Paramount, however, has announced that it’s going to close that gap with a couple of its forthcoming horror movies. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Scout’s Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse are due out in American cinemas in October, but Paramount has hatched a deal with two major cinema chains – AMC Theatres and Cineplex Entertainment – that could see both films hit small screens before Christmas. To put this in perspective, consider the release of the last Paranormal Activity release, The Marked Ones. Released in American cinemas on the 3rd January 2014, The Marked Ones opened wide in a total of 2,883 cinemas according to Box Office Mojo’s figures. The number of cinemas showing it tailed off to 150 over the next four weeks, until its theatrical run ended on the 20th February. There followed a gap of about six further weeks before the horror sequel got its DVD release on the 8th April. The gap between theatrical and home release is something cinema chains have fought tooth and nail to retain in the past. As Deadline points out, Universal hit a bit of a protest storm when it tried to release Tower Heist on VOD three weeks after it appeared in cinemas – a tactic it was ultimately forced to abandon. But the film business is always adapting to new forms of technology and changing public demand; this superbly detailed article is a reminder of just how greatly release windows have shrunk since the early days of home video. There was a time, for example, when the window between initial theatrical release and a video rental debut was as long as 12 months. Paramount’s deal with AMC and Cineplex aims to maximise profits without irking anxious cinema chains. The plan is that companies who sign up for the deal will continue to receive an undisclosed percentage of the movies’ digital profits even after they’ve left theatres. It’s the kind of bargain that could get more cinema chains on side in the future, particularly if Paramount’s experiment with two relatively low-budget films proves to be a financial success. The sentiment expressed by the US cinema industry has, so far, sounded cautiously optimistic. For AMC’s CEO Gerry Lopez, Paramount’s approach “aligns the interests of consumers, filmmakers and exhibitors to maximize the theatrical experience first and then enable legitimate digital access.” “For several years we’ve been asking the studios, distributors to reach out and work with exhibitors on new models and ways to grow the pie, including home entertainment, while at the same time protecting the theatrical exclusive,” says Patrick Corcoran, vice president of the Nationa Association of Theater Owners. “As far as terms of this particular experiment, it’s going to be up to individual theater companies whether this works for them or not.” Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse could, therefore, see the gap between cinema and home releases narrow for many more films in years to come. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
