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Theaters vs Streaming: AMC chief urges Hollywood to keep movies in cinemas longer
AMC CEO denounces Hollywood’s growing shift toward streaming, urging studios to extend theatrical windows, claiming longer and profitable box office runs drive the films' lasting digital success.
The CEO of AMC Theatres, America’s largest exhibitor, is urging major studios to keep films in theaters longer before shifting to streaming.
Deadline reported on February 25 that CEO Adam Aron emphasized ongoing industry debates over optimal theatrical windows post-COVID-19 pandemic during a conference call following AMC’s strong Q4 earnings. Per the outlet, Aron noted that pre-COVID theatrical windows were 74 days, but the industry has since settled around 45 days. Some films now leave theaters in just 30 days or even 17 days.
“In our view, 17 or 30 days is too short,” Aron stated, adding that some studios still allow certain films to run for 60 days. He argued that extending windows would be profitable for all parties involved.
“We believe everybody would make more money if the windows were longer,” Aron said. “We’ll continue to push for a solid 45-day window and eventually aim for 60 or even 74 days like pre-pandemic. We will all learn together, but this is a very live topic.”
Aron also discussed the Netflix-IMAX partnership for Narnia, expressing hope that Netflix will embrace theatrical releases more broadly. The streaming giant is the only one that has largely resisted traditional theatrical runs, prioritizing direct releases on its platform.
“A general consensus has emerged in Hollywood—not by all, but by most—that the most successful movies on streaming platforms are those that go to theaters first,” Aron explained. “Movies with strong theatrical runs often become the most-watched films on streaming services.”
He underscored that Apple and Amazon MGM are backing theatrical releases and that AMC has had excellent meetings with both corporations. “We’ve had superb meetings with both Apple and Amazon MGM. Amazon is expanding its distribution team to release more films theatrically, and Apple is heavily invested in the upcoming F1 movie, which they hope will be a massive blockbuster.”
However, Aron acknowledged Netflix’s reluctance to fully commit to theatrical releases. “They did it with Glass Onion, and now they are doing it with Narnia. We would love to convince Netflix that embracing theatrical releases is good for them. We’ll see where this goes.”
Despite the streaming wars, Aron remains optimistic that both theatrical and streaming industries can coexist. Consumer demand for entertainment is strong enough to support both “a robust theatrical industry and a robust streaming industry” simultaneously, he said.
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