There is a menu at the chair, you order from a waiter, they bring everyone their meal and then start the movie. You can even schedule things like desert to be brought to you later on in the movie, or order snacks/appetizers.

As you might imagine, it is $$$$$.

Agreed. I did have that in the OP although your area might not have the same name for it: "The "fork and spoon" theaters are doing this and it's nice. Although pricey. "

 

[Bp968]

I think that you are correct, the Trolls results was exceptional due to the circumstances of the day. It wasn't a matter of ideal marketing, more a matter of the only real option available.

However the results came about, though... The seal has been broken, digital home delivery of new movies has been proven viable, and whole demographics who might not have thought about the possibilities have now sat through a new movie with their kids in the comfort of their own homes.

I think we'll see an interesting split - movie theaters as a destination (date, get out of the house, etc.) and movies as family entertainment. Keep in mind, you can rent that new digital release for less than just the typical ticket prices for a family of 3 or more to go to the theater to experience it, not even factoring in the time and hassles of travel, the exorbitant price of concession food, etc. For families with kids (particularly active kids), it's a win/win to rent at home and not have to fight the public fight. I think that larger family dynamic will be what pushes increasing momentum for the digital delivery system at home.

Im curious to see what Disney does in July. Social distancing will still be in effect and most movie theaters will still be closed in non-stupid places. Even beyond legal restrictions, will the families actually even show up?

If the theaters are still closed will Disney delay again, or if their open and sales are abysmal will Disney pivot to trying to VOD the release?

Disney might be huge but they can't hemorrhage money endlessly. And the second Disney pivots and has success with it the flood gates will be open.

I'm almost convinced this is what AMC is terrified of. If Disney try's this as well or we get another case spike and places like theaters/events are shutdown until a vaccine is ready then AMC is gone. And once the biggest domino falls it will take the rest with it. Theaters will be that quirky thing you do with your friends at the artsy theater in the big city. A throwback like drive ins are now.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Im curious to see what Disney does in July. Social distancing will still be in effect and most movie theaters will still be closed in non-stupid places. Even beyond legal restrictions, will the families actually even show up?

If the theaters are still closed will Disney delay again, or if their open and sales are abysmal will Disney pivot to trying to VOD the release?

Disney might be huge but they can't hemorrhage money endlessly. And the second Disney pivots and has success with it the flood gates will be open.

I'm almost convinced this is what AMC is terrified of. If Disney try's this as well or we get another case spike and places like theaters/events are shutdown until a vaccine is ready then AMC is gone. And once the biggest domino falls it will take the rest with it. Theaters will be that quirky thing you do with your friends at the artsy theater in the big city. A throwback like drive ins are now.

Honestly? I kind of hope so.

My local indie theater has one of the last 70mm projectors still in operation in North America. They all trade around the old 70mm films, some of the better off theaters even commission the creation of new ones from master copies that the studios still have - mine had their own copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey made, complete with a digitally remastered surround-sound audio track. The tickets are cheaper than chain theaters, the concessions cheaper, they ran old classics alongside the latest blockbusters, and they served booze you could take into the theater.

Indie theaters in the cities will never die, but chain theaters can disappear for all I care.

 

[Bp968]

Honestly? I kind of hope so.

My local indie theater has one of the last 70mm projectors still in operation in North America. They all trade around the old 70mm films, some of the better off theaters even commission the creation of new ones from master copies that the studios still have - mine had their own copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey made, complete with a digitally remastered surround-sound audio track. The tickets are cheaper than chain theaters, the concessions cheaper, they ran old classics alongside the latest blockbusters, and they served booze you could take into the theater.

Indie theaters in the cities will never die, but chain theaters can disappear for all I care.

I kind of made the last bit sound mocking of indie theaters but that wasn't my intent. I agree with you 100% that the indie theater model is good and is where we should go. I also hope the fall of AMC and the other chains will make them more common and make licensing current and older movies and shows cheaper for them.

I can only imagine how awesome a game of thrones watch party at a theater could have been for example, or an all weekend showing of Breaking Bad or Battlestar Galactica? So many options including channels like HBO doing simulcasts with the theater allowing people to watch it at the theater the night of release instead of at home, etc.

I mean, I wouldn't do any of these things myself, but I know I'm the weird one here and plenty of other people would be interested (killer virus not withstanding).

 

[Vrmithrax]

Im curious to see what Disney does in July. Social distancing will still be in effect and most movie theaters will still be closed in non-stupid places. Even beyond legal restrictions, will the families actually even show up?

If the theaters are still closed will Disney delay again, or if their open and sales are abysmal will Disney pivot to trying to VOD the release?

Disney might be huge but they can't hemorrhage money endlessly. And the second Disney pivots and has success with it the flood gates will be open.

I'm sure Disney will find an interesting way to home market their movies, if it comes to requiring that. More so since latest rumors are that their theme parks won't be opening up again until 2021 - they need the revenue more than ever from their media side of the business.

If it was me running the show and social distancing was still keeping the theaters closed down? Leverage the Disney+ streaming service. Create some great deals - if you are already a Disney+ subscriber, hey here's $5 off your first run stream of our latest film. Or, if you aren't a subscriber already, hey buy access to our new movie but you have to stream it through Disney+, and here's a free month of service as a bonus. Just like drug dealers, the first taste is free. If you manage to hook even a percentage of those new users, you have opened up additional and continuing revenue streams that could persist for a long while, if you keep up the content and make it easy for them to stay on board.

 

[mbrowne5061]

I'm sure Disney will find an interesting way to home market their movies, if it comes to requiring that. More so since latest rumors are that their theme parks won't be opening up again until 2021 - they need the revenue more than ever from their media side of the business.

If it was me running the show and social distancing was still keeping the theaters closed down? Leverage the Disney+ streaming service. Create some great deals - if you are already a Disney+ subscriber, hey here's $5 off your first run stream of our latest film. Or, if you aren't a subscriber already, hey buy access to our new movie but you have to stream it through Disney+, and here's a free month of service as a bonus. Just like drug dealers, the first taste is free. If you manage to hook even a percentage of those new users, you have opened up additional and continuing revenue streams that could persist for a long while, if you keep up the content and make it easy for them to stay on board.

That is pretty much guaranteed to happen at this point. Unless the rumors that the Oxford University team will have a vaccine ready by September are true, I expect Disney to start offering their first-run movies on streaming by October.

The academy has agreed to start considering streamed movies for Oscars, so chain theater days are numbered no matter what.