Jason Blum and his Blumhuse Productions have had a busy 2020 already with the release of FANTASY ISLAND, THE INVISIBLE MAN & THE HUNT. Blum still has another PURGE film set for the summer as well as the highly anticipated horror sequel, HALLOWEEN KILLS in October. With such a busy slate and frequent presence on the release calendar, Blum is the perfect person to talk to about how the theatrical experience will change once the coronavirus pandemic ends and Blum seems to think we'll be in a very different landscape once it does.
On this week’s episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show: Sunday Special,” Daily Wire editor-in-chief sat down with Jason Blum to discuss Blumhouse's satirical thriller THE HUNT, which was one of three Universal Pictures releases to arrive on VOD early due to theaters closing their doors nationwide amid the coronavirus spread, and that move is one that Blum believes will be a gamechanger moving forward:
"I think it’s not realistic to think all the studios are going to wait four months before they put a movie at home. They just can’t compete, they’re going to have to compete with Amazon and Netflix and Apple in a different way. There’s going to be shifts. The consumer is going to be more used to staying at home. Something is going to give, there has to be something that’s going to happen post-corona. The movie business will look different after the coronavirus."
I don't think Blum is wrong on this front. The bottom line for studios will always be utilizing the theatrical window to make as much money as possible but in a case like this when their presence won't be felt for a few months, they have to think of a way to get their content out there otherwise they could lose traction to some of the streaming services like Netflix, Hulu & Amazon. In response to Blum's assessment, Shapiro asked the producer whether he believes a shift in the movie industry and Hollywood business model would also bring about changes in the content of films themselves. "How does that impact genres like horror? So horror is a genre that almost demands to be seen with other people,” remarked Shapiro. “If you’re streaming a movie and you can just pause it at the scary part and go to the bathroom, that obviously radically changes how you see any of these films."
Shapiro pointed out that a genre like horror thrives on the theatrical experience because it's a genre that generates a huge reaction from the audience. That aspect is part of seeing a horror film in a crowded theater and it's something that can't really be replicated at home. Blum seems to agree with Shapiro and he doesn't think seeing a movie live in theaters will go away but he does think the window between the theatrical release and the time it arrives for home viewing will be much shorter moving forward:
"I don’t think theaters are ever going to go away. The collective experience of going to a theater and taking in a movie, I think that’s going to be around for a long time. I think there’ll be less movies in theaters, there’ll be less of a selection, or I should say, there’ll be many many fewer movies in theaters with the window, and I think there’ll be many many more movies in theaters, but they only last for a week or two."
I've read a few Jason Blum interviews and he always seems pretty spot on with his opinions. I really do think this whole experience will change how studios approach the theatrical release and the window between that release and its home release as well. There's going to be a rush to get the product to the consumer quickly, especially dealing with a moviegoing public that will now have months getting used to watching films from the comfort of their own home. Will that change the priority to see a movie theatrically? Only time will tell.
THE HUNT is currently available for a 48-hour rental through a variety of streaming services, including Prime Video, Apple TV and Google Play.