04 december 2020
10:11
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Investors are concerned about a shorter blockbuster exclusivity for Kinepolis. Not Eddy Duquenne. Hollywood threatens to dig its own grave. There is plenty of other content. ‘
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Warner Bros makes the cinema world shake to its foundations. The studio is launching 17 films next year simultaneously in the cinema and on its streaming channel HBO Max with 9 million subscribers. These include ‘Godzilla vs Kong’, ‘Mortal Kombat’ and the latest Matrix movie.
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Warner Bros is so following in Disney’s footsteps that decided to throw ‘Mulan’ and ‘Soul’ on Disney + immediately – for a hefty extra on top of the subscription fee – and simply skip the cinema passage. And MGM is also looking for a streaming channel to market the new Bond film.
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All of this is very bad news for cinema groups such as Kinepolis
that sees the more than two months of exclusivity on blockbusters go up in smoke. Investors are not comfortable about it and made the stock plummet to 15 percent on Friday morning.
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The studios still postpone movies, they don’t give up on lucrative cinema revenues.
Eddy Duquenne
Kinepolis CEO
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Kinepolis CEO Eddy Duquenne does not panic. For various reasons. Both Warner Bros and Disney said it was a one-time decision as a result of the pandemic that is closing cinemas worldwide. ‘The studios are still postponing films, they are not giving up the lucrative cinema income. In the entire life cycle of a film – cinema, streaming, DVD and TV – Hollywood generates the largest income in the cinema. ‘ Kinepolis will transfer half of the entrance fee to the filmmaker.
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Duquenne fits Warner Bros ‘decision in the American streaming players’ battle for market share. ‘Nowadays people also put a streaming subscription under the Christmas tree.’
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Kinepolis will soon be showing the Netflix movie ‘The Midnight Sky’ (with George Clooney) and the pilot episode of ‘Mank’.
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Just as Hollywood uses streaming to increase its revenue – at this point to limit corona loss – Netflix and co. the reverse movement. The streaming players sell their movies on the big screen.
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Kinepolis has bought ‘Mank’ (pilot episode), ‘Chicago 7’ and ‘The Midnight Sky’ (with George Clooney) from Netflix. With an exclusivity of two to three weeks before they can be seen on Netflix. Duquenne also wants to show Netflix series. ‘During a guest lecture at Ghent University I asked 266 students whether they would watch a series in the cinema. 59 percent answered ‘yes’.’
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Smaller window
The CEO does expect the film exclusivity (‘theatrical window’) to be shortened. That trend has accelerated over the last decade due to our rush to consume. ‘We come from 18 months at the time of the VHS cassette. Today it is still an average of 2.5 months. In China there is no longer a window for local films. If a movie flops, it’s on streaming the next day. ‘
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He doesn’t see that happening that quickly in Hollywood. ‘Otherwise, they’ll kill the goose with the golden eggs. And that chicken can also breed on other eggs. ‘ Read: there is plenty of other content for Kinepolis to choose from. There is the offer of the streaming players and also concerts and sporting events that the cinema group shows more and more.
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We are investing even more in experience to highlight the difference with streaming. We’re going to defend our crust.
