Your phone is buzzing, your bank account balance is staring at you, your schedule is sprinting mentally. No, this is not an emergency. Are you just wanting to watch a new movie in the theater or waiting for a key choice for use at home. A seemingly small emotional difference? It is actually quantifiable. In fact, it helps drive behind-the-scenes decisions, which determines why some movies go directly to video on demand (VOD) or streaming, while others turn to multiplexing.
While dramatic films are still at the heart of Hollywood’s cultural engines, we live in a digital world and need a more strategic approach to distribution. Whether you are enjoying (less) crowded theaters (less) watching Netflix’s latest Marvel blockbusters on the couch, there is an economic logic and strategy of which movies go where and why.
I Previously covered Drama cinemas tend to deliver the highest financial returns for studios, especially in larger expected fares. Quick review:
- Paid viewing per view (PPV), advanced video on demand (PVOD), and standard VOD allow only multiple viewers to trade in one single time, while drama tickets are sold separately.
- Traditional drama distributions can profit from several windows – dramatic releases, electronic sellers (EST), DVD/VOD rentals, paid one, network, pay two – exclusive products that simultaneously stream at the same time are usually still stuck on a timeless single platform.
- The drama success leads to wider success (franchise, license, merchandise, theme parks, etc.), thanks to a deeper cultural footprint. You can’t see it Red notification Hoodies fly over from store shelves, right?
In fact, the two media can be complementary. In the United States, film studios usually distribute ticket revenue at 50/50 cinemas. But with VOD, the studio has about 80% of the revenue. VOD, joint and streaming can also turn dramatic losses into breakthroughs or profits over time. Maximizing revenue potential means choosing the distribution strategy that best succeeds with our audience. This means determining whether it has breakthrough potential in the theater or if it skips the theater altogether, it may connect more.
From large screen to small screen (or vice versa)
In 2020, Universal Pictures broke the decades of decades precedent that only preserved movies in theaters about 90 days before being offered anywhere else. Global Event Choices in Facing Pandemic-related Challenges Release movies on PVOD The dramatic debut is between 17 and 31 days, depending on the box office opening. although There is a debate As for the long-term audience effect this strategy has produced, Universal has accounted for the top three in the domestic box office market share in the past five years.
evil It can be said that this is the biggest success story of this new model. Best Picture Nominated Musical Defeated Gravity at the Global Box Office for $756 Million, and then scored Record $70 million Available in the first week of PVOD and More than $100 million Total, 80% of the PVOD revenue is generally retained. The film has been overwhelmingly successful in theaters and PVOD, and it was a huge ad that ended up playing Peacock. According to Nelson, in the U.S., it earned about 40 million hours of viewership in the U.S. and in the process facilitated acquisitions and retentions of subscribers. ((evil yes The second most popular 2025 Oscar nominee According to the guys who are analyst entertainment strategy, one of the most popular movies for Peacock). It was a long and profitable value chain.
Similar success stories have been seen in projects with greater risk. Minecraft Moviesalthough based on one of the most popular games in the world, is not considered a guaranteed home run in the theater. But, it Make $950 million worldwide. According to Greenlight Analytics’ movie Tracking Service, which I served as director of Insights & Content Strategy, 53% of viewers who knew about the movie said they were willing to pay for a fee (a drama ticket or a VOD deal) to watch it.
This shows that the income potential is long, and ultimately it is true. Samba TV reports more than 470,000 American homes watch Minecraft Movies The first five days of available on VOD. This alone may add additional income from rent and digital purchases. It helps demonstrate how dramatic hit rate translates into VOD success in the legs.
This is not the only example of a company that follows successful results in data. Paramount’s horror thriller Smile Originally as Streaming proprietary movies. But unexpectedly, the scores of the high altitude test allowed studio executives to fully release the studio. The hub paid off: The film and its sequel made more than $355 million in the global box office, with a total budget of $45 million.
These are examples of studios Use a series of different inputs Tell them where and how to show the movie to a desire audience.
When VOD and streaming performance theater
The opposite is true. Timothee Chalamet’s cannibal romance Bones and all The theater made only $15 million compared to the theater with a production budget and marketing more. According to the quorum, 56% of the movie’s healthy are willing to pay a fee score within the week of release, while the awareness and benefit scores are low, suggesting it may be more suitable for direct VOD/streaming distributions to save on marketing. I am a theater first and foremost (and Many data backups), but for smaller budget movies, there is more flexibility. even Netflix overhaulses its original movie strategy Emphasize more cost-effective bets.
We see similar metrics for various movies that can help us better understand the behavior of our audience and studios. Big budget disappointing snow White The lower statutory interest ratings generated before the release provided early warnings for its underperforming box office performance ($206 million worldwide). However, Disney+’s ratings have increased by 405% compared to VOD. Small budget reputation movie Barbarians On the first weekend, I saw seven times the ratings on Max vs VOD (and Still struggling overall). The main audience preference is to watch these titles when streaming is “free” rather than forked fees, which shows how audiences value the audience.
Amazon Christmas Movies red Also disappointed at the drama box office, the legal person’s pre-release tracking shows that despite the dramatic weakness, there is an increasing interest in family viewing. The data supports its brief dramatic window and helps foresee performance outside the box office. Finally become The 10th movie on streaming Throughout the course of 2024, although it debuted only on Amazon Prime video on December 12. Impressive.
Not every movie needs to break the box office record to provide value. Ideally, however, every movie will need to undergo a rigorous pre-release test ground to determine the optimal allocation fit. Drama and home distribution should be considered as two aspects of the same coin to gain the benefit of the studio. This can make it different between harsh reality of luminescence perception or failure. All of this input helps determine and explain why some movies go to the theater, while others are offered at home. In today’s attention economy Where Movie release and WHO,,,,, What and when.
