Universal Extends Theatrical Window to 5 Weekends in 2026, Even Longer in 2027

In what is surely news to celebrate throughout the movie industry, Universal Pictures is extending the length of its theatrical windows for feature films. This year, Universal will guarantee at least five weekends of theatrical exclusivity before a movie hits digital or streaming platforms.

Then starting in 2027, that window will expand to a whopping seven weekends of theatrical exclusivity, NBCUniversal Entertainment chairwoman Donna Langley revealed to the New York Times on Thursday.

“Our windowing strategy has always been designed to evolve with the marketplace, but we firmly believe in the primacy of theatrical exclusivity and working closely with our exhibition partners to support a healthy, sustainable theatrical ecosystem,” Langley said.

That means theaters will get more exclusivity with expected hits like “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” in April, Steven Spielberg’s UFO movie “Disclosure Day” in June, and “Minions & Monsters” and Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” in July.

One caveat: Focus Features, which is owned by Universal, will not be changing its theatrical policy and will stick to three weekends of guaranteed exclusivity. Universal said the smaller releases from Focus, which includes Oscar-nominated “Hamnet,” benefit from using their theatrical releases to point people to their availability to watch on PVOD, which has become an increasingly vital source of revenue in the age of declining theatrical revenue.

Universal was one of the first studios to adjust its windowing strategy during the pandemic, shifting to 17 days of guaranteed theatrical exclusivity in 2020. That has proven successful for films that didn’t immediately hit in theaters but could use the theatrical marketing budget to catch eyeballs (and dollars) on PVOD, but the result across the industry has been an adjustment in consumer habits to “wait for streaming” for many titles.

The change to five weekends of exclusivity — and seven in 2027 — was celebrated by AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron on Thursday.

“Big news. The highest praise for NBCUniversal Chairman Donna Langley and her team Pete Levinsohn and Jim Orr,” he said on X. “I cannot say enough good things about Donna Langley’s leadership of Universal. First and foremost, she is a superb film maker. Add to that her grace, business acumen and courage in making important decisions that have real ramifications supporting the entire movie ecosystem.”

The move is also assuredly celebrated by the many filmmakers in the industry who have been pushing to keep theaters alive, including Nolan and Spielberg.

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