We have decided to offer a “theatrical-at-home” viewing option for our March 20th opening. Anywhere in the US, movie-goers can buy an online ticket from one of the theaters screening “Phoenix, Oregon”, send us a copy of their receipt, and get an at-home private screening link on March 20.
Over the last 48 hours, it became abundantly clear that we could not continue to push people to go to theaters for the premiere of “Phoenix, Oregon” on March 20. We brought our marketing to a standstill.
We were faced with three options:
- Postpone — many of the larger films are postponing to the fall or next year. This was not feasible for us for a few reasons. As a small business, we do not have resources to hold inventory, we would not be guaranteed screening times when studios are scrambling to reschedule dates, and we would let our theaters down.
- Cancel — we could have canceled theatrical and tried to pull up our digital date. We may still get some reviews, but it would be risky to assume so. We would lose the momentum and money we’ve put into the release, and again we would let down the theaters.
- Theatrical-at-Home — working with our theaters and understanding how critical it is that our customers stay safe, we decided to provide an option for audiences to purchase a theater ticket and then watch the movie at home. This is highly irregular and unprecendented — but then so is everything this week…
We chose Option #3 and announced via a press release today. The release was slated to go out in the very moment that Trump announced the national emergency. So we quickly held back since the wires were overwhelmed with news. We put the press release out an hour later.
What we have learned in the last 24 hours from our sources and from conversations with vendors and partners all over the country, is that time is of the essence, and that it is extremely critical that we do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19. There was no way that we could travel to LA for screenings or ask audiences to join us at those events. We hope that we are both helping our audiences stay safe while also supporting the theaters.
We are now scrambling to put all the logistics in place for the Theatrical-at-Home service which will launch on March 20. We are updating graphics, social campaigns, and the website. We are preparing email auto-responders, the viewing platform, and coordinating with our theaters to communicate with movie-goers.
One advantage which creates the greatest support for theaters is that people from anywhere in the U.S. can watch the movie starting on March 20 just by buying a ticket from one of our opening weekend theaters.
It works like this:
-Log on to a theater’s website and purchase a ticket to “ Phoenix, Oregon” (a list of theaters where the movie is playing is available at www.phoenixoregonmovie.com)
-Email a copy of your purchased ticket or receipt to [email protected]
-Starting March 20, you’ll receive a return email with a direct one-time link to watch the movie at home on your TV, tablet, phone or other device. You will then also receive a free download copy of the film upon its official digital release this summer.
-We will hold virtual Q&As. Times and dates of live online filmmaker and cast Q&As will be sent to ticket buyers by email.
From the release:
“We want to encourage safety for our audiences while also supporting the theaters who have committed to our release. Every small business in the country is pivoting in parallel, being responsible world citizens while also figuring out how to support customers, vendors, and each other. Several of our opening weekend theaters have welcomed our films and championed our careers for many, many years. During the next few weeks, we hope audiences will consider buying a ticket direct from one of these theaters with the option to watch from home. To create the most impact for theaters, this is open to anyone in the U.S. Movie-fans may choose to support any theater screening “Phoenix, Oregon” (pick your favorite or the one nearest you.) This is different than a ‘day and date’ release in that all of the digital streaming revenues are shared directly with the theaters. This offer is open while COVID-19 restrictions exist,” says Annie Lundgren, Producer of “Phoenix, Oregon.”
Read more in the press release here.
♡ Annie