In recent years, there has been much discussion regarding whether or not the rise of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video and more will spell the death of movie theaters. Bob Iger, former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, has chimed in on the matter, saying that he thinks while streaming will seriously injure cinemas, it will not necessarily deliver the killing blow.
Iger, who was succeeded as CEO of Disney by Bob Chapek back in February 2020, recently sat down with The New York Times, with interviewer Kara Swisher noting that these days, movie theaters tend to by dominated by tentpole releases like Sony and Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home. Regarding theaters' place in the current zeitgeist, Iger said, "I don't think it's the death. I think it's a severe injury that maybe doesn't heal. And what I mean by that is, not fatal. It might be fatal to some."
The ex-Disney CEO elaborated, "However, they will be much more, I think, discerning about what movies they want to see out of the home, where you're likely, I think, to say or ask yourself, wait a minute, is this a movie I need to see on the big screen and do all that, or can I wait or not even wait, for that matter, and see it at home?"
Iger also noted that theatrically-released films don't only have to compete with streaming films -- they have to compete with streaming television series as well. "It's not even about whether you watch a movie on the big screen or at home. It's just, you have so many more choices in the home," he said. "Think about the number of TV series that we're talking about -- at a quality level that's pretty good, much better, from a production-value perspective, than it used to be... Some of the TV shows that Disney has made -- Mandalorian being one, the Marvel series, Falcon and the Winter Solider, Loki -- each one of those is a movie. So just, movie theaters have much more competition than they ever had before."
Discussion surrounding the future of movie theaters was especially prevalent during the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with countless movie theaters being forced to shut down and many people hunkering down at home to view streaming content. Even as pandemic-related restrictions loosened and theaters began to reopen, a large amount of individuals were hesitant to start going to the movies again as COVID continued to loom.
On top of that, amid the pandemic, numerous streaming services -- such as Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock -- implemented day-and-date releases, where new films would be available to stream starting the same day they arrived in theaters. Day-and-date releases appear to be on the way out, but even then, there are still plenty of streaming-exclusive movies and shows coming down the pipeline.
There are still major cinematic successes, of course, with the aforementioned No Way Home shattering records to become the sixth-highest grossing film in history, having made $1.695 billion worldwide at the time of writing. However, this goes back to Swisher's point about tentpoles dominating theaters.
Actor/filmmaker Ben Affleck recently expressed a similar viewpoint, saying, "I think movies in theaters are going to become more expensive, event-ized. They're mostly going to be for younger people, and mostly about 'Hey, I'm so into the Marvel Universe, I can't wait to see what happens next.' And there'll be 40 movies a year theatrically, probably, all IP, sequel, animated." Affleck was discussing his recent film The Last Duel, which bombed at the box office, though subsequently topped video-on-demand charts. "I thought, 'Well, there you go. That's where the audience is.'"
Source: The New York Times