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Netflix Could Start Buying Movie Theaters to Help Films Gain a Boost in Oscar Race, Report Says (indiewire.com)
Netflix has made a strong effort to land Oscar nominations since debuting its first original feature, "Beasts of No Nation," in 2015. The next step in the streaming giant's plan to secure film awards could be to buy and own movie theaters. IndieWire: A new report from the Los Angeles Times says Netflix is considering buying theaters in Los Angeles and New York in order to gain a boost during Oscar season. People familiar with the situation say the theaters would be used to give greater exposer to the feature and documentary titles Netflix is hoping to push into the awards race. According to the Times, Netflix executives originally considered purchasing the Los Angeles-based Landmark Theaters, which is co-owned by Mark Cuban. The theaters are well known for attracting awards voters by running first-run features, documentaries, and foreign films during Oscar season. Sources close to Netflix confirm the company has no current plans to buy Landmark properties. Landmark has three Los Angeles locations and 53 theaters overall in the U.S. Sources close to Netflix.
Netflix is a company built around disrupting the market, showing that the old distribution model is dying, and now showing that the old guard production companies are unneeded parasites.
So why the FUCK are they wasting time and money chasing the baubles and trinkets of those dinosaurs? They're chasing film festivals and the Academy Awards like a social outcast seeking the approval of the popular high school kids, but 20 years after high school when they're all aging and failing.
The Academy Awards: You can't enter your movies for nomination since they're not shown in theatres.
Netflix: Yeah, well... We're gonna go build our own theatres, with blackjack and hookers.
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In a way, old times are going back to how they used to be.
Up until 1949, the US movie industry was dominated by the "big five" movie studios, in something called the "studio system". In the studio system, the studios not only made the movies, they owned the movie theaters as well, exercising monopoly control over independent theaters by forcing them to purchase and show less popular movies. In an age before TV where almost everybody went to the movies every week, that was guaranteed profit.
That's kind of what Netflix does with its interface. It started as a content middleman, but it's using its control of the app in your smart TV to steer you toward Netflix original content, most of which, like the vast majority of Golden Age Hollywood movies, are mediocre. Strategic ownership of theaters in places where they can influence taste makers is consistent with that strategy. It makes little sense on its own, and it's not a long-term strategy, it's a short-to-mid term strategy to increase brain share. That's obviously Netflix's long term game.
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Fundamentally, Netflix created movies are the same medium as theatrical releases. Netflix has series that have won Emmy's. They want the same shot for their other content, particularly their documentaries.
There are a few good reasons for Netflix to want to do this.
- Competition for and Recognition of Talent: Netflix's shareholders and such might not care if a movie gets any nominations. The actors, writers, and directors probably do.
- Competition for Content: If someone makes a documentary, they shop it around. If the ownesr are hoping to win an Oscar, they will disregard Netflix if going with them means no chance of an Oscar.
- Free Advertising: Being able to point to movies that have won awards may attract subscribers.
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