Germany Shortens Theatrical Windows

The German film industry has agreed to a groundbreaking deal to reduce theatrical periods for local releases, allowing films backed by national grants to go online sooner after they first hit theaters.

The deal, announced Tuesday, will shorten Germany’s theater window from 6 to 4 months. The new window applies to films receiving support from the German Federal Film Council (FFA), but not US studio films, which are free to set their own rollout schedules. The time frame for a US release, the time between a film’s theatrical bow and its release on home entertainment, is often closer to 45 – 50 days in Germany, although bigger blockbusters tend to have a longer release time.

But the new deal is important, as most German films and co-productions will receive FFA support and must abide by their release dictates. Traditionally, this has meant a strict cinema release period, even though theater audiences have shrunk dramatically for many German productions.

The COVID pandemic and resulting theater closures are putting pressure on the German industry to shorten windows and make the entire release system more flexible. The new agreement replaces the bespoke arrangement that emerged during the pandemic, where distributors could apply for special permission to release films online earlier.

All major stakeholders in the German film industry, including the exhibitor groups HDF Cinema and the AG Kino-Gilde, the MPA and the Alliance of German Film and TV Producers, the documentary makers association AG Dok and the German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, agreed to the new regulations.

Within the German industry, the deal is heralded as an example of successful compromise – in contrast to the writers’ strike in Hollywood – and is an encouraging sign for ongoing negotiations to reform Germany’s film financing system.