It's no secret that Netflix wants to have a stake in the film industry. They've released some incredibly well-regarded films (and some not so well regarded ones...) and have been working with some pretty big names. There's Bong Joon-ho's Okja and, unfortunately, Naked starring Marlon Wayans - but enough about that. My point is that whether the industry likes it or not, audiences are embracing streaming services.
The question is, how does that affect cinemas? I'm not the first person who's written about this, and I definitely won't be the last. It'd be hard not to, considering the organisers of Cannes have stated that for films to be eligible for the Palme D'or, they have to have a French cinema release - which means neither Okja nor The Meyerowitz Stories are, despite the critical acclaim they garnered. The bottom line is that the only people who have a problem with Netflix and Amazon original films, or films produced by any other streaming service are film industry bigwigs, and their reasons for being against it are entirely financial. Maybe I'm just cynical, but the only reason I can see for Cannes to rally against Netflix movies in that way is because without film industry bigwigs, there would be no Cannes.
However, those people only have a certain amount of power over what streaming services do. The reason cinemas have been so popular in the past is because they were the only place to see new things. They do have the added bonus of being more technically impressive than the majority of home cinemas - but if there's nothing good to see, then why would the hi-tech equipment matter?
According to The Guardian, the revenue from Netflix and Amazon Video will exceed that of the box office by 2020, which indicates that people are watching a lot of stuff on the platforms. But those figures aren't really representative of the future cinema. For all we know, all of those people are using streaming services to watch a lot of TV and hardly any films.
It would be in the interest of Netflix and Amazon to release their original films in cinemas, too. The problem is that the people who are making a lot of money in Hollywood right now - film studios, producers, and the like - will be replaced by the streaming services themselves, which means the money will be distributed much differently to the way it has been in the past.
The only way any of that stuff would affect film fans is if all cinemas disappeared forever, and were replaced by nothing. The truth is that streaming services aren't going anywhere, but I honestly don't think it will matter for the general public. If cinema chains want to stay afloat (which of course they do), they'll have to strike some kind of deal with streaming services to keep up with the demand of the public. All that will change is that those services will make more money and the cinemas will make less, and this whole thing is a bit of a non-issue unless you're one of the unlucky people who works as a producer.
What do you think? do you agree with me? Comment and let me know, and thanks for reading.
Links to other articles on this:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jun/14/netflix-amazon-uk-cinema-box-office-film-dvd-blu-ray-pwc
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/cannes-2017-netflix-screening-booing-okja-bong-joon-ho-tilda-swinton-heckling-projection-a7744066.html
https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/17/15331834/netflix-streaming-movies-adam-sandler-amazon
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