When Netflix announced that it would produce its first movie — a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon — you’d expect movie companies to wave their fingers of objection in the direction toward Netflix for dipping into their profits. Well, you would be right because that is exactly what they’re doing.
The LA Times is reporting that Regal, AMC, Carmike and Cinemark will not screen the new movie in protest of Netflix’s decision to stream the film simultaneously alongside its release in theaters.
It’s not hard to see why the movie theaters are refusing to show the movie in their theaters. They know people would rather stream a movie on their own TV instead of driving to the theater, paying the inflated ticket price for the movie, paying inflated food and beverages prices, and watching a movie with strangers that they can’t re-watch unless they go through that entire process again.
It’s easier to just throw it on at home and make your own popcorn.
Netflix knows its user base better than anyone. It knows that more and more people of all ages are streaming shows and not going to a theaters or watching something live on television. It’s all about convenience, and the fact that Netflix is jumping head-first into producing its own films could change the entire industry just like the company did when it started offering up binge-worthy seasons of television all in one shot.
