Windowing

From ForcaWiki, the simple encyclopedia

Imagine a bakery sells a hot new cookie flavor at full price for the first week, then discounts it a little the next week, and finally practically gives away whatever is left after that. Customers willing to pay the most get first access, and the price drops as time goes on for everyone else.

Windowing works on that same idea for movies. It is the process of releasing a film through several release windows, typically one at a time in a set order, moving from the highest value audience down to the lowest value audience. Traditionally, that means starting with movie theaters, where people pay the most per viewing, then moving to home purchase or rental, then premium streaming, and finally free television or ad supported streaming, where the movie reaches the widest audience but earns the least per viewer.

Why order matters

Windowing lets a distributor collect the most money from people willing to pay a premium to watch a movie first, before it eventually becomes available for less, or for free, to everyone else. Changing the order, or shrinking the gap between windows, can raise or lower how much a movie earns overall depending on how audiences respond.

Fun facts

• Windowing has changed dramatically with the rise of streaming, and some movies now skip the traditional order entirely, launching in theaters and on a streaming service at nearly the same time.
• A shorter gap between the theatrical window and the home streaming window can mean less box office money, since some people simply wait a few weeks instead of buying a ticket.
• Every Exhibitor, from movie theaters to streaming services, cares deeply about windowing, since it directly decides when, or whether, they get access to a movie at all.