Movies AMC Will No Longer Play Universal Movies When Theaters Open Back Up, update: Regal joins fracas as well!

[skillzdadirecta]

Because Universal Released Trolls World Tour on V.O.D. and Made a Shit Ton of Money

 

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AMC Theaters says it will no longer show Universal Pictures releases when their cinemas finally reopen due to the studio's decision to release some of their movies early to VOD rather than wait to show them in theaters. The major theater chain blasted Universal following a report touting how well Trolls World Tour had done on VOD and the studio saying it sees this as a roadmap for other possible releases. With movie theaters shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic -- including AMC, which closed down in mid-March -- Universal opted to release their Trolls sequel digitally this month rather than wait to release it in cinemas later in the year or next year. It was a big gamble for Universal, as theater owners fumed over the studio's decision to ditch cinemas, but it reportedly paid off big time for the studio.

Mmmmm Salty...

 

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In a letter sent Tuesday from AMC Theatres chair-CEO Adam Aron to Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley, AMC said "Universal’s unilateral actions and intentions have left us with no choice. Therefore, effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theaters in the United States, Europe or the Middle East."  AMC's letter, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, went on to state: "This policy affects any and all Universal movies per se, goes into effect today and as our theaters reopen, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat. Incidentally, this policy is not aimed solely at Universal out of pique or to be punitive in any way, it also extends to any movie maker who unilaterally abandons current windowing practices absent good faith negotiations between us, so that they as distributor and we as exhibitor both benefit and neither are hurt from such changes. Currently, with the press comment today, Universal is the only studio contemplating a wholesale change to the status quo. Hence, this immediate communication in response." The reference to "any movie maker who unilaterally abandons current windowing practices" seems a not so thinly veiled dig at Warner Bros. for pivoting to release Scoob! to premium VOD instead of theatrically. AMC did go on to say in the letter that they are "willing to sit down with Universal to discuss different windows strategies and different economic models between your company and ours," but ultimately they found "Universal’s unilateral pronouncements on this issue (to be) unpalatable to us."

 

Universal's response

 

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Universal issued the following statement in response to AMC's letter: “Our goal in releasing Trolls: World Tour on PVOD was to deliver entertainment to people who are sheltering at home, while movie theatres and other forms of outside entertainment are unavailable. Based on the enthusiastic response to the film, we believe we made the right move. In fact, given the choice of not releasing Trolls: World Tour, which would not only have prevented consumers from experiencing the movie but also negatively impacted our partners and employees, the decision was clear. Our desire has always been to efficiently deliver entertainment to as wide an audience as possible. We absolutely believe in the theatrical experience and have made no statement to the contrary. As we stated earlier, going forward, we expect to release future films directly to theatres, as well as on PVOD when that distribution outlet makes sense. We look forward to having additional private conversations with our exhibition partners but are disappointed by this seemingly coordinated attempt from AMC and NATO to confuse our position and our actions.”

 

Hmmm... I'm curious to see how this plays out.

[HGLatinBoy]

They wouldn't dare do the same to Disney. Onward had a few showings that's true but it was quickly released to digital and Disney+ maybe its because universal went wa VOD rental versus Digital Sale that's got them all salty. AMC is not in a good shape watch this video. 

 

 

 

That's some stupid ass bullshit you're going to pass  up on Jurassic Park and Halloween over a stupid Trolls movie?

[skillzdadirecta]

6 minutes ago, HGLatinBoy said:

They wouldn't dare do the same to Disney. Onward had a few showings that's true but it was quickly released to digital and Disney+ maybe its because universal went wa VOD rental versus Digital Sale that's got them all salty. AMC is not in a good shape watch this video. 

 

 

 

That's some stupid ass bullshit you're going to pass  up on Jurassic Park and Halloween over a stupid Trolls movie?

 

Also The Fast and The Furious franchise and its spin-offs.

[Xbob42]

lol, imagine being a theater that has to explain why you're not showing current movies at your cinema like anybody who shows up to watch movies is going to give a shit, or as if they need more of an excuse to ditch the shitty theater experience outright.

[SoberChef]

Thanks @HGLatinBoyfor introducing me to that channel!

[Slug]

If this turns into a pissing contest, AMC is in for problems.  Universal is the second most successful studio of all time and Xfinity is the largest television and Internet service provider in the country.  Comcast owns both the production of the content and the widest distribution channel there is to deliver it.  They don't need AMC.  Hell, I can see Comcast working out theatrical release window distribution deals with other studios if the money makes sense.  AMC'd be in a corner then.  I hope they work it out because some movies deserve the theater treatment, but if it turns into a dick-sizing competition with Comcast, AMC is going lose.

[Spork3245]

Lol

I hope they release everything digitally to consumers on day one and all other studios see how much money Universal’s making and follow suit.

[DarkStar189]

I feel like a few weeks ago I was seeing headlines about how this coronavirus lock down could mean bankruptcy for AMC movie theaters.  Now they want to cut out a company as big as Universal? Good luck.... 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

This is the very definition of "cutting off your nose to spite your face".

[skillzdadirecta]

3 hours ago, DarkStar189 said:

I feel like a few weeks ago I was seeing headlines about how this coronavirus lock down could mean bankruptcy for AMC movie theaters.  Now they want to cut out a company as big as Universal? Good luck.... 

 

3 hours ago, Emperor Diocletian II said:

This is the very definition of "cutting off your nose to spite your face".

It's called desperation.

[Brian]

[TwinIon]

I seriously doubt they actually go through with this. I know they want to play hardball, but from what I can tell Universal isn't even doing anything particularly different or new.

 

This would also make me re-think my A-List membership.

[Dre801]

Regal has joined the party.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

37 minutes ago, Dre801 said:

Regal has joined the party.

They sure have!

[SoberChef]

So do two of the most powerful cinema chains just not want to be in business anymore or...?

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

3 minutes ago, SoberChef said:

So do two of the most powerful cinema chains just not want to be in business anymore or...?

If it was AMC standing alone, then I think Universal could probably flip 'em the bird.

 

Now that Regal has entered on AMC's side, I'm pretty sure Universal will have to give in.

[Bacon]

I have two theaters in my town. AMC and Regal.

[SoberChef]

11 minutes ago, Bacon said:

I have two theaters in my town. AMC and Regal.

Not a single drive-in!?

[Joe]

21 minutes ago, Emperor Diocletian II said:

If it was AMC standing alone, then I think Universal could probably flip 'em the bird.

 

Now that Regal has entered on AMC's side, I'm pretty sure Universal will have to give in.

 

Regal's decision is different and way more reasonable. They're just refusing to show movies that don't respect the window, not shunning an entire studio.

[johnny]

Regal wants that fast 9 money 

[IdeaOfEvil]

The music industry tried to fight off mp3's when they first showed up, and look how well that went for record labels... It's only a matter of time until theater chains have to change with the times unless they want to go completely out of business.

[CitizenVectron]

The entire idea of exclusivity periods and all that are just dumb. Let studios release films in all formats at the same time and let consumers view them as they want. There are some films I would rather see in theatres for the experience, and others I would rather watch at home. I get why theatres don't like that, believing that people will just stay home...but it's anti-consumer, so I don't care.

[Bacon]

1 hour ago, SoberChef said:

Not a single drive-in!?

Nope.

 

I still went to a good amount of drive-ins as a kid. Mainly to the Skyview Drive-In in PA. I can't say I miss going to them. I mean, the main reason is that it was so far away, but the quality of your vehicle also plays a big part as well. I don't hate them at all tho. I had some good times. Saw Harold and Kumar there and that a great to watch as a middle schooler. That was the second feature after some other movie. That was also an issue. It'd take an hour to get there, 4+ hours of sitting in the car matching movies, and then another hour to get home. It would be like 2 in the morning when we'd get home. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, CitizenVectron said:

The entire idea of exclusivity periods and all that are just dumb.

This isn’t true. There are lots of reasons to have some exclusive periods in any number of ways and a lot of it has to do with marketing. For example, platforming smaller films where you get the film in front of the so-called tastemakers in places like NYC and LA. Building WOM is a good strategy for a lot of products, whereas just dumping something out to as many outlets as possible can very well leave it getting no attention.

 

You can even see this with the way that Netflix dumping all episodes of a TV show at once results in flashes of success (I haven’t seen a Tiger King meme in a couple of weeks!) whole Disney released Mandalorian over a couple of months and continued to build its audience.

 

But there is no sense in having a blanket exclusivity policy for movie content and it’s something that was destined to end at some point. 
 

4 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

 

It's called desperation.

 

It’s actually their standard issue move for the last 30 years in regards to window busting. It’s been pretty successful, but it’s time for both theaters and movie studios to evolve.

[ort]

This is like how every 3 or 4 years the local sports network and the cable company fight and they put up big nasty notes on every broadcast that they are going away and to call the cable company... but no one ever goes away... it's all a game of chicken.

 

They are like 2 drunk frat guys puffing out their chests and yelling, you wanna go, you wanna do something? Throw a punch bro, throw a punch!

[skillzdadirecta]

On 4/30/2020 at 1:46 PM, ort said:

This is like how every 3 or 4 years the local sports network and the cable company fight and they put up big nasty notes on every broadcast that they are going away and to call the cable company... but no one ever goes away... it's all a game of chicken.

 

They are like 2 drunk frat guys puffing out their chests and yelling, you wanna go, you wanna do something? Throw a punch bro, throw a punch!

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

On 4/29/2020 at 1:53 PM, TwinIon said:

I seriously doubt they actually go through with this. I know they want to play hardball, but from what I can tell Universal isn't even doing anything particularly different or new.

 

This would also make me re-think my A-List membership.

They’re doing it because Universal doesn’t have anything big for a bit. If the next Fast and Furious or Jurassic World movie was due out in June, AMC wouldn’t have said a damn thing. 

[Keyser_Soze]

On 4/29/2020 at 4:11 PM, sblfilms said:

 (I haven’t seen a Tiger King meme in a couple of weeks!)

 

Oh, you haven't been looking hard enough then.

[number305]

I get the social aspect of movie theaters. I also know that for a long time they were needed. With today's technology I just don't see much use for them. I have a feeling that kids in 50 years will be laughing at the fact we had to leave home to watch a movie. There will probably always be special gatherings to show some cinema, but I think the way we have been doing things is going to evolve pretty soon. 

[Reputator]

2 minutes ago, number305 said:

I get the social aspect of movie theaters. I also know that for a long time they were needed. With today's technology I just don't see much use for them. I have a feeling that kids in 50 years will be laughing at the fact we had to leave home to watch a movie. There will probably always be special gatherings to show some cinema, but I think the way we have been doing things is going to evolve pretty soon. 

 

This is probably true. There have been few instances in history where people haven't chosen convenience over quality, and the theater experience is the epitome of that. But then the social aspect can be a huge detriment to the experience, depending on the day. As you said, the technology is such that the theater experience isn't much of an advantage, and I mean you can get 4k 50" TVs for under $300, and some people even employ projectors at home. And the sound quality you can achieve at home can easily surpass what theaters have to offer, if you have deep enough pockets and do enough research.

[SimpleG]

5 minutes ago, number305 said:

I get the social aspect of movie theaters. I also know that for a long time they were needed. With today's technology I just don't see much use for them. I have a feeling that kids in 50 years will be laughing at the fact we had to leave home to watch a movie

This wont happen

I absolute hate going to the movies. My daughter is 22 and her friends will often go up to 3 times a week. My great nephews have been raised since birth on streaming, going to the movies is the second coming of Christ for these kids.

[Nokt]

2 minutes ago, Reputator said:

This is probably true. There have been few instances in history where people haven't chosen convenience over quality, and the theater experience is the epitome of that. But then the social aspect can be a huge detriment to the experience, depending on the day. As you said, the technology is such that the theater experience isn't much of an advantage, and I mean you can get 4k 50" TVs for under $300, and some people even employ projectors at home. And the sound quality you can achieve at home can easily surpass what theaters have to offer, if you have deep enough pockets and do enough research.

I would argue that while there is technology out there that rivals or beats what is available in a movie theater, the average household wouldn't have a setup that would rival the experience.

All of my evidence is purely anecdotal though, its really just my opinion. It would be hard for me to say that sitting in someones basement watching interstellar vs IMAX would even be comparable. They would indeed have to have some pretty deep pockets. Social aspect can definitely ruin the experience, most recently ruined Your Name for me, however long ago that came out. Its vastly in the minority though as most people are pretty sensible, at least around my area.

[Keyser_Soze]

29 minutes ago, number305 said:

I get the social aspect of movie theaters. I also know that for a long time they were needed. With today's technology I just don't see much use for them. I have a feeling that kids in 50 years will be laughing at the fact we had to leave home to watch a movie. There will probably always be special gatherings to show some cinema, but I think the way we have been doing things is going to evolve pretty soon. 

 

In 50 years movies will be like full room holograms and going to the theater will involve immersing yourself in all of it. Not everyone can afford that hologram setup at home and theaters will have the best way to experience it.

[Guest]

There is literally nothing at home that rivals a Dolby Vision projector and Atmos combination. Home Atmos pales in comparison for the audio component. OLED is slightly better at blacks, but worse on color reproduction than the DV projector.

 

But there is very little evidence that people go to the theater for the AV experience.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, sblfilms said:

There is literally nothing at home that rivals a Dolby Vision projector and Atmos combination.

 

Except your home!