As we pointed out earlier, when discussing Netflix’s domination of the Oscar nominations, Sony is the only traditional studio that came close to matching the streaming service’s total. Thanks to films such as “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Little Woman,” “Pain & Glory,” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” Sony collected 20 nominations today, only 4 behind Netflix. And according to Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, this is a sign that the theatrical experience is alive and well, and people shouldn’t be too concerned with streaming.
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“I’m extra optimistic this morning, but the streaming doesn’t worry me much,” Rothman said (via Deadline). “What we have to remember is to make great movies, because if you do, the theatrical experience isn’t going anywhere. Movie theater movies are the ones that make a cultural impact, worldwide, and move audiences en masse.”
He continued, “Part of it is exactly because it requires effort on the part of the audience to make a difficult competitive choice that I’m going to get up off my couch and see it on the big screen. Some of it is the enormity of the marketing dollars spent, but it all creates a cultural impact that cannot be duplicated. America is always cyclical, but I read that this was a record year at the worldwide box office, for all the doom and gloom that you hear.”
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Of course, every time a studio head, filmmaker, actor, or any other Hollywood figure points to the record worldwide box office totals that seem to be coming year after year, it’s important to also explain that folks like Martin Scorsese, among other people worried about the future of cinema, are less concerned by box office stats and more concerned with which films are being released.
In the case of Sony, Rothman is perfectly within reason to look at “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” ($372 million) and “Little Women” ($107 million and counting) as worldwide box office winners, but both of those pale in comparison to the studio’s own “Spider-Man: Far From Home” ($1.13 billion) and “Jumanji: The Next Level” ($671 million and counting). So, yes, the theatrical experience isn’t dying anytime soon, but the types of films that get shown on a vast majority of the screens in those theaters seem to be what’s changing.
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And speaking of films that will no doubt be shown in theaters, what about Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming 10th film? Well, Rothman doesn’t have a deal in place and hasn’t had any serious discussions with the filmmaker behind “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” but he’s fairly confident that Tarantino’s next feature will be released by Sony.
“There’s talk, but he’s very much his own man who creates his own stuff and that comes from his own fevered imagination,” said the exec. “From everything he has said, he is happy with the results, and the job Sony did for him. So I would like to think we are in pole position. But nothing is imminent; he’s writing a book and there’s other things he’s doing. But I am pretty confident this won’t be the last time we work together.”
