The Movie Theater Revolution

Napster Co-Founder Sean Parker is ready to shake up the movie theater industry with a revolutionary kickstarter idea.

Parker has theaters running for their money with the conceptualization of a rental streaming service for movies the same day they premiere. The innovator’s theory is based on the idea of accessing studio releases with anti-piracy technology. If created, the service would allow the public to rent a movie on the same day it premieres for 48 hours after only paying $50. This allows people to view new movies from the comfort of their homes; the service is called “Screening Room” and is backed by some top executives. The focal point that representatives argue for is anti-piracy, which means that by allowing the public the rental option it alleviates illegal downloads of new movies. However not every executive is on board with this idea. The implementation of this service could possibly severely decrease movie theater revenues and hurt the entire industry.

The explanation for the uproar comes from the Screening Room’s desire to partner up with studios such as Universal, Fox, and Sony and what the service will take up. By becoming partners with these studios, the service will be the sole provider of exclusive content. This completely blocks out theaters that may screen movies on multiple platforms. There are other issues present as well with the idea, which affect the public it aims to provide for. Though the price of $50 for a movie seems steep, when done in a group in the long run it becomes affordable. There is also a $150 combination price which includes the single per movie charge, and if viewers are willing to pay the single price they also win two tickets to see the movie in a theater as well. Parker’s business idea, which is only in the Research & Development stage, is not the only idea that is encroaching on the theater industry. There are mobile apps, such as “Atom Tickets”, which hopes to do the same thing. We shall see whether this pulls through and if premiere nights can be from the comfort of people’s home.