The narrative keeps moving, and the developments keep piling up.
Hounded by an industry vehemently opposed to Netflix acquiring Warner Bros., with condemnation after condemnation pouring in — including from many of the guilds — the streamer’s co-CEO had no choice but to come forward and say he cares about theatrical releases.
Following this morning’s news that Paramount/Skydance is mounting a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Sarandos is now claiming that he strives to ‘create and protect jobs in the entertainment industry.’
When asked about the primary concern from the film community — namely that the streamer might drastically shorten the theatrical window for Warner titles — Sarandos (via Variety) says they have no plans to alter how Warner releases films in theaters:
We didn’t buy this company to destroy that value. We’re deeply committed to releasing [Warner Bros.] movies exactly the way they release those movies today…..If we did this deal 24 months ago, all those movies we saw this year do so well at the box office for Warner Bros. would have been released in the same way in theaters, talking about ”Minecraft,’ ‘Superman,’ ‘Weapons,’ ‘Sinners,’ All those movies. With the Warner Bros. operating entity, we think it’s really important the way that they create and the way that they drive value.
In terms of the deal getting through, Sarandos isn’t worried and says: “We have a deal done, and we are incredibly happy with the deal…We’re super confident we’re going to get it across the line and finish.”
This is the same man who called theatrical release “an outmoded idea.” The same man who claimed that watching Lawrence of Arabia on your phone was “just as good” as seeing it on the big screen. The same man who insisted that Barbenheimer would “have had the same cultural impact” if it had gone straight to Netflix. And the man who labeled theatrical release an “inefficient” way to distribute a $200M movie.
His job is to push the Warner Bros. deal through as quickly as possible and to downplay any pushback from an industry that has sharpened its knives for him.
What Sarandos and Netflix are essentially doing is undermining cinema — that’s their ultimate goal. Don’t fool yourselves. They would love nothing more than to see theatrical exhibition fade away and become the secondary option. The fewer people who go to theaters, the more Netflix benefits. Supporting the broader movie ecosystem is not part of their agenda.
Zeller’s feature debut, “The Father,” was an acclaimed and Oscar-winning film. Many believe he struck out with his sophomore effort, 2022’s critically maligned “The Son.” This is another miss.