As Netflix confirms plans to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion, the streaming service has said it expects shorter theatrical runs for movies in future “to meet the audience where they are, quicker.”
Today’s announcement by Netflix that it will acquire the Harry Potter, DC Comics and Game of Thrones owner came with an acknowledgement that it plans to continue releasing Warner Bros.’ films theatrically — at least, for now.
Speaking on a just-finished investor call, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos was asked how the company’s plans for theatrical releases might change post-merger. And while Sarandos stopped short of confirming any concrete plans, the CEO made clear that he believed shorter theatrical windows were the future — and what consumers wanted.
“We’ve released about 30 films into theaters this year, so it’s not like we have got this opposition to movies into theaters,” Sarandos began. “My pushback has been mostly in the fact of the long, exclusive windows that we don’t think are that user friendly.”
