Premium VOD Is a Failed Experiment, Imax CEO Rich Gelfond Says

Imax boss Rich Gelfond is convinced premium video on demand releases are a nonstarter. The premium video on demand push generated a lot of interest in the last six months, with audiences stuck at home and studios twiddling their thumbs on new releases because of theater closures due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. “To be unequivocal, PVOD is a failed experiment,” Gelfond said during a Goldman Sachs conference on Wednesday. “The numbers haven’t worked in a pandemic, so how would they work in a non-pandemic… Of the movies that were postponed, very few went into PVOD or streaming, and I should be clear I’m talking about the blockbuster movies — the movies that Imax does. So I believe that the studios are very committed to theatrical releases, and they’ve said it.” Also Read: 'Mulan' Criticized for Crediting Chinese Bureau Tied to Muslim Concentration Camps The latest film to try out the PVOD model was Disney’s “Mulan.” Reception to the film has not been exactly positive, and what “Mulan” has been able to attract in purchases on Disney+ is anyone’s guess. Disney has yet to give any indication as to how the film performed. Gelfond made a point to note that...

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