• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 8 hours ago

Record-breaking theatrical summer box-office results are not bad news for streaming TV platforms. They probably give streamers a boost.

Movies like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” ($2.4 billion globally) and Christopher Nolan's “The Odyssey” ($1.62 billion globally) are creating major awareness -- perhaps even some cultural urgency for those who did not see those movies in theaters.

Other high-performing films include Walt Disney’s “Toy Story 5” which earned $479.7 million domestically, Focus Features’ “Obsession” ($263.5 million) and Lionsgate's “Michael” ($242.5 million), according to IMDb Box Office Mojo.

Those movies act like big marketing teasers for all modern TV subscribers -- especially for those "churners" who have opted out of their streaming subscription for certain periods.

This builds on a level of brand awareness that money can't buy, according to analysts.

When these films eventually transition to streaming platforms like Disney+ or Peacock, they arrive as "must-watch" premium events. Major TV advertising pushes for viewers are typical.

At the same time, we wonder if movie studio executives may feel more open to shift back some exclusive premium movie titles into the yearly-theatrical schedules.

This would be especially true for those adult-theme films -- romcoms, older-skewing dramas and comedies that come without big computer-generated, AI-enabled effects.

These are movies with fairly low production budgets of $100 million or less, where studios don’t need to drive a strong theatrical-release performance domestically and internationally to be profitable.

Looking at all theatrical movies now, the average window -- to a streaming platform from its original theatrical release -- is 2 1/2 to four months (75 to 120 days). This goes for premium streamers such as Disney+, Max, Peacock, Paramount+.

Will any of this change -- should the upcoming holiday fall season of movies in theaters result in more record-breaking results?