By now, movie fans have become accustomed to being able to watch the latest movies after only a few weeks on subscription-based streaming services, but the new video on demand platform SkyShowtime seems to have decided to take a different approach. On average, subscribers will have to wait approximately 7-8 months for new theatrical movies to be available to stream online, according to information held by the editors of Streaming Guider.
➝ This article first appeared in Dutch on Streamwijzer.nl, the website about streaming in the Netherlands ✅
New cinematic films will be launched on SkyShowtime after 7-8 months
SkyShowtime offers a wide variety of the biggest cinematic movies from famous studios such as DreamWorks Animation, Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios. However, information from SkyShowtime’s employees offered to our editors shows that Dutch release dates of titles such as Top Gun: Maverick (Dec. 26), Downton Abbey: A New Era (Dec. 28), Jurassic World Dominion (Feb. 2), Minions: The Rise of Gru (Feb. 28) and Nope (March 6) lead up to an average window of 7-8 months between cinema and streaming. This situation is applicable to the Dutch streaming market, but it is likely that the strategy applies to other countries as well. However, this has not yet been officially confirmed by SkyShowtime.
In the table below, you’ll find how many days there are between theatrical and streaming for a number of highly anticipated films coming soon to SkyShowtime. Only the romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise is still an estimation, because we know that the film will appear online sometime in May 2023.
| Titel | Cinema (NL) | SkyShowtime (NL) | Days | Months (±) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambulance | 24 March 2022 | 24 November 2022 | 245 | 8 months |
| The Bad Guys | 27 April 2022 | 10 December 2022 | 227 | 7 months |
| The Northman | 14 April 2022 | 14 December 2022 | 244 | 8 months |
| Top Gun: Maverick | 26 May 2022 | 26 December 2022 | 214 | 7 months |
| Downton Abbey: A New Era | 28 April 2022 | 28 December 2022 | 244 | 8 months |
| Jurassic World Dominion | 9 June 2022 | 2 February 2023 | 238 | 8 months |
| Minions: The Rise of Gru | 29 June 2022 | 28 February 2023 | 244 | 8 months |
| Nope | 18 August 2022 | 6 March 2023 | 200 | 7 months |
| Ticket to Paradise | 29 September 2022 | May 2023 | – | 7-8 months |
Disney+ and HBO Max maintain a much smaller gap between cinema and streaming
A 7-8 month gap between cinema and SVOD release is not very competitive compared to the other streaming services. At this moment in time, it seems that Disney+ applies a period of ± 49 days between theater and streaming. This means that subscribers of the video on demand platform can often enjoy the biggest movies from Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and other major studios after only about 7 weeks.
HBO Max, the video on demand platform of Warner Bros. Discovery, also maintains a significantly shorter period between theatrical and streaming. Previously, they announced that they would launch new theatrical films online after only ± 45 days, but new plans would have the streaming service embrace the theatrical release fully again. This would make them wait longer and add a PVOD window to the broadcast schedule of the latest titles. However, this plan does not seem to have lasted very long, as after the delayed premiere of Elvis, the new film Don’t Worry Darling starring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh also was launched online after only 44 days.
In the meanwhile, the films are available to watch on TVOD services
Does this mean we can once again enjoy the latest movies only in theaters? No, it doesn’t seem that way. In fact, w still have a large selection of titles on TVOD services. For example, you can already rent or buy the aforementioned Top Gun and Jurassic World films. Besides that though, it is expected that for titles made by SkyShowtime studios—Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Sky Studios, Peacock, Paramount+, Showtime, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon—unlimited subscription streaming is still 7-8 months away for now.
