That's too much TV.
Seriously, this is guaranteed to burn me out on the franchises.
Maybe. But what's the alternative?
Movies?
Cinemark got emergency funding 3 weeks ago to stay out of Chapter 11. It's the number two exhibitor in the world. Mall companies are deep in the red and in danger of going under because (a) the lockdowns closed down enclosed shopping malls and (b) the anchor stores are all going bankrupt (Lord & Taylor, JC Penney, Sears, Macy's). You need malls for movie theaters, at least in America. On top of that, Star Wars killed movie theaters.
Here's how...
Studios and exhibitors split the box office. Studios always got a big chunk of the opening week or two, but it was usually 60/40, with it then shifting to the exhibitors as time went on. To protect the investment, there was a exclusivity window. Movies had to be in the theaters first. For several months. Then they could go to the home market. But when the prequels came out, George Lucas rang the death knell. He demanded a 70/30 split with that split favoring the studio longer, that the movie had to be on the biggest screens, that the equipment all get upgraded at the exhibitors' expense, and that the movies had to stay on the biggest screens for a longer amount of time. The exhibitors wanted the prequels. So they said yes.
Gradually, the split that was special because of Star Wars became more of the norm. And MCU and Harry Potter movies used this split. The exhibitors still had to pay the "house nut" - payroll, utilities, rent - and that kept going up. Their only option was to raise ticket prices so they could pay those expenses. And because they are the ones taking the cash from the public, they are the Bad Guy.
Meanwhile, the exhibition windows got shorter and home theater technology got better. So people started asking.... "Why am I going to pay all this money to see movies in the theater, when I can see it at home for nearly the same quality but at a much cheaper cost?"
Enter in the most dangerous technology of all. Not streaming... Torrents.
One of Lucas' sticking points was that theaters switch to digital projection. Theaters stopped getting film canisters and started getting files. And they would wind up on the internet. DVD encryption got cracked. Onto the internet with more content. The studios didn't take the hit. The theaters did.
And that went on for over a decade.
And here we are - with 4K TVs coming down in price and movie tickets, when theaters do open back up, having to go up in price. A family of 4 can expect a movie to cost $100. To see one movie.
Maybe a Star Wars tentpole movie is worth it. Maybe an MCU movie is worth it.
But there aren't 12 movies a year that are worth it and there certainly aren't 52 movies a year that are worth it. Rent is due every month. Payroll needs to get paid every week. How will theaters stay open? Malls are failing. Exhibitors are going to start failing. Coronavirus kicked the Retailpocalypse into high gear.
It's a lot of TV. But where is the return for Disney for theatrical releases?
