NEW YORK (AP) – Paramount Pictures chiseled a crack into the closely guarded theatrical window on Wednesday in an experimental agreement with two leading theater chains that will trim the length of time a handful of movies are restricted to playing only in theaters.
Paramount, along with AMC Theaters and Cineplex Entertainment, announced a deal to shorten the rollout of two low-budget horror films due out in October: Paramount’s “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” and “Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.” Seventeen days after each film dips below 300 screens domestically, Paramount can distribute them to home entertainment destinations such as video-on-demand.
The traditional theatrical window is 90 days, during which other platforms – digital and home video – must wait on the sidelines while theaters get exclusivity to new releases. Top exhibitors have fiercely protected their window, refusing to play movies that don’t abide by it.
Smaller releases that play in independent theaters often operate under different rules. But Wednesday’s agreement is the first of its kind between a major studio and top exhibitors. AMC is the second largest chain in the U.S. Cineplex is the largest in Canada.
Paramount called the plan one that “could potentially redefine home digital distribution.”