Yeah, I missed this because CYBERPUNK 2077. But we all knew this was going to happen. HBO Max needed to be on Roku, and Roku needed to be able to add that channel. They were always gonna make a deal; they just needed to figure out who got what.
I’m of mixed minds, here. On the one hand, I was willing to pay for a year-long subscription if it meant getting The Snyder Cut. On the other hand, this deal will do nothing to help the movie theater industry. And, on the gripping hand: there’s a bunch of DC Universe stuff that I can watch now. So there’s that.
The movie theaters are going to have to re-define themselves .. and frankly, the multiplex is the weak sister, and will be toast.
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If I had to *guess* … some combination of “neighborhood” single-screen theaters and/or streaming-service-owned single-screen theaters are most likely…
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The trouble with the multiplex is .. their efficiency is calibrated on no streaming/DVD competition .. change that, and they’re just enormous funny-shaped boxes in mall parking lots … a single-screen theater takes up a lot less room, and can be multi-use.
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Mew
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p.s. I’d *like to be* wrong .. but I don’t think I am.
I have a nasty suspicion that the major studios are going to take the long view and let as many theater chains fold as they can; refuse to release the tentpole flicks to the smaller outfits like the local single screen you mention; and then, after the smoke clears, buy up the best properties and rebrand them as their own.
They’ll have to get the law against studios owning theaters out of the way first, but that shouldn’t be a major impediment.
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Senators go for cheap these days.
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The multiplexes can really only work with both a lot of butts in seats, and a lot of films for the various screens .. COVID killed the former, the studios are well on their way to killing the latter ..
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My point is describing a business model for a single-screen local that can build various loyal followings, so can survive without the tent-poles. It won’t work everywhere, and COVID ain’t doin’ ’em any favors .. but I think they’re more resilient than the multiplexes.
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Mew
Except that the distributors forced them to upgrade projectors a few years back, and those that had survived were mostly still heavily leveraged by the expense.
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Eh, my parents had fond memories of beating the summer heat by spending a nickel and having a day watching Hopalong Cassidy serials.
I was a kid when the summer blockbuster became a thing.
By the time I was an adult, tickets were (generally*) more than I
made in an hour. By the time you threw in popcorn, soda, and date, it was usually** an inefficient use of my limited resources.
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* Not counting four years subsidized by the military. When you’ve got bunches of young hotheads that you’ve educated in the ways of destruction, you don’t want them getting bored and making their own fun.
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** The converted single room schoolhouse showing reruns of Monty Python excepted.