Cinemark inks deal with Hollywood studios as movie theaters eye recovery

Cinemark, the third-largest movie theater chain in the US, said it has inked new deals with major Hollywood studios that will ensure that movies play in its theaters for a certain timeframe before moving to home video streaming.

During the pandemic, studios have opted to release some of their new films simultaneously in theaters and on streaming services like Netflix. In some cases, the flicks bypassed cinemas altogether, which further devastated the already wounded industry. Cinemark said Friday that the new pacts with Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount and Sony Pictures, build on a November agreement with Universal Pictures in which Universal films must play in Cinemark theaters for at least three weeks or 17 days before moving online.