Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos made headlines recently, calling the theatrical model, such as a 45-day window being “outdated” and stating that streaming services like his are “saving Hollywood” along with doing a better job at entertaining “consumers.”
Filmmaker Rian Johnson, who wrote and helmed the upcoming third “Knives Out” installment, “Wake Up Dead Man,” starring Daniel Craig for the streaming giant, has commented on Sarandos’ thoughts on the dwindling relevance of the theatrical experience.
READ MORE: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Says Movie Theater Model Is “Outdated” & Streaming Is “Saving Hollywood”
Johnson is refuting those statements while speaking with Business Insider.
“Obviously, I don’t, because I love movies. I love going to see movies,” Johnson said. “But also, I have a feeling talking to Ted, it would be a different thing than one quote taken and kind of tossed at me in this context. So I don’t want to phrase this as I’m having a proxy discussion with Ted right here.”
“I think theatrical is not going anywhere,” the director pointed to the recent box office successes of Ryan Coogler‘s “Sinners” and Jared Hess‘ “A Minecraft Movie.” The two films from Warner Bros. are attracting all sorts of demographics to return to the theater, despite not being sequels or remakes.
“We’ve seen if you put a movie people want to see in the theaters, they are going to show up for it, and that experience of being in a full house and having that experience is so important,” Rian Johnson added with optimism. “It’s something that I love and I want more of in the world.”
The comments from Sarandos were also odd, given that Netflix has recently been caving to directors’ demands to allow their streaming films to get theatrical releases (length of those windows varying by film). In the case of Greta Gerwig‘s “Narnia” reboot, the fantasy film is expected to land a run on IMAX screens, as that isn’t very common for Netflix. Obviously, Sarandos’ company is willing to make deals with certain filmmakers to allow their films to be shown on the big screen, and some have been given physical media releases via The Criterion Collection.
Those Sarandos statements ruffled a lot of feathers when they first made the rounds, given the streamer’s smaller/mid-budgeted films can sometimes overtake viewership numbers of $200-300 budgeted efforts. While the theatrical box office has had its issues, it’s not like Netflix has avoided hiccups itself and still has extremely high operating costs, which they often use as a marketing gimmick.
Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.
We’re still waiting on announcements for pricey follow-ups for Netflix exclusives like “Army of The Dead” (Zack Snyder‘s “Planet of The Dead” seems to be dead as it gets as he focuses on a new UFC film “Brawler“), “Red Notice,” “Rebel Moon,” and “The Gray Man” (a sequel has been in “development” for years) but subscribers could be waiting forever for those to materialize as the streamer moves on to fresher ideas.
In the past, we’ve seen doomsayers talking about how television was going to kill theaters, then it was the home video market, VCRs, and movie rental places were going to kill the theaters, then it was online movie piracy and torrenting were the next big threat, and now the latest boogieman is deep-pocked streaming services.
If Johnson’s take on the matter is any indication, I don’t think we need to panic just yet.
