[Weekly Update] Movie Coming to Streaming Before Leaving Theater

Things are slow in the Accented Cinema -basement- office because I'm adapting to my new medication. Hopefully when things get better I can get back into the thick of it with renewed motivation and optimism.

CHANNEL UPDATE

After tediously reading through many news reports on Ah Girl Go Army, most of which are publicity fluff pieces, the script is nearing completion. The last bit to write is Jack Neo's public image, and the history of Singaporean cinema. Every bit of this topic is outside of my existing area of knowledge. I hope my research was done right.

We'll be wrapping up our Dynasties series soon, covering the history of Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasty. Afterward, movie became an art form contemporary to its period, and there's not much point of talking about "historical perceptions" in media anymore. Thank you for supporting the series for this far. Multi-part series on YouTube generally have rapidly declining viewerships, which is why we don't make two parters nearly as much as we used to. This ambitious project would not be possible without your direct support.

We have nothing concrete planned after that. I'm currently exploring a few topics, including movies about ethnic minorities in China, or perhaps a video highlighting a few lesser known international films from 2024 so far.

MEDIA TALK

I know it's not quite summer yet, and movies released lately aren't very high profile. Be it Godzilla or Furiosa, these movies were just the entree for the summer main course. Even still, it's wild to see how many of these movies came to streaming, while the film is still being shown in theatres.

There are many reasons for this phenomenon. But I think the main reason is just how box office revenue is split between Studios and Theatres: In the first couple of weeks, movie theatres make essentially no money from tickets, as nearly all of the revenue goes to the Studios. This split gradually shifts towards the theatres favour the longer the films stay in cinema. It was a mean to incentivize movie theatres to keep showing the movies for longer. And theatres used to be okay with this arrangement, because the opening night audience tend to buy more concessions.

One thing to note is that keeping the movies in theatres longer isn't all that financially rewarding for the studios. The main reason to do so is to take away valuable screens away from rival studios. If old movie from studio A is seen by only 5 people but generates $40 revenue, theaters are going to keep that old movie instead of switching to a new movie with 50 viewers but only $5.

But then, movie streaming comes along. I'm sure you can see why movies come to streaming so soon now. Indeed, the moment these movies stop generating sizeable revenue in theatres, which is about 2 to 4 weeks after premiere, they can just immediately add them to their streaming catalogue and start making money again. This movie merely eats into the theaters' portion of the revenue, and does not harm the studios' bottom line.

In the past, I have compared this to the "so called" golden age of Hollywood, when movie studios were vertically integrated. They essentially owned the writers, the actors, the directors, the promotional company, and the very screen the movies were shown on. Studios did not have to fight each other for cinema distribution. Movie theaters with no studio affiliation had no negotiating power. It was not a healthy market.

The system wasn't effectively broken down until the 1960s, decades after the Supreme Court split the companies apart. While there were brilliant directors working in this studio system, I think most of us would agree, movies had become way more diverse and interesting afterward. Competition is good for the market, after all.

But now, streaming brought the power of exhibition back to the studios, and competitions are at an all time low, it's no wonder why movies began to feel same-y again. There is no rush to find the next big thing, because even the dullest movie will have a screen.

And that's the state of cinema right now. With how politics going in the US, it's unlikely the court will split these companies apart any time soon. So, yeah, let's hope movie theaters can find some way to fight back, because movie studios are all too happy to kill them off.

Anyway, that's the update for the week! Hopefully I can finish the Ah Girl Go Army video soon. In any case, hope you have a good summer!