New Movies At Home? Theaters, Studios Testing Waters With Film-Streaming Startup

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A start-up by Sean Parker is hoping to change how we watch new movies.

The company, called "The Screening Room" is partnering with theater chains to allow subscribers to stream new movies at home, while they are still showing in theaters.

"What the screening room does is it's essentially a box-like device that's filled with anti-piracy technology. And, for $50, and a fee for the box itself, people can rent movies the same day they hit theaters," Variety Reporter Brent Lang told KCBS.

Lang said that the major studios are interested, but have mostly taken a wait-and-see stance, partly out of concerns about piracy. But AMC, one of the largest theater chains, has said it will participate.

"The idea is basically to come up with a compromise solution between studios and theater owners, so that films could be released on the same day they hit theaters in a limited capacity on a home entertainment platform," Lang said.

"The theater owners themselves and the studios are cut in on a part of the revenue, so the idea would essentially be that everybody – all of the interested parties are made whole," Lang said.

But, the theaters make a large share of their revenue on concessions, so Lang said a pair of tickets for future in-theater movies would be included in the rental cost, tempting movie-goers into theaters to spend money.