Warner Bros. has always been the wild card of the entertainment industry, and that’s only become more true in the streaming era. HBO Max was one of the last of the major streaming apps to launch, and Warner’s merger with Discovery meant the streamer had a giant library ranging from TLC to Adult Swim to TCM.
With this expansion came some dubious decisions, including canceling movies that were already finished and removing major titles — including HBO Max Originals — from streaming. Now, we finally know Warner Bros.’ final destination, and it could spell doom for the cinematic experience.
Warner Bros. Studios will officially be acquired by Netflix.
Netflix recently announced that the streaming powerhouse will acquire Warner Bros. in a deal totaling over $82 million. It should be noted that this deal is for Warner Bros., not Discovery, as the two different companies have been separated into the TV and Movie Studios (WB) and “Global Networks” (Discovery).
This may not seem like a big deal, but Warner Bros. has had major representation in cinematic success recently, producing a string of box-office hits like Barbie, Sinners, Weapons, and Superman. Netflix, on the other hand, has never prioritized cinematic releases, with some of its most expensive movies getting dumped right onto streaming and with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos frequently showing outright hostility to the theatrical model.
While there has been a relaxation of this attitude recently, probably due to the success of KPop Demon Hunters’ stint in theaters, the acquisition of Warner Bros. seems like it isn’t going to change anything. “We’ve released about 30 films into theaters this year, so it’s not like we have this opposition to movies in theaters,” said Sarandos on a call with Wall Street, per Deadline. “My pushback has been mostly in the fact of the long, exclusive windows, which we don’t really think are that consumer-friendly."
Ted Sarandos warns that long exclusive theatrical windows may be a thing of the past.
It seems like Sarandos is implying that while theatrical releases will still happen, movies will come to streaming sooner, like how Frankenstein was released in theaters on October 17 only to hit Netflix on November 7. But the exclusive theatrical window is part of what makes theaters compelling: in order to see the latest thing, you’re incentivized to watch it the way it was meant to, on the big screen. If you just need to wait a few weeks to catch it on streaming, then movie theaters could suffer.
In the age of streaming, movies may feel more and more made for the home viewing experience, but part of the entire movie experience is sitting in a dark room with strangers and communally experiencing something on a large screen, preferably with snacks. It makes a movie feel more valuable — like something worth dedicating your attention to, instead of background noise to throw on while you scroll on your phone. To quote a staunch movie theater defender: “We need that — all of us. That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim, and we go somewhere we’ve never been before. Not just entertained, but somehow reborn. Together. Dazzling images on a huge silver screen. Sound that we can feel. Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.”
It just hits different in a theater.
