The movie-making business wants big, theatrical releases; consumers…not so much. That’s the word from Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
In the midst of a number of huge announcements about upcoming streaming content at the D23 Expo, Chapek said he believes streaming has reached a tipping point where new franchises can be born without a theatrical release.
Disney, and other entertainment companies, were forced to experiment with direct-to-streaming releases when the theatrical business shut down in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chapek said the movie industry is now forever changed.
“There’s a lot of folks in the business, in the industry, that want the world to go back to what it was and it’s not, ‘cause the consumer has moved on,” Chapek said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Ultimately everybody who’s in this business caters to one entity, and that’s the consumer.”
Disney’s Encanto, which fell short of expectation in its theatrical release, went on to become a huge hit when it was released on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. The animated film’s soundtrack topped the charts, and merchandise sales have been strong. We’re even starting to see Encanto characters make appearances in Disney parks, and the film’s composer Lin-Manuel Miranda said earlier this year that an Encanto attraction is in the works.
That’s not to say that Disney will stop theatrical releases, though. Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar movies will get theatrical releases for the big-screen experience, Chapek said.
“That does not mean that everything, for it to be credible or for it to eventually turn into a Disney franchise, has to go through that,” Chapek said.
Chapek acknowledged that investors are demanding more than subscriber growth from streaming companies — they want to see profit, too. Disney+ recently raised subscription prices and is in the middle of introducing an ad-supported subscription tier to increase revenue. The Disney exec said one thing that won’t be cut back in the race to profitability is the amount of content being produced.
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Do you still want to go to the movie theater to see new movies, or would you prefer they be released directly to streaming? Tell us in the comments!
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