Theater rebound — windows shrink
Reporting shows U.S. movie theaters are seeing a spring rebound in attendance while studios are rethinking release windows. Variety says Universal plans roughly 30‑day theatrical windows in 2026 and 45 days in 2027, up from as short as 17 days during COVID but below the old ~90‑day norm ( ).
U.S. movie theaters are drawing bigger crowds this spring, even as studios keep shortening the time films stay exclusive to cinemas. (variety.com) Variety reported that Universal plans about 30-day theatrical windows for its 2026 slate and 45-day windows in 2027. Before the pandemic, the standard was about 90 days, and Universal cut some releases to as little as 17 days during the coronavirus period. (variety.com) The early 2026 box office is stronger than last year’s start. Variety reported first-quarter ticket sales were up 23%, helped by films including “Wuthering Heights,” “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and “Scream 7.” (variety.com) The release pipeline is also getting thicker. Comscore projects 113 wide releases in 2026, up from 91 in 2025, according to Variety’s reporting from CinemaCon in Las Vegas. (variety.com) That rebound follows several weak years after 2020 theater closures and a 2023-24 schedule disrupted by Hollywood labor strikes. The Associated Press reported this week that box-office revenue still sits about 20% below pre-pandemic levels. (apnews.com) Studios and theater chains are now arguing over the same question they fought about during the streaming boom: how long a movie needs to stay only in theaters before it moves to premium video on demand or a streaming service. Universal’s new plan lengthens its own pandemic-era policy, but it still leaves theaters with a shorter exclusive run than they had for decades. (variety.com) Theater owners say longer windows help them sell more tickets, concessions and premium-format seats over multiple weekends. Universal’s domestic distribution chief Jim Orr told Variety that recent films have shown broad audiences will still turn out when the lineup is strong. (variety.com) Audience data shows moviegoing has not disappeared, even if it is less routine than it was in the 2010s. Cinema United said 77% of Americans ages 12 to 74 saw at least one movie in theaters in 2025, and the number of habitual moviegoers rose 8% from 2024. (cinemaunited.org) The Los Angeles Times reported that theater operators are treating 2026 as a test of whether a steadier flow of big releases can rebuild attendance without restoring the old 90-day window. For now, cinemas are getting more people in the door, but not the longer exclusivity they once used to keep them there. (latimes.com)
