The National Association Of Theatre Owners Invites Netflix To Give The Big Screen A Try
This week, the annual film convention CinemaCon is putting representatives for the industry’s biggest companies in the same room. What’s the result of this meeting of the minds? Apparently, some major ideas for how to fix both the ailing theatrical model and the recently unstable streaming model.
On Tuesday, National Association of Theatre Owners president and CEO John Fithian delivered a State of the Industry address, and reportedly used the press conference afterwards to extend an olive branch to Netflix.According to Variety, Fithian said:
“I represent the movie theater owners, but Netflix? We love those guys. [Netflix CEO] Ted Sarandos knows movies and TV better than anyone else in Hollywood. He’s crazed about his content.”
A cross-platform proposal
In the press conference, Fithian seemed more focused on the streamer’s positive traits, saying of Netflix, “They’re movie fans like we’re movie fans.” The NATO president and CEO has been outspoken about issues impacting the theatrical model in the past,expressing concernabout early pandemic-era distribution models back in 2020 andpushing for legislationthat would help save smaller theaters from bankruptcy.
The impact of COVID-19 on the film industry will likely take years to unpack in full, but it’s certainly hurt theaters, and the box office still hasn’tfully recoveredto pre-2020 numbers. Netflix currently only releases select original movies in theaters, typically around award season. As of publication time, Sarandos hasn’t responded to Fithian’s offer, but deal to exhibit Netflix films theatrically may be just what the doctor ordered for both ailing formats.
