Business AMC Cinemas bans Universal Films after comments on streaming - Major business has a tardfit.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52468881

The owner of Odeon Cinemas has banned all Universal films after the studio said it will release new movies at home and on the big screen on the same day.

AMC boss Adam Aron said the ban will cover its 1,000 cinemas worldwide.

It follows comments from NBCUniversal which said the film Trolls World Tour had performed well despite only being available on streaming services.

The move is damaging to cinemas as it will make it less likely people will visit a public screening.

The children's film is reported to have generated sales of nearly $100m.

Trolls World Tour was scheduled for release in cinemas at the beginning of April.

However, with cinemas currently closed because of the Covid-19 lockdown, it was offered as a Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) on streaming platforms such as Apple TV.

Jeff Shell, president and chief executive of NBCUniversal, parent company of the film studio, told the Wall Street Journal the film had "exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the viability" of streaming.

"As soon as theatres reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats," he said.

But in a letter to Universal Studios' chair Donna Langley, Mr Aron accused the studio of trying to "have its cake and eat it too".

He said: "AMC believes that with this proposed action to go to the home and theatres simultaneously, Universal is breaking the business model and dealings between our two companies."

He added: "Going forward, AMC will not license any Universal movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms."

John Fithian, chief executive of the National Association of Theatre Owners, accused the film company of using the pandemic to alter the existing release structure.

"Universal does not have reason to use unusual circumstances in an unprecedented environment as a springboard to bypass true theatrical releases," he said.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionAMC owns the Odeon chain of cinemas
It has already been announced that another Universal film - The King of Staten Island - will have its premier on video on demand in June.

But there are a number of other major Universal movie releases which had been planned to be shown in cinemas later this year, including the next instalment of The Purge horror movie franchise.

Mr Aron said the ban could be extended to other studios if they chose to go down the same route as Universal.

Though he said: "Universal is the only studio contemplating a wholesale change to the status quo."

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Seems this business crashing CAN be blamed on Trolls!

 

[Antipathy]

I remember being a kid and watching Star Wars on the big screen. Blew my mind.

FF decades later to me watching the most recent Star Wars film (can't be bothered to try to remember the title) in my living room. The disappointment was real--the movie was terrible, and I was thankful I didn't blow money watching it in the theaters.

Still, I despise movie company suits so much for ruining movies that my hope that something backfires on them, whatever it is, remains.

Well, this is coming from my turbo autism, but Disney's Star Wars is utter shit and I feel sorry you even watched that garbage.

 

[Cat Menagerie]

Movie theaters are disgusting enclaves of biohazardous filth, especially the major chains. I wouldn't particularly care if they all went out of business, got paved over and turned into parking lots.

 

[Dimetrodon]

One would think that AMC would give them a stern phone call regarding this and at least give them the chance to course correct. Terrible publicity for an already ailing business to have a meltdown in public like this.

 

[Aurora]

"Stay in your capsulesHOUSES, wagies. Films will be piped to you. OurYour selection of groceries and approvedAmazon goods will be shipped to you. No need for you to get up and move about."

If it's a choice between five bucks on my flatscreen in my air conditioned apartment or 40 bucks for a ticket and popcorn, in a disgusting, butter crusted theater, I'll choose my house every time.

 

[CheezzyMach]

Regal Theaters has now joined the "boycott".

I agree that I think these theaters don't realize that they don't have the leverage anymore.

Good luck when Fast and Furious 9 and Jurassic World 3 come out.

This, it's cute these guys think they have any power when every major film studio has it's own streaming service now.

 

[Dan Abrams]

There are so many quality TV shows and movies on streaming services right now, I wouldn't be surprised if the theater industry doesn't recover from corona-chan, especially if they're doing retard shit like this. Sure blah blah blah it's nice to see the latest capeshit on a big screen, but 4K TVs and sound systems are cheap enough nowadays that having a pretty decent setup at home isn't necessarily out of reach for a lot of people.

Ask me what I'd prefer, watching shit on my own 65" 4K TV with my own food and way cheaper drinks, or driving out to a theater to get completely fucked on the prices and sit next to Biden voters talking through the whole thing.

 

[Sped Xing]

I wouldn't particularly care if they all went out of business, got paved over and turned into parking lots.

I understood that reference!

 

[Fagnacious D]

Movie theaters are disgusting enclaves of biohazardous filth, especially the major chains. I wouldn't particularly care if they all went out of business, got paved over and turned into parking lots.

I'd rather just pirate movies to be honest. There really hasn't been anything worth watching for a while and even if something good does come out I can wait for a torrent of it.

 

[Reverend]

Niche chains such as Cinebistro will do just fine. People want to do Dinner/movie/Drinks and have a night that doesn't involve hearing someone's crotch fruit pickup a goddamn cell phone and start blabbing about inane shit in the middle of the theater. Those type of places will do just fine.

The rest of the mouth breathing hell holes can fuck right off to obscurity just like Blockbuster did.

 

[Mikoyan]

One does wonder what Dalian Wanda, AMC's Chinese owners, have to say about all this. It doesn't seem their theaters are in on the threat.

 

[Reverend]

One does wonder what Dalian Wanda, AMC's Chinese owners, have to say about all this. It doesn't seem their theaters are in on the threat.

Overseas markets play by different rules. Just cause AMC(US) boycott's the movies doesn't mean they are doing it globally.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

Lol, flexing when you're about to die is probably the worst strategy ever.
Good going!

 

[Mikoyan]

Overseas markets play by different rules. Just cause AMC(US) boycott's the movies doesn't mean they are doing it globally.

Well, as the article said, AMC is applying the ban worldwide, but only to AMC-branded theaters. The mothership doesn't seem to be involved, which is interesting.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

Looks like pirating's getting easier

It's always been easy. You're forgetting these are normalfags, even the simplest things are a monumental challenge to them.

 

[Sam Losco]

Good, fuck'em. The only time I ever go is when my wife wants to go. I'm content to wait until I can pirate an HD rip. Couple of Marvel movies ago, we had to sit within 25 feet of someone that hadn't bathed in weeks. I think everyone in the theater could probably smell this guy and we were the closest. It was horrible.

 

[Aqua Panda]

Pretty bold move when AMC is on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to the Coronavirus last I checked.

We'll see how it works for them when the next major blockbuster from Universal hits. (They own the Jurassic Park and the Fast and Furious franchises.) Could see theaters come crawling back pretty quick.

Honestly, this has been coming down the pipeline for awhile now. Theaters have been having increasingly tougher times getting people to come to them. Many allowed themselves to get dirty and damaged and never renovated. Most people dont want to sit in soiled seats from the 90's in audioturms that smell of garbage.

Not sure if I would even go back to an AMC. Last time I went, I saw a film on one on their new Dolby Cinema screens. (The ones that have reclining seats and the 4k HDR projectors.) Despite being the premium option the screen had multiple rips and the projector had a giant purple spot defect on it that displayed right in the CENTER of the film.

With how expensive tickets have become, no fucking way I'm throwing that money away when I have a 70 inch 4k OLED with a 5.1 lossless sound system at home. Give me a nice UHD 4k Bluray disc and I get an experience just as good or outright better than most average theaters. (Only full IMAX and the high end Christies stuff are basically better.)

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

These gigantic theater chains are pretty ass and there are very good reasons they're dying.

This also seems like a threat that will massively backfire on AMC when other studios decide to follow suit.

I mean what's stopping Disney or WB from following suit? Nothing, that's what.

Movie theaters are a dying artform and for very good reason. With streaming (and pirating), no one's going to want to go to the movies in this day and age when literally anything can be found on the internet.

 

[CHARizard]

Bring back drive ins. I would probably go out to the movies a lot more if there was a drive in available! Also didnt the new Jurassic Park movies do really well at the box office? What about the Fast series, they are banning some huge titles. Hasnt Disney been looking for a reason to abandon theaters for a while, what are they going to ban more major studios after Universal?

 

[Feline Supremacist]

Pretty bold move when AMC is on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to the Coronavirus last I checked.

We'll see how it works for them when the next major blockbuster from Universal hits. (They own the Jurassic Park and the Fast and Furious franchises.) Could see theaters come crawling back pretty quick.

Honestly, this has been coming down the pipeline for awhile now. Theaters have been having increasingly tougher times getting people to come to them. Many allowed themselves to get dirty and damaged and never renovated. Most people dont want to sit in soiled seats from the 90's in audioturms that smell of garbage.

Not sure if I would even go back to an AMC. Last time I went, I saw a film on one on their new Dolby Cinema screens. (The ones that has reclining seats and the 4k HDR projectors.) Despite being the premium option the screen had multiple rips and the projector had a giant purple spot defect on it that displayed right in the CENTER of the film.

With how expensive tickets have become, no fucking way I'm throwing that money away when I have 70 inch 4k OLED with a 5.1 lossless sound system at home. Give me a nice UHD 4k Bluray disc and I get an experience just as good or outright better than most average theaters. (Only full IMAX and the high end Christies stuff are basically better.)

You forgot nogs screaming, yapping on their phones and smoking weed and that's before the movie starts. That was fine for the low budget dumps that occasionally ran a great B movie but this happens at upscale places like Lincoln Center or Greenwich Village where tickets are close to $20.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Nothing beats the experience of going to the actual theatre. And many young people goes in order to leave the house and hang out with their friends. Nobody wants to watch a movie with mom and dad around.

Once all lockdowns are lifted, people will want to leave their houses and enjoy normal again.