“We would like to convince all the major studios that they should keep movies in theaters longer,” the CEO of the nation’s largest exhibitor said today, noting that, yes, windows have shortened since Covid, but where they could ultimately wind up is is still “a very live debate right now.”
As Hollywood experimented during and after Covid, “what it coalesced around is that the old 74-day window became a 45-day window. And some movies have gone quicker, to 30 days or 17 days,” Adam Aron said on a call after AMC reported nice fourth-quarter numbers.
“In our view, 17 days or 30 days are too short, [and] this is a conversation that is front and center, live,” not just wishful thinking, he said.
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Some studios leave certain films in theaters for 60 days, he noted. “We believe everybody would make more money if the windows were longer,” Aron said. “So watch this space, we’ll continue to see what can do to convince the industry that it should be firm around this 45-day number. And once we get there, maybe we can extend it to 60 days or 74 days, like it was pre-pandemic. We will all learn together, but this is a very live topic.”
Asked about the collaboration between theatrical-shy Netflix and Imax on Narnia, he said he’d love to convince the giant streamer to help drive more patrons into seats — something Netflix executives have repeatedly insisted they will not do.
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“A general consensus has emerged in Hollywood — not by all, but by most — that the most successful movies on streaming platforms are those that go to theaters first, and those movies that have a great theatrical release often wind up being the most-watched movies on streaming services,” Aron said.
But, “There are streamers and then there are streamers,” he added. “There are some streamers who have actively embraced the actual releases — Apple and Amazon come to mind. And we’ve had superb meetings and conversations with both Apple and Amazon MGM. We’re highly encouraged, for example, that Amazon MGM [is adding] distribution personnel because they would like to dramatically increase the number of films they are releasing.
“Similarly, Apple is so excited about F1, coming out in June, which they’re hopeful, we’re hopeful, is going to be a major blockbuster, gangbuster hit. Their embrace of theatrical is something that’s quite exciting to us.”
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Aron added: “You notice that there is another major streaming service that I talked about that that is not as enthusiastically embracing theaters, that being Netflix. But we continue to reach out to Netflix. And right now Narnia is scheduled to play in on AMC Imax screens. We would love to be able to convince Netflix that embracing theatrical releases is good for them. They did it with Glass Onion. They are doing it with Narnia. We’ll see where this goes.”
He believes consumer demand for entertainment can support both “a robust theatrical industry and a robust streaming industry side by side.”