Used to be that you could count on the solid, steady pace of windows. Just as seasons follow one another in stately procession (though Winter can be unruly at times), so do media windows. Or, rather, so did media windows.
In their ongoing effort to prove that initial theatrical release is no more than a giant, rather expensive marketing campaign for the DVD release, the period before a $50 million grosser hits the DVD market has dropped to 4.5 months. It remains unclear why this time frame remains so long, but maybe that’s because tradition is hard to shake. We’ve talked about the idea of simultaneous releases more than once here at Medialoper.
And while we’re talking and consumers are walking, NATO (National Association of Theater Owners, not the other NATO) is bragging that the day-and-date experiment was a colossal failure:
The overall figures come as NATO toppertopper John Fithian gloated at last week’s ShoWest confabconfab over “misguided experiments” in simultaneous theatrical and homevid release, while exulting in a “relatively stable” theatrical window after 2004’s four-day drop.
It remains unclear how a stable window and lower box office numbers combine to make a positive, but maybe I’m missing the big picture. Ha! Of course I am — I hardly ever go to the movies. Too expensive, too much hassle, too much disappointment. I’m not risk-averse, by any means, but my investment in a night at the movies is rarely equalled by the experience. Sheesh, if I wanted to watch commercials, I would turn off my TiVo.
While studios rush to reassure theater owners (don’t worry, we’ll always need you), consumers are continuing their own radical experiments. And by radical, I mean radical to the powers-that-be, not the consumers. For some, this means “clubs” — controlled environments with targeted audiences.
While industry experts ponder the myriad reasons behind dwindling box-office attendance, organizers of film clubs — cliques in which film lovers can bond over movies in a more controlled environment than the neighborhood multiplex — say their associations are growing in popularity. It’s particularly so with those who prefer their film fare served up with respect, and minus the endless commercials, chatter and crying babies.
Of course, film clubs are viewed a bit differently by the studios (see: marketing, niche). In the past, these groups were shunned, now they’re courted. Provided that members of said groups also attend cocktail parties and sit-down dinners.
Dan Goldberg, vice president of marketing and publishing for Wellspring Media, which produces and distributes art-house and foreign films, says film clubs have “passionate film devotees who relish getting an advance look at movies. They go to dinner parties or other events and they want to discuss the new film they’ve just seen. Something like that is gold to us.”
In the end, you know, it’s not going be about collapsing windows and marketing blitzes. It’s going to be about convenience and quality. Sometimes that might mean the big screen, sometimes it might mean streaming. It’s not about breaking windows — it’s about opening them.