Dec 1, 2021
Boy, that was quick. In just a few days, everyone went from seeing some light at the end of this tunnel to realizing we have a lot more Greek to learn before we’ll find something resembling normal. One new variant and suddenly, going back to the movie theater anytime soon – or maybe even going to Sundance or Berlin in the New Year, suddenly feel like the risky propositions they always were. But we’d forgotten.
It’s not just that Omicron may or may not be a bad variant, but that we’ll be worried about variants for quite some time. And if you run festivals, events, awards shows, or even just a struggling little movie theater, this was not a fun way to jump back into the work-week after a long holiday weekend in the US. Or anywhere else, really.
Not that I’m canceling my flight to Sundance anytime soon. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, and I didn’t hear any complaints about last minute no-shows at the Gotham’s, so my guess is that the majority of the film industry remains a little inured to the vicissitudes of viral mutations. But this won’t last as long, as European theaters were already showing signs of slowdown last week, before the variant was announced (but it was present), and that same link mentions many events contemplating cancellations or at least heavier covid protocols and restrictions. This morning, the European Film Awards cancelled their show (in just ten days).
Ain’t this fun?!
We may get lucky and see Omicron fizzle out, but as I mentioned, this is a reminder that variants will keep popping up when we least want them around. We’re in this for a long-haul for a variety of reasons. As an epidemiologist reminded me this morning, most outbreaks in the past lasted about 3-5 years. (!!!) This is gonna mean we need not just vaccines and boosters required, but also mandatory masks, pre-event testing, actually checking those proofs of vaccine and ID's, and a lot more sensible procedures. Some places – kudos to Sundance, Netflix, etc. – are already doing this. Everyone else needs to soon. And even those well prepared folks must be a bit worried this week as they prepare for big events come January. Costly stuff, of course, but do you want to hold an event with people, or not?
Just this week, another study came out about the state of movie theaters today (see below for more info), and among its findings was that only about 20% of the movie-going audience in the US sees these protocols as a hindrance. Most audiences want them, and a sizable chunk of those who haven’t returned are scared of the virus, and probably won’t until we’ve made them feel a lot safer.
Batten. Down. The. Hatches.
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Film
New Movie Theater Study calls for Urgent Change: A new study has been done of movie theater goers, and it says things need to change, and soon. As Brooks Barnes of the NYT reports, theaters must rethink pricing, perks and covid protocols to adapt and succeed. You can get the PDF of the study here, and it's worth a read for those who care, but I'm also not super sure it has much these folks don't already know. But I did find it interesting that more people cared about improvements to seats and seat spacing than they did concession pricing, and a strong percentage won't go back without vaccine mandates at all theaters (both of these results show that they were surveying people outside of the major cities that have worked on both, I think). But the most interesting finding to me was that almost no one understands rewards programs, at all - a sign that the new MoviePass could succeed just on education efforts alone... as could everyone else.
Ampere: Disney surpasses 100 million SVoD subs in the US: It’s no secret that SVOD subscriber growth is declining across the board. Why? Because (1) there are only so many of us on the planet and (2) most of us can’t afford to be subscribed to more than a few streaming services. And while Disney’s subscription rates have been slowing, they've just surpassed 100 million subscriptions in the U.S, thanks in big part to bundling: “The Disney+, Hulu and ESPN bundle, which offers an $8 per month saving on taking the services individually, is a strong driver for Disney’s overall streaming growth in the US”, explains Toby Holleran, research manager at Ampere Analysis. But Disney also sees a bright future for itself in 3D storytelling (the metaverse), and it’s a natural extension of their physical and streamable content: Disney’s CEO says, “Our efforts to date are merely a prologue to a time when we’ll be able to connect the physical and digital worlds even more closely, allowing for storytelling, without boundaries in our own Disney Metaverse.” (GSH)
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Branded Content
Nikeland debuts on Roblox as its latest persistent gaming space: Brands are flocking to Roblox, the online gaming platform like never before. On November 18 it was Nike’s turn with an immersive virtual space called Nikeland. You can check out Dean Takahashi’s article to learn what that actually means for players and game developers. The big takeaway here is that Roblox is defining what the metaverse looks like through their partnerships with brands. Brands that are already established/ establishing themselves in the Roblox-verse are way ahead of the game. (GSH)
Fortnite Moncler Skins Bring High Fashion Back To The Item Shop: For most of us, our online identity has become virtually as important as our “offline” identity (can most of us even separate the two at this point?). That’s why fashion brands are finding success in virtual spaces like Epic Games’ Fortnite. Moncler is the newest luxury brand to partner with Fortnite and create skins (outfits) that can be bought with in-game cash (Air Jordans and Balenciaga are also on the list). Read Aleks Kanev’s piece in ScreenRant for a crash course in fashion brand’s entrance into gaming. (GSH)
TikTok taps BuzzFeed to produce the first sponsored weekly live shows on the platform: The big news for branded content these last few days is that BuzzFeed and TikTok partnered to produce multiple live video series to be hosted live on TikTok, starting with an eight-part cooking series called “I Made This.” In this first series, episodes will feature themed cooking videos (i.e Friendsgiving, Hanukkah, Diwali) and is sponsored by a home appliance brand. Sara Guaglione, writer for Digiday, explains “BuzzFeed brings to the table its brand recognition, popular content format and themes, and its creators, while TikTok can offer access to its over 1 billion monthly active users as well as sponsors for the live shows.” In other words, the series will likely be a hit. The takeaway, in Guaglione’s words is that “the deal serves as a pilot program of sorts for developing how publishers like BuzzFeed can work with TikTok to generate direct revenue on the platform.” (GSH)
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Miscellany:
6 Lessons on the Future of the Metaverse From the Creator of Second Life: As the metaverse becomes more and more a part of our lives, it’s important that we look to one of the pioneers of virtual worlds — Second Life — for guidance. Time magazine’s Andrew R. Chow explains, Second Life was “responsible for introducing millions of people into virtual spaces for the first time; for fostering incredibly tight-knit communities, especially for outcasts or physically impaired people; and for pioneering digital economies.” Apparently, users “spent the equivalent of 500,000 years in Second Life... flying around, building and buying stuff, nurturing virtual families.” So what can we — and the builders of the metaverse — take away from Second Life? (1) Despite initial skepticism, there is a huge market for buying virtual items (just look at how NFTs are taking off). (2) “People will stay in virtual worlds, even without an explicit mission.” (3) The Metaverse needs to be user friendly to retain “inhabitants”. Up to 30% of Second Life first-time users left the virtual world because it was too difficult to navigate. (4) “Virtual worlds might always struggle to appeal to certain demographics.” People in urban settings like New York may be less likely to live on the metaverse, whereas “if you live in a rural location with very little social contact, are disabled or live in an authoritarian environment where you don’t feel free to speak, then your avatar can become your primary identity” (Second Life founder, Philip Rosedale). Check out the article for more takeaways! (GSH)
GSH = Articles written by Sub-Genre's Gabriel Schillinger-Hyman
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