Amazon Dominates Both Theaters and Home Viewing

 Amazon has been something of an underdog in the streaming and production market until recently. Despite the immense size of the Amazon Prime platform, their streaming service has always been incidental to the wider business of shipping people the goods they want fast and cheaply, and it is frustratingly unclear how many of Prime’s subscribers actually use the streaming platform. With two top-performing films this week, one controversially headed direct-to-streaming and the other with a stellar theatrical release, however, Amazon is making a splash on the PVOD lists. Brandon Blake, the entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., unpacks the irony of two so different release strategies both paying off.

The Beekeeper: The Little Hit That Could

The Beekeeper, which secured Amazon the Number 1 spot on both iTunes and Fandango, was a low-key $40M production Amazon MGM acquired for the US market. It secured itself a stellar $66M theatrical run and managed to sell itself as a hit despite a $19.99 initial PVOD release price, too. This week, it is down to $5.99 to rent and still in the top spot. Fandango rarely sees a To 10 that isn’t composed of $19.99 titles, so this achievement is particularly notable. Especially for what was anticipated to be a mid-level success at best.

Road House Thrives Despite the Lack of a Theatrical Release

Road House, on the other hand, controversially skipped any kind of theatrical release at all. It still tops Reelgood’s list of most-streamed movies for the week and even managed the No. 4 spot for all programming. It is fun to imagine what could have been with an accompanying theatrical release to boost it further, but those are still impressive results.

 

However, those were frustratingly different release strategies to back them! Perhaps the real lesson to take from Amazon’s surge to glory is that there is no ‘one formula’ for marketing movies. Instead, it needs a tailored approach, careful thought, and, as always, the smartest marketing the distributor can afford to boost a film to prominence in an increasingly saturated market. For now, however, let's celebrate two stellar performers that got there through engaging storytelling, not splashy special effects and franchise formulas. 

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