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Netflix Partners With iPic To Release Its Original Movies In Theaters, NATO Urges To 'Tread Lightly' (variety.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the tread-lightly dept.

turkeydance quotes a report from Variety: The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is sounding the alarm over a recent deal between Netflix and iPic, in which the luxury-theater chain will screen 10 movies simultaneously with their release on the streaming service. The lobbying organization represents the country's theater chains and has been a staunch defender of traditional release windows that keep films exclusively on screens for roughly 90 days before they debut on home entertainment platforms. In a statement, NATO chief John Fithian warned that while iPic was free to make its own decisions, "We all should tread lightly and be mindful that over the years, the film industry's success is a direct result of a highly successful collaboration between film makers, distributors and exhibitors." The deal with iPic should help Netflix' movies quality for awards. Variety reports: "iPic will release the war thriller 'The Siege of Jadotville,' starring Jamie Dornan ('Fifty Shades of Grey'), on Oct. 7. That will be followed by Christopher Guest's mockumentary 'Mascots' on Oct. 13. This summer, iPic first tested showings of Netflix's 'The Little Prince.'" "Simultaneous release, in practice, has reduced both theatrical and home revenues when it has been tried," Fithian said in a statement. "Just as Netflix and its customers put a value on exclusivity, theater owners and their customers do too."

20 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Acronym collisions! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Coming soon to a theatre near you!

    1. Re:Acronym collisions! by ASDFnz · · Score: 3, Funny

      Does sound as if Netflix may be nuked if they are not careful doesn't it?

    2. Re:Acronym collisions! by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I hate theaters. The people who have to use their phones, the ones chatting, the children jumping around and making noise, or the laser pointers. Haven't set foot in a theater since 98, and that was because I was basically dragged into it by a girlfriend at the time. I think the last movie I went to go see was a few years before that wen a group of young females would jump out of their seats, theatrically start screaming and spinning when anything remotely different was going on in the Halloween Michael Myers movie.

      the nato they mentioned are fighting tooth and nail to keep up an antiquated system. And they will be as soundly spanked as the music industry ha been.

      Sorry, I enjoy my big screen, inexpensive popcorn, and a beer while watching my movies - I ave 7.1 dolby and as an added bonus, I can pause the movie when I need to use the gents.

      So if Netflix needs some help dismantling "nato" , I hope they start a kickstarter so I can help fund it.

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    3. Re:Acronym collisions! by amiga3D · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I love theaters! I love the big screen and the sound and the popcorn. It's a great experience. I try to see at least 6 to 10 movies in the theater every year. Some movies just crave that big screen. We have a brand new cinema with the big GTX screen only a few miles away now and it's really nice. I haven't had a problem with my fellow movie goers in ages. Tickets are expensive so that limits the problem children and if you have a problem the theater people take care of it. The only problem I have really is finding time to go. I think there will always be a market for the big screen.

    4. Re:Acronym collisions! by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      Oh... I just thought that was a quaint English street accent, soon to be corrected by a snooty English bachelor, and followed by some rousing singing and dancing.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    5. Re:Acronym collisions! by Wdomburg · · Score: 2

      Try having four kids. Even a matinee showing you're looking at $80 minimum.

  2. Buggy Whip Manufacturers Association by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Also warns people to "tread lightly" regarding this new automobile contraption. "Remember, the success we've seen is a direct result of collaboration between the carriage makers, blacksmiths, and horse farmers."

  3. I can see why NATO would be involved by ShaunC · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hollywood keeps dropping bombs at the movie theater.

    --
    Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
  4. Phrasing. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

    "We all should tread lightly and be mindful that over the years, the film industry's success is a direct result of a highly successful collaboration between film makers, distributors and exhibitors."

    Collaboration or collusion?

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    1. Re:Phrasing. by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Funny

      whatever causes the mainstream movie/entertainment industry PAIN, I'm all in favor of.

      you assholes have been milking the consumer for far too long. your model is outdated and in need of major change.

      oh, and btw, go fuck yourselves.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    2. Re:Phrasing. by wierd_w · · Score: 5, Informative

      No joke. In any other industry, where producers "work together" to set pricing models, set up and maintain artificial scarcity, lock out competition, and do this to "ensure success", we call it conspiracy, collusion, and racketeering.

      But it is somehow different for the entertainment industry.

      For mysterious reasons, that are perfectly rational, and not at all tied to campaign kickbacks and political donations. No sir, not at all.

      Netflix' deal with this theatre chain certainly won't expose decades of " false" lobbyist claims about immediate availability harming tickets sales, or anything like that-- media consumers will just stay home on release day, and it will be a disaster for both of them, that's what they mean here, I am sure! It is sure to demonstrate clearly and without distortion why industry needs to work lockstep to assure its future in the face of pirates, and inexpensive streaming, and certainly won't expose any of the industry's claims to the contrary false, no sir, not possible. /s

  5. I asked a movie industry CEO about this by Rakarra · · Score: 5, Interesting

    .. about a decade ago, why were movie studios really pushing ahead on the 3-D movie boom, when 3-D hadn't worked well before and audiences were ambivalent. He said that the studios were looking for something that would get people into the theaters, some way that they could differentiate themselves from just DVD entertainment, and special theaters with special gear to give you an experience you won't get on your couch. Think of arcades today -- if you can find them, they're full of games with fancy controllers, or Dave and Buster's styled attractions, not screens with games you can play on your X-Box. Same reason.

    I then asked him why these same studios were also pushing 3-D TVs and projection systems and super-high-quality sound at home, and he said that the movie industry was not above shooting itself in the foot.

    (This wasn't the head of Warner or Disney, it was a small independent studio that released about a movie a year)

    Studios will get alarmed at something that threatens the traditional cash cow of the movie theater, just as they saw great gains in the DVD era, and also great great declines in revenue as the DVD era petered out. If the movie theaters fade, then they won't -really- know how to market and sell their films, and they'll work to protect what they know rather than face the great unknown.

    1. Re:I asked a movie industry CEO about this by jedidiah · · Score: 2

      While suitable equipment is cheap, and sufficient space is available in homes (at least in America), a lot of home setups are still inferior to real cinemas. This is especially true for the bigger screens.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    2. Re:I asked a movie industry CEO about this by arth1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's not the size that matters, but the resolution and viewing distance.

      And for many movie theatres, resolution is downright crappy.compared to the size of the screen. Anyone sitting front-row see blurry pixels.
      Never mind that the diagonal projection that many theatres do to save space needs a very well calibrated lens setup - which they don't have. So you get one corner that is far blurrier than the opposite corner.

      Add the overpriced concessions, and that more than half the audience don't have a grain of manners in their bodies, and will pick up their mobile phone during the feature.

      No, going to the movies is just not worth it anymore. Compared to the days with 70mm analog and large auditoria, before mobile phones became ubiquitous, it's now crap in all ways. I'd rather watch at home, for better quality, no 3rd party breaking the suspension of disbelief, far better seating, and even if buying a BD or HD streamed movie, it's cheaper than the theatre if you have snacks or are more than one person.

  6. Success? by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... NATO chief John Fithian warned that while iPic was free to make its own decisions, "We all should tread lightly and be mindful that over the years, the film industry's success is a direct result of a highly successful collaboration between film makers, distributors and exhibitors." ....

    A couple of questions, please...

    .
    1) WTF is NATO having anything to do whatsoever in the release dates of films screened in movie theaters? Doesn't NATO have more important things to worry about, like, e.g., Syria?

    2) Why has the NATO chief effectively admitted that the success of Hollywood is not the result of the quality of the films being made, but the restrictive and limiting aspect of their distribution?

  7. Warsaw Pact by tylersoze · · Score: 5, Funny

    They're the only thing between us and the Warsaw Pact overrunning our theaters with Russian films!

  8. Be realistic by whoever57 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The only reason this is happening is because Netflix is paying the theatres to "show" the movies, so that the movies are eligible for Oscars.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  9. Yeah... by EmeraldBot · · Score: 2
    • Offshores work
    • Obsession with Russia
    • Participates in a "NATO Operational Theater"
    • Claims to be vital to national security
    • Really likes to study the CIA
    • Combats piracy

    Does this mean that the world will stay peaceful for all of human existence + 95 years?

    --
    "Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
  10. Copyright by Alypius · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm surprised the Theater Owners haven't sued Brussels for copyright infringement.

  11. Re:I actually feel for NATO by Jezral · · Score: 2

    Fix your culture?

    Here in Denmark, nobody talks during the movie, nobody is using their cellphone, people are just there to watch the movie. The theater is cleaned after each screening. Oh, and we have assigned seats. When you order your ticket, you also pick what seats you want. We have both still and motion ads and 1-3 trailers for other movies before the feature.

    Been this way for at least 30 years, and works great. If it doesn't work in whatever country you're in, fix it.