Understandably, there are a lot of fans out there hoping to see delayed films like
Black Widow,
Mulan, and
A Quiet Place: Part 2 released either digitally or on various streaming platforms, but it doesn't sound as if that's the plan for now.
In an official statement released by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) addressing the outbreak of COVID-19, they touched on the possibility of delayed films being released online and seemingly dismissed that ever happening (for reasons which sadly do make sense).
Here's the relevant excerpt:
Although there has been speculation in the media that the temporary closure of theaters will lead to accelerated or exclusive releases of theatrical titles to home streaming, such speculation ignores the underlying financial logic of studio investment in theatrical titles. To avoid catastrophic losses to the studios, these titles must have the fullest possible theatrical release around the world. While one or two releases may forgo theatrical release, it is our understanding from discussions with distributors that the vast majority of deferred releases will be rescheduled for theatrical release as life returns to normal.
From a financial standpoint, putting a big budget blockbuster either up for sale either on a Digital platform like iTunes or FandangoNOW would almost certainly result in major losses. It's certainly something we would like to see - especially now theaters are closed - but the fact NATO has got word from distributors also means this is more than mere speculation.
As a result, a move from films being distributed on the big screen to the small one isn't happening...yet. Should this pandemic last on a long-term basis, studios may have to change that, but they're obviously not going to put theaters out of business just a few weeks into an outbreak which will hopefully have been beaten at some point in the next year or so.
How do you guys feel about this news?