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[RCU005]

How many more times are they going to delay movies? It is a business, yes, and they want to make money, but is delaying the movie that was supposed to come out 2 years ago over and over a good strategy??

IMO it's not, because it will also delay every plan for the future for the new movies. Take the MCU for example: By the end of this year phase 4 should be way ahead. I think Thor 4 was supposed to release this year originally. The MCU is in the worse position to delay movies because most (if not all) are interconnected, so delaying one, means they need to delay the other by default.

Then there's other movies like Mission Impossible 7. If Tome Cruise had a plan to make MI8 (I think it actually is), they will need to delay production and things might get more complicated as more times passes. After all, he is not immortal and staying the same age.

I believe studios should take the loss, release the movies and begin focusing on future projects, and then worry about when to release those new projects.
They already saw that COVID is not going to end any time soon, they know they are not making money out of those movies either way. Just look for the least amount of loss possible and move on.

Will people still be interested in many of these delayed movies by the time they come out? I believe that movie theaters will not get an Avangers Endgame audience in the next 5 years even with the COVID gone, many people will remain cautious or even scared and will not go to cinemas, but movie studios are still waiting for people to fill theaters as before to release the movies and that will just not be possible.

 

[Umbasaborne]

I agree. Covid is never going away. These delays suck fucking ass

 

[belmarduk]

Honestly, we're getting Halloween, Ghostbusters and Many Saints of Newark in a few months. Candyman was finally released. I'm very pleased with the current state of film.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Maybe you need to just take the L.

 

[sol_bad]

I think they are now starting to release films instead of delaying. Vaccinations worl wide should theoretically be high enough that COVID should be such a huge issue. I know Australia is aiming for 70-80% double jab vaccination by mid to late April.

Paramount are the only studio delaying things now I thing.

Studios will probably look at rebudgeting films for the short term. Then as more people become confident with cinemas they'll increase budget again.

 

[ManaByte]

Paramount are the only studio delaying things now I thing.

Paramount had a rough couple of years at the box office so they're desperate for those movies to be "normal" sized hits.

 

[poppabk]

Most of the people who work on these movies are contracted for the movie, so it makes sense to shut down production of new stuff and hold on to what you have until you can release it to a decent box office haul.

 

[dr_octagon]

Tomb Cruise was in a vampire documentary so your assumption of his immortality is incorrect

 

[ManaByte]

Most of the people who work on these movies are contracted for the movie, so it makes sense to shut down production of new stuff and hold on to what you have until you can release it to a decent box office haul.

Except productions aren't shutting down.

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

I was thinking about this earlier and what if the delays have an opposite effect? The studios are trying to make sure there's enough people going to the movies before releasing them, but what if theaters never really go back to what they were pre pandemic?

I know things are a bit more strict here in California in terms of indoor events, but theaters have been open for a while and a ton of people I know haven't gone back, they seem indifferent.

 

[jshackles]

I know things are a bit more strict here in California in terms of indoor events, but theaters have been open for a while and a ton of people I know haven't gone back, they seem indifferent.

The movie theaters in my county / region have always been mom-and-pop kinda places. They all shut down due to COVID last year, and none of them have re-opened. If I want to go to see a movie in the theaters, I have to drive 81 miles (162 miles round trip). That's just a massive amount of time and extra expense that I'm not willing to put in to do something I'm not super comfortable with anyway. I used to work at a movie theater, so I know how terribly things get "cleaned". No thanks.

I honestly doubt I'll ever go to a movie theater again in my lifetime. So yeah, just release this shit digitally and I'm happy to fork over $30 so I can watch it on my 4K home theater setup. Otherwise, I'll probably skip your film completely because by the time Shang Chi or Spiderman are available digitally I'll probably have already seen all the spoilers.

 

[Nobody_Important]

They don't though. They face less backlash and less financial loss by playing it safe. A movie delayed does much less damage to the box office and the people involved than a movie that is released and bombs. Not only does a delay do less damage to the financial prospects, but more importantly it does less damage to the IP itself. It's not just about the money that the movie makes at release. It about the strength of the IP and its public image. If you delay a movie 4 times and then it receives immense financial success nobody will remember the delays that came before it. Word of mouth and the press it gets will push it further. People will line of for the next one because the last one did so well so obviously this one will be good too right? But if you release it and it bombs at the box office and people see that it bombed then the IP itself is damaged beyond repair potentially. Nobody wants to invest in a possible failure and no successful self respecting star wants to be associated with a failing franchise.



These delays are not just simple money grabs. These are companies trying to protect the IPs that they own and the people involved. It's a long term view. Not a short one.

 

[Celcius]

I never plan to go back to theaters. I just hope movies release at home the same time as in theaters.

 

[AmuroChan]

The longer this goes on, the more people will adapt to living without going to the theaters. There're endless entertainment options at the touch of a button in the comfort of your own home. When things go back to somewhat normal, there's going to be a segment of the population who never returns to the movie theater outside of rare exceptions. I'm in the group, and I used to love going to the theater.

 

[Nobody_Important]

The longer this goes on, the more people will adapt to living without going to the theaters. There're endless entertainment options at the touch of a button in the comfort of your own home. When things go back to somewhat normal, there's going to be a segment of the population who never returns to the movie theater outside of rare exceptions. I'm in the group, and I used to love going to the theater.

Once it is safe again thing will go back to relative normalcy when it comes to theaters. It may take a few years, but it will go back to basically what it was before. The movie night out isn't going to die just because of Covid.

 

[AmuroChan]

Once it is safe again thing will go back to relative normalcy when it comes to theaters. It may take a few years, but it will go back to basically what it was before. The movie night out isn't going to die just because of Covid.

Oh, I'm not suggesting that movie night will die out. I'm just saying that it may never go back to 100%. Movie night used to be a weekly thing for my wife and I, but I don't know that it's ever going to become a weekly thing for us again, even after things get back to normal.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Movie studios reading OPs thread title: "The f*** we do..."

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

The longer this goes on, the more people will adapt to living without going to the theaters. There're endless entertainment options at the touch of a button in the comfort of your own home. When things go back to somewhat normal, there's going to be a segment of the population who never returns to the movie theater outside of rare exceptions. I'm in the group, and I used to love going to the theater.

I agree with this. I think the ceiling for boxoffice revenue is now lower. Unless of course, the theatres charge more.

 

[gatti-man]

I never plan to go back to theaters. I just hope movies release at home the same time as in theaters.

If this becomes the norm AAA movies will cease to exist. Same time home releases don’t make the same money, it’s not been even close.

 

[hemo memo]

The longer this goes on, the more people will adapt to living without going to the theaters. There're endless entertainment options at the touch of a button in the comfort of your own home. When things go back to somewhat normal, there's going to be a segment of the population who never returns to the movie theater outside of rare exceptions. I'm in the group, and I used to love going to the theater.

I understand but even if you are so rich to build an actual theater at your home, unless you are planning to invite random people to watch the movie, you still can’t replicate the same theater experience.

 

[Halo is Back]

They kinda shot themselves in the foot by allowing new blockbuster movies to be streamed on release day or shortly after theater release. The age of digital media is here and I suspect movie theaters will slowly start to die out until it becomes a specialized leisure activity to die-hard cinema lovers like myself.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

I think we'll start seeing budgets shrinking, as studios will have to really push for faster streaming/video releases. I think a couple of years is enough time to shift public perception of entertainment, and I know in my case, going to the theaters just isn't that important anymore. There will continue to be more variants of COVID, and we'll probably need to keep getting boosters, and having to be up to date on vaccinations, just to safely enjoy a film in a closed box doesn't make a great deal of sense. I don't know if we're going to see those billion dollar megahits again for some time. So the budgets have to shrink, or the prices of streaming services have to grow. No more growth model pricing on streaming, if you're going to be delivering content through those services regularly. Or maybe they start slapping ads on the current pricing tiers, while adding premium tiers at higher pricepoints.

I don't know. Something's got to give IMO. Delaying indefinitely isn't a reasonable approach, as there's lost value just from not being able to invest the potential revenue from a delayed film. That's money that can be making more money. Strange times ahead IMO.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

It's a tough sell telling movie studios to release their 300 million blockbuster in an environment where it will make 75 million

 

[AmuroChan]

I understand but even if you are so rich to build an actual theater at your home, unless you are planning to invite random people to watch the movie, you still can’t replicate the same theater experience.

Yes and no. What I discovered during the pandemic is that for most movies, the home watching experience is just fine. When things are back to normal, I still plan on going to the theaters for big blockbuster films, but if it's like a small Indie drama, I feel like watching it at home would be perfectly fine for me.

 

[SafeOrAlone]

I’m over theaters but I’ll be in there for Spider-Man No Way Home. I’ll probably have 1 or 2 exceptions a year.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I can honestly say I don't give a fuck about not going to the movies and have not missed it at all.

 

[LordCBH]

This pandemic is going to last forever because people don’t want to give up their power. Just release the damn movies.

 

[Susurrus]

After all, he is not immortal and staying the same age.

Isn't he though?

 

[JCK75]

I feel like if they just released it right to blu-ray/digital they would make all of the bank they were hoping to make..
just won't have "Box Office" numbers to brag about.

 

[sol_bad]

I feel like if they just released it right to blu-ray/digital they would make all of the bank they were hoping to make..
just won't have "Box Office" numbers to brag about.

Why would you want to cut off an extra 500 million to 1.2 billion extra though?

 

[SafeOrAlone]

I feel like if they just released it right to blu-ray/digital they would make all of the bank they were hoping to make..
just won't have "Box Office" numbers to brag about.

I don't think so. People don't buy blu rays to the same extent dvd's or vhs used to sell. It also leads to way more pirating. Theater ticket sales are still much more lucrative for studios.
I'd love this approach, but it would lead to reduced budgets. Silver lining: maybe that's not a bad thing. Cut 50m off the budget and lose that portal in the sky.

 

[IDKFA]

I can't wait to get back into the cinema.

Dune is going to be spectacular on IMAX.

 

[oagboghi2]

I was thinking about this earlier and what if the delays have an opposite effect? The studios are trying to make sure there's enough people going to the movies before releasing them, but what if theaters never really go back to what they were pre pandemic?

I know things are a bit more strict here in California in terms of indoor events, but theaters have been open for a while and a ton of people I know haven't gone back, they seem indifferent.

Bingo.

People are really underestimating how much going to theatres was a habit with people. Now that's it be broken, and a lot of people have realized they aren't missing much, you are going to see a ton of people just not bother ever going back the same way they used to.

 

[poppabk]

There has been

I feel like if they just released it right to blu-ray/digital they would make all of the bank they were hoping to make..
just won't have "Box Office" numbers to brag about.

Not a chance. I doubt they make much more than they would have with the 'old normal' post theater digital release.