Revenge of the Trolls?
One of Kansas City’s last remaining corporate titans is fighting for its life…
The venerable AMC Theatres – founded by local movie visionary Stan Durwood – is going toe-to-toe with Universal Studios, one of Hollywood’s most distinguished moviemakers.
“The movie theater industry can’t afford the fight AMC just picked,” reads one headline. “Movie theaters need film studios more than the studios need theaters,” reads another.
Unfortunately for the local good guys, both headlines are correct.
The sad reality being that not just AMC – but movie theaters in general – could be one of the biggest permanent victims of the coronavirus pandemic.
The closing of theaters has forced moviemakers to hold back blockbusters like the new James Bond, Fast and Furious and Mulan.
So Universal decided to release its Trolls World Tour as a $19.99 rental, which thus far has grossed nearly $100 million and become the biggest digital movie release ever.
Much to AMC and exhibiters like Regal and Cinemark’s chagrin.
“Trolls was anticipated to be one of the big spring movies,” says KC Confidential movie man Jack Poessiger. “So I think it would have done about the same money at the box office had all the theaters not been closed. But it performed well on pay-per-view – better than might have been expected – and normally movies don’t release their pay-per-view numbers. In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever seen it.”
AMC wasn’t about to take it sitting down – especially after the head of Universal said,”As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”
In other words, at the exact same time – or as they say in the movie biz – “day and date.”
The standard procedure has been to release blockbuster films in theaters first, prior to easing them into pay-per-view and dvd months later.
That prompted AMC to say that under those circumstances, it would no longer screen Universal movie offerings.
Think of it as a wildly dangerous game of chicken – one that if it backfires and more movie studios follow Universal’s lead, could result in AMC taking a bullet.
Face it, who these days doesn’t have a humongous screen and surround sound system in their home?
Which not only makes it pretty easy to not just social distance, but also to save a ton of time and money, while watching movies at a time of your choosing.
Part off the irony being that KC-based, AMC is wholly owned by a Chinese company, the country that unleashed the coronavirus on the world.
The $64 billion question being, who will blink first, Universal or AMC?
The jury’s out, Poessiger says.
“Many in the industry think that releasing a movie on the big screen first, elevates it when it comes out later on pay-per-view, streaming or dvd,” he says. “That it adds a higher value. That a theatrical run – even if it loses a little money – can act as a trailer for the film on pay-per-view and dvd.”
Stay tuned…
I met Durwood a few times. I thought he was a pretty nice guy, but, I always wondered if he stole that toupee from Marv Albert. It was B.A.D.
Warren Buffet probably dumped all his AMC stock the day after he dumped all of his airline stock, if not, he should.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/30/amc-entertainments-has-more-than-a-covid-19-proble.aspx
“The company’s two main revenue drivers are admissions (60% of 2019 revenue) and food/beverage (31%). Admission revenue was soft, while food and beverage revenue rose due in part to price increases and menu changes. The upshot is that AMC will need to get people back to the movies when the pandemic ends. However, it is not clear how many moviegoers will return to theaters since they have ordered streaming services and have gotten used to the experience. For instance, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) added 15.8 million subscribers in the latest quarter, more than double management’s own expectation. The streaming service had already been battling movie theater operators, including AMC, shortening the time between the theatrical release and when it appears on Netflix.
Most recently, AMC has decided it will no longer carry Comcast’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Universal movies after that company noted the success of its Trolls World Tour film that was launched on demand since movie theaters were shut down. The film company noted that when theaters reopen, it would like to release movies in both formats. AMC interpreted this comment to mean that it would would shorten the window between the theatrical release and when it available in other formats, such as on demand and streaming. This is the latest salvo in the battle between theaters and production companies. For instance, The Irishman was released in theaters on Nov. 1 and was on Netflix at the end of the month.
AMC is trying to use its size to its advantage. This is a dangerous game and the outcome to AMC may not be what CEO Adam Aron hopes. After all, there are other movie theaters and, if push comes to shove, consumers like watching movies at home. Universal, as a content producer, is in a stronger position. After all, content drives demand.”
ALL theater chains are in peril at this point and the few that survive will hopefully not be wholly owned subsidiaries of the Chinese Communist Party that has just MURDERED hundreds of thousands of people all over the world by way of their lies and obfuscation.
If Theaters are going to become “Points Of Purchase” again, they will need some type of Oculus Rift type of technology writ large in order to draw people through the door. NO WAY that even great movies (Gone With The Wind, Casa Blanca etc.) brings anyone back after the COVID. We can take some pleasure in knowing that the Chi-Coms bought a morbid American company that they will have to sink a ton of cash into while they wait for some American invention to save them.
Then there is this guy…
Looking to the future I see in the further acceleration of science continuous jobs for our workers. Science will cure unemployment.
Charles M. Schwab
Tell that shit to Dr. Fauci.
Yep, way back when Stan used to parade around border line bald when he was married and his kids were at Pembroke….
Ah, but when he became the ‘ladies man” – in came the rug.
He had two houses on Ward Parkway tan one time…one for his wife / girlfriend and one for???