Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Some practiced a by any means necessary attitude toward survival, while others abdicated their studio duties altogether.
But who won, and who lost?
Spoiler: In the COVID-19 era, no one gets an A.
They punted the double-oh sequels rollout to November.
By last month, of course, that relationship had been repaired through a ground-breaking profit-sharing agreement.
Number of Releases
Eight (includingThe High NoteandIrresistiblefrom the studios art-house division Focus Features).
Like Universal, Sony pivoted certain titles to streaming.
One (Sony Pictures ClassicsThe Burnt Orange Heresy).
The Selena Gomezproduced rom-comThe Broken Hearts Gallerywill now roll out on September 11.
Online promotion materials still list Sony Pictures Animations computer-animated rompConnectedas slated for theaters on October 23.
The Kristen StewartMackenzie Davis rom-comHappiest Seasonis set for a Thanksgiving release.
C-
Warner Brothers
Stick to tradition.
The studio sent the animated Scooby Doo prequelScoob!straight to PVOD in May.
AndThe Conjuring 3was shifted from its late-summer frame to next June.
Continuing evasive action in response to unfolding market conditions but no steady commitment to streaming first.
Industry observers say this bodes well for both the films domestic returns and long-term playability.
It raised some eyebrows when they went international first, says Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
But the theater capacity levels internationally were much higher and each week, they are growing in North America.
I think the films success so far is a validation of that strategy.
Prioritizing an overseas rollout helped shore up the studios bottom line at a moment of deep financial uncertainty.
Pass/Fail Pass
Disney
Rapid response presaging a total overhaul of business as usual.
The veiled threats and dark words fromNATOand the big chains, the windows guard promising revent.
I seem to have missed any of those threats this week after the Mulan announcement.
None of those big talkers want to step forward and take a few swings at Disney, do they?
And Kenneth Branaghs Agatha Christie adaptationDeath on the Nileis set for multiplexes in October.
Frowny face emoji
Paramount
Duck and cover.
In March, Paramount kicked off that selling spree by parceling out the Kumail NanjianiIssa Rae rom-comTheLovebirdsto Netflix.
A Zen koan can a movie studio really be considered a movie studio if it stops releasing movies?
Paramounts publicized sell-offs, meanwhile, have competitors giving the Melrose Ave. lot the side eye.
Theaters were up in arms whenTrollswent to PVOD, notes another executive at a rival studio.
They werent cut in.
E for Effort
