Invoking a rarely used loophole, and a first for a major streaming service, Apple utilized an “exceptional visa” to release Steve McQueen’s World War II drama “Blitz” in French cinemas for a limited two-day run on November 9-10. The maneuver bypassed France’s strict media chronology laws, which usually require a 17-month window between theatrical and streaming releases for most platforms.

The film, which stars Saoirse Ronan as a mother searching for her son during the London blitz, was shown in around 50 predominantly arthouse cinemas, grossing approximately EUR €12,500 (USD $13,250) from 1,700 tickets, according to Comscore. It is scheduled to stream globally on Apple TV+, including in France, starting 22 November.

France’s CNC (National Film and Moving Image Centre) issued the special visa, which permits up to 500 screenings over two days. Such exceptions are rare, representing just 0.07% of total screenings and 0.15% of moviegoers for the 2022-2023 period. Olivier Henrard, CNC’s acting president, described the visas as “very useful and adapted to our times” but emphasized the need for measures to deter potential abuse.

In fact, Henrard warned that any repeated usage of the waiver by distribution companies could lead to stricter regulations, though sounded more optimistic about the strategy when speaking with Screen Daily, saying “Exceptional visas are a way to draw crowds to cinemas, who then return for other titles after seeing posters and trailers.”

While some local cinema operators and film distributors fear Apple’s release strategy could lead to disruption, the CNC remains confident the visas won’t threaten traditional windowing rules. Of course, the fear is that Apple’s experiment could inspire other streamers to adopt similar release strategies, offering films increased exposure without waiting for the standard theatrical windows. Disney, for example, previously used temporary visas for animated films “Luca” and “Turning Red” following their Disney+ streaming debuts, though keep in mind, that was during the pandemic when there were very few film titles for cinemas to program.

There is no concern about whether Netflix uses the strategy as they almost never release films in movie theatres anyway. Their upcoming adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play “The Piano Lesson” as well as “Six Triple Eight,” are being released directly to the company’s streaming service.

Apple, on the other hand, has has a habit of giving movies from award-winning filmmakers long theatrical runs before sending them to Apple TV+, their streaming platform. Last year’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Napoleon” are good examples. All eyes will be on how Apple handles “F1” starring Brad Pitt, which is scheduled for a theatrical release in June of 2025.