Recently came the announcement of a one-week theatrical run for Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” the film scoring a release in approximately 600 cinemas several weeks ahead of its premiere on Netflix.
That release will include the three major cinema chains of AMC, Regal and Cinemark and marks the first time all three chains have carried a Netflix title. However, don’t expect this to be the start of a strategy shift for the streamer to suddenly embrace the theatrical window.
Speaking on a video Q&A after the company reported third-quarter earnings yesterday, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos threw cold water on any such speculation and dashing wild dreams of a number of exhibitors:
“We are in the business of entertaining our members with Netflix movies on Netflix, so that’s where we focus all our energy and most of our spend.
There are all kinds of debates all the time, back and forth. But there is no question internally that we make our movies for our members, and we really want them to watch them on Netflix. And, of course, with one week of release in theaters, most people will see them on Netflix. Just like they see all movies. Most people watch most movies at home.”
So why go with the “Glass Onion” theatrical release? It’s a marketing strategy, an awards qualification run, and a treat for subscribers who want the theatrical experience:
“[This] sits somewhere between that week we have to run movies to qualify for awards, and for the time we run them in a film festival, the time we travel them around. It’s a way of condensing them into a louder event.
Our films are always heavily featured in festivals around the world…and for all those folks who can’t get to a city where a festival is, this one-week release on 600 screens is a way of creating access to a film and building buzz.
The same thing we are doing in those festivals. So I would look at this as another way to build anticipation for the film and build buzz for the film ahead of its Netflix release.”
That suggests there could potentially be more like this down the road, but only for the occasional title. “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” will have its one week theatrical run from November 23rd-29th followed by its Netflix release on December 23rd.
The comments come as Netflix is spending around $17 billion on content this year and next, and after its recent strong quarter it’s hinting it could increase that amount but is currently more focused on spending that money more wisely. Sarandos says: “what we have to do is be better at getting more impact per billion dollar spend than anybody else.”
Source: Deadline
