A Change In The Air

I think I'm sensing a trend finally coming home to roost in film distribution. Spring is often the slowest season for the industry, but this Spring is one of the slowest in a very long time. And now the summer season is nearly upon us and it seems as though the focus for distribution has changed. But, if it has, this change has been anticipated within the industry for a very long time.

The change I speak of has to do with theatrical releases. Prior to last year's economic crash there was a certain standard which most companies followed, but this Spring much of that seems to be changing. Before, any genre that was on the wane or any film which would normally be considered of lower ('B') quality would have been released in 1,000 screens or more, nationwide, in Spring primarily and to a lesser extent at other times throughout the year. As of this Spring the trend seems to be moving towards releasing these films on a limited basis, no matter what the season. Anything which is seen by the studio execs as capable of holding its own at the boxoffice (Pelham 1-2-3, Taken, etc.) is still operating under the old system. At least, initially. If that film should fail theatrically - and failure means not coming close to what it cost to make the thing - then there are still the backup markets of DVD, cable, and international (for some).

There have been changes in the past year or so to even those markets. Air travel is down, so the airline market is now a much smaller revenue stream for the industry. And in addition to DVD we now have Blu-Ray, which broadens the market as it has trained that market to become afficionados of the extended cut and the behind-the-scenes footage and all the additional bits and pieces which only fanboys would covet, but which now a much wider audience desires. And they desire that as much as they desire to have theatrical quality viewing capability within their own homes. Thanks to home theatre, the quality of a film viewed in Blu-Ray and heard through quality home theatre audio system is as good as and more likely better than the average screening room in the neighborhood multiplex.

Add to that the trend in cable marketing of releasing day-and-date, and sometimes even in advance (currently Surveillance is a good example) a theatrical release direct to the home cable market, accessible on a pay-per-view basis. And should you have the home theatre set-up, then why pay $10 or more per person to sit in a theatre and pay another $20 for popcorn and drinks when you can pay $9.99 at home and prepare whatever you wish to consume on your own time. Or, better yet, invite a couple of friends and get them to kick in a few bucks apiece and you've all saved about $20 for the experience.

Nearly 20 years ago, when I was working at Lucasfilm/THX, we were just developing the first home theatre in partnership with Toshiba. We had a 15' x 20' room outfitted with the best technology of the time, including an RGB projector, which was about the size of a young adult gorilla and which required a very sturdy table to sit on. No room for your tasty beverage there! We also had a number of high quality speakers; surely an oddity for a sound engineering firm whose only rival in the market was Dolby for sound quality. And we had laser discs and Beta tapes - ah, the dinosaurs roared! But the viewing quality was quite good. Did I mention Toshiba was involved? Thank goodness they are so good at shrinking technology down into something more manageable. Here we are, 20 years later, and about a third of all homes have a home theatre set-up of one sort or another. Which makes the move seem that much more plausible for distribution companies.

Especially when film production is turning to the digital process. 25 years ago, when I worked at Disney, the execs were in consultation with their counterparts at other studios discussing how they could beam films into theatres, thereby cutting out the costs associated with projectors, protectionists, film labs, shipping and insuring their product. It makes good sense from a strict business perspective. But until recently the quality was not there. That has all changed, now. And instead of beaming an unsecureable signal through space to thousands of screens, they are beaming the signal directly into our homes via cable or satellite cable or, soon, the internet.

Yes, it's coming. You will watch films on the web; your children and friends already do. So why should it seem so preposterous that distribution should change after all these years? Where's the money, after all?