Shock AT&T-Discovery Deal Raises Questions for Global Streaming Expansion
Manori Ravindran, provided by
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If AT&T and Discovery’s shock announcement underlines any learnings in recent years, it’s that legacy media is fighting back. And for this particular deal, a key battleground could be overseas.
The new combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery, a closely guarded manoeuvre relegated to C-suite executives, has come as a surprise to the vast majority of staff in both companies’ international camps, who hope a town hall quickly scheduled for Tuesday will clear up confusion around what’s to come one of the most urgent matters, by most accounts, being what lies ahead for each company’s much-ballyhooed streaming offering.
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Netflix Will Actually Release Zack Snyder s Zombie Thriller Army of the Dead in a Lot of Movie Theaters
Rebecca Rubin, provided by
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Netflix and movie theaters are finally playing nice and all it took was a global pandemic to turn these antagonists into friends.
The streaming service’s upcoming zombie thriller, the Zack Snyder-directed “Army of the Dead,” will play exclusively in cinemas starting on May 14 for one week prior to its Netflix release on May 21.
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Notably, Cinemark, one of the country’s biggest theater chains, has agreed to screen the movie. It is booked at 200 Cinemark locations, making “Army of the Dead” the first Netflix film to score a wide release at a major theater chain. The movie will play at roughly 600 theaters in total, including iPic, Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse, Harkins and Cinépolis. Other major circuits, specifically AMC and Regal, will not be offering the fi
Movie Theaters Don t Have to Disinfect Anymore. Many Are Still Doing It Anyway
Gene Maddaus, provided by
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Since reopening at the end of 2020, movie theaters have been trying to keep patrons safe from COVID-19 by disinfecting after every screening. They bought up misters and foggers, along with untold volumes of cleaning chemicals, and carefully wiped down any surfaces where virus particles might collect.
But this aspect of theater hygiene has turned out to be little more than well hygiene theater. Experts have been saying since last year that the risk of surface transmission was tiny, and in April the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pegged the risk at just 1 in 10,000.
Escape Room 2 Moves Up Release to July
Ellise Shafer, provided by
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“Escape Room 2” has moved up its release to July.
The sequel to the 2019 psychological thriller will now debut on July 16, 2021, nearly six months earlier than its planned release date of Jan. 7, 2022.
With the box office beginning to revive after the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s possible that “Escape Room 2” moved up in the schedule to compete within the summer blockbuster timeframe. The first “Escape Room” was a hit at the box office, earning $155 million. “Godzilla vs. Kong” recently raked in the largest box office gross during the pandemic with $31 million, and this past weekend featured a fierce box office battle between “Mortal Kombat” and “Demon Slayer,” signaling to the industry that moviegoers are certainly eager to return to theaters.
Lin-Manuel Miranda s Animated Musical Movie Vivo Moves to Netflix
Rebecca Rubin, provided by
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“Vivo,” an animated movie that boasts new music from “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, is coming to Netflix.
The family friendly film was initially scheduled to release in theaters on June 4. But Sony Pictures, the studio that originally backed “Vivo,” has instead offloaded the project to Netflix. It’s unclear when it will debut on the streaming service.
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Sony Pictures will retain all rights in China, along with home entertainment and linear television rights everywhere else, following periods of exclusivity on Netflix.
Netflix recently signed a lucrative deal with Sony, which gives the streamer exclusive U.S. rights to the studio’s theatrical releases in the first pay TV window. In addition, Netflix has a first-look deal with Sony’s offerings. However, the pact doesn’t commence until 2022 so it doesn’t include the sal