Joe Russo, along with his filmmaking partner/brother Anthony Russo, is known for huge, blockbuster films. These are the guys that have directed billion-dollar hits like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” So, Russo knows a thing or two about crafting a cinema-ready blockbuster. And because of that, he really doesn’t think the future of the theatrical experience is going to include indie films anymore.
Speaking at a recent conference (via Deadline), Joe Russo talked about the future of the theatrical experience and what films will likely get exclusive theatrical releases moving forward. And it probably shouldn’t surprise film fans that have been paying attention to recent trends, Russo believes the future of theatrical releases are really only for big-budget features, not surprise independent movies.
“I don’t see a resurgence of independent movies at theaters, I just don’t,” said Russo. “You get more money to make them digitally. It’s the easiest thing for Netflix to greenlight and nobody really bothers you [creatively]. Movies are going to evolve, I’m not sure what theaters will look like but I know it’s going to be more premium.”
While you could argue that independent films have been struggling at the theaters in recent years much like most non-superhero, non-franchise films have been struggling, and it has little to do with budget and more to do with the types of films people pay money to see on the big screen. However, there’s also no denying the impact that Netflix, along with its streaming brethren, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and Apple TV+, to name several, have had on the distribution model for films.
Studios are less willing to take chances on small, low-to-mid-budget films, especially for theatrical releases. So, those filmmakers are taking their wares to streamers, who are willing to write a check for content and will give unprecedented creative freedom.
Russo has no skin in the game either way, as he and his brother are currently making a massive blockbuster, “The Gray Man,” for Netflix and are still working on features that hit theatrical release. But even if he’s right, it is a sad state of affairs when independent cinema is going to continue to get pushed to streaming and folks won’t experience new, fresh voices on the big screen.
