F9 Opens Big Overseas & A Conversation with Distribution Veteran Bob Berney

05/27/21 • 40 min

In this week’s episode of The Boxoffice Podcast, co-hosts Daniel Loria and Rebecca Pahle discuss promising signs at the overseas box office—including a great reopening weekend in the UK and the first $100 million-plus of the pandemic with F9’s debut in China.

In the feature segment, distribution veteran Bob Berney, CEO of Picturehouse and the former head of marketing and distribution at Amazon Studios, joins Daniel to talk about the current state of theatrical distribution. Berney shares his insights on the current volatility in the market as streaming companies make a play for big movies and major franchises at the multiplex, while specialty players learn to adapt to a market without the influence of the film festival circuit.

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Episode Resources:

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:07 The UK market reopens
04:44 F9 opens big in China
07:51 The long-term impact of shortened theatrical exclusivity window
10:58 F9’s performance in other overseas markets
13:31 High stakes for the domestic market over Memorial Day weekend
18:25 Seeing where we are at with recovery efforts
20:42 Picturehouse CEO Bob Berney
27:14 The role of new films in the recovery effort from the pandemic
31:06 Independent films need word of mouth
34:54 The missing piece that will connect indie films to audiences
41:26 Metrics of success for streaming platforms
42:36 Survival of the theatrical experience with renewed competition from streamers

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Episode Resources:

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:07 The UK market reopens
04:44 F9 opens big in China
07:51 The long-term impact of shortened theatrical exclusivity window
10:58 F9’s performance in other overseas markets
13:31 High stakes for the domestic market over Memorial Day weekend
18:25 Seeing where we are at with recovery efforts
20:42 Picturehouse CEO Bob Berney
27:14 The role of new films in the recovery effort from the pandemic
31:06 Independent films need word of mouth
34:54 The missing piece that will connect indie films to audiences
41:26 Metrics of success for streaming platforms
42:36 Survival of the theatrical experience with renewed competition from streamers

Previous Episode

Mega Media Mergers Abound as Movie Theaters Welcome Back Audiences

In this week’s episode of The Boxoffice Podcast, co-hosts Daniel Loria, Rebecca Pahle, and Shawn Robbins talk about potential mega mergers among media conglomerates—and why it’s too early to discern their potential impact on the entertainment industry. The hosts also delve into the box office potential of Disney’s Jungle Cruise and Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II as the long-term future of the theatrical exclusivity window comes into focus.

In the feature segment, we share highlights from the Boxoffice Live Sessions webinar with the organizers of Cinema Week, a campaign designed to engage audiences with the moviegoing experience running from June 22-27.

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Episode Resources:

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
01:20 WarnerMedia spinning off of AT&T
06:04 Speculation about MGM to be acquired by a steaming platform
08:40 Cineworld has signed deals with Universal and Disney
09:56 Free Guy and Shang-Chi going under a 45-day window, Jungle Cruise going day-and-date
13:30 Does Jungle Cruise have the potential to become a franchise?
15:24 Disney on franchising movies and shows
16:25 Opening weekend for Spiral
22:20 Cinema Week: a six-day event designed to re-engage moviegoers
23:39 Brandon Jones (FilmFrog Marketing) on Cinema Week
26:09 Attend the next live webinar on May 25th, 9am PST
26:40 Melissa Boudreau on what exhibitors do to re-engage moviegoers
28:50 Exhibitors need to rethink their marketing approach
29:20 Rich Daughtridge on exhibitors to get creative with community engagement and brand promotion

Next Episode

With A Quiet Place Part II and Cruella, Memorial Day Marks a Turning Point for An Industry Recovering from Covid

In this week’s episode of The Boxoffice Podcast, co-hosts Russ Fischer, Rebecca Pahle, and Shawn Robbins discuss how Memorial Day box office marks a turning point for domestic exhibition, the implications of Amazon purchasing MGM, and the steep second week drop of F9 in China.

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Episode Resources:

What to Listen For

00:00 Intro
02:30 Amazon purchases MGM for $8.45 billion dollars
07:40 The theatrical release predictions for No Time to Die and future Bond movies
09:25 Boss Baby: Family Business will open on July 2 as day-and-date
15:30 Expectations for A Quiet Place Part II opening on limited seating capacity still
16:51 Progressive box office openings with several titles lined up for release
19:15 F9 drops to 85% on its 2nd week in the Chinese theaters
23:05 Cruella’s box office debut
25:33 Disney’s attempt to re-invent old movies