Cinemark, the third-largest movie theater chain in the US, said it has inked new deals with major Hollywood studios that will ensure that movies …
Cinemark, the third-largest movie theater chain in the US, said it has inked new deals with major Hollywood studios that will ensure that movies play in its theaters for a certain timeframe before moving to home video streaming. During the pandemic, studios have opted to release some of their new films simultaneously in theaters and on streaming services like Netflix. In some cases, the flicks bypassed cinemas altogether, which further devastated the already wounded industry. Cinemark said Friday that the new pacts with Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount and Sony Pictures, build on a November agreement with Universal Pictures in which Universal films must play in Cinemark theaters for at least three weeks or 17 days before moving online. That still drastically shrinks the exclusive window a movie plays in theaters from the 74 days, or roughly two-and-a-half months, which was typical before the pandemic shut down movie houses. Cinemark chief executive Mark Zoradi didn’t disclose the terms of the new deals, but told analysts on a Friday call that some deals “go for multiple months; others go for multiple years.” The announcement came as Cinemark and its bigger rival, AMC Entertainment, posted another quarter of pandemic-pummeled results. Plano, Texas-based Cinemark posted a widened $208 million loss after a year-ago loss of nearly $60 million.
