The period during which a film plays only in cinemas has narrowed considerably. The change follows from how films are marketed and from who now owns the platforms they move to afterwards.
Marketing spend is front-loaded and perishable
A release campaign concentrates almost all of its expenditure in the weeks around opening, because awareness has to peak when tickets go on sale.
That awareness decays quickly once the campaign stops, and rebuilding it later for a home release means paying for attention twice.
Shortening the gap lets a single campaign serve both releases, which is a direct saving on one of the largest costs attached to a film.
Most theatrical revenue arrives early
Cinema takings are heavily concentrated in the opening weekends, and the weekly decline is steep for all but a small number of titles.
By the time a traditional exclusive window ended, the remaining theatrical income was often modest relative to the delay it imposed.
Studios weighing that residue against earlier home release found the balance had shifted, particularly for films that open strongly and fade fast.
Ownership of the destination changed the calculation
When studios sold home rights to third parties, a longer window protected the value of the theatrical sale.
Studios that now own streaming services are moving a film between two parts of the same business, and the internal accounting rewards subscriber retention as well as ticket sales.
A film arriving on the owner's platform while it is still being discussed serves that retention goal in a way a later arrival does not.
Exhibitors lost negotiating leverage
The window was maintained by cinema chains, which could decline to book a film that did not respect it.
That leverage depends on studios needing cinemas more than cinemas need any individual film, and the balance moved when alternative distribution became viable.
The result is a negotiated arrangement that varies by title, with tentpole releases holding longer exclusivity than mid-budget films.
Windows now differ by film rather than by rule
Instead of a single industry standard, each release is assigned a window reflecting its expected performance and its role in the distributor's wider plans.
Films performing above expectation sometimes have their windows extended mid-run, since the theatrical revenue still arriving outweighs the case for moving on.
The exclusive period has become a commercial variable rather than a fixed structure, which is why it now varies so widely between releases.