Netflix Exec Won’t Commit to Theatrical Runs for 45-50 Films in Development as Theaters Continue to Struggle
Netflix is continuing to spread its wings when it comes to its film division. The company recently released “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” into theaters, where the film saw financial success to the tune of $15 million in a five-day stretch in a relatively limited release. Industry experts think the movie could have seen a much bigger haul had Netflix consented to lengthen its theatrical window.
But company co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos are not interested in the theoretical financial benefits that longer theatrical-exclusive windows could offer them. They have insisted that their company makes movies for its subscribers to watch on Netflix, and that’s where their main focus lies.
Netflix’s head of film Scott Stuber has more affinity for theatrical releases than his bosses do, but he’s committed to doing things the company way. Stuber spoke to Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw regarding “Glass Onion” and Netflix’s future strategy when it comes to theatrical releases. According to Stuber, Netflix’s plan to create eight to 12 movies for theatrical release per year was an ambitious one, and the company’s film division needed time to get its feet underneath it.
“That really was aspirational,” Stuber said of the estimate. “We had to build an infrastructure of executive talent who could speak film. It was recruiting that talent. Getting Marty Scorsese, getting Alfonso Cuaron, Susanne Bier, Paul Greengrass. Then we moved into a slate of talent-drive, R-rated films. We had to build a development pipeline. Sometimes people forget that our film group is four years old. We started with nothing. We’re finally getting there.”
Stuber also pointed out the challenges that theaters are facing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only are people leery about packing into crowded indoor spaces again, but the content offerings from streaming services have also grown more and more cinematic each year.
“We’ve got to use this moment collectively as an industry to be dynamic and stimulate growth,” Stuber said. “How do we get young people to care about theaters? Our company and other big companies like HBO and Apple and Amazon are making giant-scale TV shows.”
Stuber’s point about shows like HBO Max’s “House of the Dragon,” Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” is well stated. Such shows have production values that put them on par with the biggest, flashiest blockbusters coming out of Hollywood, and they are all available from the comfort of audiences’ living rooms.
The executive was also asked about Netflix’s current developmental slate. Stuber did not specifically mention that any more movies were headed for theatrical windows, but he did provide details on how many movies users of the service could expect in the coming years.
“We’ll be at about 25-28 between the three divisions — the big studio team, the mid-budget team and indie,” he said. “We also have documentaries, animation, our holiday group, our non-English films. That adds up to 45 or 50. It sounds like a lot, but we have seven different teams focused on it.”
When asked how those films would be monetized without theatrical releases, Stuber stated the company was committed to ensuring it was making theatrical-caliber movies before it worried about monetizing them. Netflix recently launched an ad-supported tier, which it hopes will aid in monetizing more users.
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Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.