credit: Black Adam
How many people remember the days when a movie came out in the theaters and would take nearly a year to come out on VHS or DVD? Over time that wait has lessened as the technology has improved and streaming has become a big deal. But now that streaming channels are abundant, and stars are lending their services to straight to streaming movies, it does feel as though the cinematic experience has become less of a concern as movies are being shunted from the theater a little, or rather a lot quicker than they used to be. One of the biggest surprises in this era is the fact that Black Adam will be headed to streaming before Christmas, apparently, which is a bit confusing since the movie didn’t come out that long ago and has obviously been losing money since it did hit the big screen. The truth is that not every movie is going to last on the big screen for an indefinite period of time, but it’s still a surprise when some movies don’t make such a huge hit at the theater and are relegated to streaming much sooner than one might have expected. This says something about the movie in question, and the business, since the revenue that comes from being kept in the theater has typically been far more than what is seen in streaming. At least, that’s the theory.
credit: Red Notice
Unless one knows how the movie industry really works, much of the reasoning behind why a movie heads to streaming prematurely might not make sense.
It might not make sense even if one knew the industry inside and out since it would appear that things change to fit the times. The idea of a movie going to streaming so quickly, however, usually says to the fans that it didn’t do that well in the theaters or didn’t garner enough faith to make it to the big screen. Of course, some movies these days are made by the streaming channels that push them, and since they get to utilize the talents of top-tier actors at this point, it’s fair to say that they have a lot of faith in the movies they make, but sometimes that faith isn’t exactly well-founded since there are more than a few streaming movies that have tanked in a big way. But a movie that’s been theater-bound since its inception should hold steady in the theaters for a while, but those that are in and out tend to be viewed as ideas that didn’t pan out and couldn’t sustain a run that might have been expected to last a couple of months.
Some movies don’t appear to have a lot of confidence, no matter that they receive a ton of hype ahead of their release.
The more hype a movie gets, the less likely it is to be a standout hit these days since if a person has to keep talking about something to make others believe in it, then it stands to reason that there’s not enough substance to make the movie stand up on its own. That line of thinking isn’t universal of course, since some movies are worth the hype. But the general idea is that if one has to talk about something over and over and push it as much as possible to make sure that people think about it and think about it until they finally buy their ticket to see what the movie is all about, then there’s a good chance that it’s going to be underwhelming. The sad fact is that a lot of people don’t want to admit this since it leads to the idea that they’re blowing a lot of smoke to disguise the fact that the movie is essentially worthless and is trying to save face by looking awesome when it really has no legs to stand on.
credit: Black Widow
There’s still a debate over whether streaming is going to take over eventually or if theaters can survive.
This debate isn’t exactly heated since many people still want to make their way to the theaters and will easily claim that the home experience isn’t worth it since buying the equipment needed to relive the theater experience is expensive, and it’s still not the same. But there are plenty of people that insist that staying at home with maximum comfort is the way to go, and seeing new releases at home the day they come out would be preferred.
The truth is that some movies don’t perform as well as they were expected, and streaming is the next rung down the ladder.
Being sent to streaming isn’t exactly the worst fate for a movie, apart from the loss of revenue that might come from the theater release. But at the end of the day, most movies are going to be sent to streaming. It’s just preferred that they experience a successful run in the theater first.