For Aron, it comes down to the longer term health of the theatrical business, as he sees it. Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, meanwhile, has called theaters “outdated,” while using them when advantageous, such as with “KPop Demon Hunters,” which had already been a massive hit on the streamer for weeks before the limited theatrical release. Aron doesn’t feel it’s worth playing by a different set of rules for Netflix, even if chains like Regal and Cinemark are willing to from time to time. Rather, he wants them to see the value in theatrical releases. As Aron explained:
“Nothing would make me happier than for Netflix to want to show movies theatrically. We have been trying for years now to convince Netflix that the most successful movies on streaming services are those which have had a robust theatrical release.”
“I think we won that argument with everybody but at Netflix,” Aron added. “We’ve tried. I personally spent hours and hours trying to get ‘The Irishman’ into theaters.”
To Aron’s point, Netflix was in negotiations with AMC and other chains for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” in 2019, attempting to come to terms on a broader theatrical release. It never came together, and it all had to do with the exclusivity window. Aron wasn’t willing to dig into what went down behind the scenes, but he lamented that they couldn’t get a deal done:
“At the end of the day, there was no corporate agreement between Netflix and AMC as to what the window would be, what the film rent would be, etc., and it didn’t happen. And it’s a shame.”
“The closest we got was the ‘Knives Out’ sequel, ‘Glass Onion,’ which we actually played hoping that it would convince Netflix that they would make money from it, and it would increase the ratings of ‘Glass Onion’ on its streaming platform,” Aron further explained.
Indeed, “Glass Onion” played in theaters in 2022 and theaters asked Netflix to let it play longer. Netflix rejected those pleas, despite the fact that it made over/under $15 million during its week-long run. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t report official box office grosses, which further complicates matters.
