"TENET" OPENS INTERNATIONALLY, "THE EIGHT HUNDRED" CONTINUES TO SUCCEED IN CHINA

WEEKLY FILM INDUSTRY NEWS DIGEST, UPDATED FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 04

‘Tenet’ Triumphs With $53M Worldwide Launch From 40 Offshore Markets & Canada The Tenet figures are better than pre-weekend projections, which were already difficult to call given this is the first major Hollywood movie to release in the pandemic era — amid an unstable landscape that features varying capacity restrictions and recent coronavirus spikes in some areas….In terms of market breakdowns, the UK led all Tenet play at $7.1M on 3,114 screens and pulled in a 74% share…he 32 markets in the Europe/Middle East and African region accounted for $37M of the weekend gross…What’s more, per-screen averages are reaching pre-COVID blockbuster levels in many markets, including Denmark ($73K), Norway ($64K), Saudi Arabia ($55K), Finland ($42K) and Sweden ($38K — despite a maximum of 50 people per show in the market).The total IMAX portion of the box office is $5M from from only 248 screens in 38 markets. The per-screen average was $20K. The full IMAX weekend represents 9.4% of the total. This is by far the biggest late August international box office weekend ever for IMAX. https://deadline.com/2020/08/tenet-christopher-nolan-the-eight-hundred-imax-china-international-box-office-1203024679/

China Box Office: 'The Eight Hundred' Marches Towards $300M China's blockbuster war epic The Eight Hundred earned a healthy $69 million during its second weekend on Chinese screens, retaining the global box office crown over Christopher Nolan's Tenet…The war film is expected to march past the $300 million mark in China sometime later this week...Nearly all of China's approximately 70,000 movie screens are back in operation, although public health officials are maintaining a 50 percent limit on seating capacity for each screening. It was rare for cinemas to exceed 50 percent capacity prior to the pandemic, though, so exhibitors expect the social distancing measures to have a limited impact on earnings potential. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-the-eight-hundred-tops-tenet-marches-towards-300m

‘Bird Box’, ‘The Two Popes’, Episodes Of ‘Stranger Things’ Among Titles Offered For Free Streaming On Netflix Netflix is offering some movies and series free to stream, no subscription required. The streaming service has set up a “watch free” site in an attempt to lure new subscribers….The free content is available globally but only on a computer browser or an Android device. The material is not available on the Netflix mobile app or on iOS. https://deadline.com/2020/08/bird-box-the-two-popes-stranger-things-streaming-free-netflix-1203027369/

AMC Entertainment Selling Its Nine Baltic Theaters For $77 Million AMC Entertainment said Monday it’s agreed to sell its nine theaters in the Baltic region (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) to UP Invest for €65 million (about $77 million) as it continues to shore up its balance sheet. https://deadline.com/2020/08/amc-entertainment-selling-nine-baltic-theaters-77-million-1203027329/

Closely Tracked ‘Mulan’ Release Expands The Definition Of Big-Ticket Streaming Disney rejects the term “premium video on demand,” or PVOD, in reference to its release via Disney+ of Mulan on Friday…Mulan is a $200 million, live-action remake of the 1998 Disney animated film...“From our research under a premiere access offering, not only does it get us revenue from our original transaction of PVOD, but it’s a fairly large stimulus to sign up for Disney+.” https://deadline.com/2020/08/closely-tracked-mulan-release-expands-definition-big-ticket-streaming-1203026371/

‘Mulan’ Producer Jason Reed…

…I do think that the pandemic has accelerated plans that we were already seeing. In our industry, as well as every other industries, my sense is that what we were seeing and what we’ve been seeing is a more dynamic distribution model evolving, one that tailors the distribution for the creative content as much as it does for the actual business model that’s preexisting; whether that’s day and date theatrical and streaming or whether it’s a hybrid approach like this is going to be, where some territories are theatrical and some territories are streaming only.

...what I think what we will see is exhibition and distribution having to figure out how to best optimize each unit, and if it’s a small indie movie with a very specific audience, well, then streaming only might be the best approach to getting that to the most number of people....If it’s a big spectacular film that really demands a theatrical release, well, then maybe it goes into theatrical with a long run, maybe it goes for a short run, and goes to a premium SVOD or electronic cell model. I think that everything is open, and everything is going to change. My personal belief is that the theatrical experience will continue regardless of the business trends because I think there is a real value to communal film watching.

...What I think is really fun about the future of Disney going forward is now that they have multiple business models they can embrace, be it Disney+, or theatrical, or a hybrid of the two I think it gives them a lot more creative freedom. I think it’s going to be great for audiences because they’re going to get a much broader, wider array of stories told in that tradition than they would’ve if they were limited to simply theatrical.

https://deadline.com/2020/09/mulan-jason-reed-producer-interview-disney-pvod-china-1203028065/

Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Sets China Release Date

September 11… in 2D, 3D and IMAX…The September 11 date falls one week after the China release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet on September 4 which is also when Disney+ gets Mulan in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and the major European markets where the streaming service is up and running. In markets where the studio currently has no announced launch plans for Disney+, Mulan will go theatrically. That includes Eastern and Central Europe as well as some parts of Asia and elsewhere.

https://deadline.com/2020/09/mulan-china-release-date-september-11-disney-1234568559/

Disney Reveals ‘Mulan’ Release Date For All Disney+ Subscribers After $30 Premier Access Run

Mulan will be released to all Disney+ subscribers at no extra charge on December 4, three months after it begins its run at $30 exclusively through the streaming service…Instead of labelling it a premium video on demand (PVOD) release, Disney created a new category for the $200 million tentpole: Premier Access. Any Disney+ subscriber will be able to see the film through the streaming platform if they pay $30 when it goes live Friday in the U.S. and other territories with Disney+. As long as subscribers don’t cancel, they will retain access to the film and can download it and watch it an unlimited number of times.

As of November 2 at 11:59PM PT, the Premiere Access window will close, according to the Disney+ website. After a month, regular access to the film without a charge will begin for all Disney+ subscribers.

https://deadline.com/2020/09/disney-reveals-mulan-release-date-for-all-disney-plus-subscribers-after-premier-access-1234569473/