Here’s another bucket of cold water for the budding romance between Netflix and exhibitors.
Founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings fully, almost happily, agreed that his company left lots of money on the table with the limited release and booming ticket sales of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery over Thanksgiving weekend. He has no problem with that at all. “It’s a promotional tactic for the streaming service,” Hastings told the New York Times DealBook conference in NYC. “We are not trying to build a theatrical business.”
He said the streamer’s “two religions” are “customer satisfaction” and “operating income.” The Knives Out sequel in theaters was a tool “so more people watch it on the service.”
The streamer’s latest release was an unprecedented collaboration with AMC Theatres, Regal and Cinemark. It creates buzz, as in – “Everyone is talking about Glass Onion, and on Dec. 23 the whole world will get to see it!”
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has also tried to downplay hopes that Netflix is reassessing its relationship with exhibitors in a significant way.