Two Films Hit Theaters, but Netflix Remains Committed To Streaming (nytimes.com) 19
Netflix agreed to some exclusive theatrical distribution for "Glass Onion" and "Matilda the Musical," but it's not clear exhibitors will get much more. From a report: "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," the much-anticipated follow-up to the 2019 sleeper hit directed by Rian Johnson, was supposed to be the moment Netflix crossed the Rubicon. Rather than give the film a perfunctory theatrical release -- a strategy designed to ensure most viewers ultimately watch a movie on the streaming service -- Netflix, in a first, would give the film a traditional, exclusive run in a large number of cinemas. It didn't happen.
After much back and forth, and contrary to the wishes of some Netflix employees and Mr. Johnson, a theatrical release for "Glass Onion" that at one point some people inside the company hoped would reach up to 2,000 screens ended up at 638 in the United States. The movie, which was released on Wednesday and has received positive reviews, will run in theaters for just one week before becoming available on Netflix on Dec. 23. What was supposed to be the moment to prove the value of theaters to the streaming giant will not come to pass. Yet the company is also involved in another intriguing theatrical experiment this weekend, one that could end up providing Netflix with even more valuable feedback.
On Friday, "Matilda the Musical," financed and produced by Netflix, will open on more than 1,500 screens in 670 locations across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The movie, starring Emma Thompson as the villainous Miss Trunchbull, will be released and promoted by Sony Pictures, which, in a unique one-picture deal, licensed the rights to Netflix on the condition that Sony could hold onto the United Kingdom for a theatrical release. ("Matilda," which is based on a stage musical that itself is based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, is beloved in the United Kingdom. The musical has been running in London's West End since 2011.) "It will be a good example of what could be done," said Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of Vue International, a London-based exhibitor with theaters in countries including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and Italy. âoeIf there was ever a film made for the big screen, it's 'Matilda.'"
After much back and forth, and contrary to the wishes of some Netflix employees and Mr. Johnson, a theatrical release for "Glass Onion" that at one point some people inside the company hoped would reach up to 2,000 screens ended up at 638 in the United States. The movie, which was released on Wednesday and has received positive reviews, will run in theaters for just one week before becoming available on Netflix on Dec. 23. What was supposed to be the moment to prove the value of theaters to the streaming giant will not come to pass. Yet the company is also involved in another intriguing theatrical experiment this weekend, one that could end up providing Netflix with even more valuable feedback.
On Friday, "Matilda the Musical," financed and produced by Netflix, will open on more than 1,500 screens in 670 locations across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The movie, starring Emma Thompson as the villainous Miss Trunchbull, will be released and promoted by Sony Pictures, which, in a unique one-picture deal, licensed the rights to Netflix on the condition that Sony could hold onto the United Kingdom for a theatrical release. ("Matilda," which is based on a stage musical that itself is based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, is beloved in the United Kingdom. The musical has been running in London's West End since 2011.) "It will be a good example of what could be done," said Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of Vue International, a London-based exhibitor with theaters in countries including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and Italy. âoeIf there was ever a film made for the big screen, it's 'Matilda.'"
Klaus (Score:3)
I wish they'd release that one on BluRay...
Re: (Score:2)
It's not like I don't have it.
Hard-hitting news for nerds? (Score:3)
"Netflix remains committed to streaming" -- you heard it here first, folks!
Re: (Score:2)
It means they're running out of things to namecall people.
Glass onion is an awful song (Score:2)
It's like a bad parody of the Beatles' own music. It's self-referencial in a bad way. At least the tune is okay-ish. But it's just another (at best) forgettable part of the White Album that never should have made the final cut.
Re: (Score:2)
Here's another awful song in the same vein, "Beatles Forever" by Electric Light Orchestra. Never released because they realized it was too cheesy, but recently, finally leaked after 40 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Musically it's very beautiful, worth a listen. But the Beatles quotes are cringe, so taken altogether it's a very weird vibe on this track.
Committed to streaming... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
But do they keep doing huge projects like the Knives Out series at all? The movie biz isn't easy and the box office as a whole isn't exactly on a stellar trajectory [amazonaws.com].
But then, what? Netflix got their start distributing the movie companies' back catalogs but that is drying up.
Re: (Score:3)
You are not thinking of the trade-offs appropriately.
Most people watch most movies exactly once. If you go see it in theatre, you will not watch it on streaming. Instead, you now need to give them *something else new* to watch, which you then need to finance.
IE - this movie in the threatre is not "free money" - there is a cost to it, and that analysis has to be done. Presumably - as a very data-driven company - Netflix has already done this analysis, for each individual film they make.
Re:Committed to streaming... (Score:5, Informative)
Most people watch most movies exactly once.
I can't find any proper numbers on the subject but I think you're overstating how rare it is for people to rewatch movies by a lot. I suspect you don't rewatch movies frequently and are using yourself as the standard.
The movie industry has been enjoying multiple profit sources for their movies for ages now. For a long time it was Theater -> VHS/DVD (rental or own) -> TV (cable and then network) with streaming replacing renting and a significant part of ownership more recently. Considering each tier has always made Hollywood insane amounts of money it does seem people do rewatch movies to some degree of significant frequency.
Re:Committed to streaming... (Score:4, Interesting)
Basically, I don't remember Blockbuster having any problems renting out movies that had massive theater audiences.
Just Keep It (Score:2)
My best experience in watching recorded performing arts happens in a theater. Don't put it in a theater, then I'm not going to see it.
I go to be away from home, sit in the dark, eat popcorn I didn't have to make, get up and leave without having to clean up the popcorn that didn't quite make it, and not have to worry about what noise that was outside the house, not having anyone else traipsing around the room while I'm trying to watch something, and so forth. I also get to hear the loud portion as loud as