Decipher The Future: The Year That Transformed The Entertainment Industry Decipher The Future

"The question on all distributors’ minds: do we release on VOD or wait for theaters to open again?"



On this episode of Decipher The Future, Jeffrey Cole and Arturo Caro discuss the quick, and unexpected, transformation of the entertainment industry due to the impact of COVID-19 around the world.



A few takeaways:

• 2020 will be known as the year with no summer blockbusters

• The mode of getting entertainment has dramatically changed

• The movie theatre business (exhibition) has been in decline for 80 years: in 1946 (US and Canada) 4.3 billion movie tickets were sold. In 2019, although the population has doubled since 1946, only 1.22 billion tickets were sold

• What movies had a good transition from theaters to Premium VOD given the sudden closing of theaters back in March 2020?

• How does a studio determine what movies to release on VOD or streaming platforms VS waiting for a wide theatrical release?

• Bob Iger’s gold business decision that lead to Disney+

• Disney had 8 out of the 10 billion dollar films in 2019

• Can you build a franchise on a streamer?

• The “acceptable” prices for the new era of Premium VOD