“What you will see with these films is that they are universally appealing, but they also portray the young and diverse audience that represents today’s broadcast audience, the generation of consumers who choose broadcast as their primary source of entertainment,” said Mrs Campbell in an interview.
Despite falling behind some of its broadcast competitors, Peacock had a hit this year. February was the high point as viewers got to see the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, Jennifer Lopez’s concurrent release with “Marry Me” in theaters and on duty, and the debut of “Bel-Air” Once. A dramatic reimagining of the hit 1990’s TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air starring Will Smith. (A second season is in development.)
“The maintenance of our services following streaming all this special content during such a focused period has far exceeded our expectations,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said on a conference call last week. “We’ve seen a 25 percent increase in engagement hours year over year.”
As the pandemic turned the theater business upside down, Universal Pictures experimented with different ways to distribute its films. There was a purely theatrical one like Fast 9: The Fast Saga, which grossed $173 million following its release last summer when coronavirus cases were down. And there was Sing 2, which grossed over $160 million domestically upon its December release before moving to premium video-on-demand just 17 days following its theatrical release.
The company also experimented with simulcasting, debuting Halloween Kills and its sequel Boss Baby in theaters and on Peacock during the height of the pandemic. The company will do it once more in two weeks with the remake of Stephen King’s horror film Firestarter.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution,” Ms. Langley said. “It’s really regarding taking a look at each film and then looking at our growth engine, Peacock, and doing what’s best for what’s happening in the market. I hope that over time that will stabilize as cinema.” Scene stabilized. But until then, we have these electives.”