Universal’s PVOD Service May Not Be as Great as People Think
By George Robbins
It has been over three months now that theaters have unfortunately been shut down for and we are constantly hearing about the effects this has had on theaters. What is also mentioned is the fact that studios have had to shut down movie productions and postpone any theatrical releases that they had scheduled. One studio that has taken the opportunity to test out a release format they have been waiting to try is Universal when they released ‘Trolls World Tour’ on PVOD, or Premium Video On Demand. Apparently they have been meaning to see if it would work out if they released their films straight to digital and the pandemic gave them the perfect chance.
Universal made a statement that the movie did better than the first film financially and that it was a success. Not too long after they made that announcement did they say they were releasing their first live-action PVOD film, ‘The King of Brooklyn.’ They felt that the model thy had constructed was one that was strong enough to support them without them needing to wait and release films theatrically. This created a lot of tension between them and the theater chains, prominently AMC, who then said they would no longer be showing any films that were produced by Universal. Even now, AMC refuses to give way and change their minds.
Universal issued a statement almost immediately after AMC said they would no longer show their films saying that there intention was to release movies simultaneously through both platforms. Movie theaters are already going to be having a rough time moving forward and losing exclusive films doesn’t sit right by them. The exclusivity of a movie being shown in theaters is what companies count on when they want tickets sold for their movies. That is why there is currently such a symbiotic relationship between studios and theaters. This is also why theaters are the biggest part of whether a movie does well. If the movie does well in theaters, then whatever company that owns the film is going to end up making a fortune when the film is done with its theatrical run.
There is no guarantee that PVOD will even end up working out because, as it turns out, ‘Trolls World Tour’ wasn’t as much of a success as the studio reported it being. The film made a lot of money through the direct-to-VOD layout, but was it enough to cover the costs of marketing and production. Even still, unless it makes back at least over twice as much as the costs, then it probably won’t be seen as any kind of success but instead, a failure. There is no telling moving forward if it will be worth putting any more time and effort into the format unless they get enough films released this way to get better figures. On top of that, if they really want a good gauge of how well the movie will do they need to release a film that is highly anticipated. Otherwise, they are just better off doing what other studios are by delaying their movies to wait for a better climate for movie releases.