Right now, the idea of a theatrical exclusivity window is thrown out the window. With COVID forcing many theaters to remain closed, while others are just desperate for new content to tempt customers back through the doors, studios are able to release whatever films they want in theaters and on streaming or PVOD on the same day. This sounds like a dream scenario for the folks at Netflix, who have been fighting for the collapse of the theatrical window for years. And according to the company’s co-CEOs, Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, this is definitely a good thing moving forward for the entire film industry.
Speaking at their investor’s conference (via Deadline), the dual heads of Netflix talked about the recent post-COVID theatrical release strategy that sees studios either releasing films exclusively in theaters for a few weeks before moving to PVOD or just doing the day-and-date thing like Warner Bros. is doing with HBO Max. And we shouldn’t be surprised at all that both Sarandos and Hastings are excited by what this might mean for the future of seeing Netflix films in theaters.
“We never had an issue with movies going into theaters, it was that you had to commit to this very long window of exclusivity to get access to theaters,” said Sarandos. “That has been the biggest challenge. So if those windows are going to collapse, and we have easier access to show our films in theaters, I’d love to have consumers be able to make that choice to be out or see it at home, which has become the norm during COVID.”
Hastings added, “Hopefully with Warner Bros-sort of COVID move, what we’ll see post-COVID, like the second half of the year, is that people go to the theaters in significant numbers, and watch their films and they’re premiered simultaneously on HBO Max, and that will really set a path for simultaneous; it’s good for the film, helps both online and streaming and also in theaters. But we have to wait post-COVID to get a clean read of that.”
As mentioned, this is a fight that Netflix has been waging for years. We’ve seen the streamer clash with France and the Cannes Film Festival over theatrical exclusivity windows. Netflix has also been pushed away from large nationwide theatrical releases of its awards films from years past like “The Irishman” and “Roma” due to AMC Theatres and other chains not allowing films that don’t follow the typical release window rules. But as Sarandos and Hastings have said, this is now changing and it might mean big things for Netflix films on the big screen.
