Cinemark Threatens to Skip Universal Film Over Studio’s Premium VOD Plan
In a high-profile test of so-called premium video on demand, Universal Pictures plans to make its upcoming PG-13 comedy “Tower Heist” available as a $59.99 video-on-demand rental in two U.S. markets, just three weeks after the film’s Nov. 4 theatrical debut. Word of the plan has Cinemark, the country’s third-largest exhibitor chain, to threaten to boycott screening “Tower Heist” at any of its 300 locations if Universal proceeds with the premium VOD test (via the Los Angeles Times and The Wrap).
AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment Group, the top two theater chains in the U.S., have not publicly commented on how they might respond to Universal’s plan. Earlier this year, the National Association of Theatre Owners trade group decried studios’ premium VOD overtures, speculating that such releases would cannibalize movie markets and fuel piracy.









