Started as a DVD rental company in 1997, Netflix evolved into one of the pioneers of online streaming services and went on to generate $24.9 billion of revenue and garner more than 200 million subscribers in 2020. In 2013, the release of the episodic drama series House of Cards marked Netflix’s first original show and led the company to become the largest producer for movies and TV shows; in 2021, Netflix was responsible for releasing 39% of all original content made that year. Other notable streaming services includes Amazon Prime Video, which produces less original content but offers a larger collection of films and TV shows, HBO Max, the main streaming platform for HBO and Warner Bros., and Disney+, which offers content from popular studios such as Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar. The success of streaming platforms provided audiences with a more accessible and affordable way to view films and TV shows than ever before. With a simple subscription, viewers can have limitless access to full libraries of content wherever they go through their TVs, computers, and smartphones. However, not all people see the rise of streaming as positively as others, and even renowned filmmakers have differing views on the issue.
The 2018 Netflix film, Roma, garnered ten nominations at the 2019 Academy Awards, and the film, like most Netflix original movies, was given a short window to be shown exclusively in selective theaters before debuting on the streaming platform. Though the three-week window is already longer than Netflix’s usual one-week theatrical runs, major theaters chains in America such as Regal and AMC still refused to show the movie because Netflix’s release schedule failed to satisfy the theatrical exclusivity of the traditional 90-day window. Yet, despite limited showing in theaters, Netflix gave, as Roma’s director, Alfonso Cuarón, described, a “Mexican film in black and white, in Spanish that is a drama without stars” a much wider and longer release than what is possible in theaters.
When asked about films produced by streaming services such as Roma, though, director Steven Spielberg had a different opinion, commenting, “I don’t believe that films that are just given token qualifications, in a couple of theaters for less than a week, should qualify for the Academy Award nominations.” While he stated that “television is greater today than it’s ever been in the history of television,” with better writing, directing, performances, and stories, and that television is “thriving with quality and art,” it is also posing “a clear, present danger to film goers.” Filmmakers intend their movies to be seen in a dark theater crowded by strangers sharing an experience together, but streaming, as Spielberg argued, is pulling audiences away from that more immersive and concentration-demanding experience. He further explained that major studios today “would rather just make branded, tentpole, guaranteed box-office hits from their inventory of branded successful movies then take chances on smaller films.” As a result, “those smaller films that studios used to make routinely are now going to Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix,” and because the filmmakers are thus “committed to a TV format,” their films are “TV movies,” which, as Spielberg argued, should not qualify for film awards despite a short theatrical release window. Though his comment about award qualification was controversial, the truth about the threat of the cinematic experience was undeniable.
Even Martin Scorsese’s 2019 film, The Irishman, was forced to be funded by Netflix because no major studios would spend $160 million on a mobster epic when an average superhero movie like Captain Marvel (2019) could guarantee a box-office success. Non-blockbusters such as The Irishman simply cannot compete at the box-office, and streaming is the only way for them to be profitable. Thus, while films like The Irishman have to suffer the short and limited theatrical release, Netflix is the only option to make these films possible. However, the consequence is a division between art and commerce. Theaters are mostly filled with blockbusters while the less popular, artistic films, which are made for a theatrical experience the same as other films, have no choice but to go to streaming services and become what Spielberg calls “TV movies.”
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic only accentuated both the benefits and harms of streaming services. With theaters closed, streaming provided the necessary solution to entertainment for people all around the world who were locked in their homes, and film studios and streaming platforms also took advantage of the situation to optimize their revenues. Disney decided to release five movies, including Mulan (2020) and Black Widow (2021), with Premium Access, which charged subscribers with an additional fee for streaming the films the same time as their theatrical releases. Warner Bros. went even further. After Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020), the last Warner Bros. title with a theater-exclusive release, the studio decided to release all its late 2020 and 2021 films on HBO Max the same day as their theatrical releases, infuriating filmmakers working for the studio. Some of the major titles under this distribution plan included Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Dune (2021), and even the upcoming The Matrix Resurrections (2021). Denis Villeneuve, the director of Dune, blamed the decision on AT&T and Time Warner’s merger, saying that “there is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here.” Christopher Nolan even went on to say that some of the industry’s biggest filmmakers and stars “went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service,” and he added, “Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak.” Outraged, the famed director broke his longtime partnership with Warner Bros. and went to Universal Pictures for his next project, Oppenheimer.
As the world slowly recovers from the pandemic and theaters reopen, studios are beginning to return to the traditional method of releasing their films. Even Warner Bros. is ending its HBO Max experiment for 2022. However, the aftermath of COVID-19 is that the previous 90-day theater-exclusive window will be replaced with new deals between major theater chains and studios of a 45-day window before the release on streaming platforms.
Ultimately, the changes brought by streaming services provided more options for both audiences and filmmakers. A family of five would likely prefer to stream a movie from Disney+ at home than to spend around $100 to go to the theaters, but a fan who values the cinematic experience may choose the theaters despite the higher price tag. Filmmakers can reach a wider audience with streaming and make movies that would otherwise be impossible to produce, but at the same time, they must sacrifice some of the exclusive theatrical experience that is essential for the art of cinema. The ongoing battle between streaming and theaters, commerce and art will continue, and hopefully one day, a balance can be struck.
Monthly Movie Vote!
Last month, I asked you to vote for how you like to watch movies, here’s the result!
Unfortunately, there are only nine votes for the poll this month, but they’re still enough to show certain trends. For example, most TPSers watch their films on TV, while some view them on computers, and surprisingly, a selective few even choose the theaters as their usual way of movie viewing. And from the second question, the declining popularity of showing and watching movies on film is evident. Though some had seen films in digital IMAX theaters, none of the voters had watched movies projected from celluloid film.
For next month, vote for your favorite streaming service here: https://forms.gle/dthQA6uL78kYSRsf8
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