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Universal’s latest theater deal brings some movies to streaming faster
Universal Pictures has forged a partnership with Cinemark to make theatrical exclusivity more realistic in the midst of a pandemic. Back in July, the movie studio struck a similar deal with AMC, which will make films available much earlier through streaming/video-on-demand services. The terms with Cinemark’s are a bit different, though.
Major credit card companies launch a one-click checkout button
If you're shopping on Cinemark, Movember or Rakuten any time soon, you might see a new click-to-pay button at checkout. American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa have teamed up to create the new option for fast, secure online purchases. Their vision is to have one standard checkout button across all online retail websites, similar to the PayPal experience.
Cinemark CEO credits MoviePass for Movie Club's growing success
MoviePass has in many ways left an indelible mark on cinema. Its mobile-based subscription service empowered ardent theatergoers to enjoy multiple screenings a month, sometimes at near irresistible prices. It might be struggling for the moment, but Mark Zoradi, the CEO of Cinemark, says the rise of his company's Movie Club scheme is partly due to MoviePass' efforts.
People are really into MoviePass’ unlimited cinema subscription
MoviePass, the deal that eliminates the eye-watering cost of going to the flicks, has passed the one million mark in paid subscribers -- not bad for a service that movie chain AMC lambasted as "unsustainable" earlier this year. Film fans can see a movie a day for $9.95 per month, or $6.95 if paid for the year in advance.
Cinemark launches a monthly movie program to rival MoviePass
MoviePass, the $10-per-month movie theater subscription service, was so unexpectedly popular when it launched last August that the company struggled to meet demand. Its success hasn't gone unnoticed, especially by the competition. Theater chain Cinemark is creating its own service, Movie Club, but with far less generous perks. For a $9 monthly subscription, it grants a single ticket (instead of one every day) but also gives 20 percent off concessions and cheaper bulk ticket rates.
Big theater chains team up against Netflix's first movie
Unsurprisingly, there's one group that's not at all excited to hear Netflix and IMAX are arranging for the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel to hit theaters and streaming at the same time: movie theater owners. According to the LA Times, Regal, AMC, Carmike and Cinemark have all stated they don't plan to screen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend on their IMAX screens when it arrives next year, while Variety notes Canada's Cineplex and Europe's Cineworld are also staying away from the flick. The studios blocked a planned experiment to sell Tower Heist viewing for $60 a pop (honestly, they saved everyone there) back in 2011, but it seems doubtful they'll be able to intimidate Netflix into backing down.
Theater owners ready to fight over $30, 60-day window VOD movies
While we're not exactly in a hurry to spend $30 each on 60-day delayed movie rentals, theater owners are quite upset by the whole premium video-on-demand plan apparently being pushed by Warner, Sony, Fox and Universal. The most active objector so far appears to be AMC Theaters, which announced yesterday (press release after the break) it would notify studios that it plans to "adapt its economic model" regarding movies bound for p-VOD. What it wants is likely a bigger slice of the revenue and also a heads up on which movies will be getting the earlier releases. Rival theater chains Regal and Cinemark have already expressed plans to cut promotion and screens for movies headed to p-VOD, but without any official announcement it's still not clear which movies those will be. Of course, cutting down promo and screens cuts into the theater's own revenue, so we'll wait to see who blinks first. (Hint: it won't be us -- we wouldn't pay $30 to watch The Adjustment Bureau on Mars, much less in our own living rooms on DirecTV, Vudu or Comcast.)
Theaters, studios squabbling over who will pay for 3D
We're not hopping off the 3D bandwagon, but just when things couldn't be going any better a fight over money could knock things off course. Fox apparently informed theaters it wouldn't foot the $1 million bill to cover 3D glasses for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and already word is leaking out that the nation's largest theater chain Regal Cinemas is planning to only screen the flick in 2D, with AMC Theaters and Cinemark poised to follow suit. For its part, Fox is claiming no exhibitor has said they won't be showing Ice Age in 3D and they're only "working out the issues." Of course if they did, the plan of offering 3D as something audiences can't get at home could be turned on its head quickly.[Via Cinematical]
