Both Universal and AMC Are Wrong Regarding VOD Releases
Under the circumstances, the success of ‘Trolls World Tour’ is being misjudged by both its studio and theater chains.
If you had told me at this time last year that the biggest story coming from the film industry would revolve around Trolls World Tour, I would have laughed you out of the room. Yet, here we are.
The sequel to Universal’s Trolls was set to hit theaters on April 10. That of course, didn’t happen as theaters began to shut down in masses by the end of March. Now, the next wide theatrical release is Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, which is still optimistically holding onto its July 17 release date. Universal, hoping to make some money during a time when studios are desperate for profit, decided to release Trolls World Tour on paid-video-on-demand (PVOD) on the day it was supposed to be released in theaters. The end result was massive profit.
In the three weeks that Trolls World Tour has been available to rent, the film has made almost $100 million in rental fees, a staggering accomplishment that exceeded expectations. As this information was released, NBC-Universal CEO Jeff Shell also made the claim that when theaters opened up, Universal would look at releasing its films both theatrically and on PVOD. This prompted theater chain AMC’s CEO Adam Aron to announce a ban of Universal films at all AMC locations.
Here’s the thing. Neither one of these companies win if they stick to their guns. Both companies have taken this situation as the new normal — but COVID-19 isn’t going to keep us all home forever (though the Karens of the world are trying to make it so). Vaccinations are being worked on; we could potentially get herd immunity as we have from the common cold and influenza viruses. Movie theaters will open again, and when they do, both Universal and AMC will find that they’re both in the wrong here.
What Universal fails to realize is that most kids are not in school or daycare currently, as their parents are also home. They might be looking for something to keep the kids occupied while they’re trying to do the whole “work from home” thing. One rental of Trolls World Tour is $19.99 — which is cheaper than taking the whole family — but that rental only gives you access to the film for 48 hours after you start watching it. I don’t know about you all, but when I was a kid, if I liked a movie, I was hooked.
And I’m not talking “hooked” like, “Oh, man, I should watch that once a week.” I’m talking “hooked” as in “Mom, I know it’s only been five months, but my VHS of the Lion King now has those weird fuzzies all across the top half of the screen. Can we please get a new one?” Or however four-year-olds speak.
The truth is, the people that are renting Trolls World Tour for their kids have likely rented it multiple times. After all, it’s still cheaper than going to the theater, and it’s not like they’re getting that Starbucks coffee every day right now. Sure, there’s a novelty in renting a film that’s technically still “in theaters,” but that novelty is more appealing to kids and families.
You don’t see Universal reporting similar numbers for The Invisible Man or The Hunt, two genre flicks marketed solely to adults available to rent for the same price. It’s not like Bloodshot is putting up any impressive numbers, and you can actually own that one for twenty bucks. Disney’s early release of Onward made that film trend for days, and it climbed back into the trending topics a few weeks later when it premiered on Disney+. Even Despicable Me, a film that’s an entire decade old, was number one in the US the day it premiered on Netflix.
It’s simple; families are home together right now, and they are searching for family entertainment. Most parents aren’t going to put on The Invisible Man with small children around, but they might rent it after the kids are put to bed. I have no reason to doubt that Trolls World Tour made the bonkers money it did. But what happens when those parents go back to work? When the kids have activities like sports and concerts, and are able to play with friends again? There will be less time to sit around and watch a movie together. It’s sad, but it’s also true. VOD will be less novel. It will be less of an option.
Universal is certainly putting the cart before the horse here. One success does not make a trend, especially in the ever-evolving situation we find ourselves in. But that only makes AMC’s response just as baffling, if not more.
Currently, AMC is struggling. They’ve furloughed many employees and filed for a $500 million dollar loan to keep from going bankrupt. As a company, it is struggling big time. Why would their solution be to ban an entire major studio’s films from their theaters?
Let’s look at the releases Universal has coming up in the next year or so (assuming everything right now stays as is on the release schedule). Halloween Kills, No Time to Die, F9, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Jurassic World: Dominion, and those are only a few of the many. This doesn’t even include the many low budget-high return genre films that Blumhouse has coming, or a few more animated sequels to Universal’s family friendly hits. Disney might have a rather large chunk of IP, but Universal’s franchise game is strong, and a struggling theater chain would be insane to turn that money away.
Even if theatrical releases are paired with VOD rentals, people will still go to the movie theater. It’s an experience that is impossible to replicate at home. People will still want to see spectacle on the biggest screen they possibly can, and while many families will likely still utilize the VOD platform as a cheaper option, there’s still something to be said for the people that will want to get out of the house when all of this is over. I sure as hell won’t be watching No Time to Die on the 40'’ television in my living room.
AMC’s response to Universal feels a lot like the drunk guy at a party that gets heated, says something he doesn’t mean to his friend, and calls the next day to apologize. On the other hand, Universal doesn’t need to get cocky after a singular success. They’re both acting like children, and need to chill out a bit. Yes, the industry is changing. Yes, it’s scary for a lot of people working in it. But streaming has already had its chance to kill the theatrical experience. It didn’t, and it’s not going to. The theatrical experience isn’t going anywhere.
For the love of movies, please keep social distancing so I can see Halloween Kills on the biggest screen possible in October.
