Dendy and Foxtel Partner Up For Theatrical/On Demand Distribution Model

By Travis Johnson

Dendy and Foxtel are buddying up for a new combined theatrical and digital distribution model that will see certain films hit on demand a week after their theatrical season at Dendy cinemas.

The pilot for this will be Kriv Stenders’ multi-plot drama Australia Day, which recently screened at the Sydney Film Festival and CinefestOz.  the film will hit Dendy theatres on September 21, and will then be available one week later on September 27 ‘Express from Cinema’ in the Foxtel Store and on Dendy Direct on September 27.

“Dendy is the only vertically integrated business in Australia offering both exhibition and on demand,” said Greg Hughes, CEO of Dendy/Icon. “It is therefore uniquely positioned to entertain a wider audience by combining the big screen experience of Dendy Cinemas and the national reach of our online movie platform Dendy Direct. This business model which we are branding Dendy Marquee will offer consumers more choice, accessibility, and immediacy in the consumption of quality specialty content.”

This is interesting stuff. For the last several years traditional and digital modes of distribution have been – slowly, to be fair – trying to figure out how to make nice in the Australian marketplace. While tentpole films have continued to do well in theatrical spaces, smaller films with more specific audiences have suffered, as cinematic real estate  goes to those films with the broadest appeal, and the ever-increasing importance of first weekend grosses trumps word-of-mouth and grassroots campaigns. Closing the gap between theatrical and digital release means that the latter can capitalise on the marketing push of the former, hopefully resulting in more eyes on the content in question.

Essentially, the model splits the difference, maintaining a theatrical footprint, which still retains a certain prestige, while catering to changing audience preferences in the digital marketplace – it’s a win/win.

Foxtel’s Director of Content Ross Crowley said, “Foxtel is excited to be part of this initiative to bring selected movies into Australian homes even sooner. We love going to the movies, and we love when the movies come to us. Australia Day is the perfect title to lead our expanded Foxtel Store offering, making a great Australian feature available to homes around the country one week after cinema.”