“What you will see with these films is that they are generally attractive, but they are also aimed at this young, diverse audience that represents today’s streaming audience, the generation of users who choose streaming as their main source of entertainment.” ma’am, “Campbell said in an interview.
Updated
May 2, 2022, 9:20 a.m. ET
Although lagging behind some of its streaming competitors, Peacock has been a success this year. February was the highlight when viewers could see the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, the simultaneous release of Jennifer Lopez’s Marry Me in theaters and at work, and the debut of Bel-Air, dramatically a rethinking of the hit 1990s TV series The Prince of Bel Air, starring Will Smith. (The second season is under development.)
“The retention of our service after all this special content was broadcast in such a concentrated period of time was far above our expectations,” said Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, in a conversation about profits last week. “We saw a 25% increase in engagement hours over the previous year.”
When the pandemic revolutionized the theater business, Universal Pictures experimented with different methods of distributing its films. There was a purely theatrical one like “Fast 9: The Fast Saga,” which grossed $ 173 million when it was released last summer when coronavirus cases were lower. There was also Sing 2, which grossed more than $ 160 million in the domestic market after it was released in December, before moving to first-class on-demand video just 17 days after its theatrical debut. The company is also experimenting with simultaneous launches, debuting “Halloween Kills” and the sequel to “Boss Baby” in theaters and Peacock during the height of the pandemic. The company will do it again in two weeks with a remake of Stephen King’s horror film “Firestarter”.
“There is no one size fits all,” Ms. Langley said. “It’s really about looking at the individual films on the one hand, and then our Peacock growth engine, and doing what’s best at all times, depending on what’s going on in the market. I hope that this stabilizes with the time when the theatrical landscape stabilizes. But until then, we have that option. “
Like any other studio manager, Ms. Langley is involved in the complex calculation of which films fit where in a world where the theater box office is 45 percent lower than it was in 2019. This is ” a declining box office, “Ms Langley said, expecting theater attendance to still fall by at least 15 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
Add Comment