Blog: Film

The global success of the second instalment of the Avatar franchise, Avatar: The Way of Water (currently at $1.7 billion in box office revenue), is a timely reminder of the enduring consumer appeal of going to the movie theatre to watch the right kind of film .

As the summer holidays begin, and Netflix starts feverishly planning for its strategic pivot into advertising, the impact of the unfolding attention recession will start being felt in video streaming. Across the northern hemisphere, record temperatures and the appeal of in real life (IRL) alternatives to staring at screens are now at their most appealing.

The 94thAcademy Awards are only 26 days away, and the long-established hype machine for promoting the Oscars, as they are popularly known, is well underway. Arguably, as the first Oscars post-pandemic (where the pandemic has been side-lined in favour of a resumption of post-lockdown life), the movie industry will be hoping that the Oscars return to their traditional default position at the pinnacle of the entertainment ecosystem.

As video entertainment returns to pre-lockdown consumer choices between home-based, predominately digital, content offerings, and the ‘in real life’ (IRL) appeal of the cinema, the quality of the content is returning to the fore.

Today Netflix announces its Q4 2020 results. Widely recognised as one of the standout business winners of 2020, Netflix avoided any D2C ‘Big Bang ’disruption by seeing its dominant streaming video position enhanced through the 1 5% of additional entertainment time which suddenly became available to consumers during the successive waves of lockdown which were rolled out by governments across the world to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

An unprecedented year for the entertainment industry has now taken yet another decisive turn. Last Thursday Warner Media’s CEO Jason Kilar announced that all Warner Bros’ 2021 releases will be available to stream exclusively on its direct-to-consumer (D2C) service HBO Max on the same day they have their box office premiers.

The Financial Times has reported that Apple is planning to acquire The Culver Studios, a complex of film-making buildings in LA next to where Sony Pictures is based. The Culver Studios has a long history in Hollywood, with the likes of Howard Hughes and Cecil B.