By then theaters should be reopened and capacity restrictions reduced, but for Apple — and perhaps for some studios, too — that’s not the primary market driver. Searchlight will follow a similar plan for Questlove’s “Summer Of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” which broke a Sundance documentary record with its $12 million buy. It goes day and date, in theaters and on Hulu, July 2.

Sundance Institute In both case, distributors  — or content providers, depending on your point of view — favor their wholly owned platforms. When two films with great potential have no dedicated theatrical window, specialized cinemas face a struggle that can’t be resolved by vaccine. Day-and-date releases used to be the mark of a second-tier film; today, it’s starting to look like high praise. Related Times Have Changed, but ‘Little America’ Returns for Season 2 as Sweet and Smart as Before Apple’s MLS Streaming Service Costs Twice as Much as an Apple TV+ Subscription Related Oscars 2023: Best Original Song Predictions Nightmare Film Shoots: The Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from ‘Deliverance’ to ‘Mad Max’ to ‘Avatar 2’
Some theaters still stand by Netflix as the bad guy. AMC is hosting a Best Picture spotlight ahead of the Oscars (rather than a safety-dubious marathon), but it excludes the two Netflix titles. (Cinemark’s similar event includes Netflix.) At this point, that seems oddly punitive. Netflix was the first streamer to disrupt the norms, but what was once radical now seems theater friendly. Merie Weismiller Wallace / Focus Features

Focus participates in Universal’s three-week theatrical agreement before films go to PVOD, although the bifurcated approach can’t be easy on studios; it means marketing to two release dates as well as the expense of a theatrical release. The strategy paid off for both labels over the last three months as their titles saw high rankings on the box office and VOD charts. Early home access elevated “Promising Young Woman” to a very lucrative return, not to mention five Oscar nominations. Universal’s premium movie strategy doesn’t include Peacock for now, but Apple is very much in the streaming business. It wants subscriptions above all. It will give some theaters the opportunity to play, but an Apple spokesperson said details are undecided. Regardless of Apple’s decision, the priority is home viewing — and somehow, it goes day-and-date without penalty from exhibitors. Netflix grants a three-week window and still gets ignored by AMC. Meanwhile, none of these machinations do specialized theaters any favors. The best they can hope for is less competition if major exhibitors that avoid Netflix also skip “Summer of Soul” and “CODA.” The dedicated specialized theatrical release still exists; United Artists set Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled film to platform November 26, followed by wide release on December 25. That would allow for maximized PVOD in mid-January, around the time of Oscar nominations. It is a template for films that believe strong theatrical response will enhance their awards chances. In the meantime, other films will have other priorities. When content providers view the comparative results, it will determine the future of specialized theaters. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.