AMC CEO Reveals: Three Out of Six Major Studios Support 45-Day Theatrical Window – CinemaCon

Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment, noted that there is actually considerable consensus on prolonging exclusive theatrical release periods, despite the apparent conflicts within the exhibition sector and the significant disputes highlighted during CinemaCon this year.

“I’ve got at least three out of the six main studios firmly agreeing that we should reinstate the 45-day window,” he stated as the largest yearly gathering for theater owners and studio executives gears up in Las Vegas. “That’s a promising beginning.”

AMC is the biggest movie theater company in both the United States and worldwide.

If you examine the release windows of all studios apart from Disney, they range between 18 to 36 days. In contrast, Disney maintains a window of 60 days. This has proven beneficial for Disney, which has enjoyed considerable success. However, only time will tell how this evolves. The biggest movie theater chain in the U.S. is actively engaged in discussions with various studios because our industry stands to lose significant revenue by failing to adhere to the standard 45-day window.

So far, we've initiated discussions with nearly all significant studios—we're not quite done reaching out to everyone—but as an industry, we must address this issue together. We need to reinstate at least a 45-day gap before movies become available elsewhere; after achieving that, we can discuss whether extending beyond 45 days would be appropriate. However, it cannot be shortened to just 25 or 28 days, nor could it remain at 32 days since doing so would deprive both cinemas and audiences of their rightful experience.

He didn’t disclose which trio has agreed to join and which ones are still being persuaded. Not all of them have been approached yet. "It’s an ongoing process... I'm currently engaging in talks with various studios, studio by studio. So far, I can confirm that we haven't received any refusals, but we do have three affirmatives.” The focus here is on traditional big-name studios rather than newer entities like Amazon MGM Studios or Apple Studios. "There are six significant players out there; my discussions indicate agreement from three of those—though it would be more accurate to attribute this consensus to the overall conversation rather than directly to me personally."

When asked whether those three would indeed follow through, he responded, "I believe they will, once I have all six under my control."

For whatever it may be worth, the head of Sony Pictures Entertainment Tom Rothman during the studio's presentation on Monday informed the gathered exhibitors, who responded with enthusiastic applause, “Costs and windowing strategies can either benefit or hinder our efforts. We must approach theatrical releases intelligently concerning these factors. Allow me to assure you that Sony Will collaborate with you on both.

On a panel yesterday, Peter Levinsohn, Chairman, Global Distribution, NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios, however, the studio has stated that it needs to refine its window settings To boost profitability and cater to viewers who “aren’t planning to watch every single film at the cinema,”Universal might be particularly challenging to win over.

On Monday, Jeff Goldstein, who serves as the President of Global International Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, and Mark Viane, the President of International Distribution at Paramount Pictures, discussed windowing strategies during a panel discussion. However, Vue International’s CEO Tim Richards and Cinepolis’ CEO Alejandro Ramirez Magana chose not to participate in this conversation. They pointed out that box office revenues have recovered significantly in major international markets where film release windows tend to be longer.

Eduardo Acuna, who leads the Regal Cineworld group—the second biggest movie theater chain both in the US and globally—spoke alongside Levinsohn during a panel discussion yesterday. He echoed Aron’s sentiments, stating, “It seems like our sector has reached a point where we can gain additional traction concerning this 45-day release window.”

Aron, Acuna, theater operators present in Las Vegas, and Michael O'Leary, who leads their trade association Cinema United, — Shorter windows were a COVID-era experiment that has run its course. "Everyone agreed it was a failure, and now Hollywood is teaching people to remain at home," according to Aron.

The data indicates that within brief time frames, a substantial portion of the audience opts to remain at home and watch movies on television instead. This behavior poses challenges for the movie theater sector as they face losing part of their customer base who previously frequented cinemas under the old 74-day release window system.

"We could certainly engage in an intriguing discussion here. The question remains whether the window should be set at 45 days, 60 days, or perhaps even 74 days? However, it shouldn't remain as short as just 45 days individually; instead, we must collaboratively aim for maintaining at minimum a 45-day period. This duration cannot be shortened to merely 25 days nor reduced to either 28 or 32 days since doing so would disadvantage both movie theatres and film enthusiasts," stated Aron.

Importantly, “If Hollywood studios wish for theaters to remain viable venues for their major blockbusters, they must support an ecosystem that ensures sufficient revenue circulates within the theater industry. This will maintain the health of the theatrical sector.”