All but one of the 32 summer wide release films (from May through Labor Day) have either been released to PVOD or announced its date. The average window (period of theater exclusivity) will be 35 days (unless “Reagan” comes out by Tuesday, 46 days after release; our calculation comes with a guess of 60 days for that one).
That’s six days earlier than the average (41 days) for last summer’s 34 releases. 35 days is also less than the full-year 2023 number: 37 days. And summer, with its normally top-heavy group of expected big hitters, usually has longer windows than the other eight months of the year.
January through April this year saw a 30-day window average. Post-Labor Day should be higher, but likely less than the summer, suggesting full-year 2024 will be lower than the past two post-Covid/disruption periods.
It’s too early to quantify the average time of initial streaming (availability on a subscription service, rather than individual rental or purchase offered through Video on Demand platforms, which almost always come earlier). But that has also been decreasing to somewhere around 120 days.
Why the nearly 10 percent shorter window this summer? It may be less of a trend than it appears, due to two films last summer. “Oppenheimer,” totally opposite the usual Universal practice (often as soon as 18 days after release) waited 122 days (four months) for initial PVOD. Then sleeper faith-based hit “Sound of Freedom” also delayed 102 days.
The two longest windows this summer came from Disney, and for the two biggest hits. Both “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” came to PVOD 67 days after release. That’s consistent with last year for the studio, when nearly all their releases had 60 day or longer windows.
But only two other films (pending “Reagan”) had windows of longer than 46 days (after the sixth weekend). “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” (Sony) and “Longlegs” both were at 53 days.
This year had six films (including two other Disney releases, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” and “Alien: Romulus” over 46 days. Summer 2023 had 12 total.
Some of the biggest hits actually had windows at or under the 34 day average. “Despicable Me 4” came out after 34 days, “Twisters” at 25 (both Universal). “A Quiet Place: Day One” (Paramount) was also 32 days.
The trend is continuing post-Labor Day. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) came out this week, again after 32 days.
Though this might seem like a threat to theaters, generally it appears to have less impact than feared, particularly when the biggest titles like Disney’s two are in theaters exclusively longer. And it does have a benefit for theaters.
The PVOD market, where studios recoup 80 percent of the revenue after a carrier charge, is lucrative. And its value comes mostly from elevation because of theatrical play. With many expensive films struggling, this gold mine remains critical for studios when financing films intended initially for theaters.
