Netlix vs. the cinema

Netflix keeps changing the course of the industries and redefining viewer habits with its acquisitions. We talked a lot about Netflix’s original shows like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and the deal they made with Marvel. After they became available in almost anywhere and they raised their subscriber numbers significantly, they started spending their seemingly endless budget on movies cinephiles are desperately waiting for.

Of course these developments raise a lot of questions as well. Years ago we discussed them dropping whole seasons at once, the ethics of them not disclosing viewer numbers to the audience and the cast and crew of its shows ad nauseam. Now, it seems like Netflix will be a hot topic for the cinema industry as well.

The Netflix acquisition team go around the world to the prestigious festivals and hunt for movies that win audiences’ love, as well as important awards. Not only that, they sign important directors like Martin Scorsese before they even shoot their next project. The word around is that Netflix is a beast when it comes to bidding wars on films. They aim to deliver the best and the most diverse content of the world to its subscribers, and they don’t hold back when buying content that’ll be of interest to every kind of viewer at home.

The first question that moviegoers have is whether we will be able to watch these movies at a theatre or not.  The most passionate cinephiles are unhappy for not being able to see the movies they look forward to at a big screen. They tend to put down movies that only come out on services like Netflix. In countries where the local release schedule is way behind their original coming out dates, such as Turkey, it is really a great development to be able to access a movie day-and-date with the rest of the world. Local film festivals’ monopoly on quality cinema is no longer an issue now that Netflix is breaking the chains. The days are near when we don’t have to wait for the Oscar season to end or go through hell-like torture to secure tickets at İKSV’s (Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts) next film festival to see a movie by our favorite director. Movies that would never find a budget, that tell stories no studio would go near, that will only appear to a niche audience being made is surely a good thing. I never liked narrow points of view anyway.

When we look in through the other side, theatre owners have bigger concerns than us. As ticket prices keep rising, audiences have almost zero tolerance for uncomfortable chairs, theatre doors that never closes and keep the outside light shining, god damn people that do not know how to properly watch a movie, loud pop corn noises, uncommunicative employees and shitty visual and audio quality when, if they earn enough money, they can watch with 4k resolution at home. In the US, theatre chains are playing hard ball with movies that come out on VOD services day-and-date and refuse to show them in their theatres. This reminds me of the doomed existence and eventual, unavoidable perishing of the ones that cannot keep up with the changing world. We live in a world where common ground is key. So to present every possible opportunity to the audience and let them decide how they’ll watch the content seems like the best solution. The economy of the business will inevitably adapt to this new order and create its own opportunities. Isn’t it how this always goes?

Another problem on minds is these movies being accepted into film festivals. Depending on where you stand, these movies are nothing but glorified TV movies. Even if they have big names behind them, they are less than movies that were produced for theatres and people are sure vocal about it, every chance they get. While Netflix keeps showing off its seemingly unlimited budget and making new enemies, people in the industry keep getting more jealous and annoyed each day. Just like it was in the TV industry a few years back, Netflix is the little big shot that recently came into play with all its shiny qualities and is being disliked by its older and more tired team mates, again. Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, Golden Palm… There is a section of the industry that, as I imagine, swore not to let Netflix have any of them; that hangs the Netflix logo on the wall and constantly throws pointy darts at it. To avoid having to give Best Documentary Academy Award to essentially a TV series, requisite precautions have been taken. In 2018, movies that are not theatrically released in France won’t be accepted to Cannes Film Festival. To prevent running against a wall, Netflix can do limited theatrical runs, it won’t be much of an issue for them. The principals the other side keeps hanging on for the life of them shouldn’t be a cause of resistant action on Netflix’s account. There is no need for stubbornness here.