NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell says that while theatrical releases are crucial to the company’s business, he believes streaming services like his company’s own Peacock are “misunderstood” and are a complement rather than competition to their existing business.
Speaking at a virtual Credit Suisse media conference this week (via Deadline), Shell re-affirmed that theatrical is “really important” to the movie business – not just for revenue but it’s “what makes a movie a movie, the ability to create an event”.
He says Universal has made it through the disruptive period in film in a way that has allowed them to come out the other side with good relations with exhibition: “If you are a creator and want a big theatrical launch … a traditional release, we’re the best place to be.”
But don’t mistake Shell as some exhibition hardliner, he says premium VOD has been a real success story for the studio and, just like HBO Max’s chief indicated on Sunday, he says their data shows the truth:
“It doesn’t seem to cannibalize either the theatrical or home entertainment windows. We are hitting a new market. PVOD is very profitable to a movie studio. You make a higher split. Right now it appears to be an additive revenue stream for us and for others.”
Universal was a pioneer on the PVOD front with “Trolls World Tour” being the first real major title to do so exclusively, while Universal was also the first to close a deal for shorter widows with AMC Entertainment. While the new paradigm hasn’t been settled on yet, Shell says the old windows model makes no sense:
“We don’t know how this is going to evolve… but windows will certainly be shorter and more flexible than they have in the past. I personally think the box office for big movies could be the same or close to the same, but that will change as you go down the chain. I sympathize with people like you trying to do models because the economics are changing. We are trying to maximize our cash flow at the bottom line and things are changing at the top line.”
Shell dubs “F9: The Fast Saga” the first ‘big blockbuster’ post-COVID. The film opens States-side on June 25th and has already grossed around $300 million in its international debut.
