3 ms·

I would speculate that it has a lot to do with distribution. I expect that it's trivial to get a copy of a new release, and logistically challenging (and relat

I would speculate that it has a lot to do with distribution. I expect that it's trivial to get a copy of a new release, and logistically challenging (and relatively expensive) to get a copy of an old one. The main value in showing older content is variety. The more films you acquire to show, the more cost (plus overhead cost) you endure. The studios that own the copyright to older films are the same corporations that want you showing their new lazy high-budget Action Hero XVII shit instead. They are likely to make restrictive deals with large theater chains (the ones with enough budget for quality projectors and seating) to set a schedule that aligns with box-store release dates.

WorldMaker 3y ago
This was one of the things that came up when Amazon bought MGM because MGM pre-Amazon takeover had one of the most-used "rescreening" programs of all the (former) major studios. As soon as the Amazon purchase completed, Amazon shut down a lot of MGM film distribution, including just about all of its rescreening efforts. Amazon only just announced (presumably at shareholder pressure) building a new film distributor and starting to move the large MGM back-catalog back out beyond the Prime fences. Similarly, when Disney bought what used to be 20th Century Fox, they immediately changed the economics of their classic rescreening programs (as Disney's "Vault" procedures have always been anti-rescreening). That was said to have directly led to breaks in long runs of Rocky Horror Picture Show specifically as Disney's price changes made it tougher to keep it running in some cities that had previously run it regularly for decades. (Of course, that timing was around 2020 so in most cases that wasn't the only excuse to break such traditional people gatherings.) (ETA snark: it's almost like copyright terms are too long and rent seeking too easy on cinema classics.)

WorldMaker 3y ago

This was one of the things that came up when Amazon bought MGM because MGM pre-Amazon takeover had one of the most-used "rescreening" programs of all the (former) major studios. As soon as the Amazon purchase completed, Amazon shut down a lot of MGM film distribution, including just about all of its rescreening efforts. Amazon only just announced (presumably at shareholder pressure) building a new film distributor and starting to move the large MGM back-catalog back out beyond the Prime fences. Similarly, when Disney bought what used to be 20th Century Fox, they immediately changed the economics of their classic rescreening programs (as Disney's "Vault" procedures have always been anti-rescreening). That was said to have directly led to breaks in long runs of Rocky Horror Picture Show specifically as Disney's price changes made it tougher to keep it running in some cities that had previously run it regularly for decades. (Of course, that timing was around 2020 so in most cases that wasn't the only excuse to break such traditional people gatherings.) (ETA snark: it's almost like copyright terms are too long and rent seeking too easy on cinema classics.)