Universal will be extending the exclusive theatrical window for 2027 releases to 45 days (seven weekends), Deadline has confirmed. This theatrical window will not extend to Focus Features titles which will still remain around 17 days. Note, Uni playing movies at five weekends exclusively is not new news; they’ve already been doing this for some time on their big studio fare.
The studio during Covid laid out a very specific play of 17 days in theaters for those titles opening to less than $50M before going to PVOD, and then 30 days for those movies opening north of $50M before heading to PVOD. This was all part of a very specific financial waterfall strategy of downstream revenues with Peacock serving as a pay-one window followed by Amazon in the subsequent window for some titles.
Donna Langley, the chairwoman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, made this all official about Universal’s window plans to the New York Times this AM, “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.”
AMC circuit boss Adam Aron, who often tussled with Langley in the headlines over window crunching during Covid, beamed on X today, “Big news. The highest praise for NBCUniversal Chairman Donna Langley and her team Pete Levinsohn and Jim Orr. I cannot say enough good things about Donna Langley’s leadership of Universal. First and foremost, she is a superb film maker. Add to that her grace, business acumen and courage in making important decisions that have real ramifications supporting the entire movie ecosystem.”
“Universal remains a theatrical-first studio,” Ms. Langley told the New York Times, “That’s proven by the breadth of our slate, our commitment to our filmmakers and the ongoing investments we make in the creative community.”
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