Universal Pictures gave a major vote of confidence to movie theatres this week when it announced that it would increase the length of the exclusive theatrical window for most of its film releases. The rollout will take place in two phases. First, for all its 2026 movie releases it will extend the window by two weeks from 17 to 31 days. Then beginning in 2027 it will add another two weeks to the window to settle at 45 days.
The is a reversal from Universal, who has defended the current 17-day window that it established at the height of the pandemic in 2020. The new approach supports the argument that Cinema United President Michael O’Leary and others have made for years that increasing the theatrical window to 45-days serves both studios and theatres. One caveats to the new approach is that Universal’s independent label Focus Features will continue to release films under a 17-day window, as some of these movies use a limited theatrical run as a marketing tool leading up to a Premium Video on Demand release.
This represents a strong vote of confidence for theatrical exhibition. If Universal can change course, after having operated for five years with the shortest theatrical window of any major studio, there is hope that a 45-day window can become the standard for every meaningful new release from all studios.
