Interest in premium video-on-demand is weaker than it appears, said the CEO of the nation's fourth-largest theater chain.
"The market for PVOD may not be particularly deep when the consumer has all options available," said Greg Marcus. "I would suggest this period tells us very little of the depth of a $20-a-film VOD market." He said patrons weary of COVID-19 restrictions are itching to get back to watching movies in theaters. "We believe human beings have an innate desire to get out of the house … just look at [now], you can’t keep them apart." His comments were made Tuesday during a conference call to investors, reported Deadline.
Universal recently struck a deal with AMC Theatres to allow some of its films to go to video-on-demand after 17 days in cinemas, prompting strong criticism from rivals Cinemark Theatres and Cineworld, parent company of Regal Cinemas. Marcus offered his company's stance, saying, "Our position has always been that, like in any negotiation, it needs to be a win-win-win for the studios, exhibitors and customers. Our common goal is to grow the size of the pie… You have to be careful you don’t shrink the pie because that hurts everyone."
The Marcus company has 91 theaters in 17 states, totaling 1,100 screens, under the brands Marcus Theatres, BistroPlex and Movie Tavern by Marcus.