Actually, starting around Spider Man 2 (2004) major studios have been making growing use of DI - digital intermediates - which are usually 4k files from which t

Actually, starting around Spider Man 2 (2004) major studios have been making growing use of DI - digital intermediates - which are usually 4k files from which they generate the negatives from which they strike the release prints. And with the shift to digital projection they skip the prints and just deliver the files to theaters directly. So yes, they do have have them just sitting on hard drives, because that's how their business already works. Increased royalties are not a huge concern. Studios will avoid them when they can, and and minimize them where they can't. But they won't leave money on the table to avoid paying them outright. If there's business to be done, they'll do it. The serious opposition is likely to come from the theater owners. They're still vitally important partners for the studios, and they hate anything and everything that has the effect of narrowing their window of exclusivity on access to content, or creating a home-viewing experience big and bold enough to make the theater unnecessary. If someone is going to park a 4k display at the delivery end of a pipe fast enough to supply it, they want it to be them and them alone. And they will be tremendously forceful in opposition to any threats on this front, actual or perceived.