12/3/2020 The Day BO Died. RIP Movie Theaters

[titanic2187]

i don't get the all these streaming strategy, just how many account you need to subscribe when all studio shifted their content to online?

 

Netflix, amazon, disney plus, HBO max, your monthly subscription fee could end up higher than cinema ticket. Worst of all, you are not free to choose what movie you want to watch

[Fullbuster]

10 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

The problem isn't the business model, but what type of films get greenlit.  You really think $200m tentpoles are gonna get greenlit if there isn't the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

 

Maybe they will be.  But there are quite a few people smarter than me when it comes to finances that are very skeptical that the current blockbuster model can transition to streaming.

 

So you maybe be able to enjoy movies from the comfort of your couch (as you said in a prior post), just not uber-blockbuster movies.

 

That really is the 157m dollar question, isn't it?  Can massive blockbusters still be made and turn the profit that studios expect them to.

 

That's a fair assumption, and I don't pretend I have the answer to that.

However, isn't it fair to expect that the growing offer from these platforms + international expansion + higher prices will lead to these platforms being viable for blockbusters on the long run? Maybe it's delicate now, too early...but what about in a few years?

Edited December 4, 2020 by Fullbuster

[Fullbuster]

3 minutes ago, titanic2187 said:

i don't get the all these streaming strategy, just how many account you need to subscribe when all studio shifted their content to online?

 

Netflix, amazon, disney plus, HBO max, your monthly subscription fee could end up higher than cinema ticket. Worst of all, you are not free to choose what movie you want to watch

 

People will just choose 1 or 2 depending on what is offered.

Look at me for example: I only have Disney+ and don't intend to pay for other platforms because I have this offer targeting me at the best price and tons of content to see.

[cax16]

14 minutes ago, titanic2187 said:

i don't get the all these streaming strategy, just how many account you need to subscribe when all studio shifted their content to online?

 

Netflix, amazon, disney plus, HBO max, your monthly subscription fee could end up higher than cinema ticket. Worst of all, you are not free to choose what movie you want to watch

I have Netflix/amazon/Disney and hbo. It all depends what your priorities are and what families/people do with their money. We love watching movies as a family and love the theatre as well but we don’t feel safe going now and won’t be going till late 2021 at the earliest. 

[Porthos]

19 minutes ago, Fullbuster said:

 

That's a fair assumption, and I don't pretend I have the answer to that.

However, isn't it fair to expect that the growing offer from these platforms + international expansion + higher prices will lead to these platforms being viable for blockbusters on the long run? Maybe it's delicate now, too early...but what about in a few years?

 

I'll just say I am skeptical, especially if physical media continues to die off.

 

Like, take the concerns in this thread about the plethora of streaming services. Raise the prices too much and have too many competitors and... Well, you said it yourself, you only have D+ at the moment.  How many other folks are just gonna look at their platform of choice and say "Eh, I have enough options"?

 

You compared this to streaming music services in a prior post.  But how much music is exclusive?  Not part of the music scene, but as I check things out looks like exclusivity keeps trying to come back only to die off as people just don't want to do that.

 

And that's the basic problem with the streaming vs box office model.  How many folks are just gonna be satisfied with their own service and perhaps one other and instead of checking out WW84 in theaters, hop over to a friends house to watch it with the person who has HBO Max?

 

It's not the overall money out there, but how many ways its split.  Shift from box office to streaming and it is absolutely not a guarantee that the WBs of the world continue to see the same revenues as the market matures.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Porthos

[charlie Jatinder]

2 hours ago, Fullbuster said:

 

I remember when people were saying streaming had no future for music and when they said digital had no future in gaming

Majority people pirate

 

Songs

Films

Games

 

When the alternate is free, no matter how easily available does these all become, people will prefer free.

[titanic2187]

I can never paid for streaming for that little tiny screen.....Size matters too much for me

[MrGamer]

[The Panda]

Victory for the common people!

 

[MrGamer]

8 minutes ago, The Panda said:

Victory for the common people!

 

[lorddemaxus]

3 hours ago, Fullbuster said:

 

I remember when people were saying streaming had no future for music and when they said digital had no future in gaming. And no it's just dominating in both cases.

 

Asia will follow suit, possibly with local alternatives at first. This business model is just too appealng on the long run....I know, you'll say "piracy" but piracy never prevented industries from being profitable and these countries might crack down on it even further on the long run.

 

Don't count on Asia beyond 2025.

Nah, streaming has no future by itself. Even less on HBO Max than it would on D+. All these studios still need theatrical.

 

This isn't at all comparable to music moving to streaming or gaming going digital. Going to the cinemas is more like going to the concert. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by lorddemaxus

[eddyxx]

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

 

The problem isn't the business model, but what type of films get greenlit.  You really think $200m tentpoles are gonna get greenlit if there isn't the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

 

Maybe they will be.  But there are quite a few people smarter than me when it comes to finances that are very skeptical that the current blockbuster model can transition to streaming.

 

So you maybe be able to enjoy movies from the comfort of your couch (as you said in a prior post), just not uber-blockbuster movies.

 

That really is the 157m dollar question, isn't it?  Can massive blockbusters still be made and turn the profit that studios expect them to.

Romcoms and low budget comedy movies lying in wait like

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by eddyxx

[Mango]

I feel immensely bad for independent theater owners right now. This is a deathblow for the chains as well as all of their managers/employees but specifically so for independent theater owners. 

 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I haven't seen a ton of information on Disney's release of Mulan (admittedly at $30 it probably wasn't going TOO high) but it obviously wasn't a huge enough success for them to immediately put Black Widow and a lot of their 2021 releases on there. So clearly the number crunchers at Disney still see some need for theatrical releases. But it isn't like Tenet or any of the other recent theatrical releases did any better. 

 

I understand studios taking whatever measures to try and keep a profit in the past year, as everyone else is doing, but I can't help but just see this as greed on AT&T's part. They want that HBO Max subscriber base up, and are willing to sell out theaters in order to get it. I'm not sure if that is a wholly warranted reaction, but it's on my mind nonetheless. 

 

I love the theater-going experience and certainly hope there is some way that it survives this, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I don't know all the ramifications of a potential "simultaneous streaming release" plan will have on the industry, for both the business and creative sides, but whatever it will be, will be incredibly different I imagine.  

[The Panda]

22 hours ago, MrGamer said:

 

[The Panda]

22 hours ago, MrGamer said:

[SLAM!]

Audiences ditching theaters for streaming be like:

 

[Noctis]

Box office, aside from some films here and there, has lost its gleam for quite a while. But yes, with the destruction of theaters and the hideous site BOM has become, my interest in BO decreased enormously. But with studios' movies now all moving to streaming? Yeah, box office as we know it is dead. 

 

The one we knew is definitely dead. Film will always be important to me, but I have not been nearly as invested in it as I once was. Not even close. 

 

But it's truly a shame that box office prediction is essentially done. 

[CJohn]

It is the end of an era for sure. I didn't expect theaters to end before homevideo yet here we are. Theaters are beyond over. I fully expect Disney to announce the same strategy for their release schedule next Thursday, and a full overhaul to Disney+ in order to include rated R content and other type of contet, like Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy or The Good Doctor, which isn't there right now. If they do this, I will sign to Disney+ in the same moment.

Edited December 5, 2020 by CJohn

[lorddemaxus]

It's more likely that WarnerMedia gets ripped apart within the next year than cinemas dying.

[Fullbuster]

19 minutes ago, Noctis said:

Box office, aside from some films here and there, has lost its gleam for quite a while. But yes, with the destruction of theaters and the hideous site BOM has become, my interest in BO decreased enormously. But with studios' movies now all moving to streaming? Yeah, box office as we know it is dead. 

 

The one we knew is definitely dead. Film will always be important to me, but I have not been nearly as invested in it as I once was. Not even close. 

 

But it's truly a shame that box office prediction is essentially done. 

 

14 minutes ago, CJohn said:

It is the end of an era for sure. I didn't expect theaters to end before homevideo yet here we are. Theaters are beyond over. I fully expect Disney to announce the same strategy for their release schedule next Thursday, and a full overhaul to Disney+ in order to include rated R content and other type of contet, like Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy or The Good Doctor, which isn't there right now. If they do this, I will sign to Disney+ in the same moment.

 

It was nice tracking these movies with all of you since 2012, some very exciting moment. We didn't know it back then but Avengers Endgame was the peak of box office as we know, and Frozen 2 too for animated movies.

 

That doesn't mean there won't be amazing stuff to track though, the number of views for shows and the subscription war for example. We won't get detailed stuff as it's under control from streaming companies but that'll be a new way to do things.

 

I also hope these forums don't die with the Box Office, talking about movies and streaming stuff can be very cool too, I have a twitter account if I want but you guys bring interesting perspectives.