The time it takes for movies to pass through a theater and into one's home is getting shorter and shorter. For quite some time, movie studios have contemplated on the idea of getting movies into homes at an even faster rate and charging a substantially higher price than what you might find on services like Amazon, FandangoNow, and more. It appears that several studios are at it again, discussing the possibility of bringing theater releases to the home, which could see them arrive as early as 20 days from their initial release.
Typically, there is a 90 day period between when a movie is released in theaters and when it arrives on rental services. The general debate right now seems to be how quickly these movies should be offered and at what price point. Some of the times that are being discussed could see movies arrive anywhere between 45 to 20 days after a theater release, but the rental could be priced from between $30 to $50 USD. This seems to be a tough point to nail down as different studios think that different dates offer the perfect sweet spot. There have also been discussions with movie theater chains to cut them in on a percentage of the profits from these digital rentals.
While it seems like we are a step closer, in reality, these talks have been going on for years, and are extremely complicated. Although the negotiations continue, one point that is concrete is that the current model of distributing rentals, like its 90-day window and lower price points, must remain intact, even when this new distribution method arrives.
Source: Variety via Engadget | Image via Amazon
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