The theater industry is threatened by same-day movie releases, but America seems to prefer watching new releases in the comfort of their homes.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 09: People walk outside the AMC Empire 25 movie theater in Times Square amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 09, 2021, in New York City. It has been one year since COVID-19 was first reported in New York City. After undergoing various shutdown orders for the past 12 months, the city is currently in phase 4 of its reopening plan, allowing for the reopening of low-risk outdoor activities, movie and television productions, indoor dining as well as the opening of movie theaters, all with capacity restrictions. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
By Maliyah Simone, CRDN
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Day-and-date releases became a huge market during the pandemic. Since movie theaters were labeled “superspreaders”, most of America stayed in to watch new release movies as streaming services partnered with studios to release their new movies on the same days they were meant to hit theaters. Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, and FandangoAtHome led the way in these same-day streaming releases. Consumers were and continue to be thrilled about the ability to stay in and watch new releases, however, the theater industry argues that this development has major impacts on its ability to thrive.
A March 2024 HarrisX poll found that an astounding two-thirds of US adults prefer to stream movies at home over going to watch them in theaters. The poll found that only 34% said that they prefer to go and watch movies in theaters, which is a drastic decrease from 2019’s numbers. Still, in the wake of streaming services as a whole, the theater industry had already seen a decline in attendance from 2018-19 of 5%.
Pre-pandemic, a subscription service was released called MoviePass. The service allowed subscribers to pay a flat fee of $10 every month and they could see one film a day for the entire month. The platform had over three million subscribers in June of 2018, and the accessibility of tickets at one’s fingertips drove patrons to the theaters.
The pandemic also saw a rise in films being produced by and funded through streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Prime. The “Original” content featured films, TV Shows, and Documentaries that kept the world glued to their screens. Again, the theater industry claims that these “Originals” are a threat to the entertainment industry as these streaming services often only require a one-time payment towards a film.
As more films become available for streaming, we have seen a drastic decline in movie theater attendance and, therefore, box office revenue. Theater owners and investors have had to become creative in order to keep patrons attending the movies.
In hopes of protecting their businesses, theater owners have resorted to exclusive theatrical windows and agreements with studios; requiring a certain amount of time to pass before movies are released to streaming services. Additionally, viewing formats have continued advancing and even theaters that never featured advanced viewing formats have begun investing in the technologies to make it possible. IMAX and Dolby Cinema, along with DBox technologies–which give viewers a 4D movie experience– are now included in theaters across the country.
Theaters have also begun implementing more luxurious and comfortable experiences; updating seating to reclining seats, opening full service kitchens with wait staff, hosting screenings and events, and offering a wider variety of subscription services such as AMC Stubs.
While the future of day-and-date releases remains uncertain, one thing is for sure– America loves them. Industry professionals wonder if a cut in the availability of these streaming service releases will do more harm than good for consumers and the industry itself.