The broadcast quickly reached Hollywood. In turn, the industry rushes to find a new way of doing business, rethinking who rules, how contracts are set, and how the stars are paid.
The studios are toppling their management ranks, empowering executives with training in business development, technology and strategy. Producers, filmmakers and actors like Will Smith and Tom Hanks are trying to protect their interests in new contracts that are not based on ticket sales in movie theaters.
With most U.S. cinemas closed and studios sitting with billions of dollars of unreleased films, the parents of companies see broadcasting as their best opportunity for growth. Last year’s national box office revenue was just $ 2.28 billion, down from 2019’s $ 11.4 billion, according to Comscore.
There is now talk of city centers about how many subscriptions Disney +, HBO Max and Peacock have versus Netflix. Executives are wondering how much technology companies like Apple Inc. spend. and Amazon.com Inc. in films and programs and how long they should appear exclusively in cinemas, if any.
As a sign of the dramatic change in Hollywood, Warner Bros., owned by WarnerMedia of AT&T Inc., for the first time in its nearly 100-year history, does not have a single executive whose sole job is to oversee production. and distribution of films intended for the big screen.