Sky cinema customers will be overjoyed to hear the news that a new deal has been struck with STUDIOCANAL.
Late last year, Warner Bros. announced that their entire 2021 theatrical slate was going to be put onto their streaming service HBO Max. Each film being on the site for 31 days from their release in cinemas. Though the new deal between Sky and STUDIOCANAL isn't as much of a bad omen for cinemas, it's still a sign of the film industry's transition to home entertainment.
Under the new deal, all of STUDIOCANAL's upcoming releases from January 2021 will be available to Sky Q customers after they release in cinemas. Though it's not quite clear how long customers will have to wait after the cinematic release. This service will also be available to those with a Cinema Pass on Now TV. This means that films like the upcoming London Film Festival Favourite Supernova, The Last Letter From Your Lover, Gunpowder Milkshake and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain – starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy – will all be exclusively streaming to those with Sky Q memberships.
This deal hasn't come out of nowhere though. STUDIOCANAL and Sky have collaborated a few times on many productions. Most recently this includes Blithe Spirit, an adaptation of Noel Coward's famous paranormal play starring Legion‘s Dan Stevens.
Sky Cinema customers won't just be getting upcoming STUDIOCANAL releases but their entire library of films will all be available to stream as well. This library will include the likes of the Paddington films, Legend, Logan Lucky and The Hurt Locker.
This piece of news means that Netflix may have their work cut out for them competing in the UK Streaming Market.
