COVID-19 has had an impact on pretty much everything, and Hollywood has definitely undergone some significant changes. While theater chains have reacted with fury over the decision to have movies debut on Digital platforms during this period (AMC Theaters have banned future Universal Pictures releases after what happened with Trolls World Tour), it seems they'll be at the mercy of studios moving forward.
Deadline spoke to Wall Street Analyst Robert Fishman, and he believes that, "this time is different in that all of the major studios are likely to be more aggressive with windowing strategies."
"As long as multiple studios push forward with PVOD or some other form of window changes, the balance of power in favor of studios shifts even more in their favor and reduces the leverage the exhibitors have as they would be unlikely to boycott multiple studios’ upcoming releases." Now, theaters will just have to accept that the traditional 90-day theatrical window is a thing of the past.
Fishman believes that, "the standard 90-day 'dark period' between theatrical release and home video is an inefficient period that studios can no longer afford." As a result, he expects all the major studios to start experimenting with a shorter window between theatrical and Digital releases as they look to counter the fact 2020's domestic box office looks set to plunge by a massive 50%.
While Black Widow is set to be released in theaters on November 6th, it sounds like we could end up being able to watch that movie at home sooner than you might think.
"While we still expect all of their tentpoles to premiere on the big screen, we think Disney could continue to be more aggressive in shortening the window between the theatrical debut and when the movie hits Disney+."
Needless to say, it's clear that things will never be the same again after COVID-19...
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