As Paramount Global continues to ramp up its streaming presence, it’s also capitalizing on traditional media sources — namely its movie studio. Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” which released in U.S. theaters on May 24, won’t appear on Paramount+ within the company’s typical 45-day theatrical window, CEO Bob Bakish told the New York Times.
Bakish didn’t give an exact date for when the movie will be available to stream, but he pointed out the box office is a traditional business “largely eschewed” by competitors like Netflix, the publication reported.
Bakish’s comments echoed those made by CFO Naveen Chopra at a MoffettNathanson investor conference earlier this month. While Paramount thinks a 45-day window captures the majority of box office revenue, Chopra said the company evaluates some releases on a case-by-case basis.
“There are certain movies that are really made for the theatrical experience. Top Gun is a great example of that,” said Chopra. “You should see that movie in a theater, and it will stay in the theater for a longer period of time.”
The 45-day window, NYT wrote, is part of Paramount’s revamped streaming strategy, which gives Paramount one foot in the emerging streaming business and one “planted firmly in the traditional moneymaking ways of old Hollywood.”
With that strategy, Chopra noted Paramount’s legacy media business can benefit from evolving audience behavior. And Paramount is making progress in the streaming front, with Paramount+ gaining 6.8 million global streaming subscribers in Q1 2022.
“Top Gun: Maverick” generated $124 million in domestic box office revenue during its opening weekend, according to CNBC. The film also marks Paramount’s fifth theatrical release so far in 2022.
Theatrical windows are a pertinent topic in the streaming industry, especially as movie theaters gradually regain viewer numbers since the onset of Covid-19. About 11.6 million moviegoers have seen the “Top Gun” sequel to date, Deadline reported. That’s the third biggest opening weekend attendance since Q2 2020, just behind “Spider Man: No Way Home” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” with 20.6 million and 14 million attendees, respectively.
Distributors are testing the waters on how to handle theatrical windows. HBO Max ran same-day releases for Warner Bros. feature films through the duration of 2021. But as of this year, Warner Bros. theatrical releases, like Paramount's, operate on a 45-day window. Whereas Roku signed in April its first theatrical output deal with Lionsgate, giving Roku exclusive access to Lionsgate movies after they initially release on Starz.