Universal’s plans for more ‘premium VOD’ push AMC to drop its movies – By Richard Lawler (Engadget) / April 29 2020
AMC won’t play Universal flicks in any of its theaters worldwide.
Earlier today the Wall Street Journal reported that a direct-to-home release of Trolls World Tour earlier this month netted Universal more revenue than the box office release of the first Trolls film. According to its sources, the $20-per-rental scheme netted about $95 million, and with the studio keeping much more of the money than it would from box office receipts, it made some $77 million. Saying that the results exceeded expectations, NBCUniversal head Jeff Shell told the paper that “As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”
In response, AMC CEO Adam Aron publicly shared a letter to the company, which said “Going forward, AMC will not license any Universal movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms.” Apparently, releasing movies to the home while theaters are closed is one thing, but Aron believes that any policy where movies are released at the same time in theater and at home “is breaking the business model and dealings between our two companies.”
For NBCUniversal, being locked out of the company’s theaters worldwide may be an acceptable trade, it has many ways to get customers its movies, with Comcast boxes, Peacock, Vudu and more.
Continue to article: https://www.engadget.com/trolls-word-tour-pvod-amc-062745004.html
