As first reported in The New York Times, Universal Pictures is set to shift their PVOD strategy and will extend their theatrical windows. The studio’s strategy post-COVID was the most aggressive, with many titles arriving on VOD and digital platforms 17 days after their theatrical premiere. With a premium price-point (PVOD = Premium Video on Demand), the studio carved out a new revenue opportunity, targeting mostly older moviegoers who were going to theaters less and less.
But the studio is now acknowledging that PVOD revenue was likely coming at a cost to theatrical grosses. Here’s what Universal’s new windowing strategy looks like:
- Starting immediately, all Universal Pictures titles will receive a minimum of 5 weeks in theaters. Upcoming titles include Reminders of Him, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, You, Me and Tuscany, and Disclosure Day. The key word here is minimum, as Mario and Disclosure Day (and The Odyssey) will likely stay theatrical exclusive for longer than 5 weeks.
- Starting in January 2027, Universal titles will receive a minimum of 7 weeks of theatrical exclusivity.
- Focus Features titles will be exempt from this new strategy, with many titles continuing to hit PVOD 17 days after their theatrical launch. That doesn’t mean all Focus titles will maintain the short window. We’ve seen with Bugonia and Hamnet, the specialty label sometimes gives their films room to breathe. But upcoming titles The AI Doc and Lorne will almost certainly quickly pivot to digital.
No word yet on how this new strategy will impact SVOD windows. Universal titles like Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Black Phone 2, and Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie have shifted to Peacock two or three months after their PVOD launches. Focus Features titles like Hamnet and Bugonia premiered on Peacock one month after their PVOD debut.
However this all shakes out, we’ll be here to bring you all the latest release date news.