Free Guy and Don't Breathe 2 open this weekend but I'm gonna pass on both of them. Not feeling compelled to head out to the theater for those. I'll see them both on home video. I do have a buddy that went to a press screening of Don't Breathe 2 and he said it sucked. He liked Free Guy, though.
Free Guy and Don't Breathe 2 open this weekend but I'm gonna pass on both of them. Not feeling compelled to head out to the theater for those. I'll see them both on home video. I do have a buddy that went to a press screening of Don't Breathe 2 and he said it sucked. He liked Free Guy, though.
Free Guy and Don't Breathe 2 open this weekend but I'm gonna pass on both of them. Not feeling compelled to head out to the theater for those. I'll see them both on home video. I do have a buddy that went to a press screening of Don't Breathe 2 and he said it sucked. He liked Free Guy, though.
I already have tickets for Free Guy on Saturday. Would like to catch Don't Breathe 2 as well.
The thing that kind of killed theaters for my family was when theaters went to reserved seating in my area. We generally decide to go to the theaters on a whim and so a few times we basically would say oh lets go to the movie look up a movie that will start in a half hour and see if it has any good seats. It generally would not have good seats so we would just skip it. Also the few times we did find a movie at the right time with the right seats open we would get their and generally somebody would have sat in our spots anyway...
Between the increased price and the pain that is reserved seating it really just wasn't worth the effort. I don't mind showing up to a show a bit early to get a decent seat but I'm not planning days ahead for a decent seat.
The thing that kind of killed theaters for my family was when theaters went to reserved seating in my area. We generally decide to go to the theaters on a whim and so a few times we basically would say oh lets go to the movie look up a movie that will start in a half hour and see if it has any good seats. It generally would not have good seats so we would just skip it. Also the few times we did find a movie at the right time with the right seats open we would get their and generally somebody would have sat in our spots anyway...
Between the increased price and the pain that is reserved seating it really just wasn't worth the effort. I don't mind showing up to a show a bit early to get a decent seat but I'm not planning days ahead for a decent seat.
Sorry, but reserved seating is one of the greatest inventions in theater movie going. What a pain in the ass to coordinate a bunch of people showing up (late usually) and try to secure seating. At least with reserved seating you buy it and your seats are secured. It's efficiency at its best. If folks can't figure out whether they want to watch a movie at the last minute then they're better off staying home or doing something else.
The CEO said during an earnings call that "hundreds of talent arrangements" have been made that have "by and large gone very smoothly."
Quote:
Citing the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek on Thursday defended his company’s decision to release certain films — including Black Widow — simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.
He further revealed that the company has “entered into hundreds of talent arrangements” that have “by and large gone very smoothly.”
“These films were conceived during a time when … we certainly didn’t know about COVID,” Chapek told Wall Street analysts. “Just like what we’ve done many times before, we’ve found ways to fairly compensate our talent so that, no matter what, everyone feels satisfied.”
One person, however, who doesn’t feel satisfied is Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson. Chapek didn’t mention the movie, or Johansson, by name.
In a bombshell lawsuit filed in late July, the actress alleged that the Walt Disney Co. breached her contract when sending the Marvel superhero pic to Disney+ Premier Access at the same time it debuted in theaters.
Marvel’s Black Widow is among numerous event movies that have taken a “day-and-date” approach amid the COVID-19 pandemic, whether from Disney or Warner Bros. via HBO Max. (WarnerMedia has said publicly it has paid talent more than $200 million in lieu of box office backends.)
Disney’s slate of hybrid releases also includes Cruella, Raya and the Last Dragon and, most recently, Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
The next two releases from Disney’s film studio are receiving an exclusive theatrical release for 45 days: Free Guy, which opens Friday, and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Sept. 3).
Chapek said the studio is sticking to its plan for those two films, despite a dramatic resurgence of COVID-19 cases that are largely due to the delta variant. Three months ago, he said, no one knew that the pandemic would grow worse again.
He’s hardly the only worried Hollywood executive as the box office recovery stalls. Earlier on Thursday, Sony delayed the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage from September to October (Venom might not be the last early fall event pic to move).
In general, he said the company values “flexibility” during uncertain times, and that making decisions on a film-by-film basis is the correct course.
“Both Bob Iger and I determined this was the right strategy. And, just to reiterate, distribution decisions are made on a film by film basis. We will continue to utilize all options going forward.”
Chapek added that a 45-day exclusive theatrical window for Free Guy — starring Ryan Reynolds — and Shang-Chi will be an interesting experiment. Disney inherited Free Guy when taking over 20th Century Fox. (Chapek said the company didn’t have the same freedom in terms of changing its release pattern.)
Johansson’s complaint says Disney sacrificed the movie’s box office potential in order to grow its streaming service, Disney+, which hit 116 million subscribers as of July 3.
Black Widow — whose release was delayed more than a year amid the COVID-19 crisis — opened in early July in theaters around the globe as well as on Disney+ Premier Access for an additional $30. Disney took the unusual step of announcing Disney+ revenue over the film’s opening weekend, saying it had earned $60 million.
Johansson’s lawsuit, filed July 29 in Los Angeles Superior Court, states that Black Widow had been guaranteed a wide theatrical release when Johansson signed her deal with Marvel. According to the complaint, Disney tortiously interfered with that deal for its own advantage.
“On information and belief, the decision to do so was made at least in part because Disney saw the opportunity to promote its flagship subscription service using the Picture and Ms. Johansson, thereby attracting new paying monthly subscribers, retaining existing ones, and establishing Disney+ as a must-have service in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” the complaint states.
Later on July 29, Disney blasted the complaint as having no merit: “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”
“Obviously, this world has been disrupted by COVID and we are all reacting to a very fluid situation,” Chapek said Thursday on the earnings call.
So HBO still hybrid though rest of 2021, but Disney is changing as text in bold states.
I will be very happy to support the cinema when it is safe for me to do so. Until then, I will just have to express my love for movies by buying them on disc.
Cinema and the Movie Industry is going through a big change, and Streaming seems to be on the rise. John Campea has a good Video on AMC troubles, they are trying to increase Investor interest but their direction is not clear. Increase ticket prices, concession pricing, and less show times are some of the items.
Indoor venues and other public establishments in New York City will soon require patrons to show they've been immunized against COVID-19. Los Angeles is considering the same rule.
Quote:
When New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced Aug. 3 that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 will be required for indoor activities — including movie theaters — cinema owners remained silent.
Behind the scenes, the National Association of Theatre Owners began consulting with its members. An alarming surge in cases in many parts of the country due to the delta variant has left the box office recovery disrupted as half the U.S. population remain unvaccinated.
NATO has decided not to take a position either way on the looming New York City ordinance, and won’t object. Nor is it trying to block the proposed L.A. rule.
“In order for the exhibition industry to fully recover, we need more people to be vaccinated. It’s pure science. The rates of shots had went quite well for a while in the U.S. and then they dropped off. We need them to keep going,” National Association of Theatre Owners president John Fithian tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Locally per CNN
Quote:
San Francisco became the the first major US city to mandate proof of full vaccinations for certain indoor activities Thursday.
City residents age 12 and older will now be required to show proof they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to enter indoor restaurants, bars, gyms and theaters, as well as large event spaces with at least 1,000 people, according to an announcement from Mayor London Breed.
So get used to theaters mandating proof of full vaccination like other businesses now that delta is most evident with the unvaccinated.
Disney Studios Q3 Content Sales, Licensing Revenue, Income Falls
Quote:
The Walt Disney Co. Aug. 12 said its studio “content sales/licensing and other” business segment saw third-quarter revenue of $1.7 billion, down 23% from revenue of $2.2 billion during the previous-year period. Operating income decreased 58 % to $132 million from operating income of $314.2 million last year.
Disney said the decrease in operating income was due to lower home entertainment and theatrical distribution results. The decrease in home entertainment was due to lower unit sales of new release titles, reflecting the performance of Raya and the Last Dragon and Soul in the current quarter compared to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Frozen II, Onward, Call of the Wild and Ford v. Ferrari in the prior-year quarter, along with lower catalog sales.
Disney’s first Premier Access release — Mulan — is the studio’s top-selling new release in 2021 with $4.4 million in combined SDVD/Blu-ray Disc unit sales.
Notably, Soul was released free to Disney+ subscribers on Christmas Day 2020, and made available on packaged media March 23. Raya and the Last Dragon was offered into traditional retail channels on May 18 — two months after its box office/Disney+ debut.
Disney reiterated that movies available for distribution in the home entertainment window have been impacted by the production delays and fewer theatrical releases since the onset of the pandemic.
The decrease in theatrical distribution results was primarily due to higher marketing expense for future releases and lower operating income from titles in release. Cruella was released in the current quarter, whereas there were no titles released in the prior-year quarter.
Never seen any Alien movies so I'm pretty excited. Had to import Prometheus since it wasn't released with a slipcover in the US.
Watched Jurassic World on UHD yesterday and loved it. Will be watching the sequel soon. Still have yet to see a movie with a lot of overhead effects but hoping that one will have it.
I would start the Alien movies with Alien.
If you are evading Alien because you can't find a slip cover let me know, .... I may have a slip ... maybe from the DVD or Blu if the 4K didn't come with one. I just throw them all in a box ... could be damaged but likely still good.
Never seen any Alien movies so I'm pretty excited. Had to import Prometheus since it wasn't released with a slipcover in the US.
Watched Jurassic World on UHD yesterday and loved it. Will be watching the sequel soon. Still have yet to see a movie with a lot of overhead effects but hoping that one will have it.
Alien and Aliens are fantastic films, I would really go all out to grab those if I were you.
Cinema and the Movie Industry is going through a big change, and Streaming seems to be on the rise. John Campea has a good Video on AMC troubles, they are trying to increase Investor interest but their direction is not clear. Increase ticket prices, concession pricing, and less show times are some of the items.
Don't talk to me about streaming right now; I have another internet service tech visit scheduled for tomorrow due to my reliably unreliable service.
Sorry to hear about your troubles, but yes for good Streaming you need reliable Internet Access. With the new Infrastructure Bill there should be some money for ISP's to provide FTTP. I have always said that Fiber is the Gold Standard!
Sorry, but reserved seating is one of the greatest inventions in theater movie going. What a pain in the ass to coordinate a bunch of people showing up (late usually) and try to secure seating. At least with reserved seating you buy it and your seats are secured. It's efficiency at its best. If folks can't figure out whether they want to watch a movie at the last minute then they're better off staying home or doing something else.
I will say I've been pleasantly surprised that our closest theater does assigned seating and I've yet to go in and have anyone in our seats. Seems a lot less disruptions of people trying to find other members of their party, etc. Everyone acts surprisingly and pleasantly like grown-ups.
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