Streaming hits Hollywood fast. In the aftermath, the industry is rushing to find a new way of doing things, rethinking who is in charge, how contracts are drawn up and how stars are paid.
Studios are overthrowing their executives and empowering executives with backgrounds in business development, technology and strategy. Producers, filmmakers and actors like Will Smith and Tom Hanks are trying to protect their interests in new contracts that are not built around ticket sales in movie theaters.
While most theaters in the U.S. are closed and studios that see billions of dollars worth of films that have not yet been released, streaming industry parents were considered their best growth opportunity. According to Comscore, domestic box office revenue was just $ 2.28 billion last year, up from $ 11.4 billion in 2019.
The town’s discussion is now about how many subscriptions Disney +, HBO Max and Peacock have to Netflix. Managers are asking how many technology companies like Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. spent on films and programs, and how long films should appear exclusively in theaters – if at all.
In the wake of how dramatic the move is in Hollywood, Warner Bros., led by WarnerMedia of AT&T Inc. owned, for the first time in its nearly 100-year history, not one manager whose sole job is to oversee. the production and distribution of films intended for the big screen.