Entertainment

Theater owners blindsided by Netflix boss’ comments – The Hollywood Reporter


As the relationship between Netflix and theater owners improved, the knives were sharpened again.

The country’s biggest cinematic circuits were obscured on October 18 when Netflix co-director and chief content officer Ted Sarandos poured cold water on the importance of an unprecedented deal to play Rian. Johnson Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery for a week past Thanksgiving before the sequel hit viewers a month later.

“There are all kinds of arguments all the time, back and forth. But there’s no question that we make movies for our members, and we really want them to watch them on Netflix,” Sarandos said on an earnings call. “Most people watch movies at home.”

That kind of messaging doesn’t satisfy theater owners as they continue to recover from the pandemic.

And Sarandos’ comments seem to contradict what the country’s leading circuits – AMC Cinemas, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark Cinemas – have been told by Netflix film director Scott Stuber and distribution chief Spencer Klein said before all agreed to play a Netflix movie for the first time. (Cinemark has begun making some releases of streamers during the pandemic.)

Many sources say CHEAP that Onion described as the first of several real-world tests to determine the kind of financial headwinds a theatrical monopoly could create for Netflix and its impact on subscriber numbers. sign, in both directions. At the same time, Sarandos will still not license the release of gross revenue for Onion, or book movies at more than 600 cinemas. The current count is around 641, including at least 215 AMC locations. Sources say Stuber would prefer a more spacious break.

For exhibitors, access to Netflix movies is welcome news, as they need the product as Hollywood studios grapple with supply chain issues.

“The announcement of our first deal with Netflix has significant implications for AMC and movie lovers around the world. As we have often said, we believe that both theatrical exhibitors and streamers can successfully co-exist,” announced AMC CEO Adam Aron on Oct. Onion transaction has been published. “Also, our desire is to figure out how to crack the code and work together.”

Now, AMC is among the circuits disappointed by Sarandos’ remarks, sources said. AMC declined to comment.

One exhibition director said: “Ted is on a long retreat and undermining his own team. And one marketing executive questioned why streamers would choose the popular Thanksgiving weekend if they really didn’t care about the stage’s impact. It could easily open in early December to qualify for the award.

Netflix officially pays for the cinema of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery as a sneak preview (Netflix made $469 million for the sequel and a third). Total revenue will not be reported, but numbers will certainly be.

While Onion The deal was in the headlines, little attention was paid to the second theatrical test: by Alejandro González Iñárritu Bardo, will be released to theaters across Mexico on March 27 before launching on Netflix on December 16. That’s a 50-day theatrical run, something Netflix has never agreed to before. . The third test is brewing, but sources in the exhibiting community don’t say what film it is.

Cinema owners are probably not the only ones surprised by Sarandos’ comment downplaying the importance of theaters. A large team of top filmmakers, Iiñárritu and OnionJohnson – with Pull out the knife franchise star Daniel Craig – wants a presence on the big screen.

The show industry argues – and many Hollywood studios agree – that theater screenings can actually increase home viewing by making a film part of cultural fervor. Unlike Netflix’s TV series, original movies have historically had a harder time being the chiller’s joke.

In his comments on the earnings call, Sarandos likened Onionrelease a week in cinemas, festivals, or awards qualifiers in terms of creating buzz for a movie that debuted on the service.

In response to a top studio executive, “a nest of wasps has been stirred up and proven that Netflix is ​​nothing more than a Trojan horse that can’t be interested in the show.”

Other observers note the risk of Netflix reducing guarantees for theater owners.

“If the major players in the industry on both the big screen and the small screen want to talk about how these very disparate platforms complement and are not rivals, they have to follow the lead of the industry,” Comscore said. this story. box office chief analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Only in an environment of cooperation and respect can this synergistic alliance survive.”

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