Do movie theaters need saving? Not according to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. In fact, Sarandos thinks that logic is “outdated” and his company is actually saving the movie business from itself.
READ MORE: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Says Working With “Thrifty” Old Marvel Television Regime Was A “Fistfight’: “I Thought We Could Make Money With Great Televsion”
Variety reports that the Netflix head had several controversial things to say on the future of movies in a new interview at the Time100 Summit. When asked if Netflix and streaming platforms had “destroyed Hollywood,” Sarandos smiled and shot back, “No, we’re saving Hollywood” and argued Netflix spearheads where the industry is headed, whether traditional moviegoers like it or not.
“Netflix is a very consumer-focused company,” Sarandos continued. “We really do care that we deliver the program to you in a way you want to watch it.” And as far as he’s concerned, the average consumer still wants to watch movies, but they’d rather do it at home. Just look that the global box office numbers from the past half-decade, argued Sarandos. “What does that say? What is the consumer trying to tell us? That they’d like to watch movies at home, thank you. The studios and the theaters are duking it out over trying to preserve this 45-day window that is completely out of step with the consumer experience of just loving a movie.”
Sarandos added that studios and theaters need to come to terms with the fact that “we’re in a period of transition” in the moviemaking world. “Folks grew up thinking, ‘I want to make movies on a gigantic screen and have strangers watch them [and to have them] play in the theater for two months,’ and people cry and sold-out shows … It’s an outdated concept,” said the CEO. And on the public end of things, Sarandos also claimed that the communal theater experience is “an outmoded idea,” too. “I think it is — for most people, not for everybody,” he continued. “If you’re fortunate to live enough in Manhattan, and you can walk to a multiplex and see a movie, that’s fantastic. Most of the country cannot.”
These are bold arguments on Sarandos’ part, but are they in the wrong? Movie theater attendance is low after the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that restructured not just the consumption of movies and pop culture, but how the public prioritizes their leisure time. And the global box office numbers don’t lie. There have been some commercial phenomenons in theaters post-COVID (“Barbie“; “Avatar: The Way Of Water“), but, overall, grosses haven’t reached pre-pandemic levels. And they probably never will again. In that sense, Sarandos is right: movie culture is in a period of transition whether filmmakers and audiences like it or not, and Netflix and other streamers will steer it forward–and away from theaters.
Will the theater experience die entirely? Not on Netflix’s watch. Sarandos brought up NYC’s Paris Theater and LA’s Bay Theater as ways the streaming giant wants to keep movie houses a viable option to screen films. “We didn’t save it to save the theater business,” Sarandos said of the Paris Theater. “We saved it to save the theater experience.” And Netflix does occasionally give some of the projects it finances limited theatrical release, emphasis on “limited.” 2022’s “Glass Onion” received a small theatrical window, much to the chagrin of star Daniel Craig. Meanwhile, Netflix’s purchasing the distribution rights to “Emlia Pérez” at Cannes last May led to a successful theatrical run and set the film up for a major awards season before controversies fizzled those plans. Elsewhere, Martin Scorsese‘s “The Irishman” got a brief run in theaters in 2019.
“We have these bespoke releases … we have to do some qualification for the Oscars,” Sarandos said of Netflix’s theatrical release model. “They have to run for a little bit, it helps with the press cycle a little bit. But I’ve tried to encourage every director we work with to focus on the consumer, focus, on the fans. Make a movie that they love, and they will reward you.” Greta Gerwig‘s 2026 blockbuster “Narnia” will test that hypothesis next year with its larger release window and the impetus to match the success of “Barbie.”
Does the dwindling importance of movie theaters “bother” Ted Sarandos? No: what would bother him is if “people stop making great movies.” And in his position at Netflix, he thinks it’s dangerous for Hollywood to get “trapped’ in saving a consumption practice like theatergoing that’s becoming obsolete. By his logic, moviemakers and moviegoers must adapt to changing times. Is Sarandos right or wrong about this? Either way, it’s clear that change is necessary.
