ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish has confirmed the company is planning to adhere to a 45-day theatrical window for its new releases before heading to streaming on Paramount+. During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, the CEO did say they’ll continue evaluating the situation on a “case by case” basis.
“The situation is a bit fluid,” Bakish said of Covid. “As a general principle we do like the 45-day fast follow theatrical to pay-1. That is the overall direction we’d like to go over time. But we’ve got to look at each title in this pandemic and figure out what is the right strategy.”
This statement comes after A Quiet Place: Part II had a successful run as the first to try out the model. The John Krasinski/Emily Blunt sequel debuted in May and set a record as the first pandemic era film to pass $100 million in the U.S. It also made close to $300 million globally before streaming on Paramount+.
Bakish called the 45-day window “the sweet spot of the model,” and that based on the results from A Quiet Place II, “we like what we’re seeing.”
Paramount still remains up in the air as to what to do with children’s movies. Clifford the Big Red Dog has been postponed from its September release as the company evaluates how to give families safe access to movies amid the rising Covid cases. Paramount’s Paw Patrol movie will premiere in theaters the same day as streaming this month.
“For families with young children right now in the middle of Covid, we wanted to provide both choices,” Bakish said.