Cineplex Entertainment and AMC Theatres have inked an unprecedented deal with Paramount Pictures that will shorten the theatrical-to-digital window on two films.

With the deal, Paramount’s Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse will be released this fall in theatres, with digital home entertainment purchase available 17 days after the films are showing in less than 300 domestic theatres (U.S. and Canada combined).

AMC, Cineplex and other exhibitors will get a percentage of the studio’s digital revenue until 90 days after the initial U.S. theatrical release. Each exhibitor’s share of the digital revenue would be proportional to its theatrical gross market share.

A release from Paramount Pictures indicated the studio is in talks with other exhibitors and would offer a similar deal for Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. The release from Paramount also noted the move is a way for the studio to combat piracy while at the same time addressing consumer demand for earlier digital access to films.

“Theater owners have been great partners to us and will continue to be as we evolve and create a flexible business strategy that is based on the actual theatrical run of a film, rather than a rigid window based on a commencement of exhibition. This opportunity offers a viable way for our theatrical partners to retain their window and benefit financially from participating in a more efficient distribution process, while ensuring that audiences are given the chance to see films when and where they want,” said Rob Moore, Paramount’s vice chairman, in a statement.

By partnering with AMC Theatres and Paramount, this deal offers Cineplex Entertainment an opportunity to test a new releasing strategy in a controlled environment, said Pat Marshall, VP of communications and investor relations at Cineplex Entertainment. The partnership also enables all three parties to share and compare data on how a shorter window impacts the bottom line.

“Based on this test, all parties involved will review the performance and the impact on the business, and then decide how we want to move forward from that point,” Marshall told Playback Daily.

Despite having taken a hard line on windowing in the past, Cineplex is well-poised to take advantage of the arrangement. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse can be sold on its online Cineplex Store once the digital window opens up. And it currently offers moviegoers a “Super Ticket” in which customers receive both a theatrical ticket and a digital version of the film upon its later release.

On average, Cineplex has a 100-day exclusive window on films from their theatrical release date.

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension will open on Oct. 23, and  Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse will open on Oct. 30.