Oscars Winners and Losers, and Universal’s Pivot to Keep Movies in Theaters Longer

The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Ringer

Society & Culture

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to recap last night’s Academy Awards, including what the show was like from inside the theater, and give their biggest winners and losers of the night (00:00). Then they discuss Universal Studios guaranteeing theaters a minimum of five weekends of exclusive play for new movies starting immediately, and eventually moving to seven weekends starting in 2027 (19:39). Matt finishes the show with more takeaways from the Oscars and recaps his best and worst picks (27:26). Hosts: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series now streaming - only on Paramount+ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Your morning toast is shaking.
0:02.0	Because the McDonald's breakfast bundle means you can bag a sausage sandwich and a selected drink for 299.
0:08.0	Name a better way to start your day.
0:10.0	Wake up and get that saver satisfaction.
0:13.0	Until 11am. Not on delivery includes a sausage sandwich and a selected drink.
0:19.0	Price and participation may vary.
0:29.9	This episode of the town is brought to you by The Madison, the new original series on Paramount Plus.
0:33.9	It's Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan's most intimate story yet.
0:38.9	A New York City family is uprooted to Montana after an unexpected tragedy. In the quiet majesty of the Madison Valley, they confront love and loss, discovering resilience
0:43.8	and the transformative power of family, and the land that grounds them. Led by a powerhouse cast,
0:49.5	Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer and Golden Globe nominee Kurt Russell. Don't miss the Madison, the highly anticipated new series streaming now, only on Paramount Plus.
1:00.0	It is Monday, March 16th.
1:02.7	Often the least sexy aspects of Hollywood are the most important to the business.
1:07.7	In movies, I'm talking about Windows, the shorthand for how studios get the most
1:12.2	value out of each title by releasing it first in theaters, then for rent on home video, then on
1:17.8	subscription streaming services, and so on. As we know, the windowing system has been under attack
1:23.9	since COVID. Universal first blew up the traditional window of 75 days or even 60 days to institute a system
1:31.4	that guaranteed a movie only 17 days in theaters.
1:35.5	Most got more, but it varied by title and the message to consumers was pretty clear.
1:40.7	This movie is likely going to be on streaming pretty soon.
1:45.5	Other studios followed with variable windows, first to Peabod, then to S-Vods like Netflix and Hulu, all to feed their
1:51.3	streaming business. And meanwhile, moviegoers were getting the message and skipping theaters.
	...

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