Cinemas vs. Streamers

As Hollywood and cinema exhibitors seem focused on blockbusters , the streamers seem content on airing smaller, perhaps, more relevant films and series.  And why not, there appears to be an audience for all things. For cinemas, audience reach is limited but they provide large screens and big sound. For streamers, audience reach is unlimited but screen size and sound are limited.

Currently, good film-makers have a choice on how to bring their work to audiences: theatrical release, streaming, cable VOD, or a combination of these.  The impact of the distribution changes taking place in the movie industry are best seen at film festivals, where streamers (such as Netflix or Amazon) snatch-up and pay the highest prices for the best content.  For example, at Sundance this year, Amazon ponied-up $10 million for 'Manchester by the Sea', beating out Fox and Universal for distribution rights. Netflix paid $7 million for 'The Fundamentals of Caring'.  Under its model, Netflix releases its films in cinemas and via streaming day-and-date.  Amazon releases it films to cinemas first and waits at least one month before release on its Prime Video service.

For smaller films, which have to struggle for box-office attention in a market dominated by big-budget blockbusters, linking up to a streamer may be the best distribution bet; however, it is still the case that a movie loses some of its cachet when bypassing the cinema release.  Additionally, there is no arguing, a movie loses its immersive quality if viewed at home on a TV or iPad. A movie viewed at a cinema is a totally different experience than viewed at home, but most people will wind-up watching in-home.

VR will co-exist with cinemas and streamers

Like it or not, there is a new landscape for movie distribution and it is being driven by what and how people view films.  Cinemas still provide the impact and immersiveness but its hard to beat content distribution to 80 million people around the world at the same time.

Beyond cinemas and streamers, it's worth looking at the new technology of virtual reality which is neither and may present the next big competition for both.  VR offers total immersion. VR is not consuming entertainment by gathering in a group around a TV or going on a date to the cinema - but it could be both. Going forward, we won't have the bi-polar distinction of cinema or TV viewing but other ways of enjoying entertainment and they will all co-exist together.