March 25, 2020 | With theaters closed in the U.S. and other markets globally, and people hunkered down at home in an effort to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, the major studios moved quickly in the past two weeks to accelerate the home releases of some titles. Strategies range from the simultaneous theatrical and premium VOD release being...
By Kelly Gilblom March 23, 2020 | Over the weekend, Universal Pictures’ “The Invisible Man” and Walt Disney Co.’s “Onward” were the two most popular movies to buy or rent on FandangoNow, an online service. Both were supposed to be exclusively in theaters for the next several weeks, but those plans were upended when most of the 40,000 U.S. theaters closed due...
March 23, 2020 | “We are running into the global arena faster than anybody,” Jeff Hirsch, Starz COO declared at a June 2019 conference. He was referring to the fact that the Starz digital platform will soon serve over 50 territories throughout the world. Starz is not alone in focusing on global growth; Roku reported, in its recent fourth quarter earnings...
Adapting to this rapidly changing environment requires the ability to quickly understand why viewers are engaging in content, beyond just traditional viewership metrics, and to interpret and adjust to those patterns in real-time. March 20, 2020 | The impact of the coronavirus has spread to every state and continent around the world (Antarctica is the only region spared thus far). Outbreaks are...
By Stephanie Prange March 20, 2020 | As consumers around the world stay home during the coronavirus crisis, The Digital Entertainment Group: Nordic Committee (DEGN) March 23 is launching “Mega Movie Week,” a cross-category campaign to drive consumer engagement with the digital transactional market. During “Mega Movie Week” DEGN members, including NBCUniversal, Nordisk Film, SF Studios, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Warner Bros....
By Georg Szalai March 16, 2020 | With stock markets battered by the coronavirus, and shares of entertainment giants hit hard, some on Wall Street have started wondering if cash-rich technology powerhouses could consider takeover offers for Hollywood companies. Rosenblatt Securities analyst Bernie McTernan in a Friday research report, for example, suggested that Apple, led by CEO Tim Cook, could consider acquiring the...
By Anousha Sakoui March 20, 2020 | While the world turns to Netflix for entertainment during the coronavirus crisis, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based streaming giant is lending a hand to workers who’ve lost their jobs from production cancellations. The company said it was creating a $100-million fund to provide emergency support to workers on its productions, including electricians, carpenters and drivers, said Ted...
By Kim Masters March 19, 2020 | As the global coronavirus pandemic has shut down movie theaters around the world, the film business faces a potentially transformative question: Should studios hold movies for a later, indefinitely postponed theatrical release or make them available as online attractions now? While NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures are offering films on a pay-per-view basis, media analyst Rich Greenfield...
Universal/Dreamworks Animation’s Trolls World Tour, which was scheduled to be the first theatrical comeback title down the road in the midst of the coronavirus climate on Easter weekend April 10, will now go day-and-date in homes and on the big-screen. By Anthony D'Alessandro March 16, 2020 | In an unprecedented crunch of the theatrical window as several markets across the U.S. close down in...
By Thomas K. Arnold March 13, 2020 | Movie release postponements as well as production suspensions for films and original SVOD series due to the mounting coronavirus health crisis will likely lead to significant shifts in the home release calendar for the rest of the year. With movies typically becoming available for disc or digital delivery three months or so after their theatrical...
