In a shocking reversal in strategy, Universal Pictures is lengthening the time that movies will play exclusively in theaters.
It’s a major change from the pandemic era when Universal was aggressive in brokering deals that shortened the theatrical window to 17 days, or three weekends. Now the studio is committing to longer runs, promising a minimum of five weekends in 2025 and seven weekends in 2027 before a film moves to home entertainment.
It’s also a huge win for movie theater owners, who have long argued that audiences wouldn’t pay to see films on the big screen if they could wait a few weeks to watch them at home. Way back when, 90-day windows were the norm but the average shrunk to roughly 45 days since the great COVID box office reset.
“Our windowing strategy has always been designed to evolve with the marketplace, but we firmly believe in the primacy of theatrical exclusivity and working closely with our exhibition partners to support a healthy, sustainable theatrical ecosystem,” NBCUniversal Entertainment chair Donna Langley told the New York Times, which broke the news of the shift.
