“Inside Out 2” hits theaters for 100-day run, increasingly rare | Wilnesh News

disney We hope to bring a little joy to theaters through the upcoming Pixar production “Inside Out 2.”

current Expectations for animated sequel easily top $85 million Premiering domestically this weekend, it will make it the highest-grossing opening of any film released in the U.S. and Canada in 2024. A feat not seen since July when Warner Bros. “Barbie” walked briskly into the cinema.

Judging from Thursday night’s North American previews, “Inside Out 2” has already grossed $13 million at the box office. By comparison, 2019’s “Toy Story 4” opened with $12 million on Thursday and $120.9 million in its opening weekend.

Any opening number over $50 million would be a boon for Pixar, which has been struggling to regain its box office footing in the wake of the pandemic. However, Disney seems confident in “Inside Out” as the film is expected to run in theaters for 100 days, which is almost unheard of for animated features and non-blockbuster action films these days.

While most consumers are not familiar with the theatrical release window (the weeks or months during which a movie plays exclusively in theaters before going to streaming or other on-demand options), for theater operators and box office analysts For me, committing to big-screen exclusivity for more than three months is a big deal.

Before the pandemic, the industry standard was a so-called 90-day drama window (although the actual average is actually closer to 75 days, according to market research firm The Numbers).

Only a handful of movies will surpass this date – usually big franchise movies or blockbusters. After this period, the film will be available on home video, including digital downloads, DVD and Blu-ray discs, and streaming sites. After that date, movies will still be released in theaters, but will then compete with sales in the domestic market.

When the pandemic hit and movie theaters were forced to close, studios had to decide whether to delay releasing movies until theaters reopened or put them on streaming or video-on-demand in the meantime.

Disney was one of the companies that chose to launch a variety of animated products in the domestic market at that time.

As theaters begin to reopen, studios are renegotiating how long movies need to stay on the big screen before reaching domestic markets. After all, coronavirus variants and a vaccine that is not yet widely available have many moviegoers staying home. The result is that exclusivity timeframes vary widely, as each studio negotiates its own agreements with major movie theater chains.

For example, common An agreement was signed with Focus Features that the film must screen in theaters for at least three weekends, or 17 days, before being moved to a premium video-on-demand platform.

“The ninety-day window was always unsustainable,” said Jeff Kaufman, senior vice president of film and marketing at Marco Theaters. “The pandemic has kind of accelerated that.”

The changing theater window leaves studios and movie theaters with a complex equation.

Daniel Loria, senior vice president of content strategy and editorial director at Box Office Company, explained that before the outbreak, studios had been working to shorten release times to reduce marketing expenses.

Studios pay big bucks to market a movie for a theatrical release, then have to hype it again months later for the film’s transition to the domestic market. With a shorter window, studios don’t have to spend as much money to reacquaint audiences with a film because their impressions from the premiere may still be fresh in their minds.

“My impression of movies launching early (on premium video on demand) is usually a decision not to double down on marketing spend,” Loria said.

Last year, the average screen time for a wide-release movie was 39 days, according to The Numbers. The average run time so far in 2024 is 29 days. Of course, that number is expected to grow with the release of summer blockbusters.

In some cases, studios are extending their showings well beyond typical theatrical windows. For example, in 2022, Paramount and Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick” spent more than 200 days in theaters before entering the domestic market.

And, these numbers only refer to how long the movie has been available for rental in the domestic market. Typically there is a much longer wait before a movie is available as part of a subscription streaming service, which is often considered “free” by these subscribers.

The Numbers reports that the average time span between theatrical release and streaming subscription launch in 2023 will be 108 days.

There were early attempts at date-based releases, meaning movies would be released in theaters and on streaming at the same time. But that faded away as studios realized that these simultaneous releases could cannibalize sales and lead to increased piracy rates.

Another consideration is that many actors and directors have contractual provisions that reward them with a percentage of a drama’s proceeds. 2021, actress Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over the simultaneous release of the 2020 Marvel movie “Black Widow” on streaming media and in theaters. She claimed that her agreement with the company guaranteed her exclusive theatrical release for her solo films, and that her salary was largely determined by box office performance. Johnson and Disney later settled for an undisclosed amount.

The company strives to It’s beefing up the company’s fledgling streaming service with content, streamlining its creative team and delivering theatrical films directly to digital platforms.