The past week Netflix made a couple of interesting announcements. First off they will be showing the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel on the same day it is released in IMAX theaters. I think it is great news that this is happening more (and something I hoped for in an article I wrote for Flixchatter). Of course various cinema chains were not happy about this and have stated they won’t play the release. The thing which stood out to me was the following quote:
“While a homevideo release may be simultaneously performing in certain Imax locations, at Regal we will not participate in an experiment where you can see the same product on screens varying from three stories tall to 3-inch wide on a smart phone,” said Nunley. “We believe the choice for truly enjoying a magnificent movie is clear.”
The thing I don’t understand about it is if the choice is clear, why would you not show it? It means you aren’t that confident that that choice really is that clear. These chains are seeing it as a big risk to their business and losing revenue, but they should be embracing this and think of ways to make it worth going to the cinema to see it.
The other news I read was that Netflix has signed a four movie deal with Adam Sandler. These movies will be exclusive to Netflix. As you can read in the article Netflix has made the deal based on their statistics on which movies subscribers watch most. While a lot of his latest movies didn’t get many positive reviews it seems that big data on which movies viewers check out on Netflix tells a different story. There still seem to be enough people who enjoy his films and therefore it makes a lot of sense for Netflix to go ahead with this.
What are your thoughts on these Netflix announcements?
I’m with you on that quote about “the choice.” Theater chains sound as if they’re running scared. I will say this, though, I think they should feel least threatened about those types of movies, the big action flicks where the humongous screen is part of a great viewing experience. For dramas and comedies, however, this could be huge as a giant screen isn’t really needed to enhance our enjoyment. This news is great for Netflix, and us (yay!), not necessarily great for movie theater chains.
Honestly, I have no opinion since I don’t use Netflix. Plus, I could care less about Adam Sandler’s bullshit since he basically does the same old shit over and over and over again.
I think the idea of Netflix premiering movies is pretty awesome. It’s hard to find a sitter, so I’m okay with watching movies at home even if I prefer the theater. But Adam Sandler movies suck, so I don’t really care about him. lol
It’s all about choice. The “people” have been pretty vocal about wanting to have a choice of when/where/how they want to watch their TV shows and films. And Netflix is delivering. Going to the theatre is expensive these days. Not always possible for a lot of people. This is great news I think. House of Cards was fantastic, and I’ve heard great things about Orange is the new Black. Makes sense for them to test the waters with film now.
The choice to release the sequel in theatres and Netflix at the same time is a win for the filmmakers and a win for the audience. Truth be told, it is not a win for the theatre. That being said, I don’t see why the theatre chains are choosing to cut themselves out of the revenue stream for that particular film–especially IMAX.
I like Netflix releasing the film at the same time.
As for the Adam Sandler decision. Great by me. It removes his films from the theatre and other outlets. I think it is a win for people who are not fans of his films. Personally, I think this is a horrible decision for him. This decision is exactly the opposite of the one above. He is in fact reducing his chances for his film to be seen.
I think Netflix is scaring the crap out of theaters, and perhaps theaters have a reason to be concerned. But the truth is, theaters are just going to raise their prices no matter who else distributes films. I’m perfectly fine (and actually happy) about Netflix having these announcements, because they’re leading the way in Internet film/TV show distribution, which is affordable and a lot of fun for people to watch in their homes!
And side note, those who enjoy going to theaters (people like me!) are still going to go to the theater whether or not Netflix releases the same title.