Just as we are seeing with television, the movie industry will ultimately undergo a change as technology progresses. And one man - DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg - thinks he's figured out the direction it's going.
During a recent speaking engagement as part of the Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Corporate World panel at the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Katzenberg outlined his vision for the future of scheduling and distributing feature films.
The executive said the model will shift so that a feature film is only in theaters for 17 days, or exactly three weekends. Why three weekends? Because 95 percent of the revenue from 98 percent of movies is earned in the first three weeks in theaters. After that - on the 18th day - the film will be made available everywhere to purchase.
The catch is that everyone won't pay the same price for the flick. Instead, studios will charge a variable rate based on the screen size in which the film will be watched. For example, a movie screen would be charged $15, someone watching on a 75-inch television would pay $4 and a smartphone owner would pay just $1.99.
Katzenberg is confident it will happen and when it does, it'll reinvent the enterprise of movies.
Assuming it could be enforced as advertised, what do you think about this model? Would you rather everyone pay a flat fee for the same film or do you think pricing should vary based on how big your viewing screen is?