Universal & AMC Theaters Form A Deal Allowing For New Films To Transition To VOD Early

By Melody Lee 

Universal Pictures and AMC Theaters have put aside their feud in order to forge a multi-year historic deal. AMC will now air Universal films in their theaters and more importantly, they will  also grant Universal a theatrical window of only three weekends, or seventeen days, before allowing for those films to make a transition to on-demand platforms. Normally, theaters have exclusive rights to films for 90 days.

While future Universal films such as “F9” can still be seen in theaters, seventeen days after its premiere, the film will be available on-demand. With this potentially changing how people see movies, it brings up the question: How important is the movie theater experience to moviegoers themselves? This question has previously come up in regards to Netflix, but it is even more relevant with this deal. Currently, this partnership is exclusive to AMC and Universal, but could expand across the industry to other film production companies and movie theaters.

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the movie theater industry as a whole, new distribution methods will have to form in order for the moviegoing experience to survive. In a statement, Donna Langley, Universal’s chairman, said, “The theatrical experience continues to be the cornerstone of our business. The partnership we've forged with AMC is driven by our collective desire to ensure a thriving future for the film distribution ecosystem and to meet consumer demand with flexibility and optionality."

When discussing AMC’s involvement in the deal, Adam Aron, AMC’s CEO, said that "AMC enthusiastically embraces this new industry model. We are participating in the entirety of the economics of the new structure, and because premium video on demand creates the added potential for increased movie studio profitability, which should in turn lead to the green-lighting of more theatrical movies.” AMC will receive part of the shares generated from on-demand streaming.

Sources: Variety, CNN

What do you think of this historic deal? How do you think it will change how movies are distributed? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.

You can follow Melody and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @Melodylee22