Disney’s Bob Iger (didn’t he just step down as CEO?) is doubling down on Artemis Fowl going straight to Disney+.
Yes, the plot thickens
Iger teases that there might be more movies doing the same thing.
“In terms of movies going ahead after Artemis, there may be a few more that we end up putting directly onto Disney+, but for the most part a lot of the big tentpole Disney films, we’ll simply wait for slots. In some cases, we’ve announced new ones already, but later on in the calendar,” Iger said in an interview with the publication.
Disney’s Bob Iger Says ‘A Few More’ Movies Might Be Going Directly To Disney+ – Deadline
The article mentions another possible title: The New Mutants. No future date is set, but that would be a good title to take directly to VOD and/or streaming.
An important point to remember is the captive, eager for new movies audience right now. If a studio can’t release it in the studios and the budget isn’t too large, why not release it as a reason to join your streaming service or go with a low price VOD ($19.99 is pushing it, see: Yes, Some Are Paying $20 to Rent New Movies – But Is This The Right Price Point?)?
Something else I haven’t mentioned as much is we don’t need weekends with 5 or more new movies to watch. The wide release films are going to jam up later this year and it makes more sense to compete against a couple of other wide release films vs. four or more.
Personally, I’m open to as many new movies as studios want to release in theaters.
Statistically, I’m an exception and aberration as a moviegoer. The average moviegoer sees like 3-4 movies a year, I usually see 3-4 per week (when theaters are open).
Studios should want to find the right wide release slot that isn’t crowded. I’d think when there are only 1-2 other wide releases would be ideal and those weeks will be more rare the longer the theaters remain closed. I don’t think even active movie theater fans like me want to see 5+ wide releases every week in the Fall and Winter when theaters reopen. It will lead to people missing out on good movies because there are too many new ones to see and for either budget, time or both, average and even slightly above average moviegoers will miss watching them in theaters.
This doesn’t help the experience when movies bomb at the box office. Sure, some movies bomb and go on to enjoy cult success in aftermarkets and streaming. There have been some great movies that were poorly timed as theatrical releases.
Some of that poor timing could be happening right now.
At this very unique moment in time movies have a golden opportunity to reach movie-hungry audiences at home, ready and willing to watch new movies. So give us more. They don’t have to be the big budget tentpoles, but there are plenty of other movies that should be released every week.
Netflix, Amazon, heck even Quibi is releasing new content during these times. I think Bob Iger — and some at Universal — understand that studios can’t put all their eggs in the theatrical basket. That studios don’t have to choose one over the other — they can do both!
Trolls World Tour skipped the theaters and is going straight to VOD this Friday, April 10. Support it, if you have any interest in the film. The first Trolls was a lot of fun and this one looks like it’s expanding that fun to other musical genres. We’re going to be so there.
Studios just waiting around for whatever future exists with every movie they have doesn’t make good business sense. The floodgates could be about to open.
Movies, Movies, Movies 