Last week there was a bang that the cinema industry has never experienced before: Because the film giant Warner Bros. has announced that in 2021 all of its films – 17 in number – will be shown both in theaters and via streaming without exception. The whole thing has a few buts, including the fact that the flicks are disappearing after a month of HBO Max and that all this only applies to the next year for the time being, but the message is clear: the cinema is no longer the main role.
And you Brutus?
Even today, the cinema could experience the next chapter in a Shakespearean tragedy. Because Julius Caesar (the cinema) could get the next dagger of the next conspirator (film company) rammed into his chest.
Because today Disney is holding an investor event at which the streaming plans for 2021 will be presented. There will be the usual, that is, announcements of new series for Disney +, including new details on shows like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision, information on new Star Wars productions and the like.
But that’s probably not all. Because Disney is currently sitting on many films that cannot be released due to the corona crisis. The best example is Black Widow, this flick has been waiting for release since spring. On the one hand, the money from the box office results is missing, which Disney urgently needs, on the other hand, the non-publication of Black Widow stops the entire “machine” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Model Warner Bros. and Mulan
That’s why many expect Disney to follow Warner’s example and announce a similar streaming offensive. That wouldn’t really be new either, because the live version of Mulan was already a very similar experiment – although it is not known exactly how successful it was.
However, the steps taken by Warner Bros. and (potentially) Disney cannot be compared, because the initial streaming solutions are very different: Disney + already has millions of subscribers, HBO Max, on the other hand, only got out of the starting holes with great difficulty. The economic conditions cannot be compared either, because Disney urgently needs money, but WarnerMedia can afford to invest in HBO Max and to keep subscribers going by serving them a blockbuster like Dune or Matrix 4 once a month.
AT&T doesn’t give a damn about the cinema
This is also because WarnerMedia is owned by the telecommunications giant AT&T: And they are not necessarily interested in people going to the cinema. AT&T wants it to be streamed, ideally via its own networks. Disney, on the other hand, is dependent on cinema or streaming income (including the Mulan model, in which a film is shown on Disney + for an extra fee), since other business areas such as theme parks are currently in the deep red.
Cinema (approx. 1892 to 2020)
Whether and how this will work out for Disney, Warner Bros. and probably others remains to be seen. Only one thing is clear: the cinemas are the losers. And that is extremely unfortunate, even if many comments openly and covertly say Hme. Because tens and maybe hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs if cinema chains and individual houses have to close. It will soon be a lot more difficult to find a cinema to see a visually stunning film like Dune.
Without question: the crisis is a bit homemade for cinemas. Because whether out of greed or economic necessity: cinema has recently been too expensive. For a family of four, for example, a visit together meant one thing more and more often: a luxury that one cannot often afford. A downsizing is certainly desirable here, because the question also arises whether a multiplex, in which the latest blockbuster is shown in 18 of 20 cinemas, has anything to do with cinema “culture”.
However, it is to be feared that it will not be a shrinking health, but a clear cut. But we still want to remain optimistic: Because it is to be hoped or expected that event cinemas and even small, exclusive cinemas will survive – and, like vinyl, will find a loyal following in the music sector.
In any case, the business will change completely, because streaming will also destroy exploitation chains (cinema, home cinema, streaming, television, etc.) and thus also change budgets.
Will everything change for better or for worse? With the best will in the world, nobody can predict that at the moment. One thing is clear: Pandora’s box is currently wide open. It remains to be seen whether hope will emerge in the end.
Note: This comment cannot and does not want to cover all aspects of current developments in cinema and streaming, which is why we would like to ask you, the readers, to make intensive use of the comment function. Tell us your opinion and discuss this very interesting topic!
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