“This policy affects any and all Universal movies per se, goes into effect today and as our theatres reopen, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat,” Aron continued in his letter. It seems unlikely that Universal will give up its share of that revenue, but Aron reiterated in his statement this is “not some hollow or ill-considered threat.”
Universal movies in theaters now movie#
F9 is a movie that’s likely to generate close to $1 billion at the global box office, if not more. The ninth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise was delayed from this year until April 2021, when Universal expected to give it a proper theatrical release. “This policy affects any and all Universal movies per se, goes into effect today and as our theatres reopen, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat.”ĪMC Theatres is the largest cinema chain in the US, and losing access to its theaters is a devastating blow for Universal’s biggest upcoming films, including F9. “Therefore, effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theatres in the United States, Europe or the Middle East.”
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“It is disappointing to us, but Jeff’s comments as to Universal’s unilateral actions and intentions have left us with no choice,” Aron wrote. The move led to a lengthy statement from AMC Theatres chair-CEO Adam Aron, who claimed that Shell’s comments were “unacceptable.” In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jeff Shell noted that Trolls World Tour succeeded their expectations, pulling in nearly $100 million in revenue through digital sales alone and more than five million copies sold.Īs a result, Shell noted that as “soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats,” meaning some movies would continue with theatrical releases while others would go directly to digital retailers or possibly land on NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock. It went on to make more than $250 million globally.AMC Theatres will no longer play Universal films effective immediately after “unacceptable” comments were made from NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell on its decision to bypass a traditional theatrical release for Trolls World Tour and make it a digital exclusive, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 2018 "Halloween" had a reported budget of $10 million to $15 million. However, Universal may not be too worried about this, as horror films tend to have small budgets and easily make back the cost of production at the box office. The success of the latest Marvel film led Sony to move up its release of "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" by two weeks.Ī pattern has emerged among recent movie releases that suggests that when a film is released on streaming platforms and in theaters at the same time, ticket sales at the box office are cannibalized. Universal's decision also comes amid renewed confidence in the domestic box office after Disney's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" smashed opening weekend estimates and set a Labor Day weekend box office record. The company came under fire in early 2020 for shifting to a day-and-date release plan for "Trolls: World Tour." At the time, this kind of release was unheard of in the industry and led Universal to negotiate with theaters to play its movies on the big screen for at least three weeks before offering them up to streaming or on-demand.
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It's unclear if Universal struck a deal with movie theater chains in switching the film's release strategy. It takes place directly after 2018's "Halloween," which saw Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter and granddaughter leave the masked killer Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie's basement. "Halloween Kills," produced by Universal, Miramax and Blumhouse, was originally slated for a theatrical-only release.