Skip to main content

Top US theatre chain pulls Universal films over streaming row

Universal Pictures, US movie theatre

LOS ANGELES: The leading US movie theatre chain said Tuesday it will no longer play any Universal Pictures movies on its screens as a row over the record-breaking release of Trolls World Tour on streaming platforms sharply escalated.

The children’s film sequel from Universal Pictures — one of Hollywood’s largest and oldest studios — was released directly to on-demand platforms last month after its theatrical release was hit by the coronavirus.

At the time the studio indicated the move was an exceptional response to the pandemic.

But a report Tuesday quoted a Universal boss saying the studio’s movies would now be released “on both formats” even once theaters reopen, due to the film’s record $95 million streaming haul.

AMC, the largest theater chain with 8,000 screens across North America, responded with a letter to Universal stating that “effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theatres in the United States, Europe or the Middle East.”

“AMC believes that with this proposed action to go to the home and theatres simultaneously, Universal is breaking the business model and dealings between our two companies,” CEO Adam Aron added in the letter carried by US media.

Before the pandemic, studios typically waited 90 days to release films digitally after their theatrical opening.

The row comes at a time of dire warnings over the future of the theater industry, as streaming soared in popularity even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Theaters around the world took in an all-time record $42.5 billion last year — boosted by a string of Disney mega-hits — but most of the growth came outside North America.

‘Winning strategy’ 

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported Trolls earned a huge $95 million from nearly five million domestic customers, citing “a person familiar with the matter.”

According to the report, “its performance has convinced Universal executives that digital releases can be a winning strategy, and may diminish the role of theaters even after the pandemic passes.”

“As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats,” NBCUniversal head Jeff Shell told the newspaper, adding the film had “exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the viability” of streaming.

Theatre owners quickly downplayed the report.

“Universal does not have reason to use unusual circumstances in an unprecedented environment as a springboard to bypass true theatrical releases,” said National Association of Theatre Owners head John Fithian.

Neither Universal Pictures nor AMC responded to request for comment.

Trolls World Tour is one of many studio titles — in particular, family films — to recently skip the traditional “theatrical window” due to coronavirus.

Warner Bros will release Scoob! direct to streaming next month, Disney has earmarked Artemis Fowl for Disney+, and Paramount title Lovebirds is headed straight to Netflix, in another industry first.

Major US movie theatres do not plan on reopening until the summer, despite some states authorizing cinemas to resume business.

The post Top US theatre chain pulls Universal films over streaming row appeared first on ARY NEWS.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

K-Electric fined Rs2 mn over weak power supply system

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs2 million on the K-Electric. According to a statement issued by the power regulatory authority, the K-Electric was penalized over non-compliance of performance standards, particularly its failure to restore power supply within the prescribed time frame and to ensure the safety of public in Karachi. Quoting media reports, it said large swathes of Karachi remained without electricity due to the tripping of almost 700 feeders during rainy weather in June last year, which resulted in long power blackouts ranging from 24 hours to 48 hours in almost 50% areas of Karachi. Further, there were also reports of fatal injuries to some people owing to electrocution. The Nepra took notice of the situation in Karachi and directed the K-Electric to immediately provide a detailed report on the tripping of feeders and electrocution incidents along with preventive and corrective steps taken by K-Elec...

10 creepy celebrity wax statues

Waxworks of celebrities, sports persons and politicians such as Tom Cruise, Barack Obama and Christiano Ronaldo are admired by people all over the world. The craft requires taking careful and accurate measurements to create these wax statues, which are then polished and perfected to make for an exact replica. Madame Tussaud’s is one of the most famous museums in the world that displays wax statues, however, not all wax museums in the world craft flawless statues. Compiled from Cosmopolitan India , here is a list of the creepiest celebrity wax statues. Barack Obama PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN David and Victoria Beckham PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Jennifer Aniston PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Beyonce’s wax statue sparks outrage Jennifer Lopez PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Justin Bieber PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Justin Timberlake PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Aamir Khan PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Katrina Kaif PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN London’s Tussauds gets to work on Trump wax figure Selena Gomez PHOTO: C...

Accountability court hears assets case against Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday resumed the hearing of a reference filed against former finance minister Ishaq Dar by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for allegedly accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income.  Judge Muhammad Bashir is recording the statement of a prosecution witness, Ishtiaq Ahmed. At the previous hearing, the accountability judge had reserved his verdict on an application filed by two co-accused seeking acquittal in the case. Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi, who are directors of Dar’s companies, had filed the application requesting the judge to exonerate them from all charges for want of evidence. Qazi Misbah, the counsel for the two co-accused, contended the prosecution has failed to provide compelling evidence to prove the allegations leveled against his clients. The third co-accused President National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Saeed Ahmed, had already filed an application before the court for his acquittal wh...