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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1318513
company 80 percent of the sales versus 50 percent they would have earned under the “normal” return on whoever might have made their way into the theater. After shifting the opening three times and investing millions in marketing, Disney moved Mulan to a $30 PVOD offering in countries where Disney + is available and theater showings in other countries with even better financial and “attendance” results. AT&T/Warner had enough issues to address with hirings, firings and Warner/HBO organizational “realignments,” so it was undoubtedly easier to let Tenet show up in the theaters that were open and deal with other viewing opportunities … later. Despite the fact that cinemas were closed in many major US cities, Chris Nolan’s Tenet did have a release date in China, which helped dull the attendance pain a little. Fanatics did see and enjoy the film even if they were alone together. But for the most part box office receipts were less than spectacular due to the fact that health organizations deemed it safer to fly cross country in a metal tube than sit in a cinema for a few hours. Having proven that people would pay extra to stream and enjoy major films early rather than later, broad distribution, Universal and AMC patched up their differences by signing a new cinema/VOD agreement that would let the studio offer films 17 days after they hit theaters. AMC’s Adam Aron suddenly got religion and was certain the new viewing opportunities would be good for everyone, including consumers who will be reluctant to enter dark theaters regardless of the ticket cost. Of course, looking into the Universal/AMC future, the idea of not being able to get first dibs on F9 (Fast & Furious 9) and Jurassic World: Dominion might have helped shorten the exclusivity window (plus an undisclosed amount of early streaming revenues). It might have slipped Aron’s mind that AMC also has another way to reach viewers few other cinema chains have available to them--AMC+, AMC’s VOD service. Aron bravely said the adjusted cinema-first window should appeal to other studios. It’s an olive branch to creative houses like Disney that pulled Mulan out of their theatrical line-up and scheduled it as a premium viewing opportunity for $30 -- separate from their rapidly growing Disney+ subscription service. The film will do well in the Americas and Europe because it’s a great heroine story and the service already has a predisposed audience potential of more than 100M subscribers (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN). Unfortunately, though it won’t resonate with potential viewers