This week, Netflix through down the gauntlet, announcing they were going to make a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and that it would be in theaters and stream simultaneously. This is something theater owners have been hoping to avoid for years, and many immediately struck back, saying they wouldn’t book the film.
Now Netflix has landed another punch by inking a deal with Adam Sandler for four movies. The reaction everywhere has not been positive, with Wired calling the Sandler deal “a very dumb move,” and Mark Wahlberg telling USA Today, “There’s nothing like going to the theater, sitting with popcorn and candy and having the lights go down. I don’t want anyone to EVER lose that.
Forbes reports that Netflix’s stock went up at the news of Sandler signing up, but the Washington Post predicts this could “doom” theaters, and Wired thinks this is very dumb because it means that Netflix is going backwards, making stupid movies after making intelligent programming like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
Netflix’s response? They’re looking to make 10 to 14 new movies a year, and as a Netflix exec told the Hollywood Reporter, “We intend to be highly experimental with the windows and the versions of the movies that we put out…People should have the opportunity to see [Crouching Tiger] on a big screen if they want to. But if they want to watch it at home, they can stream it in 4K.”
