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Film Distributors In Western Countries Give Stern Warning To Filmmaking Studios

By Chen Shun /

A few days back, Cineworld has warned companies that it will not show films that “fail to respect’ the theatrical window. This warning was directed at Universal after they touted the success of Trolls World Tour’s straight-to-digital release.

Yet more bluster from the comically out of touch. Hey, exhibitors. Why don't you ask the music industry what happened when it buried its head in the sand about digital distribution? And what happened when it finally wised up. pic.twitter.com/HZK2o4o2ff
— Joe Utichi (@joeutichi) April 29, 2020

When you thought that it was over, another film distributor, AMC Theatres decided to take it up a notch by banning Universal movies completely due to a comment made by NBCUniversal’s CEO, Jeff Shell. AMC Theatres said that Universal did not take theatre chains into consideration when it skipped them and headed straight-to-digital release instead.

For a standard release, movies in theatres must air for at least 90 days before it can turn to a streaming or digital platform. NBCUniversal bypassed the conventional way and released Trolls World Tour directly on video-on-demand platforms, despite it being intended for a theatrical release.

Regarding the whole “fail to respect” and “ban” situation, Universal has responded to the complains stating that they “disappointed by this seemingly coordinated attempt” by theatre chains and the National Association of Theater Owners to blacklist Universal. Moving forward, Universal also state that they plan to use both theatrical release and direct-to-consumer distribution models depending on what makes more sense.

"Based on the enthusiastic response to the film, we believe we made the right move. We absolutely believe in the theatrical experience and have made no statement to the contrary.”
-Universal via a press release

Cineworld and AMC Theatres concerns are not without reasons as many other studios are planning to bypass the conventional theatrical. Scoob! and Artemis Fowl are two examples that are also planning to bypass the theatres and head for video-on-demand or streaming platform immediately.

Due to the severe COVID-19 overseas, both Cineworld and AMC Theaters are dealing with financial uncertainty and are struggling with declining attendance and will need the ticket sales from upcoming blockbusters.

Do note that Singapore cinemas are not involved in this situation.

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Film Distributors In Western Countries Give Stern Warning To Filmmaking Studios