The release strategies for any studio’s movie slate is not universal and differs not just by market but by title. Examining the timelines of releasing from PVOD to Pay-One for the top three box office hits from Sony Pictures in 2024 across just three different markets (US, Australia, UK) with Movie Tracker demonstrates where their strategy is consistent and where it is not.
Sony’s PVOD timing is the most consistent across both titles and markets, with the studio releasing titles on PVOD close to the typical timeline of 45 days after a local theatrical release. Other studios like Disney have begun to push this timeline further, with many of its most recent titles taking over 60 days to come to PVOD. The one place this differs for Sony is in the UK with ‘It Ends with Us’ which had no PVOD release at all, instead releasing at a regular TVOD pricing slightly earlier than the US or Australia.
TVOD begins to show some difference on the title level within a single market. Of the top three titles, ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ came to TVOD the earliest in the US at 74 days, while ‘Bad Boys Ride or Die’ and ‘It Ends with Us’ took slightly longer to release, at 80 days and 84 days respectively. The strategy in Australia is the most consistent as all three titles released on TVOD after 88 days. With the exception of ‘It Ends with Us’, the UK followed a similar timeframe for TVOD releases.
Sony’s Pay-One deal with Netflix in the US results in a quick turnaround to streaming as all three Sony titles came to the SVOD after just four months, compared to Pay-One premieres in the UK and Australia that in most cases took almost double that amount of time.
In Australia Sony benefits from licensing their content in a co-exclusive Pay-One deal to both Amazon Prime and the local Pay TV operator Foxtel. There does not appear to be a set timeline in place for these deals, as ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ came to both the SVOD and Pay TV service less than five months after its theatrical release, as opposed to the other titles which arrived after seven months.
In the UK Sony’s Pay-One buyer Sky premiere timing resembles a more traditional timeline, having to wait close to eight months to premiere not just Sony movies but also titles it benefits from vertical integration via Universal Pictures.
Its clear in the case of a studio like Sony that every title follows its own path. Understanding the evolving release strategies for all studios, as well how those strategies shift on a title-by-title basis is vital for optimising revenue across all windows from theatrical to Pay-One, before moving on to sell to further third-parties in subsequent windows.
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