The Box Office

[Zero Hunter]

Studios don’t need theaters anymore, that’s the past. With all the new technology they’ll make more money by cutting out the middle man. And the middle man is the movie theaters.

Your still missing the point. Even if they are making more by cutting out the middle man they are still losing out in sheer numbers. Say you have a family of 4 and go to the movies. You are buying 4 tickets. If you are buying the same movie on VOD do you think the one time purchase is going to be anywhere close to what they would get from even getting half of the money from 4 individual tickets? Not even close. Even if it is just a couple going to the movies your still cutting that in half with VOD. That and the simple fact people at home are not going to pay huge amounts for new releases so the profits go down even more.

Yours totally wrong on thinking the studios don't need the theaters.

[Immortal Weapon]

Your still missing the point. Even if they are making more by cutting out the middle man they are still losing out in sheer numbers. Say you have a family of 4 and go to the movies. You are buying 4 tickets. If you are buying the same movie on VOD do you think the one time purchase is going to be anywhere close to what they would get from even getting half of the money from 4 individual tickets? Not even close. Even if it is just a couple going to the movies your still cutting that in half with VOD. That and the simple fact people at home are not going to pay huge amounts for new releases so the profits go down even more.

Yours totally wrong on thinking the studios don't need the theaters.

The fact that Trolls World Tour made $100 million on rentals dispels the notion that at home won't pay. The theater has been dead for certain types of movies for a while now. When was the last time a drama, political thriller, psychological thillers been a box office success?

[luprki]

Your still missing the point. Even if they are making more by cutting out the middle man they are still losing out in sheer numbers. Say you have a family of 4 and go to the movies. You are buying 4 tickets. If you are buying the same movie on VOD do you think the one time purchase is going to be anywhere close to what they would get from even getting half of the money from 4 individual tickets? Not even close. Even if it is just a couple going to the movies your still cutting that in half with VOD. That and the simple fact people at home are not going to pay huge amounts for new releases so the profits go down even more.

Yours totally wrong on thinking the studios don't need the theaters.

The only sheer number that counts is in dollars. The amount of money will always win out over the amount of tickets.

[Jim Kelly]

Pre-COVID, a movie like TROLLS WORLD TOUR would have played in theatres for many weeks, making a significant amount around the world. There would have also been a lot of merchandise connected to the movie that would bring in even more profits. Then it would have been released for home viewing, piling up more geld.

Yes it made a significant amount as a home release, at a time when families are stuck inside and desperate for anything the kids can watch. But the accumulated total is less than what it could have expected before. And these conditions (hopefully) won't always exist--so home releases won't have the captive audience they have now.

[luprki]

The days of crowded movie theaters is over. This virus has changed our behaviour. Hollywood will always find a different way to make money, w/wo theaters. Except for the big blockbuster movies, the box office was already suffering. Movie theaters was a dying business, this virus just speeded up that process.

[Midvillian1322]

Anything short of a Block buster would have to seriously consider VOD or selling/moving to streaming after this. The problem is look what's happening with Universal. Two of the biggest theater chains are threatening to not play any of they're movies if they start releasing more of them VOD. Trolls was a best case scenario everyone was stuck at home and bored and it was a sequel to a massive hit. It would be an insane risk to release F9 or jurassic whatever the fu** they are on now to VOD. I mean we won't know until a proven blockbuster tries it. But as of now 100m was the best vod release. They need alot more then that for F9 or a superhero movie to justify skipping theaters. Who knows what's possible but people talking about it with certainty is funny to me.

[Jim Kelly]

The whole argument for capitalism rests on the proposition that free enterprise is the best way to get people to create new solutions to the world's problem. Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. So you have all these entrepreneurs who are supposed to be worth the billions they make because they are so good at inventing new things. Well, here's the challenge. All those brilliant billionaires have the chance to make something completely new that will generate greater profits. Surely some engineering genius can figure how to make a theatre experience where you are both able to view a movie with others yet still protected from infections.

[jetengine]

VOD will fall out when lockdowns end

[Starter Set]

The days of crowded movie theaters is over. This virus has changed our behaviour.

People sure love their drama, some weeks at home and everything should change. Well, no, old behaviors will go back, they always do. You aren't going to spend the rest of your life avoiding any group of people because of that and odds are that in 6 months it will be as if nothing happened.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I have no doubt whatsoever that people will return to multiplexes once the all clear is sounded. However, there won't be a flood of moviegoers at first, more like a cautious trickle, followed by a mild gurgle, then a steady stream. What happens from there is anyone's guess. It wouldn't surprise me if movie chains order ever other seat in theaters removed to promote social distancing, or limit attendance to say, 50 percent of capacity. It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

[Kintor]

People sure love their drama, some weeks at home and everything should change. Well, no, old behaviors will go back, they always do. You aren't going to spend the rest of your life avoiding any group of people because of that and odds are that in 6 months it will be as if nothing happened.

Fear isn't the motivating factor here, it’s the convenience of VOD over theatre. Maybe 20-30 years ago you could credibly argue that theatres offered the best viewing experience possible. These days though a 4K TV and a decent sound system is just as good if not better. Embracing VOD would finally bring Hollywood into line with other forms of entertainment, you can download new games or books day one of release and the same should be true of all movies as well.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Fear isn't the motivating factor here, it’s the convenience of VOD over theatre. Maybe 20-30 years ago you could credibly argue that theatres offered the best viewing experience possible. These days though a 4K TV and a decent sound system is just as good if not better. Embracing VOD would finally bring Hollywood into line with other forms of entertainment, you can download new games or books day one of release and the same should be true of all movies as well.

I beg to differ. Fear can NOT be discounted as a reason moviegoers have turned to VOD if people avoid going to the multiplex because they worry about being in a theater with someone who may or may not be asymptomatic, or who could have the virus and either not know it or not care. It's like playing Russian Roulette, but with just one empty chamber in the revolver instead of five. And, let's not kid ourselves, if Hollywood thinks they've got a monopoly on VOD, they can set whatever price they want for the service, either per movie or as a subscription, and that could be prohibitively expensive for some, if not most, after all, studios aren't going to earn back the cost of films they make from streaming alone. Speaking just for myself, I still enjoy the experience of going to the multiplex, especially when it comes to summer and winter blockbusters and look forward to going back when the all clear is sounded.

[Elmo]

Theaters are dead. Sorry :/

[choptop]

People sure love their drama, some weeks at home and everything should change. Well, no, old behaviors will go back, they always do. You aren't going to spend the rest of your life avoiding any group of people because of that and odds are that in 6 months it will be as if nothing happened.

I'm sorry but you have gotten very bad info it's going to take 6 months to to a year just to make the cure and another year to test it and get it out to the public and things haven't even started to get really bad yet reports are saying 80% of the world is going to be infected if we don't do something do you how many deaths that is? Even wean this is over everything is going to change people are not going to forget about this for a long time you say 6 months I hope you're right but it's more likely 2 to 3 years.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

The whole argument for capitalism rests on the proposition that free enterprise is the best way to get people to create new solutions to the world's problem. Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. So you have all these entrepreneurs who are supposed to be worth the billions they make because they are so good at inventing new things. Well, here's the challenge. All those brilliant billionaires have the chance to make something completely new that will generate greater profits. Surely some engineering genius can figure how to make a theatre experience where you are both able to view a movie with others yet still protected from infections.

Body condoms.

Where’s my paycheck?