The Changing Face of Cinema

This is excerpted from the Cinemagique newsletter.

Cinemagique is a film group of which I'm a member.  It's a large, eclectic multi-aged group that screens movies once a week in a Cineplex theater in Montreal a few days before the films open to the public.

"It’s scary how fast movies are becoming available for streaming. Paramount has just struck a deal with two major chains to make new movies available to watch at home just two weeks after they leave theaters. Each movie is its own cautionary tale: just because your film is financed, shot, edited, and in the can, doesn’t mean you’re home free.

"Our movie theatres are increasingly threatened by streaming: digital becoming the distributors’ crown prince. In early 2012, movies were available for digital download about 9 months after theater release. Movies released last summer are now available for download 3-4 months after theater release, roughly at the same time as DVDs.

"Last summer, Paramount announced that the animated film The Little Prince, a record-breaker in France (where it won the Best Animated Film at the Cesars), would not even open theatrically in the U.S.. Paramount had U.S. rights to the pic, was not going to distribute the movie at all. In Canada, we got to see it, thanks to eOne/Seville."