A Movie like “Wolf” Going to Streaming No Longer Feels Apocalyptic for Theaters

On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, Apple TV+ announced a change in its release plans for the George Clooney and Brad Pitt movie Wolfs. Initially set for a traditional wide theatrical release on September 20th via Sony/Columbia Pictures, the release has now been scaled back to select theaters on the same date. The film will then debut on Apple TV+ on September 27th. Alongside this announcement, Apple TV+ revealed that Wolfs 2 is already in development, with Jon Watts set to return as writer and director, and Clooney and Pitt reprising their roles.

The quality of Wolfs remains unknown as it hasn’t been made available to the public yet. However, the transition to a streaming-exclusive release casts a shadow over the film’s prospects. The announcement of a sequel just a month before the first movie’s release is also unusual. In recent times, studios have used such announcements as a PR strategy to suggest a movie is a hit, as seen with Red Notice 2 and Jungle Cruise 2. Yet, announced sequels do not always come to fruition, with Greyhound 2 still not materializing four years after the original.

Wolfs‘s shift to streaming holds significant implications for the current theatrical landscape. From 2020 to 2022, many films saw their theatrical releases scrapped in favor of streaming, impacting the variety and overall number of movies in theaters. Titles like Turning Red and Rumble shifted to streaming at the last minute, leading to a lack of diverse offerings in theaters. The 2021-2022 period saw a dearth of comedies, family films, and other smaller genres on the big screen, as studios prioritized keeping action blockbusters in theaters.

In 2022, losing a streaming movie could severely affect a month’s box office performance. September 2022, for example, had only 10 new wide releases across five weekends, and October had just eight. If some of those movies had hit theaters, they could have lifted the sparse marketplace. This trend continued into early 2024 due to studios’ labor disputes. However, recent months have shown a rebound in the domestic box office, with a diverse range of successful films like Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.

The upcoming fall season of 2024 looks promising, with an array of blockbuster titles like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and a Joker sequel, alongside a broader mix of new releases. Even without Wolfs, September 2024 will feature 15 wide releases, indicating a healthy marketplace. Wolfs going to streaming wouldn’t have had the same detrimental impact as it might have in earlier years.

Interestingly, this shift for Wolfs was announced the same day Amazon declared its plan to release up to 16 new movies in theaters annually by 2027. In 2022, Amazon was directing movies like Thirteen Lives and Anything’s Possible straight to streaming. However, Amazon now recognizes the value of theatrical releases. Should Apple be reconsidering its theatrical strategy following the poor performance of Argylle and Fly Me to the Moon, Amazon MGM Studios might fill that void in theaters.

Although Amazon is committed to the long-term viability of theatrical releases, Apple’s long-term plans remain unclear. Is the shift for Wolfs just an isolated case, or does it signify a broader withdrawal from the theatrical space? Reports suggest that the move for Wolfs is a one-off, and Apple is not abandoning theaters altogether. However, other significant Apple releases, like Blitz, are also slated for streaming, questioning Apple’s theatrical commitment.

For now, the only confirmed Apple TV+ films set for wide theatrical releases are Brad Pitt’s summer blockbuster F1 and Spike Lee’s High and Low remake. Other upcoming films, presumed to be streaming exclusives, wouldn’t drastically alter the theatrical landscape if released in theaters. While any additional revenue is welcome, theaters haven’t been banking on these titles to sustain their business.

Despite the shift of Wolfs to streaming, the current variety of films available in theaters makes this move less concerning. Audiences can expect a diverse lineup in the coming months, from new comedies to auteur-driven projects. Thus, Wolfs‘s shift to streaming doesn’t spell disaster for theaters but serves as a reminder of the volatile nature of film distribution in the streaming era.

Source: Culturess