As streaming services’ popularity rise, movie studios leave less theater time for many of their tent pole films, setting a detrimental standard for the movie industry and theaters that support it.
Robert Egger’s latest film, “Nosferatu” premiered in theaters worldwide on Wednesday Dec. 25, 2024, to mixed acclaim. The film grossed $172 million on an estimated budget of $50 million in its first few weeks, proving itself a modest success for Universal Studios according, to Box Office Mojo. This begs the question, why was it pulled from theaters only 27 days after release?
The month prior saw the debut of Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Broadway hit “Wicked.” After making a large profit, “Wicked” was also dumped on video on demand (VOD) after only 39 days. Studios pull their films from theaters quicker and quicker, signaling a downward trend that, if left unchecked, could spell disaster for theaters.
Theaters are the backbone of the movie industry. As much acclaim as the studios producing the entertainment receive, it wouldn’t be possible without local theaters. Pulling films from theaters as quickly as one month after their debut negatively affects theater’s primary income flows: concession and ticket sales.
Within the first two weeks of a film’s release, movie studios gather a majority of the gross, with exact numbers fluctuating between theaters. As film’s extend their theater stays, theaters gradually gain a larger percentage of sales. The streaming standard limits both theater profits and the number of moviegoers those films draw.
Michael Gracy’s “The Greatest Showman,” opened domestically to an underwhelming $8.8 million on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. Normally, an opening weekend bomb of that caliber would be a death sentence, yet “The Greatest Showman” grossed $469 million worldwide in the end; dwarfing its $84 million dollar budget over a multi-month theatrical release, according to Box Office Mojo.
There’s no better proof than “The Greatest Showman’s” success to justify continuing long theatrical runs for big Hollywood productions. If 20th Century Fox pulled the film a few months prior, hoping it would do well on streaming, they would have lost out on a staggering profit.
Movie studios’ newfound interest in limiting their film’s theatrical window is detrimental to all parties. It trains the film-going audience to expect films on the small screen quicker than ever, depriving theaters of their primary income sources and limiting their ticket sale percentage. Even major studios can lose significant earnings.
If movie studios neglect to think long term, they could dig themselves an early grave.
