One of the most interesting stories of the …horrified shudder—The first third or so of the COVID-19 pandemic was the month-long dispute between AMC and NBCUniversal that began when Universal announced that Trolls World Tour it had gone so well on the platforms on demand after losing its theatrical career that future universal films would also be skipping into theaters even after the pandemic was over. AMC was so angry with this that it stated that no Universal film would ever be played in an AMC theater again, that Universal could not have cared less, but a few months later they reached an agreement which involves shortening the theatrical windows that apparently made everyone happy. Then Disney started releasing movies directly to Disney + and Warner Bros. announced that the full 2021 list would be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. Basically, while AMC was concerned about NBCUniversal raising the traditional film release model, the other major studios … altered the traditional film release model.
Warner Bros. has been adamant that the issue of HBO Max is a temporary solution designed to avoid further delays and give the screen to the few theaters that have reopened in the United States some news (a plan that has actually worked), but now Disney CEO Bob Chapek says he doesn’t think the old way of releasing movies is coming back. This came out during a question and answer session at the Morgan Stanley conference on technology, media and telecommunications (via The wrapper), with Chapek explaining that now people have become accustomed to the “luxury of a whole year of getting titles at home almost when they want them.” He added that he does not want to “cut off the legs of a theatrical show”, but it is clear that he is not convinced that people will even want it now, as they know that the studios are ready and can release great films online. through its dedicated transmission platforms.
Meanwhile, com The wrapper points out, we still don’t know if Disney will really commit to a traditional theatrical-only premiere Black widow, which is scheduled for May 7, following the pandemic. If Chapek cares about making this the new status quo, it would be weird to let Marvel Studios adhere to the old way of doing things, though President Biden now says the United States will have enough vaccines for all adults in the country by the end of May, so if Disney does stick to the old model and time works, Black widow could be the great “theaters return” movie that Principles it had to be six months ago.