Amazon is Keeping Project Hail Mary in Theaters

Taking it out of theaters right now would be a bad business decision. Project Hail Mary Won't Be on Streaming Anytime Soon

Audiences who have grown used to films rushing from theaters to PVOD may be in for a surprise. Project Hail Mary is not going to be streaming anytime soon. The surprise blockbuster’s theatrical performance has apparently encouraged Amazon MGM Studios to extend its theatrical exclusivity.

The ailing theater industry is happy, and MGM is even putting the film back in IMAX this week.

Click thru for the details.

Theaters have been crushed by the insanity of the past 5 or 10 years. Woke movies that half the population won't see. COVID lockdowns. Strikes. Even more movies that no one wants to see.

But the current lineup in cinemas proves that people will go to the theater, if you give them a reason. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie movie isn't for me, but it is on its way to making a billion dollars at the box office. Project Hail Mary has made over $500 million and will probably make over $600 when all is done. Even the Creepy Pasta movie, Exit 8 is making money, and it isn't even in wide release. The fact that it is in Japanese isn't helping.

It is at this point I always feel it necessary to mention that studios don't get all of the box office. It turns out that movie theaters don't show movies for free. Theaters get roughly half the gate. The exact figures are different in North America, than in Europe and Asia, and China has its own deal, where studios only get about 25% of the Chinese box office.

If you want details on that, for any movie you're interested in, I suggest this article from a few years ago by Odin of OMB Reviews, that was published at Geeks & Gamers: How to Break Down Box Office. He covers everything from budgets, estimated marketing spend, split between theaters and studios, accounting for the differences across markets, etc.

Odin at OMB Reviews