A theater that won't kill previews over Premium VOD

Theater owners concerned that newfangled Premium VOD could potentially harm their box office takes have made their position known, cautioning movie makers that films marked for an earlier than usual home release won't be previewed on the silver screen and that previews in general from those participating studios will be limited.

One movie house isn't buying into the alleged threat of Premium VOD.

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Devin Faraci of BadAssDigest decided to find out just what the famed Alamo Drafthouse thought about Premium VOD and the hubbub surrounding the relatively untested plan by going straight to the source: owner Tim League. A task made simpler by the fact Faraci also works for League at the cinema house.

League offered a simple reasoning for why theater owners shouldn't fret. "People – especially on a Friday and a Saturday – inherently want to get out of the house," he said.

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A fair point, but countered by one important facet of Premium VOD: A base $30 charge for one movie which an entire family can watch from home mere weeks after its initial theatrical debut.

Calculate how much a family might spend on a similar night at the movies, and the appeal is evident. Sure, they may leave that "inherent" desire to get out of the house unsatisfied, but they'll also save some money. And that's a big deal all things considered.

League, however, believes condemning Premium VOD or cowering at its very name is tantamount to jumping at shadows.

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"I think some of the charges that have been made are invalid and reactionary. It remains to be seen if this does impact [theaters]," he said.

League also points out that whenever a new format or medium comes along, detractors always claim cinema's death knell will soon follow. And yet that has never happened.

The theater owner's sentiment is supported by industry analysts who don't anticipate Premium VOD will impact theaters much at all.

Eric Wold of Merriman Capital claimed earlier this month that "consumer demand for [Premium VOD] will be extremely limited and have minimal, if any, impact on either theatrical box office or home video revenues." (BadAssDigest via TechDirt)

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