Universal
- Producer Jason Blum, who's behind horror movies like "Get Out" and this year's "Halloween," fears that Oscar hopeful movies will be wiped out by superhero blockbusters and genre films if the theater business doesn't change.
- Blum says that the window between when a movie comes to theaters and when it is released on home entertainment should be shortened for movies that aren't huge at the box office.
- Blum's compromise for theaters would be that they receive a cut of home entertainment revenue in return for giving up film screenings.
Jason Blum - the producer behind horror hits like "Get Out," Paranormal Activity," "The Purge," and this year's "Halloween"- has a solution for protecting smaller movies from being swallowed up by superhero blockbusters and popular genre films at the cinema. It just involves a big change in the theater business.
In an interview with Variety, Blum said that the window between when a movie opens in theaters and when it is released to home entertainment should shorten to just two to three weeks for movies that aren't major box office winners. If not, Blum thinks that superhero blockbusters and genre movies like horror will continue to consume the industry. Smaller, Oscar-like movies would go away as more and more directors transition to television.
Blum's compromise for theaters would be that they would receive a cut of home entertainment revenue in return for giving up film screenings.
"Without a change to windowing it's going to be low-budget genre movies and superhero movies and that's it," Blum said. "The movies that are celebrated at the Oscars are going away because the people that make those movies are going to television. Even David Fincher is working for f-ing Netflix."
Blum isn't the first person to advocate shortening the theatrical window. It's something that has been debated within the industry for years. Lionsgate's Michael Burns said last year that "it's the right thing for certain movies." And "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams once said that it's "inevitable" if theaters don't offer a better experience to customers.
"Get Out" managed to be both a low-budget genre film and an Oscar contender, and even won the Oscar for best original screenplay at this year's ceremony. It was also a box-office success, making over $170 million at the domestic box office with only a $4 million budget.
But not all movies can be "Get Out," and as the film industry cozies up to the superhero and horror genres, maybe Blum's fears could come true.