Cinema vs streaming: The battle over when and where you can see movies

FILE PHOTO: Grauman's Egyptian theatre is seen as preparations continue for the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 19, 2009. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo

LOS ANGELES: While superheroes, monsters and aliens battle on the big screen, a real-life fight is raging behind the scenes that will determine what moviegoers will see at their local cinemas. 

The off-screen skirmish centres around the theatrical “window”, the time a movie plays exclusively in US theatres before it can be released on DVD or digital. That period averages 90 days, but upheaval across the media business is fuelling debate on whether that should shrink.