What if Apple, Amazon and Netflix bid on No Time To...

Partly spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic, which has seriously injured the American cinema industry, major streaming players have concluded unprecedented massive film acquisition deals. Apple TV + spent $ 70 million on Tom Hanks Greyhound, Disney acquired Lin-Manuel Mirandas Hamilton for $ 75 million before it was diverted to Disney +, and Amazon dropped a whopping $ 125 million for Eddie Murphy’s Coming 2 America. Every day a new acquisition record seems to be being set for a single film. Despite repeated release delays, no blockbuster film has gone down the same path for good reason. The economics of publishing a tentpole feature via on-demand or streaming just doesn’t add up. But that hasn’t slowed speculation across the industry.

Film critic Drew McWeeny caused a stir on Twitter this week when he hinted that major streaming services were asking about the availability of Daniel Craig’s long-belated James Bond swan song No time to die.

It is far from certain that 007 producers Barbara Broccoli and Eon Productions will wait out the pandemic to guarantee a theatrical release No time to die. However, it can’t hurt to explore this opportunity for fun from an industry perspective. But before we explore No time to dieAfter the theoretical price, the first thing we need to understand is how and why such massive movie streaming deals are popping up.

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“In general, buying a movie through a streaming service is not much different from buying a studio,” Matthew Wilson, partner and co-chair of the Entertainment & Sports industry team at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, told Observer. “Either way, it’s a business cost-benefit decision that is driven by a person who sets the numbers and assesses the risk. We all know that the big streaming services are making more money and catching more eyeballs every day. At the same time, the studios really cannot access their distribution chains (i.e. the theaters) so they are more reluctant to take the risk of a large investment. ”

He continued, “The streamers assume they are securing new consumers by including the blockbusters. It’s an expensive game, but I have to assume they know what they’re doing. The market is growing on the supply and demand side. So to get market share, you have to take big risks, right? ”

A confluence of factors – including a congestion of delayed products, an increase in streaming and viewership directly at the consumer, and weakening uncertainties about the future theater model – created this current market. Despite the desperation, no studio was ready to stream a blockbuster film. (Disney delivered Mulan domestically through Disney + Premier access to disappointing results). If theaters remain compromised until the first half of 2021, No time to die provides for a third release delay that will only add to the insurmountable marketing costs that the studio has already incurred.

“From a North American perspective, I’d say MGM would be very happy with $ 150 million in domestic rights,” Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told Observer. “That’s a solid price tag that gets them around 50% of the highest Bond movie. Skyfall, extrapolated in the USA and Canada. Even so, content is more in demand than ever and is obviously a seller’s market. With Coming 2 America You could see it hit $ 125 million No time to die Record breaking with over $ 200 million. MGM would also save a ton of marketing costs. When the buyer is there, the theaters pay attention. ”

The James Bond series has always been a hit with international audiences and a strong box office draw outside of America, where most of the world’s theaters are reopening. For this reason alone, it is doubtful No time to die ever arrives via streaming. But the connections between 007 and the big screen go well beyond just dollars and cents.

„The Route, the No time to die Reaching consumers at this point is worthy of the intricate plot of a Bond movie itself, ”Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told Observer. “But Barbara Broccoli and Eon Productions want the prestige and exclusivity of a theatrical release just as Bond himself wants the prestige and exclusivity of every watch he wears. 007 is an icon of cinema that has gone hand in hand with the development of the cinema industry for over 60 years. ”

Instead of the massive eight- and nine-digit acquisition deals we saw in 2020, is there a price point where it becomes too difficult to say no? The fact that we are even having this conversation speaks to the widespread public demand for 007.

“It should be a higher number than any other,” Dergarabedian said of this year’s mega deals. “To be honest, I don’t know if there is a number that would lead producers to go that route. You would have to bankrupt Goldfinger to do this. ”

No time to die should come to cinemas on April 2, 2021.