After "Trolls World Tour" came out and set records in it's VOD (video on demand) sales, it's being reported by various sources that the film itself has already made more than the first movie did that was released in theaters. Plus theaters usually take around 50 percent of the profits off a film's box office, while releasing a film on VOD only cost them about 20 percent so Universal Studios kept 80 percent of "Trolls World Tour's" box office, while they had to to share fifty perfect off the first one's take. Do the math, and you'll figure out which one was more profitable, as it's not that hard.
Anyways, as I said before in another forum, NATO (National Association of Theater Owners) was mighty pissed off about what happened. Even releasing thinly veiled threats to Universal Studios over this. Meanwhile, the current CEO of NBC Universal has stated how he would love to release films simultaneously in theaters and VOD; citing how he sees VOD being complimentary to a film's theatrical release and NOT a replacement. Unfortunately, NATO doesn't see it that way.
AMC, who is not only the largest theater chain in the world, but the only one that I know that's almost going bankrupt due to the pandemic, has threatened to NOT release any Universal films in their theaters once the shut down is over, according to various media sources.
Regal Theaters, the third largest theater chain in the world behind both AMC and Cinemark, has stated they will not support or release movies for a studio that doesn't respect the VOD and theatrical release guidelines, where traditionally a film comes out exclusively in theaters first for awhile. And once it's theatrical run is over, the film comes out on VOD and streaming a few months later.
Of course, this led to a misinterpretation by the media, as they thought Regal was also going to boycott all Universal films as well to join AMC's stand against them. But Regal representatives have confirmed on Twitter that is NOT the case. Unlike AMC, they're not boycotting Universal films, but they did cite that any movie studio that doesn't respect the traditional release model for films won't be supported by them. Granted, this could change over time, but this is their official stance for now.
Personally, I don't think AMC's threat is going to hold up honestly, as this reminds me too much of what happened when "Grand Theft Auto 3" came out decades earlier. I still remember how Wal-Mart of all places said in the media how they would NEVER sell any M- rated video games (which is equivalent to an R rating for a movie), as they considered themselves a "FAMILY" store, and didn't feel games like those kind of games were appropriate to be sold to consumers.
However, that stance quickly changed once "Grand Theft Auto 3" became one of the highest grossing video games of all time in spite one of video games biggest sales outlets in Wal-Mart not supporting the game at the time, but Wal Mart quickly changed it's tune on that, and started selling "Grand Theft Auto 3" about a few month after their own CEO said that shit in the media.
I could be dead wrong, but I feel like that's exactly what's going to happen here. Yes, I'm sure AMC will claim they're serious for now, and I have no doubt they will. But let's be real here for a minute. "Fast and the Furious" is a billion dollar movie franchise, and so is Universal's "Jurassic Park" films. If "Fast and the Furious 9" makes over a billion dollars next year, in spite AMC not helping them out like Wal mart didn't help out "Grand Theft Auto 3", then do you really think AMC is going to continue sticking to their guns and not try to work out something with Universal Studios? Personally, I think this is just AMC trying to save face, and it's obviously an act of desperation at this point, as I don't think they're coming back after the pandemic honestly considering they're the only major theater chain that's rumored to be filling bankruptcy soon. Heck, they even had to furlough their own CEO recently so that should tell you how in dire straights AMC is these days.
However what are your thoughts?
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