In their Q2 earnings call last week, ViacomCBS’s CEO Bob Bakish reiterated his support for distributing Paramount’s major film releases using an exclusive theatrical window, indicating that a 30-45 day window was the “sweet spot” and “overall direction” they intended to follow.
Despite this overall strategy, Paramount will maintain its current plans to release a number of films this year both in theatres and on its Paramount+ streaming service. The next example of this is Paw Patrol: The Movie, scheduled to debut on 8/20. Bakish explained that this was a specific case, based on the inability of families to vaccinate children under 12 years old, which could make some parents uncomfortable about a family outing to the theatre.
In their earnings call, Viacom did not report subscriber numbers for Paramount+, perhaps indicating that growth for the streaming service has been sluggish. With intense competition in the streaming space, Viacom may continue to direct films to Paramount+ in order to boost attention and interest in the service.
See Also: ViacomCBS Global Streaming Subscribers Top 42M, Up 6.5M In Q2, Powered By Paramount+ (Deadline)