A true phenomenon in English-speaking countries, the series The Chosen made a particular choice for the release of its season 4, and American spectators are particularly upset.
The Chosen is a series created by Dallas Jenkins, whose story traces the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. If the program received a positive reception at home, it is nothing compared to that of the United States, where each new season is an event. More than 200 million unique viewers have been estimated to watch the episodes since its creation in 2019!
Another point that sets The Chosen apart from its competitors is its rather unique distribution strategy. For most of the public, the series is available for free via the application and its dedicated website, while the rest of the countries have access to it on streaming platforms such as Prime Video or television channels like C8.
But for season 4, the release is done a little differently, and the American spectators, the most impacted, are green with rage.
American fans of The Chosen hate the idea of theatrical release for season 4
On The Chosen subreddit, u/paul_1149 complained about the US cinema screenings of Season 4: “I’ve always defended the decision to do theatrical premieres to generate money, ever since the decision was announced. It makes financial sense.”
Before specifying: “But I had assumed that, as with season 3, this season would broadcast the first episodes, before presenting them in streaming shortly after. That the other two episodes would be shown on the big screen before streaming again, and so on. So that the whole community is in tune with the revelations, with a very small time gap between the spectators of the big screen and those of the small one.
The biggest problem highlighted by the Internet user is the risk of spoilers. Indeed, those who preferred to wait for streaming must deal with the publications of those who went to theaters. But other Reddit users added their two cents, raising other consequences of this choice of theatrical screenings.
“It’s worse for fans outside the United States. There is no cinema option.” Yet another concern: if a viewer missed the boat for the first three episodes, the absence of streaming will prevent them from catching up before the release of the next three.
” Now that I have missed episodes 1 to 3, I can no longer see any of the upcoming screenings, unless I agree to follow the story out of order, ” explains one Internet user. “I wanted to see them in theaters, I wanted to give them my movie ticket money… I hope they don’t do it again.”
Indeed, the box office figures were almost halved, according to the analysis of another viewer on the dedicated Reddit thread: ” The box office for the first three episodes was 14 million. But since there is no streaming, if you missed the first ones, you will not see the rest. Their box office fell to 8 million, it’s almost halved. “
Finally, some Internet users point out that the budget to see the entire series, even if you watch it with your family, seems insane and above all inaccessible to certain budgets.
In France, season 4 will also be entitled to a preview screening on the big screen at the end of March, in Paris. But viewers will not have to wait too long before seeing the episodes on the C8 channel, between March and April according to various reports.
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