The Coronavirus pandemic has turned the global theater industry on its head, leading to many desperate changes that could have long-term ramifications. From ushering in an age of VOD first releases of big budget films, to changing the historic release windows for how long a movie must be in theaters, the shake up of movie distribution has broken decades of once-sacred traditions. Now however, audiences may be looking at yet another big change, one that might shift how the box office is reported even after the pandemic fades into memory.
It was Warner Bros. who first crossed the red line, revoking the ability of other studios to see the daily figures for the release of Tenet. Instead the company has opted to report numbers only on specific days, carefully managing how and when the figures are revealed. This move was begrudgingly accepted by other studios, who were not quite so brave as to release a big budget blockbuster during the pandemic. Sony quickly followed suit, however, delaying initial box office reporting until the Monday after opening weekend for its films.
Major studios are under no obligation to reveal the box office numbers for their releases. This is a fact that is rarely discussed, but may be increasingly relevant in a new age of Hollywood accounting. Sure, at some point someone has to go to shareholders and tell them the nitty-gritty of how much money they’re making, but the actual public release of an individual movie’s gross is surprisingly optional. For decades, studios have opted to report this information partially out of tradition, and partially because a big box office number can be useful marketing and and of itself, but that attitude may be shifting.
It’s not an entirely shocking move, especially for an industry whose accounting practices are already notoriously opaque, but it does mark a significant adjustment in how theses numbers are handled. If studios continue to shift their reporting strategies, audiences may be receiving a much more controlled look at the box office from now on. Whether that’s for better or worse is difficult to say. Audiences will have to wait and see if this pattern holds true even after the Coronavirus passes, and if major studios seem happy with the results.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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