Originally published on September 25, 2022
The act of streaming films in the comfort of your own home instead of seeing them in the public space of a theater full of strangers has taken over the film industry. At first, it was simply Netflix stealing business from Blockbuster and other video rental stores. Production studios then decided to use Netflix as distribution for their straight-to-video movies as it was cheaper than making physical media that may or not be sold. “In particular, while cinema and free-to-air programming still offer much appeal, it is clear that SVoD (Subscription Video on Demand) is creating significant disruption and is highly valued by consumers.” (McKenzie et al., 2019) Streaming services, just like Netflix, have evolved to become a household staple and not just a luxury to have an infinite amount of content at your fingertips.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced people to stay home and isolate, studios have predominantly released their new films on these services instead of the traditional theatrical release. There was a decrease of 72% in movie audiences. (OKUMUŞ, 2022) Even after two years when most Americans have quote on quote, “gone back to normal,” studios are hesitant to release anything that is not guaranteed to make a profit at the box office.
Rebecca Brown 