When Kurt and Max Laemmle, the nephews of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle, created their theatre chain company in 1938, they envisioned a space for audiences to immerse themselves in storytelling. Patrons would pay to enter a cinema, watch a film alongside others and then return to the real world as they exit the screening room.
Yet the business model has changed over the past 83 years, even more so within the last two.
The pandemic left all nine Laemmle Theatres throughout the L.A. area closed for 13 months. Upon reopening in April 2021, the family-run art house cinema chain, along with the over 10,000 cinemas across the nation, returned to a far less familiar market.
While concerns over the spread of COVID-19 certainly impact box office revenue, movie theatre owners have linked the decline of cinema revenue to the accessibility audiences now have to see the same movies at home when they come out.
The simultaneous release strategy, called “day-and-date” release, started when movie studios wanted to allow audiences who felt unsafe going to theatres to watch it through a streaming service instead.
Various studios implemented the strategy differently. Disney has released Pixar’s “Luca” on Disney+ without extra cost while requiring subscribers to pay and an additional $30 to watch films like “Mulan,” “Cruella” and “Jungle Cruise.”
Recently, “Halloween Kills” premiered in theatres and through Peacock on Oct. 15 and “Dune” will premiere in theatres and HBO Max on Oct. 22.
Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC Theatres, and John Fithian, CEO of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, have publicly shared similar sentiments that the key to saving cinemas and allowing films to reach their full box office potential is to let them play in theatres first.
In August, Aron announced a deal with Warner Bros that the studio would stop releasing films day-and-date on HBO Max going into 2022, according to Deadline. Instead the studio will play in theaters exclusively for 45 days.
Laemmle Theatres President Greg Laemmle, grandson of founder Max, says the success of “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which had highest pandemic grossing opening weekend with $90.2 million without a day-and-date release, indicates that cinemas are on a path toward recovering.
“I think preserving some kind of theatrical window is ultimately everybody's best interest”
— Greg Laemmle
The over a year-long closure nearly destroyed the theatre chain. Even with the steadier flow of films now that’s begun to accelerate, Laemelle says the chain is still dealing with a public that is scared from the Delta surge and day-and-date isn’t helping.
Laemelle says he believes that people will always value watching movies in a theatre because that experience can’t be replicated at home. No matter how much streaming is available, people are going to want to go out.
“You don't have something like the pandemic happen without having some long-term consequences,” Lamelle says. “Anybody that wants to say that this is the death of exhibition, I think it’d be too premature.”
Cinema goers wait in line for snacks, a notable aspect of the traditional movie experience, at Regal LA Live & 4DX. (Anthony Robledo)
Audiences are split between cinemas and streaming
Day-and-date has forced movie viewers to pick a side
Patrick McCormick, a USC sophomore studying theatre, uses a variety of streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus and Disney Plus.
“I don't go on many vacations, so a lot of my money goes to streaming services,” McCormick says.
The abundance of platforms has ignited what many call the “streaming wars,” with services competing to capture subscribers with limited entertainment budgets. According to a January J.D Power survey, the average American has four streaming subscriptions, spending around $47 per month in December.
Even with his vast access to films released straight to streaming, McCormick says he still cherishes the traditional cinema experience. He didn’t truly recognize his attachment to the experience until movie theatres shut down in March 2020.
McCormick says he would normally visit cinemas twice a month making the adjustment to only watching movies at home difficult. Like many others, he eventually grew comfortable and fond of streaming movies. The reopening of theatres has now forced consumers like McCormick to choose between two viewing experiences.
“I frankly think that streaming is definitely the future of the industry. Although there is a kind of luxury and a kind of novelty that exists with movie theaters that I really do enjoy still, so I don't know if I want traditional forms of media to disappear completely,” McCormick says. “It's enjoyable to go out and enjoy these movies with friends and this big theater, but for convenience, I guess for convenience primarily, I really love streaming.”
For McCormick, the decision to go to cinemas or stay home depends on the genre of the film. He says horror and comedy films are best viewed with others, who can share collective chuckles and screams. Drama films demand a private viewing experience with the liberty to cry in peace.
How cinemas drive movie culture?
IMAX Entertainment President explains what is lost with day-and-date
Megan Colligan, president of IMAX Entertainment and Vice President of IMAX Corporation says the traditional 90-day theatrical window that existed before the pandemic created a culture that incentivized audiences to go to cinemas.
Eager viewers who are afraid of spoilers go first and then the ones who wait to hear if the film is worth watching go, Colligan says. Additionally there’s casual moviegoers who are looking to make their Saturday less boring.
“Over a period of time, movies have this kind of life cycle and they play out, but it does keep people talking about a movie, thinking about a movie, engaging with a movie,” Colligan says.
When a film is released through day-and-date, the feeling of a cultural moment is lost, Colligan says.
Megan Colligan (Courtesy Photo)
“Which means what I get from that, Disney or Netflix or whomever, is that you don't believe that much in the event of this movie so why should I?” Colligan says. “There's something about the relevancy of that movie that starts to dissipate, because it isn't culturally significant any longer, because it isn't important enough to the studio itself.”
The “day-and-date” release strategy has also raised concerns over an increase in piracy. Colligan says that illegally providing a high quality version of a film immediately after it’s released has made it significantly easier when it’s available via streaming.
As studios spend millions of dollars to advertise that audiences can watch a movie at home, it will inspire some to find the cheapest way to do that, Colligan says.
"What the studios are doing is basically flooding the marketplace with perfect copies for pirates to pirate of their own movies. And so we're seeing a proliferation of piracy that we've never seen before," Colligan says.
The perfect theatrical window before a film is released on streaming services doesn’t exist, Colligan says. Different films require specific windows to make the most money.
“It's not a one size fits all, because 45 days is really the perfect window for blockbusters, but not really even every blockbuster — some blockbusters can play for a very long time,” Colligan says.
IMAX has been navigating this new age of movie watching through its technological advancements. She says her goal is to get people to experience IMAX again and remember that the cinema viewing is amazing.
“There's exposure once you're there to realize I can have a lot of fun in this space and I kind of forgot how awesome it is,” Colligan says.
