How direct streaming of movies is shaking up the film industry

“” Warner doesn’t like movies “This statement from director Denis Villeneuve illustrates the state of mind of many actors in the cinema vis-à-vis the company’s strategy. As a reminder, WarnerMedia announced last December that all of its films that will hit theaters in 2021 will be on HBO Max simultaneously for one month streamed in the US for a total of 17 big budget feature films including: Matrix 4, dune, or The suicide squad.

This is the first time that a large company in the industry is broadcasting its blockbusters directly in SVOD. This decision is by no means a trivial one, but has direct consequences for the film industry. American cinema operators who are in great trouble after the Covid-19 pandemic are very concerned.

Cinemas that care about their future

As stated France cultureLarge companies like AMC, Regal and Cinemark had to close the doors of their multiplexes for the most part between March and May 2020. AMC even stated in June last year: ” We do not generate any income “With losses already running into billions of dollars.

Adam Aron, the company’s president, seems to be elsewhere see clearly enough in the Warner Media game:

WarnerMedia clearly intends to sacrifice a significant portion of the profitability of its film studio arm and that of its production partners and filmmakers in order to subsidize the launch of HBO Max. As for AMC, we will do everything in our power to ensure Warner does this at our expense. We will become economically aggressive to keep our business going.

So, in a context where some companies could go bankrupt, this announcement is scary, especially as American consumers now prefer to watch movies on streaming rather than go to the cinema. In a survey on behalf of diversity Out of 1,000 people, 70% of those surveyed would like to see movies at home, while only 13% plan to go to the cinema.

Hollywood stars take the plunge

Warner’s decision also has specific consequences for artists. As our colleagues report of worldThis project created a conflict with the two lead agency agencies: William Morris Endeavor and Creative Artists. You should know that the stars receive two separate fees for their participation in a film: an initial fee is paid before filming and another based on the number of shots.

That balance has been upset and Hollywood stars have been quick to plead their guilt. Such is the case of Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot, who each received a check for $ 10 million Wonder Woman 1984.

Agents of Angelina Jolie, Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Keanu Reeves, Margot Robbie, and Denzel Washington were then heard and a stalemate is now activated. Those interested in taking part in Warner feature films in 2021 want to be treated the same way as the protagonists of the film from the DC universe. It’s not known yet if an agreement has been reached, but it could get quite expensive for the company.

With this new strategy, Warner has caused a sensation in the industry. However, the studio has been careful to portray these measures as temporary until the end of the health crisis and there is no indication that they will continue for the next year.

Note that this issue does not affect France, where the media chronology rule prohibits direct simultaneous streaming of films released in cinemas. However, we can see that the pandemic is having an impact and that SVOD is attracting more and more consumers. For their part, cinema operators are also in difficulty and in the presence of institutions fell 70% in 2020.