Warner has just signed an important agreement with AMC, the first North American cinema circuit, reducing the exclusivity for these theaters to 45 days, before making these films available on the HBO Max streaming platform.
It is an agreement which will undoubtedly be very observed and commented on by the film industry in the United States and around the world. Warner and the North American cinema circuit AMC have reached an agreement reducing the exclusivity window for Warner films in theaters to 45 days (from 90 days) starting in 2022.
This agreement comes after a long period marked by upheavals in the chronology of the media in the United States, caused by the pandemic and the closure of cinemas for several months.
We recall that Warner had taken a measure, in December 2020, which had been widely commented by the sector, in this case that its entire 2021 line-up would be available simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max platform. It was immediately made clear that this decision, caused by the pandemic, would only last a year, before a return to normal.
Warner Bros .: all 2021 movies to hit theaters AND streaming
If we are therefore moving towards a return of an exclusivity for the cinema, before the provision in streaming, the exclusivity window will therefore be shortened by half, from 90 to 45 days.
In a statement relayed by several American sites, the CEO of AMC is delighted that Warner is putting an end to the strategy “day and date“(simultaneity of cinema and streaming releases) set up for 2021. He specifies that he is in”active discussion“with all the big studios on this subject. In addition, the AMC network announces that it now accepts payments in Bitcoin.
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