[movie trailer] Marvel at the Movies

[LeMarchand]

 

Anyone else getting the feeling that the great straight to Disney+ experiment hasn't worked so well?

 

(Admittedly Marvel held out from that).

[thimon]

What makes you say that? I think what they're doing with the MCU and Disney+ is working out pretty well. Allows for much more character development than can be allowed in films.

[LeMarchand]

I mean that Raya and Mulan can't have made Disney the sort of $$$s they were hoping. I'd be surprised if Warners are rolling in the cash GvK made, either.

 

Looks like Marvel may have done the smart thing by holding on with Black Widow. Assuming we're not heading towards lockdown city again...

[TechMonkey]

It is the big build up to the next phase of Marvel movies. Especially after the COVID movie break (though I don't know how this affected Marvel movies) it is drumming up hype and interest.

 

As Thimon says, I like the way the series do in-between setup, allowing the movies can get on and show the tale rather then fill in back story. I just wished they were released at all at once so they could be binged.

[thimon]

Ah I see what you mean, purely from a monies perspective. You might be right, luckily Disney have deep pockets

[LeMarchand]

I'm not referring to the TV show plan (which seems solid, though they need to be careful about over saturation). I'm talking about the way that Disney and others decided to stick their films on streaming rather than wait. There's no way to tell if this really worked - on one hand they got 100% of the new rentals/sign-ups etc, but they also made next to nothing theatrically outside of China and their product was immediately available through "other" channels, which probably didn't help new sign-ups and rentals.

 

Though thinking about it, is this push partly to try to convince theatre owners/chains that Disney still cares about them?

[TechMonkey]

Ohh, yes I totally agree. I am not happy being asked for money to see something on a service I all ready pay for. And I haven't seen any reason so far to do that. I do think that was a COVID related decision though, to try and get some extra money. I think it will probably continue as there will always be some that don't want to go to the Cinema or have a decent enough set up at home to not need to go to the cinema and willing to pay that bit more to see the latest and greatest. I think it will be telling if it does continue and what titles it applies to.

[Simcfc73]

It would have to be amazing for me to pay on top of the subscription fee. I was stung by Mulan which was a bit mnnnaarrr.

 

Tenet is out on Friday on Sky Movies which I've held out paying for on PPV so looking forward to that.

[LeMarchand]

OT: I enjoyed Mulan and saw Tenet at the cinema and bought the disk. Might not be to everyone's taste, though (and I'm still not sure it all makes sense).

[LeMarchand]

Having read that Disney are cutting the theatrical window for their releases, I'm thinking this was a gesture to try to keep the theatre owners on side.

 

It'll be interesting to see how it all works out, but I'm leaning towards it not looking good for the cinemas.

[paulkerton]

I mean that Raya and Mulan can't have made Disney the sort of $$$s they were hoping.

The buzz for both wasn't exactly great was it? It's not easy to say for certain that they'd have made any decent amounts of money as a cinema release.

 

I'd be surprised if Warners are rolling in the cash GvK made, either.

I rented it on the day it came out. $427m worldwide. During a Pandemic.

 

Looks like Marvel may have done the smart thing by holding on with Black Widow. Assuming we're not heading towards lockdown city again...

I will rent it day and date on Disney+. I won't be heading to the cinema for that one.

[LeMarchand]

It seems as if the Disney/Marvel simultaneous release idea has landed them a lawsuit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58017445

[thimon]

I feel like their mixed cinema and Disney+ Premium Access strategy works fine, however they should have updated the contracts to reflect this and compensate their actors accordingly.

[LeMarchand]

I feel like their mixed cinema and Disney+ Premium Access strategy works fine, however they should have updated the contracts to reflect this and compensate their actors accordingly.

 

I think if you were in the cinema biz, or a big fan of the experience, you might feel differently. I still think the trailer is a bit of a slap in the face to cinemas: "Hey! Cinema is the place to see Marvel movies! But you don't have to go there any more..."

 

Interestingly, Warner/HBO are having a rethink: https://www.techradar.com/news/hbo-maxs-day-and-date-release-model-isnt-working-and-warner-bros-knows-it. Though AFAICT HBO Max weren't charging a premium to see simultaneous releases.

[thimon]

I'm a huge fan of going to the cinema. However I'm still not comfortable going out to places yet, other people are which is great, however it's good that people who prefer to stay at home at the moment have a choice.

[paulkerton]

I think if you were in the cinema biz, or a big fan of the experience, you might feel differently. I still think the trailer is a bit of a slap in the face to cinemas: "Hey! Cinema is the place to see Marvel movies! But you don't have to go there any more..."

 

Interestingly, Warner/HBO are having a rethink: https://www.techradar.com/news/hbo-maxs-day-and-date-release-model-isnt-working-and-warner-bros-knows-it. Though AFAICT HBO Max weren't charging a premium to see simultaneous releases.

!

The difficulty for studios is that many people still aren't comfortable going to the cinema. The behaviour of your average cinemagoer these days puts me off ever going even before the pandemic. Constantly being blinded by people using their phones, or groups of teenagers talking so loudly you can't hear parts of the film isn't fun... Thinking those kinds of people behave COVID responsibly, and well... the cinema is the absolute last place I'd want to be going.

 

Also, exclusive cinema release could look weak as is being suggested with TSS (I think it's more complicated than that to be honest - rising Delta variant in the US and it being R rated leads to lower box office, so a wonderful opportunity to scream flop for the clickbaiters and sociopaths like TheQuartering) leading to lower takes when it's out of the cinema exclusivity window. We also don't know what the HBO Max viewing numbers are like.

 

I watched Godzilla vs Kong and Black Widow so far this year by paying for day and date streaming. I'd have probably gone to see GvK at the cinema. Definitely would have waited for Black Widow. £20 more for Disney than they would've got.

So when Dune comes out in late October, I'm likely to have to wait for it as I am definitely not going to the cinema during the beginning of what would usually be flu season!

[LeMarchand]

I'm a huge fan of going to the cinema. However I'm still not comfortable going out to places yet, other people are which is great, however it's good that people who prefer to stay at home at the moment have a choice.

But this isn't the studios making things safer for those that don't feel safe in a theatre, unless you think that when/if things return to "normal" Disney will revert to the old release pattern. (Which always allowed for those that chose a home screening - it's just that they had to wait a little bit longer).

 

!

The difficulty for studios is that many people still aren't comfortable going to the cinema. The behaviour of your average cinemagoer these days puts me off ever going even before the pandemic. Constantly being blinded by people using their phones, or groups of teenagers talking so loudly you can't hear parts of the film isn't fun... Thinking those kinds of people behave COVID responsibly, and well... the cinema is the absolute last place I'd want to be going.

 

Also, exclusive cinema release could look weak as is being suggested with TSS (I think it's more complicated than that to be honest - rising Delta variant in the US and it being R rated leads to lower box office, so a wonderful opportunity to scream flop for the clickbaiters and sociopaths like TheQuartering) leading to lower takes when it's out of the cinema exclusivity window. We also don't know what the HBO Max viewing numbers are like.

 

I watched Godzilla vs Kong and Black Widow so far this year by paying for day and date streaming. I'd have probably gone to see GvK at the cinema. Definitely would have waited for Black Widow. £20 more for Disney than they would've got.

So when Dune comes out in late October, I'm likely to have to wait for it as I am definitely not going to the cinema during the beginning of what would usually be flu season!

My personal feeling is that the lower BO for TSS, whilst Delta scares had some impact, was less down to Covid/R Rating/quality of the film than the fact that the vast majority of the audience for that particular film knew how to access a top quality version at home for free. It will be interesting to see whether enough people keep paying for day and date releases (which presumably go directly to the studio in the US) to offset the amount of people who might have paid for a cinema ticket put wouldn't pay for something that's "on the telly".

 

The problem for cinemas is that Covid already had a huge impact and many places are looking at closure. Day and date home releases are putting further strain on their business. If the studios find that they aren't making as much as they would have under the traditional model it may be too late for them to go back to it.