My childhood home burnt down in a wildfire that devastated our rural hometown back in 2015. I don’t wish this pain on anybody. We lost our pets, our keepsakes, but not our memories. LA has been with my heart since this began. Thank you for the way you opened this week’s show.
Thank you for the common sense comment on the wildfires and other disasters. There's no denying the state of the planet. It's not political to recognize reality for what it is.
When calculating the damage to theaters from PVOD, keep in mind that losing their cut of ticket sales isn't the only way they're hurt. I used to work at a movie theater, and we kept ticket prices as low as the studios would let us because our main source of revenue was concession sales, not tickets.
I understand that - the broader point I was making is that it doesn't seem that the PVOD release alone massively affected overall attendance in the way that many (and myself) expected. As I said, it is a much better deal for studios than for theaters, but the bigger concern is the overall trend toward people not going to the theater at all, regardless of PVOD release windows.
As well (and we're getting into difficult to quantify territory here), but if studios are getting compensation, that's pure income with no overhead. Theaters can stop showing Wicked, allowing them to open up another screen they're able to sell tickets for, or they do continue showing Wicked and get something of a double-dip.
@@WhatsYourGhostStory Actually, there is overhead from PVOD; specifically with whatever service people are buying it from. Because very few people buy PVOD from Universal directly, they are likely buying it from a third party group, like Google Play, or a Samsung SmartTV for example. They usually take about 20% per purchase. When you also factor in the IT people who prep the movie for PVOD, which is a small but not nothing total, and the exhibition cut, they are not making as much as it may seem.
@@nallainductions I was talking about overhead as far as the theater owners are concerned. I'm not sure if the theater owners percentage is before or after those expenses are calculated.
14:17: It's interesting: Universal put Wicked on PVOD in a very short time, so many worry about how it impacts the Box Office gross, but it made a healthy amount on PVOD, and with a much better profit margin, so while the traditional optics of, "it didn't make as much at the Box Office as we would expected" don't look as good, Universal overall made more money on the movie, so as long as they care less about public optics, and more about the bottom line which is more profit, then Universal is going to keep doing this, and now we can start to understand why more Studios are dabbling in early PVOD. Long story short: the public uses box office gross to determine a movie's success, but the companies now mainly care about the profit behind the scenes, whether the movie looks "worse" or not.
It's not something really new: some Disney animated movies in the 80s and 90s were not extremely profitable in theaters (Mulan made 300 million worldwide against a 90 million budget, Hercules 250 million against an 85 million budget, not spectacular results), but then made at least another 100 million (sometimes more) in VHS and DVDs. If PVOD is working similarly to VHS and DVDs (at their peak), it's a goldmine for studios. Although, I actually think that in many cases it's not working so well, otherwise we would already have many more articles and stories like the one about Wicked...
in croatia as well. they gave it ridiculous slot thru christmas frenzy and promptly kicked it out, by the time holiday finished and i wanted to go see it, i couldn't
As someone from outside the US I can't believe the wildfire is something political in the US. If that happened in my country, no matter how rich or poor the stereotype of the affected zone was, the whole country would join to support the victims. Dan, I salute you. That intro is exactly what the US needs to hear. Keep up the good job.
It's only "non-political" when it happens in left-wing territories. If it happens under a Republican, it's political, and the media make sure you know it is 24/7.
It wasn't always that way. Disaster aid used to be relatively uncontroversial until around the rise of the Tea Party Republicans some 15 years ago as a reaction to Obama's election, and it's only gotten worse since. A large number of people in that party attempt to attach strings to disaster aid unless it's a disaster that impacts their district and then they complain the government isn't doing enough (e.g. North Carolina flooding or the Virginia earthquake a decade ago).
I don’t mean this as a slight, but I totally forgot that you weren’t popping up between the charts. I find the charts being on screen helpful to look over while you explain them, and your voice is ever present, so it was never like you weren’t present. Appreciate the consolidating and commenting on charts as always.
Better Man is one of the worst marketing trailer roll outs I ever seen. Get your tickets for Better Man because is a good movie that must be seen in the theaters. When the trailer was shown at my local theater a lady spoke out loud “this is stupid” and everyone chuckled. It came across as a Planet of The Apes character becoming a rock star. Instead of the genius intention of portraying Robbie Williams as “less evolve” individual and the journey in becoming a better man. Paramount dropped the ball in relaying the true substance of the film in their marketing. Better Man is a fun ride and full of emotions. Awesome editing and great musical performances with seamless transitions. One of the most misunderstood films that I can remember. It’s well worth the price of admission.
I don't know if the situation is different in other parts of the world and/or England but the main thing I know Robbie Williams from is a godawful music video, in which he tore off parts of his body and tossed them to models roller-skating around him. Turned me off on anything RW related, unfortunately.
@@miz4535 I actually had no idea who he was before watching the movie, but I really enjoyed it. Felt like the movie escaped the trappings of a traditional music biopic and told something great
@@miz4535Have you seen it? If what you mean is that he is not a big enough draw to fill seats in the theater then you are apparently right. However, the film is very well made and tells a compelling story, so I'm that way he is worth making a movie over. I wish more people were talking about how good Better Man is, rather than how much of a box office disappointment it has been. I'd love for it to be a viral hit that just takes time to catch on.
Thanks for talking about the wildfires in CA, Dan! I work at a school that was lost in the fires and it is most definitely not just the rich and famous being affected. So many of our students and staff lost their homes, and while morale is good in terms of coming together and planning to rebuild our community, it's also been absolutely heartbreaking to go through. Empathy and kindness go a long way in times like this, and those of us affected by the fires deeply appreciate those like you who extend it
Here’s the thing about Wicked going to PVOD, whether or not it would’ve positively or negatively affected the film, what needs to be established to these studios who are completely lost is that if you’ve got a movie like that that is still raking in money, you have got to keep it in theaters for as long as you can! STOP TAKING IT OUT SO EARLY!! This has become a new trend since last year and I am insanely worried it’s going to continue on.
Why would they do that thought when it made 70 million on VOD and they keep to keep way more of that than Box Office. I would like stuff to be in theaters longer to, but financially it seems to make more sense for them (at the moment) to do that
@@Mads97415 you are missing the point about what we are saying, no one is going to disagree that when this movie came out on VOD it was going to do insanely well. That doesn’t excuse the fact that you could still keep the movie in theaters for as long as you could, and then by the time it eventually came out on VOD it was still going to make the same amount of money there. No matter when the movie was coming out on VOD it was going to make that money from those sales. that’s why we say it’s moist strategical to keep it in theaters and make a couple more millions so that by the time it comes out on VOD it is still making that same amount of money from the VOD sales.
Appreciate the Wicked PVOD analysis. I do wonder if the PVOD would have made 70mil anyways if Universal waited another 2 weeks. Financially it seems to make sense but it sucks for us Box Office nerds that like to see big worldwide numbers go up. I wanted to see Wicked pass 500mil domestic.
i agree. but people were freaking out for no reason imo. relative to the other films in the top 5, it isn’t making THAT much less than them overall. like yes there were drops but i think they would’ve happened either way after the holidays
Im glad you posted a link to the humane society. I think regardless of what you think about the people being effected, you can at least help misplaced animals. I donated last week and hopefully they get help.
Good on you shouting out the LA Wildfires Relief Causes up top Dan & s/o all the Canadian & Mexican Firefighters for going to help out! What seems to have also hurt Wicked is only grossing >$20m in just 2 non-US markets; UK ($71.2m) & AUS ($26.9m). Shame about The Fire Inside losing 1,010 Theaters only for Better Man which gained most of them to gross
Thank you for speaking on the fires Dan. It's been frustrating to see all of the misinformed comments about who lives where. Especially while I had to evacuate myself. Thankfully we are back home now and have had no damage, but the narratives have been so incredibly frustrating. I appreciate you speaking the truth.
It's sad that people are threatening to "attach strings and conditions" to wildfire relief and aid, when CA is a state that contributes more in taxes than it takes back in!
Thank you so much for that message at the beginning Dan, you are always a beacon of (what should be) common sense. I'm grateful that we have someone like you in this space, and not afraid to address it front and center.
The callousness of people regarding the fires in LA shouldn't surprise me, but it does. I used to live in Ventura County. I've been there through wildfires, mudslides, and destruction because of the Santa Anna winds. The communities out there coming together was always so amazing to see. And now, seeing so many people turning their backs on LA because they wanna play politics makes me so mad. Especially when those people wanna use their religion to cosplay righteousness as they laugh as people lose their livelihoods and lives.
If home video windows were still 90 days (or better yet, the 6-month windows they had in the 90's/early 00's), lots more people would turn out to watch (and rewatch) movies in theaters, and they would still make the same money on home releases later on. But now people are trained that they dont need to bother going to theaters - movies will be on VOD in anywhere from 2-6 weeks. The studios have permanently and irreversibly damaged their own box office.
Another problem is that just weeks after opening in theaters, they are putting a perfect digital copy out there for people to pirate all over - an argument for longer VOD windows, not shorter ones. It's not like the old days of fuzzy cam-shot bootleg VHS tapes.
If the movie is still making money theatrically, let it stay exclusively in theaters. VOD can wait and people are probably going to wait to watch it on a streaming service than pay $30.
Beautifully said Dan, yes it time to treat our planet with the care it deserves you're right. Climate change shouldn't be a political issue since it's a fact and we can all do something about it.
11:41 I'd say its been a horror movie poster cliche for years. The 1st Scream, for example, back in 1996 had the poster of Sidney covering her mouth. I guess now its just more common than ever
Re the Wildfires in Altadena CA and people thinking “it’s just rich people” how heartless are you??? Conan OBriens assistant, Sona Movesessian, lives in Altadena - she lost her home - she has 2 children and extended family who escaped the Armenian genocide, and her house was a hub for her entire family. The people in CA, famous or not, are still people. Human beings. Fellow members of our society that we should fking care about.
When you have a billionaire class with full control of the media and the political system convincing normal working Americans that other normal working Americans are their enemy this is the end result. Everyone on both sides of the political spectrum needs to realize that the so called 'culture war' is really a smokescreen for the class war being waged by the ultra wealthy on all of us.
The amount of CO2 emissions California and US in general produce is staggerring. The amount of water used for animal arg is staggerring. I am glad it is not just happening to Bangledesh but countries more responsible. They will have to cut their emissions like everyone else or let the planet burn
I went to a prescreening of Better Man. We have a 5$ deal in some of the theaters here that you get to see a movie before it comes out. Betterman wasnt on my list to go see, but i liked it! Wasnt 'incredible' but i watched A Complete Unknown the week before and they were trying to do a bio pict in very different ways. It was still a fun time!
PVOD - 80% to the studio, 10% to the cinemas.... the remaining 10%? My guess is that that money goes straight to Dan Murrell and that's why he's living so large! :)
I completely agree with your opening message about the LA wildfires. I've seen so many people say "Who cares? They're rich celebrities' and it makes me depressed that some people have no humanity or compassion.Yes, some of them will be famous stars with money to replace some of the things they have lost, but they will still have some special mementos or things that mean something to them which can't be bought. As you say, celebrities are still people, and losing a home is awful for anyone, regardless of whether they are rich or poor. And definitely, your other point that not everyone in L.A. is rich and famous is such an important one too. I'm from the UK, but I have friends in Arcadia, which I believe my friends said is 30 minutes from Los Angeles. They have been safe so far, but it's getting closer to them, which is worrying. They're just normal people, who work behind the scenes for a TV news company.
@@aidanlastname0187 Your point? If the climate conditions are so terrible that an act of arson can lead to the largest fire in the history of the state of California, that's still a result of climate change, and all of the other natural disasters Dan listed weren't started by arson, so again, the point doesn't matter. Homie, you've got a Future Trunks avatar, you should be trying to save the future, not siding with the Androids to destroy the planet.
@@aidanlastname0187 Are you expecting the earth to suddenly open up and swallow a continent whole or something? I'm not sure what sort of signs you need to see to believe what is happening before your very eyes over the past few years. Climate change is an agonizingly slow and painful death of everything we know and love.
The main issue I think at hand with this PVOD strategy is that it still feels like it undervalues their alternative revenue streams in the long term. 1) Audiences will not feel the need to see films in cinemas if they know they are going to be able to see it at home on either streaming or PVOD. Most films I will almost never see the first few weeks to avoid the large crowds for major releases. If I know it's coming out around 3-4 weeks after it's theatrical release then there is not much reason to see it at the cinema unless it's a massive spectacle like Oppenheimer or Avatar. While if you know it will be a minimum of 2 months before it's available on demand then you might just say screw it I will see it at the cinema. 2) As Dan has pointed out with releases like Mufasa or Hunger Games (Songbirds), they can be films that see long term success at the box office but don't open to massive opening weekends. I feel like these strategies of releasing to streaming or PVOD too early just buries these films without a chance to build word of mouth and capitalise on that. I'm in no way saying that PVOD or streaming should be avoided, but rather the theatrical window be given a bit more time to make sure that theatres can survive in the long term. Wicked's early PVOD release might have netted it more due to the New Year's break, but would it have been that much lower if it was released closer to the end of January and it's continuing theatrical window. Just food for thought.
When presenting the figures for Wicked, I really liked that you used the Wicked pink colouring alongside the green. It was a nice bit of flair to the segment. 😁
I actually really want to see Better Man; I didn't think it was out in my area, but I just found out it is as of this week, so I'm hoping to go Friday! I wonder why it's got such rough traction... I've heard good things from many I trust !
I'm enjoying the PVOD discussion. I think Wicked is a further unique case for the reason so many commented on before it hit theaters. Singing nerds want to sing along. That's not something that you can politely do in the movie theater. For that reason I think it was especially appropriate for it to get the PVOD treatment.
I was driving my family to the theater to see Wicked, when my wife read on her phone it was coming to VOD in two days. We turned around, went home, and bought it two days later. Saved over $40. I'm in a one theater market, and it's vastly over priced and in poor condition. VOD was an easy choice
Did you watch Better Man - would be interested in your take. I've not seen a bad review for it, it seems that those who give it a chance enjoy it. Most online say the biggest issue is that they dont know Robbie, which would make sense but Piece by Piece, another biopic with an odd concept didn't do any better.
I did see it and I enjoyed it, especially from a craft level. The whole ape thing was in interesting choice and made sense in the context of the film - I think it would have felt much more conventional without it. But it certainly blew up the budget and made it a tougher sell for audiences.
The show looked ok, with a ton of movie & streaming information; no need to apologize. And thank you for including the links to help people affected by the CA wildfires.
I've realised when people say "political" they mean "partisan". Of course its political to gather time, money, and effort into mitigating climate change. Or to deny it's an issue. But it should not be a partisan issue to say that science demonstrates we are in danger and should take action. That's where it gets truly bananas.
I so hope that people will actually get to see "Sing Sing" this time around. It only played a week in two theatres here and was very poorly promoted. I rushed out to see it, but so many people I recommended it to missed out.
It's good to donate to American Red Cross. However, just be aware that they don't typically earmark donations for a particular cause, even when they use a current disaster to fundraise. For me, if I donate to them, I would just do so when nothing particular is happening (so they have funds for the *next* disaster). For current disasters, I will donate directly to local charities at the time of the disaster.
26:10 If I had a nickel for every time a movie with a monkey in a bow tie on its poster tanked at the box office, I'd have two nickels - which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
Robbie Williams never really had lasting star power in the US. I'm honestly surprised they even bothered putting Better Man into a somewhat wide release. It is January, I guess.
I'm glad that The Substance is coming back to theaters for a little bit. I missed it the first time around and will be seeing it next week at my local theater. Same with Anora, Sing Sing, Nickel Boys, and The Wild Robot, lol.
Dan, would you agree that Universal Studios is really an example of best practice in the current movie landscape? Not only are they making the right calls in terms of prestige releases (Oppenheimer, Wicked, Nosferatu etc,) and are squeezing the most out of bankable franchises (Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda etc.), but have also found an optimal formula for theatrical/PVOD, as you discuss. They're then happy to license their big releases to more popular streamers first, before they land on Peacock. This gives them four clear revenue streams for all releases (Theatrical, PVOD, Licensing, Streaming Subscriptions). The current media landscape is brutal but Universal shows that with best practice you can survive.
I'd say that because they were the first to do it and had to include things like revenue sharing, Universal's set-up appears to be about as good as you can get right now. I understand that any loss to theaters is a concern, but Universal has done a good job of navigating things so far.
MUBI also announced that the're bringing back The Substance in theaters this friday, probably to ride the hype on Demi Moore's win at the Golden Globes. excited to see if its cracks the top 10 next week. :)
My wife and I saw Wicked like a few weeks after it came out, and then after it came out on vod she saw it again with friends in the theaters. It was already out on vod, but it definitely didnt stop them from seeing it in theaters.
I do think it's time for studios to relax on these PVOD short window releases and start reverting to a longer window (like Italy). It's clear people are returning to theaters and it's unfair for those that want to catch up to movies, but can't because of how short theatrical windows during post-covid. The Fall Guy is proof that Universal's quick swift to PVOD doesn't work as people are still catching up to it in theaters.
I don’t know the percentage of people that watch a movie more than once, but if something is out on digital, I would buy it and watch it repeatedly and skip the theaters. This might not apply to Wicked, but a family movie would definitely lose a lot more money if PVOD is out early.
It was environmentalism that prevented mitigation by cutting brush, that prevented a dam to be built to protect a fish, and to keep the reservoirs empty. That's not even mentioning the corruption that redirected monies to other areas not intended for. Fires will always happen, but in California any attempt to avoid mitigation will always happen. I'm with Justine Bateman and others who are calling out the incompetence. To do so is not politicizing.
@CrappyCar you don't bother addressing the facts of what I wrote because it's true. You can resume your circle jerk comfortably ignorant . Thanks for playing.
the crazy amount of HYPE should be considered, its gonna give it wayyyy better legs than most movies, so those VOD $/#/stats should be reconsidered or put into context. Wicked definitely has a fandom that is extremely rare for most any movie. Wicked is a musical with that same kind of energy and aura around it than greatest showman had. the same kind of cult/fandom/eccentric fans that will see it more than once in theaters
The PVOD release of Wicked will hit the cinemas profit but from the studios point of view, i imagine they get a larger cut of the money from home releases. I think they are trying to find a sweetspot between people who will pay to watch at cinema and those who'll pay to watch it at home BEFORE it goes to netflix/disney+ etc. i suppose this would have previously been the physical release market. There are also only a few times a year when people will be at home wanting to watch a film, Christmas/New Year/Valentines etc so they will want to capitalise on this.
Hey Dan, something that might be interesting to talk about next week is whatever is happening with September 5. It was mysteriously pulled from my local theater and seemingly most theaters in the US and I can't find any statement from Paramount.
There is definitely a difference between being available on PVOD and being available on streaming in general. Red One lost a lot of theatres soon after it went onto Prime, but it being available for "free" before Christmas probably was responsible for it not breaking $100 million domestically.
I'm from California and under 50 min I know where Los Angeles area and I often go there and now seeing L.A. in flames is really nightmare and very tragic and there's a lot of great movies and films that takes place in L.A. such as Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Ninja and other locations in L.A. and it looks like there's not gonna be rain by the end of January and my heart goes to the voice actors who live in L.A. are safe.
The Last Showgirl was shown last week on a Wednesday and included a livestream Q&A with Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis. Ms Curtis spoke poignantly about the fires. At that time she said the fire was not in the canyon where her home is.
For obvious reasons they delayed the Oscar noms from the original date of the 17th. However, it looks like a few studios are making their push, besides the Substance the Brutalist, Sing Sing, and the Wild Robot are among a few titles that are being put back in theaters this weekend.
I got it on pvod. Had amazon no-rush reward points which covered it, but I was never going to go to the theaters to see it. I feel a lot of folks who are willing to wait for pvod were never going to see it in theaters. If I had to wait another four months to see it, I would've done that. Its tough to find babysitters and expensiveto go out to the theater. I go maybe once every year or two with my wife (and once a year with my kids to a kids movie like Sonic). The only movie I intend on seeing in theaters this year is Superman.
I would add that the situation with movies' release windows in the US is quite different from other countries: I live in Italy and here we have just the biggest blockbusters that stay in theatres for 6-7 weeks. In my city (a medium-large city with 260000 inhabitants) Wicked stayed in theaters just for 17 days, that was its opening weekend and another 14 days. Then it disappeared, same as other small-medium size movies. Furthermore, as of today it seems that Wicked is not even available on PVOD in Italy... It's a completely different system from the one you have in the US...
When Dan said “You’re not gonna see much of me this episode,” I first thought he meant a different person was gonna do the show, lol.
Red Hulk
I'm watching this as a reward to myself after getting through a difficult Teams meeting call. "Charts with Dan" is my chocolate cake. 😮💨
tuesdays wouldnt be tuesdays without charts with dan!
Nothing good ever happens on Teams
SAME
also here detoxing from a dumb morning at work!
Same!
Thank you for the kind message to the people living the wildfires in California. It it really sad and I agree we should unite and help!!!
Your introduction is important and well said. The Algorithm will probably hate it, but I'm glad you said it.
The fact that you have to clarify to people not to be a$$holes during someone's time of need is disgusting. Thank you for speaking up on this Dan.
My childhood home burnt down in a wildfire that devastated our rural hometown back in 2015. I don’t wish this pain on anybody. We lost our pets, our keepsakes, but not our memories. LA has been with my heart since this began. Thank you for the way you opened this week’s show.
Thank you for the common sense comment on the wildfires and other disasters. There's no denying the state of the planet. It's not political to recognize reality for what it is.
If only this common sense statement was, in fact, more common!
40th anniversary of The Goonies? Already?? [clutches his heart]
I know, right! I was so shocked when I saw that
Altadena is a historically Black community too… just completely destroyed. Devastating
When calculating the damage to theaters from PVOD, keep in mind that losing their cut of ticket sales isn't the only way they're hurt. I used to work at a movie theater, and we kept ticket prices as low as the studios would let us because our main source of revenue was concession sales, not tickets.
I understand that - the broader point I was making is that it doesn't seem that the PVOD release alone massively affected overall attendance in the way that many (and myself) expected. As I said, it is a much better deal for studios than for theaters, but the bigger concern is the overall trend toward people not going to the theater at all, regardless of PVOD release windows.
As well (and we're getting into difficult to quantify territory here), but if studios are getting compensation, that's pure income with no overhead. Theaters can stop showing Wicked, allowing them to open up another screen they're able to sell tickets for, or they do continue showing Wicked and get something of a double-dip.
@@WhatsYourGhostStory Actually, there is overhead from PVOD; specifically with whatever service people are buying it from. Because very few people buy PVOD from Universal directly, they are likely buying it from a third party group, like Google Play, or a Samsung SmartTV for example. They usually take about 20% per purchase. When you also factor in the IT people who prep the movie for PVOD, which is a small but not nothing total, and the exhibition cut, they are not making as much as it may seem.
@@nallainductions I was talking about overhead as far as the theater owners are concerned. I'm not sure if the theater owners percentage is before or after those expenses are calculated.
14:17: It's interesting: Universal put Wicked on PVOD in a very short time, so many worry about how it impacts the Box Office gross, but it made a healthy amount on PVOD, and with a much better profit margin, so while the traditional optics of, "it didn't make as much at the Box Office as we would expected" don't look as good, Universal overall made more money on the movie, so as long as they care less about public optics, and more about the bottom line which is more profit, then Universal is going to keep doing this, and now we can start to understand why more Studios are dabbling in early PVOD.
Long story short: the public uses box office gross to determine a movie's success, but the companies now mainly care about the profit behind the scenes, whether the movie looks "worse" or not.
It's not something really new: some Disney animated movies in the 80s and 90s were not extremely profitable in theaters (Mulan made 300 million worldwide against a 90 million budget, Hercules 250 million against an 85 million budget, not spectacular results), but then made at least another 100 million (sometimes more) in VHS and DVDs.
If PVOD is working similarly to VHS and DVDs (at their peak), it's a goldmine for studios. Although, I actually think that in many cases it's not working so well, otherwise we would already have many more articles and stories like the one about Wicked...
But ultimately the industry suffers without verifiable data on streaming viewership
I couldn't believe it when I saw wicked on PVOD so fast. Can't imagine the international cinemas were very happy about that
In Italy I believe we still don't have Wicked on PVOD, but it doesn't matter a lot: Wicked was generally out of theaters before Christmas
in croatia as well. they gave it ridiculous slot thru christmas frenzy and promptly kicked it out, by the time holiday finished and i wanted to go see it, i couldn't
the sing-along version hit screens a few days ago
As someone from outside the US I can't believe the wildfire is something political in the US.
If that happened in my country, no matter how rich or poor the stereotype of the affected zone was, the whole country would join to support the victims.
Dan, I salute you. That intro is exactly what the US needs to hear. Keep up the good job.
USA is very divided now. Always has been but it's reaching absurd levels. Blame Reps, Trump, billionaire media, billionaire social media and Russia
It's only "non-political" when it happens in left-wing territories. If it happens under a Republican, it's political, and the media make sure you know it is 24/7.
It wasn't always that way. Disaster aid used to be relatively uncontroversial until around the rise of the Tea Party Republicans some 15 years ago as a reaction to Obama's election, and it's only gotten worse since. A large number of people in that party attempt to attach strings to disaster aid unless it's a disaster that impacts their district and then they complain the government isn't doing enough (e.g. North Carolina flooding or the Virginia earthquake a decade ago).
I don’t mean this as a slight, but I totally forgot that you weren’t popping up between the charts. I find the charts being on screen helpful to look over while you explain them, and your voice is ever present, so it was never like you weren’t present. Appreciate the consolidating and commenting on charts as always.
Thank you for that intro, Dan. It was very well said. ❤
Better Man is one of the worst marketing trailer roll outs I ever seen. Get your tickets for Better Man because is a good movie that must be seen in the theaters. When the trailer was shown at my local theater a lady spoke out loud “this is stupid” and everyone chuckled. It came across as a Planet of The Apes character becoming a rock star. Instead of the genius intention of portraying Robbie Williams as “less evolve” individual and the journey in becoming a better man. Paramount dropped the ball in relaying the true substance of the film in their marketing. Better Man is a fun ride and full of emotions. Awesome editing and great musical performances with seamless transitions. One of the most misunderstood films that I can remember. It’s well worth the price of admission.
Maybe but he is not worth making a movie over.
I don't know if the situation is different in other parts of the world and/or England but the main thing I know Robbie Williams from is a godawful music video, in which he tore off parts of his body and tossed them to models roller-skating around him. Turned me off on anything RW related, unfortunately.
@@miz4535 I actually had no idea who he was before watching the movie, but I really enjoyed it. Felt like the movie escaped the trappings of a traditional music biopic and told something great
@@miz4535Have you seen it? If what you mean is that he is not a big enough draw to fill seats in the theater then you are apparently right. However, the film is very well made and tells a compelling story, so I'm that way he is worth making a movie over. I wish more people were talking about how good Better Man is, rather than how much of a box office disappointment it has been. I'd love for it to be a viral hit that just takes time to catch on.
Thank you for that intro, it was very impactful 💙
I'm disappointed you're not going to see Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. Your Winnie the Pooh reviews are brutally fantastic!
I know a family of four who decided to watch Wicked at home instead of going to the theater
Can you blame them 🤣
Thanks for talking about the wildfires in CA, Dan! I work at a school that was lost in the fires and it is most definitely not just the rich and famous being affected. So many of our students and staff lost their homes, and while morale is good in terms of coming together and planning to rebuild our community, it's also been absolutely heartbreaking to go through. Empathy and kindness go a long way in times like this, and those of us affected by the fires deeply appreciate those like you who extend it
Here’s the thing about Wicked going to PVOD, whether or not it would’ve positively or negatively affected the film, what needs to be established to these studios who are completely lost is that if you’ve got a movie like that that is still raking in money, you have got to keep it in theaters for as long as you can! STOP TAKING IT OUT SO EARLY!! This has become a new trend since last year and I am insanely worried it’s going to continue on.
Why would they do that thought when it made 70 million on VOD and they keep to keep way more of that than Box Office. I would like stuff to be in theaters longer to, but financially it seems to make more sense for them (at the moment) to do that
What's crazy about this is that it's usually Universal that keeps doing this.
@@Mads97415 you are missing the point about what we are saying, no one is going to disagree that when this movie came out on VOD it was going to do insanely well. That doesn’t excuse the fact that you could still keep the movie in theaters for as long as you could, and then by the time it eventually came out on VOD it was still going to make the same amount of money there. No matter when the movie was coming out on VOD it was going to make that money from those sales. that’s why we say it’s moist strategical to keep it in theaters and make a couple more millions so that by the time it comes out on VOD it is still making that same amount of money from the VOD sales.
As someone living in LA, I really appreciate your message about the fires ❤
Appreciate the Wicked PVOD analysis. I do wonder if the PVOD would have made 70mil anyways if Universal waited another 2 weeks.
Financially it seems to make sense but it sucks for us Box Office nerds that like to see big worldwide numbers go up. I wanted to see Wicked pass 500mil domestic.
i agree. but people were freaking out for no reason imo. relative to the other films in the top 5, it isn’t making THAT much less than them overall. like yes there were drops but i think they would’ve happened either way after the holidays
Im glad you posted a link to the humane society. I think regardless of what you think about the people being effected, you can at least help misplaced animals. I donated last week and hopefully they get help.
Good on you shouting out the LA Wildfires Relief Causes up top Dan & s/o all the Canadian & Mexican Firefighters for going to help out! What seems to have also hurt Wicked is only grossing >$20m in just 2 non-US markets; UK ($71.2m) & AUS ($26.9m). Shame about The Fire Inside losing 1,010 Theaters only for Better Man which gained most of them to gross
The whole Wizard of Oz cosmos is only in english speaking countries a big thing.
Thank you for speaking on the fires Dan. It's been frustrating to see all of the misinformed comments about who lives where. Especially while I had to evacuate myself. Thankfully we are back home now and have had no damage, but the narratives have been so incredibly frustrating. I appreciate you speaking the truth.
I'm happy to hear you're back home and that no damage was done.
@ thanks Dan. Really appreciate you spreading the facts.
It's sad that people are threatening to "attach strings and conditions" to wildfire relief and aid, when CA is a state that contributes more in taxes than it takes back in!
Thank you so much for that message at the beginning Dan, you are always a beacon of (what should be) common sense. I'm grateful that we have someone like you in this space, and not afraid to address it front and center.
It's really funny that you're talking about Sing Sing's poor release strategy while the poster says "Trust the process." on it.
The callousness of people regarding the fires in LA shouldn't surprise me, but it does. I used to live in Ventura County. I've been there through wildfires, mudslides, and destruction because of the Santa Anna winds. The communities out there coming together was always so amazing to see. And now, seeing so many people turning their backs on LA because they wanna play politics makes me so mad. Especially when those people wanna use their religion to cosplay righteousness as they laugh as people lose their livelihoods and lives.
Better Man is an absolute Banger!!
Thank you for the intro message. As an angelino, I appreciate it!
Thank you for everything you do Dan.
We need your kindness in a world that is getting darker & full of hate.
Keep it up good sir!
@@rc06109 I have no clue what you are talking about. I'm sorry.
Thankyou for providing incredibly important context and insights regarding the wildfires Dan ❤
Saw Better Man this weekend. Really loved it, so it’s a shame to see it struggling commercially
Dan 😂”Is indeed closer to death” 😂😂😂😂😂 Charts with Dan is the best! Love it! ❤
Betteridge's law of headlines "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
Well said Dan , you told things that needed to be told about the LA fires and natural disasters.
If home video windows were still 90 days (or better yet, the 6-month windows they had in the 90's/early 00's), lots more people would turn out to watch (and rewatch) movies in theaters, and they would still make the same money on home releases later on.
But now people are trained that they dont need to bother going to theaters - movies will be on VOD in anywhere from 2-6 weeks. The studios have permanently and irreversibly damaged their own box office.
Another problem is that just weeks after opening in theaters, they are putting a perfect digital copy out there for people to pirate all over - an argument for longer VOD windows, not shorter ones. It's not like the old days of fuzzy cam-shot bootleg VHS tapes.
If the movie is still making money theatrically, let it stay exclusively in theaters. VOD can wait and people are probably going to wait to watch it on a streaming service than pay $30.
I was not expecting Megalopolis's worst opening record to break this early.
I love how it looks like 2024 will have a Top 10 Domestic Chart where all movies will have grossed over 200 million dollars.
Beautifully said Dan, yes it time to treat our planet with the care it deserves you're right. Climate change shouldn't be a political issue since it's a fact and we can all do something about it.
Better Man is so good, hope people get out and give it a chance
Your message at the start of this video about LA finally pushed me to becoming a member! Thank you and much love to the channel Dan. ❤❤❤😊
11:41 I'd say its been a horror movie poster cliche for years. The 1st Scream, for example, back in 1996 had the poster of Sidney covering her mouth. I guess now its just more common than ever
Love it when Dan goes into the weeds with the data. The PVOD numbers are shocking actually.
Re the Wildfires in Altadena CA and people thinking “it’s just rich people” how heartless are you???
Conan OBriens assistant, Sona Movesessian, lives in Altadena - she lost her home - she has 2 children and extended family who escaped the Armenian genocide, and her house was a hub for her entire family.
The people in CA, famous or not, are still people. Human beings. Fellow members of our society that we should fking care about.
When you have a billionaire class with full control of the media and the political system convincing normal working Americans that other normal working Americans are their enemy this is the end result. Everyone on both sides of the political spectrum needs to realize that the so called 'culture war' is really a smokescreen for the class war being waged by the ultra wealthy on all of us.
The amount of CO2 emissions California and US in general produce is staggerring. The amount of water used for animal arg is staggerring. I am glad it is not just happening to Bangledesh but countries more responsible. They will have to cut their emissions like everyone else or let the planet burn
I went to a prescreening of Better Man. We have a 5$ deal in some of the theaters here that you get to see a movie before it comes out. Betterman wasnt on my list to go see, but i liked it! Wasnt 'incredible' but i watched A Complete Unknown the week before and they were trying to do a bio pict in very different ways. It was still a fun time!
I am seeing The Brutalist tomorrow, I can't wait!
PVOD - 80% to the studio, 10% to the cinemas.... the remaining 10%? My guess is that that money goes straight to Dan Murrell and that's why he's living so large! :)
Dan, you're ever so sensible. We surely appreciate your common sense. Kudos!
I completely agree with your opening message about the LA wildfires. I've seen so many people say "Who cares? They're rich celebrities' and it makes me depressed that some people have no humanity or compassion.Yes, some of them will be famous stars with money to replace some of the things they have lost, but they will still have some special mementos or things that mean something to them which can't be bought. As you say, celebrities are still people, and losing a home is awful for anyone, regardless of whether they are rich or poor.
And definitely, your other point that not everyone in L.A. is rich and famous is such an important one too. I'm from the UK, but I have friends in Arcadia, which I believe my friends said is 30 minutes from Los Angeles. They have been safe so far, but it's getting closer to them, which is worrying. They're just normal people, who work behind the scenes for a TV news company.
Really missed an opportunity to insert the True Lies scene when the video camera battery dies during the villain's big speech.😂
Sad that even acknowledging climate change is real is a controversial political position in the United States.
The fire was started via arson
@@aidanlastname0187 Your point? If the climate conditions are so terrible that an act of arson can lead to the largest fire in the history of the state of California, that's still a result of climate change, and all of the other natural disasters Dan listed weren't started by arson, so again, the point doesn't matter.
Homie, you've got a Future Trunks avatar, you should be trying to save the future, not siding with the Androids to destroy the planet.
@@gregtroyanEvery single year y’all complain about Climate change and how the world is gonna end or whatever, but it never happens.
@@aidanlastname0187 Are you expecting the earth to suddenly open up and swallow a continent whole or something? I'm not sure what sort of signs you need to see to believe what is happening before your very eyes over the past few years. Climate change is an agonizingly slow and painful death of everything we know and love.
Strawman that you deflect. Dont be a brainlet@@aidanlastname0187
I loved the breakdown of Wickeds PVOD performance! Wish more studios would report their numbers
Better Man didn’t open massively here in the uk but it’s holding well, most screenings in my city were sold out this last weekend
Anyone who says "It's just a bunch of " is an a-hole. It doesn't matter what the natural disaster or what group of people is being affected.
The main issue I think at hand with this PVOD strategy is that it still feels like it undervalues their alternative revenue streams in the long term.
1) Audiences will not feel the need to see films in cinemas if they know they are going to be able to see it at home on either streaming or PVOD. Most films I will almost never see the first few weeks to avoid the large crowds for major releases. If I know it's coming out around 3-4 weeks after it's theatrical release then there is not much reason to see it at the cinema unless it's a massive spectacle like Oppenheimer or Avatar. While if you know it will be a minimum of 2 months before it's available on demand then you might just say screw it I will see it at the cinema.
2) As Dan has pointed out with releases like Mufasa or Hunger Games (Songbirds), they can be films that see long term success at the box office but don't open to massive opening weekends. I feel like these strategies of releasing to streaming or PVOD too early just buries these films without a chance to build word of mouth and capitalise on that.
I'm in no way saying that PVOD or streaming should be avoided, but rather the theatrical window be given a bit more time to make sure that theatres can survive in the long term. Wicked's early PVOD release might have netted it more due to the New Year's break, but would it have been that much lower if it was released closer to the end of January and it's continuing theatrical window. Just food for thought.
When presenting the figures for Wicked, I really liked that you used the Wicked pink colouring alongside the green. It was a nice bit of flair to the segment. 😁
I actually really want to see Better Man; I didn't think it was out in my area, but I just found out it is as of this week, so I'm hoping to go Friday! I wonder why it's got such rough traction... I've heard good things from many I trust !
I'm enjoying the PVOD discussion. I think Wicked is a further unique case for the reason so many commented on before it hit theaters.
Singing nerds want to sing along. That's not something that you can politely do in the movie theater. For that reason I think it was especially appropriate for it to get the PVOD treatment.
Great intro Dan, very well said.
Thank you for that opening. Well stated.
I was driving my family to the theater to see Wicked, when my wife read on her phone it was coming to VOD in two days. We turned around, went home, and bought it two days later. Saved over $40. I'm in a one theater market, and it's vastly over priced and in poor condition. VOD was an easy choice
Did you watch Better Man - would be interested in your take. I've not seen a bad review for it, it seems that those who give it a chance enjoy it. Most online say the biggest issue is that they dont know Robbie, which would make sense but Piece by Piece, another biopic with an odd concept didn't do any better.
I did see it and I enjoyed it, especially from a craft level. The whole ape thing was in interesting choice and made sense in the context of the film - I think it would have felt much more conventional without it. But it certainly blew up the budget and made it a tougher sell for audiences.
Thanks, it was an interesting choice that paid off from an artistic point of view, just a shame the marketing fluffed it. Thanks again and take care
The show looked ok, with a ton of movie & streaming information; no need to apologize.
And thank you for including the links to help people affected by the CA wildfires.
I've realised when people say "political" they mean "partisan". Of course its political to gather time, money, and effort into mitigating climate change. Or to deny it's an issue. But it should not be a partisan issue to say that science demonstrates we are in danger and should take action. That's where it gets truly bananas.
I so hope that people will actually get to see "Sing Sing" this time around. It only played a week in two theatres here and was very poorly promoted. I rushed out to see it, but so many people I recommended it to missed out.
Charts with…
….WHERE ARE YOU DAN I CANT SEE YOU DAN
It's good to donate to American Red Cross. However, just be aware that they don't typically earmark donations for a particular cause, even when they use a current disaster to fundraise. For me, if I donate to them, I would just do so when nothing particular is happening (so they have funds for the *next* disaster). For current disasters, I will donate directly to local charities at the time of the disaster.
26:10 If I had a nickel for every time a movie with a monkey in a bow tie on its poster tanked at the box office, I'd have two nickels - which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
Watched 2073 last week. Chills ran down my spine because of how close to home the events depicted were.
Robbie Williams never really had lasting star power in the US. I'm honestly surprised they even bothered putting Better Man into a somewhat wide release. It is January, I guess.
I'm glad that The Substance is coming back to theaters for a little bit. I missed it the first time around and will be seeing it next week at my local theater. Same with Anora, Sing Sing, Nickel Boys, and The Wild Robot, lol.
Lovely speech I wish more people would listen.
hahahaha..... what a macabre way to talk about Goonies. We're about the same age, so I'm with ya!
Let’s go! Another week of charts!
Dan, would you agree that Universal Studios is really an example of best practice in the current movie landscape? Not only are they making the right calls in terms of prestige releases (Oppenheimer, Wicked, Nosferatu etc,) and are squeezing the most out of bankable franchises (Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda etc.), but have also found an optimal formula for theatrical/PVOD, as you discuss. They're then happy to license their big releases to more popular streamers first, before they land on Peacock. This gives them four clear revenue streams for all releases (Theatrical, PVOD, Licensing, Streaming Subscriptions). The current media landscape is brutal but Universal shows that with best practice you can survive.
I'd say that because they were the first to do it and had to include things like revenue sharing, Universal's set-up appears to be about as good as you can get right now. I understand that any loss to theaters is a concern, but Universal has done a good job of navigating things so far.
MUBI also announced that the're bringing back The Substance in theaters this friday, probably to ride the hype on Demi Moore's win at the Golden Globes. excited to see if its cracks the top 10 next week. :)
My wife and I saw Wicked like a few weeks after it came out, and then after it came out on vod she saw it again with friends in the theaters. It was already out on vod, but it definitely didnt stop them from seeing it in theaters.
Thank you your one anecdote proves it stops no one
Goonies never say die, but those of us who were around when it came out do say "oh my back".
I do think it's time for studios to relax on these PVOD short window releases and start reverting to a longer window (like Italy).
It's clear people are returning to theaters and it's unfair for those that want to catch up to movies, but can't because of how short theatrical windows during post-covid.
The Fall Guy is proof that Universal's quick swift to PVOD doesn't work as people are still catching up to it in theaters.
I don’t know the percentage of people that watch a movie more than once, but if something is out on digital, I would buy it and watch it repeatedly and skip the theaters.
This might not apply to Wicked, but a family movie would definitely lose a lot more money if PVOD is out early.
Amazing Intro Dan!
8:42 Last time, a few thousand separated films, now a few hundred between A Complete Unknown and Wicked.
It was environmentalism that prevented mitigation by cutting brush, that prevented a dam to be built to protect a fish, and to keep the reservoirs empty. That's not even mentioning the corruption that redirected monies to other areas not intended for. Fires will always happen, but in California any attempt to avoid mitigation will always happen. I'm with Justine Bateman and others who are calling out the incompetence. To do so is not politicizing.
Tell me you watch Fox News/OAN without telling me you watch.
@CrappyCar tell me you are close minded without telling me you are close minded.
@ Talking to yourself again?
@CrappyCar you don't bother addressing the facts of what I wrote because it's true. You can resume your circle jerk comfortably ignorant . Thanks for playing.
the crazy amount of HYPE should be considered, its gonna give it wayyyy better legs than most movies, so those VOD $/#/stats should be reconsidered or put into context. Wicked definitely has a fandom that is extremely rare for most any movie. Wicked is a musical with that same kind of energy and aura around it than greatest showman had. the same kind of cult/fandom/eccentric fans that will see it more than once in theaters
The PVOD release of Wicked will hit the cinemas profit but from the studios point of view, i imagine they get a larger cut of the money from home releases. I think they are trying to find a sweetspot between people who will pay to watch at cinema and those who'll pay to watch it at home BEFORE it goes to netflix/disney+ etc. i suppose this would have previously been the physical release market. There are also only a few times a year when people will be at home wanting to watch a film, Christmas/New Year/Valentines etc so they will want to capitalise on this.
Hey Dan, something that might be interesting to talk about next week is whatever is happening with September 5. It was mysteriously pulled from my local theater and seemingly most theaters in the US and I can't find any statement from Paramount.
There is definitely a difference between being available on PVOD and being available on streaming in general. Red One lost a lot of theatres soon after it went onto Prime, but it being available for "free" before Christmas probably was responsible for it not breaking $100 million domestically.
Thanks for the time stamps.
Love charts with Dan!!
I'm from California and under 50 min I know where Los Angeles area and I often go there and now seeing L.A. in flames is really nightmare and very tragic and there's a lot of great movies and films that takes place in L.A. such as Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Ninja and other locations in L.A. and it looks like there's not gonna be rain by the end of January and my heart goes to the voice actors who live in L.A. are safe.
less Dan more charts YAY, I JOKING DONT COME FOR ME
The Better Man bots came after me online bc I asked the question.. why didn't ppl go see it ?...
Their response was IT'S GOOD!
The Last Showgirl was shown last week on a Wednesday and included a livestream Q&A with Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis. Ms Curtis spoke poignantly about the fires. At that time she said the fire was not in the canyon where her home is.
For obvious reasons they delayed the Oscar noms from the original date of the 17th. However, it looks like a few studios are making their push, besides the Substance the Brutalist, Sing Sing, and the Wild Robot are among a few titles that are being put back in theaters this weekend.
I got it on pvod. Had amazon no-rush reward points which covered it, but I was never going to go to the theaters to see it. I feel a lot of folks who are willing to wait for pvod were never going to see it in theaters. If I had to wait another four months to see it, I would've done that. Its tough to find babysitters and expensiveto go out to the theater. I go maybe once every year or two with my wife (and once a year with my kids to a kids movie like Sonic). The only movie I intend on seeing in theaters this year is Superman.
Thank you for the charity list Dan!
I would add that the situation with movies' release windows in the US is quite different from other countries: I live in Italy and here we have just the biggest blockbusters that stay in theatres for 6-7 weeks. In my city (a medium-large city with 260000 inhabitants) Wicked stayed in theaters just for 17 days, that was its opening weekend and another 14 days. Then it disappeared, same as other small-medium size movies. Furthermore, as of today it seems that Wicked is not even available on PVOD in Italy... It's a completely different system from the one you have in the US...