Caught With Your Pants Down

First film to go d-and-d / in cinemas and via on-demand

Cinemas will have to cope with global day-and-date movie distribution - it's inevitable. Day-and-date release of first-run movies on a global basis is getting closer to reality.  Being pushed hard for by Netflix and other content streamers, who are now producing their own high-quality content. From Microsoft to the Hollywood studios the cinema industry is poised to make billions on what day-and-date distribution will bring to say nothing of the added benefit of being a piracy-killer.

How cinemas will cope with the loss of their current window of distribution exclusivity of first-run films is arguable. Those cinemas that embrace the change with expanded content alternatives, with new marketing and promotion, with outreach to local community, and in their presentation capabilities (which can not be replicated in consumers' living rooms) will prosper.  This assumes that cinemas have prepared and are able to present movies with the best on-screen image and sound possible.  In addition to being clean, patron-friendly, and have innovative, quality and priced-right concessions.

In a recent speech, Kevin Spacey - no stranger to the d-and-d concept - discussed his view on the subject, saying that "the simultaneous release of films at cinemas and on-demand would benefit both distribution formats and greatly assist in the battle against piracy."  The way movie distribution will evolve is that release will be at cinemas, on DVD, and on-demand via content streamers to TVs, Smartphones, and tablets. "People say, if you open a movie online at the same time as in cinemas, no one is going to go to the cinemas.  That's just not true. People love to go out and have a shared experience, they always will."

CMG  has always believed, and stated so in this blog, that movie distribution across all media formats at the same time and worldwide will happen.  That the amounts of money involved are just too great for the studios to ignore, that internet based companies would be producing content to do just that, and the desire to suppress piracy, would all join in to effect this change.  It is coming. Cinemas - don't be left with your pants down, start preparing NOW!

Jim
Please read the next CMG post which gives a perfect example of how movie exhibitors are harming themselves and others in the industry.