DONNA LANGLEY

Another major movie theater chain has struck a deal with Universal Pictures to allow for shorter exclusive theatrical windows. Canada’s Cineplex has agreed on a multiyear “dynamic window” agreement, the film exhibitor and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group said Friday. Titles that have an opening weekend of $50 million or more in North American theaters will be guaranteed at least five weeks in theaters. The $50 million mark is just theoretical at this point, however. In normal times, a $50 million launch is not uncommon for Universal's biggest franchises like “Fast & Furious” and “Jurassic World."

Universal has struck yet another deal with a major theater chain to shorten the theatrical window from three months to as little as 17 days. The company announced Friday that it has come to a multiyear agreement with Canada's largest movie theater chain, Cineplex, to permit three full weekends of theatrical exclusivity before being permitted to launch on premium video on-demand platforms. Universal has made similar deals with AMC and Cinemark, top exhibitors in the U.S., and is the only major studio to reach this kind of agreement with exhibitors. Canada has nearly 600 movie theaters, including Cineplex's 165. Universal has five theatrical releases planned for the rest of 2020.

Universal Pictures has struck another deal with a major theater chain to shorten the theatrical window from three months to as little as 17 days in an effort to adapt to the new business realities of moviegoing. Universal and Cinemark announced Monday a multiyear agreement that guarantees three full weekends, or 17 days, of theatrical exclusivity for Universal and Focus Feature titles before a film can become available to rent on demand. Earlier this summer, Universal made a similar agreement with the nation's largest chain, AMC Theaters. Zoradi said that Universal was forward-thinking in coming to this “mutually beneficial agreement" and wouldn't be surprised if more studios follow suit. Cinemark, which operates brands like Century, Tinseltown and Rave, operates some 332 theaters in the U.S. and 202 internationally.

In the most popular films of 2019, protagonists were more diverse than ever, and there were more women were behind the camera. There were no Hispanic speaking characters in 44 of the films; no speaking African Americans in 15 of them; and no speaking Asian characters in 36 movies. Female speaking characters have only marginally increased over the last 13 years, reaching 34% in 2019. People of color speaking characters also still lag behind the U.S. population with 34.3% in 2019. Just 1.4% of speaking characters were LGBTQ, and 2.3% were characters with disability.

NEW YORK In a sign of how the pandemic is remaking Hollywood traditions, AMC Theatres and Universal Studios on Tuesday announced an agreement to shorten the exclusive theatrical window to just 17 days for the studio's films. The standard window of theatrical exclusivity typically runs about 90 days. The shortened window only applies to premium video-on-demand which often means digital rentals of $20 not standard on-demand or other home platforms. The deal repairs a rift between AMC, the world's largest theater chain, and Universal, which is owned by Comcast Corp. The theatrical experience continues to be the cornerstone of our business," said Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.