Why do filmmakers choose to sell to Netflix instead of theaters?

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It just seems odd to me how a lot of movies which you think could go to theaters are going to Netflix. The Irishman for example. A Martin Scorsese movie starring Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino, as well as these other stars? Seems like theatrical distributors would want that one. But no, straight to Netflix.

El Camino... Breaking Bad is probable the most popular TV show in the history of telivision or at least top 3 I would say. Even The Untouchables and The Fugitive got movies based off their shows that hit theaters instead of going straight to video. But the Breaking Bad movie, only six years later from one of the most popular shows ever, if not the most popular, does not get a theatrical release, and goes straight to Netflix.

Or The Night Comes For Us. The movie has the same actors in from the Raid movies and looks just as high budget as those ones. The Raid movies went to theaters all over the world, but for some reason this one goes to Netflix. Why?

Or there are other movies with big stars in like Bright or Bird Box, and yet Netflix is preferred over theatrical distribution interest.

Is Netflix better than theaters? But if that is the case, then why doesn't every movie go there, and theaters just shot down then?



Obviously it's because they're paying them a lot of money/providing a larger budget for something that otherwise would not get made (or might not get made), or wouldn't get made for as much. I imagine they're providing them with more creative freedom, too, which has been a hallmark of Netflix original TV shows.

So, if you're Scorese, maybe you can make The Irishman elsewhere, but the studio wants more say in what the final product looks like, or will only agree to interfere less for a lower budget. But Netflix gives him a bigger budget with more creative control.

It's always some mix of those things.



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Oh okay, but isn't a little interference worth the theatrical release? What other interference would they impose besides the look of the movie and less budget?



Oh okay, but isn't a little interference worth the theatrical release? What other interference would they impose besides the look of the movie and less budget?
In the case of The Irishman specifically, runtime. Scorsese's film is nearly three and a half hours long. Netflix has zero problem with that. One of the more traditional studios would surely have wanted him to cut it down. By a lot.

I saw The Irishman in the theater last week. It is glorious and looked amazing on the big screen. But I recognize there are not millions of people who will sit through a movie that long.
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Oh okay, but isn't a little interference worth the theatrical release? What other interference would they impose besides the look of the movie and less budget?
Views. Disney basically owns every movie theater so your film is more likely to be seen on Netflix than it is in theaters. With The Fugitive, original stuff had a bigger chance at being seen back then. Martin had just gone done talking mess on Marvel. And be honest with yourself, who would see Bright or Bird Box in theaters? No one would've even heard of it if it weren't for Netflix. Or Blue Ruin? Lord knows, that masterpiece would've been hidden from the masses.
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Oh okay, but isn't a little interference worth the theatrical release?
Maybe. But who said it'd only be a little?

Some directors care a lot about a traditional theatrical release. Some just care about making the movie they want without compromises. And pretty much everyone has some threshold where one is "worth" the other.

But really, people just have different priorities. That's the answer to 90% of these kinds of questions.



But if that is the case, then why doesn't every movie go there, and theaters just shot down then?
Curiously, Netflix has just saved a major movie theater in Manhattan, the last single-screen movie theater. The Paris theater slated to be shut down forever, but rescued by Netflix & they are airing Marriage Story there right now. Been to the Paris a million times & glad it was saved.
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It just seems odd to me how a lot of movies which you think could go to theaters are going to Netflix. The Irishman for example. A Martin Scorsese movie starring Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino, as well as these other stars? Seems like theatrical distributors would want that one. But no, straight to Netflix.
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I haven't read the real reason. Could be the length of the picture. But with all the hype and grease it's getting, they may have passed up $50-100 million in theatrical returns. I doubt that Netflix guaranteed them that kind of profit.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Oh okay, but isn't a little interference worth the theatrical release? What other interference would they impose besides the look of the movie and less budget?
I have friends that won't sit in a theater for the run time of some movies. Audiences can start and stop a Netflix stream at will. Therefore, everyone will prefer to watch some things from the comfort of their own couch with the pause button at the ready.



I would say two reasons....

1,Streaming platforms depend on having the odd release that draws people in so something like a major Marty film for example can be worth more to them than it can to studios.

2.Films that have been made but then are looking for distribution often seem to end up on streaming as a last resort if they don't go down well on the festival circuit.

Of course a lot of the time your not just talking about cinema vs streaming your talking about DVD/BR vs streaming. When it comes to arthouse releases that's arguably the bigger divide.



Many older people (at least in my area) are not going to the theaters. They feel it as too expensive. And it's not as convenient as watching at home.

Now, here's my controversial opinion: the audience for theaters (in America at least) will become increasingly younger, with more films aimed at them, while films geared toward older viewers will be available online.

In my more rural area, movies with more complex themes, set in historical periods and starring older actors (To us De Niro and Pacino are two outstanding actors. To most teens, they are two old guys.) are competing for screen time with PG-13 action films, animated features and even R-rated horrors that have a better track record of filling seats.

And theater owners aren't fond of thee-hour films because they can not get as many screenings in and thus, sell fewer tickets.



It just seems odd to me how a lot of movies which you think could go to theaters are going to Netflix. The Irishman for example. A Martin Scorsese movie starring Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino, as well as these other stars? Seems like theatrical distributors would want that one. But no, straight to Netflix.

El Camino... Breaking Bad is probable the most popular TV show in the history of telivision or at least top 3 I would say. Even The Untouchables and The Fugitive got movies based off their shows that hit theaters instead of going straight to video. But the Breaking Bad movie, only six years later from one of the most popular shows ever, if not the most popular, does not get a theatrical release, and goes straight to Netflix.

Or The Night Comes For Us. The movie has the same actors in from the Raid movies and looks just as high budget as those ones. The Raid movies went to theaters all over the world, but for some reason this one goes to Netflix. Why?

Or there are other movies with big stars in like Bright or Bird Box, and yet Netflix is preferred over theatrical distribution interest.

Is Netflix better than theaters? But if that is the case, then why doesn't every movie go there, and theaters just shot down then?
El Camino is only for fans of Breaking Bad. It plays like an extended extra episode, which it basically is.

The Irishman is very long. However it is getting a bit of a theatrical run, so it seems like a win-win for Scorsese.


I have The Night Comes For Us in my queue but I haven't watched it yet. But I can't imagine how an Indonesian filmmaker wouldn't jump at the chance to make a movie for Netflix. While The Raid was hugely successful, The Raid 2 was less so, and there's no reason to think every movie they make was going to equal the success of The Raid, or even make it onto American big screens at all.
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Oh okay, I didn't know that Netflix gave more creative freedom. In fact a lot of the Netflix original movies I see are very restricted in their stories, so I thought that Netflix perhaps had more restrictions therefore, unless it's just the filmmakers restricting themselves of course.



Oh okay, I didn't know that Netflix gave more creative freedom. In fact a lot of the Netflix original movies I see are very restricted in their stories, so I thought that Netflix perhaps had more restrictions therefore, unless it's just the filmmakers restricting themselves of course.
I think that's because the overwhelming majority of Netflix original movies are made by relative unknowns just trying to get something out there. Netflix offering more creative freedom is an "all else being equal" kind of thing. The Netflix films with predictable stories are often being made by people who wouldn't get to make anything with a normal theatrical release, and if they did, would be as restricted or more by a studio. That's the comparison you want to be looking at.

When they're trying to land an award-contender like The Irishman by a talent and name like Scorsese, however, that's another matter. Ditto those big contracts they've handed out to various TV showrunners.



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Oh okay. Do you think that relatively unknown filmmakers would be making better films, if they went to the studios, cause then the studios would say "well these filmmaking decisions may be good enough for Netflix standard, but you want are backing, we are going to impose these higher standard conditions", which might make for a more theatrical worthy movie?



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It's the beginning of the end of movie theatres.

For me personally there's probably 1 film per year I'm going out to see, the rest I can wait a few months and I'm more than happy to keep giving Netflix a trivial amount of money per month if I can get quality like The Irishman, Stranger Things, The Crown ( and I don't have to wait a week between episodes) and many other things.

Netflix will get around £100 from me this year, the movie theatre has so far received £0, so you can see which one is going to be the main producer of movies soon, or even better, TV shows with movie production quality that we're already seeing.
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I have friends that won't sit in a theater for the run time of some movies. Audiences can start and stop a Netflix stream at will. Therefore, everyone will prefer to watch some things from the comfort of their own couch with the pause button at the ready.
That’s me. I will not go to a movie theater. Mostly because the other patrons disturb me with their chatting, etc.

Main reason is I must have rewind & pause buttons.



That’s me. I will not go to a movie theater. Mostly because the other patrons disturb me with their chatting, etc.
Same. I agree with Marty this stuff is best on the big screen, but I'm not sure I agree that it can't really be properly enjoyed any other way, and I certainly think being able to focus on it at home, compared to a theater with people talking, is still better, if not the ideal circumstance. Sadly the ideal circumstance doesn't usually exist for me, unless/until one of those Alamo Drafthouse-type places comes to Pittsburgh, in which case I'll gladly start going to the theaters more, and pay a premium if necessary.