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Studios plan to make streaming their primary bread & butter & this was obvious for the past few years to anyone paying attention. BUT they'll STILL continue theatrical releases b/c...
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...(a) they make good $ from it, (b) studios will buy up theaters in coming years for exclusive runs of their tentpoles, and (c) studios that don't have a big enough global footprint will still rely heavily on theatrical.
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So besides continued theatrical release of tentpole franchises, many mid-range & low budget releases will still fill theaters. Rom-coms, horror, & adult dramas will still need theaters.
Theaters will shrink & evolve, biz will change, but that's life & always has been here.
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Theaters will shrink & evolve, biz will change, but that's life & always has been here.
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P.S. None of this is to mitigate the importance of what WB announced today -- or what Disney has clearly been planning and moving toward for the past few yrs. I'm just saying the doom rhetoric as if theaters are going to vanish or studios won't care a/b theatrical is mistaken.
Gonna fold more points in: For YEARS Hollywood + entertainment press have lamented spiraling budgets & popcorn franchises driving theatrical releases & box office. This new model will reduce budgets & drive more original content creation alongside franchise development.
I love theaters, for a decade at Forbes I've made it clear theaters are like church for folks like me & I want them to survive. I love the experience and I am sad theaters are suffering now. But theaters have ALWAYS changed & evolved to survive & this is part of that process.
Meanwhile more & more content is being made, more people are able to access that content in more ways, & that means more opportunities for everyone. It's okay to feel melancholy a/b theaters' situation, but also understand & appreciate that the future will bring great things too.
When TV arrived it was the end of theaters.
When cable arrived it was the end of theaters.
When VCRs arrived it was the end of theaters.
When the Internet arrived it was the end of theaters.
When Netflix arrived it was the end of theaters.
When cable arrived it was the end of theaters.
When VCRs arrived it was the end of theaters.
When the Internet arrived it was the end of theaters.
When Netflix arrived it was the end of theaters.
Do you have a kitchen? Do you still go out to eat & pay higher prices?
Can you buy alcohol in bulk at stores? Do you still go to bars & pay higher prices?
Do you own a TV? Do you still go to theaters & pay higher prices?
Having more options at home won't kill off theaters.
Can you buy alcohol in bulk at stores? Do you still go to bars & pay higher prices?
Do you own a TV? Do you still go to theaters & pay higher prices?
Having more options at home won't kill off theaters.
Many theaters will close, some chains and independent theaters will shut down or sell off, & it'll be rough for theaters. But they won't die, is my point, & I don't even expect the majority to close. Hopefully this will help reduce folks' saddness & tension at least a bit today.
