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 How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbuster? 
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KJ's Most Embarssing Misspeller
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Post How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbuster?
The reaction to WW84 has been very negative and most of that is earned because the film is frankly just not good (except Pedro Pascal, who kills it).

But I think there's a much deeper thing going on which most of you I think would agree with but wanted to just deeper dive. To me, the reaction to WW84 and of other big-budget streaming releases (Six Underground, The Old Guard, etc.) just illustrates the stark difference in way that mass audiences digest content at home vs. in theaters. And it's why the blockbuster film will likely die if theaters lose their relevance.

Most blockbuster films do not have great plotting or character development. It's why there is usually a very strong positive reaction to a blockbuster that actually has these elements. This will sound arrogant but we are all film lovers so I think we can agree that mass audiences don't necessarily recognize just how low their acceptance is of mediocre storytelling with blockbuster films.

However, I don't find this to be a significant issue on its own. For the blockbuster film primary goal is not meant to be an exceptional story; it is meant to be a immersive visual spectacle. It is obviously ideal if it can achieve that AND tell a great story with great characters. But it is not a necessary requirement for it to be successful. Being able to absorb a mass audience into its world for two hours is good enough.

The theatrical experience, with its big screen, booming sound, and audience reaction boosts the ability of a film to achieve this immersion. This is just an objective truth to me. What I also am starting to realize may be an objective truth is that the home experience is not only just lesser then the theatrical one but that the gap is so massive that it will be impossible for any blockbuster, regardless of quality, to get a significantly strong reception from a mass audience if it just goes to streaming first.

Without the theatrical venue, mass audiences just can't appreciate the spectacle of these films. They'll become more aware of just how silly and mediocre the storytelling elements of them are. This was always the case but the self-awareness of the mass audiences was never there because they could easily just get immersed into the blockbuster. Streaming limits this ability so much that only a few films will probably able to achieve it at best. The vast majority of blockbusters will be more exposed and audiences will appreciate them less. You may say that this is fine since the shitty blockbusters should be punished but I should note that this will happen to all blockbusters regardless of quality. A film series like Mission Impossible, which I think reaches the height of modern day blockbuster cinema, will just have a lesser reaction at scale.

But there's other aspects that streaming hurts. For one, the marketing/hype campaign is just smaller. This in general I think deflates the excitement of a film and I believe that pre-viewing excitement is correlated on aggregate to the ability of a film creating immersion. WW84 just dropped on Christmas Day on HBO Max with significant less of a marketing campaign than it would have normally had. Sure, there were ads and stuff but a major blockbuster campaign is apart of the immersion experience. You see the trailers for months before in theaters, the merchandise and tie-ins are EVERYWHERE, etc. A streaming film just has never been able to generate anything close to that build-up and I'm not sure if it can for financial reasons. A streamer platform I don't think can run 100m+ marketing campaigns for multiple films in a given year. They may eventually be able to justify it for one big film but most studios these days have multiple tentpoles they try to push out. There's just too much to handle for them to just leverage so much of their marketing spend pushing out one piece of content.

The other major aspect is availability/consumer choice. When a blockbuster comes out in theaters, it is usually on the most theaters and screens in the country for that week. Most theaters will only have maybe 4-5 other films playing with less showtimes. The blockbuster's competition is only against a handful of films that week and has a advantage of being new to market and have the highest supply of theaters/screens/showtimes. This creates a specialness to the film at the time that makes it feel like an event. In streaming however, a new piece of content dropping goes into a catalog filled with THOUSANDS of other choices across all platforms. It's just another piece of content in a marketplace filled with it. It's just harder to make it feel like a major unique event.

So in conclusion, I think we're on a path where audiences just are not going to accept the façade of the blockbuster much longer. This may be good or bad depending on your view of modern blockbusters. But I think it is inevitable. I don't see mass audiences reacting to a big-budget film on streaming the way they did again. This applies both to mediocre/bad blockbusters but also the very good ones. Beloved films like Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, Avengers, etc. would all have a significantly lesser reaction if they just came straight to streaming. If studios don't start significantly changing things, the blockbuster film as we know it will die.

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Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:26 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Basically, there are two type of movies which greatly improve in reception on the big screen:

Event movies with an eager audience and comedies - a comedy in a full theater will always be funnier than watching it home alone...

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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
There are a few really vital points here:

- The movie and theater business has been overbuilt and overdue for a correction for a while. Mega-budget "blockbuster" movies opening every weekend will dilute the experience. Megaplex theaters that opened in seemingly every suburb between 1990-2010 were not needed and this was not sustainable. It was a matter of time until this practice shuttered because supply was clearly exceeding demand & this was pre-Covid. Covid has no doubt accelerated this but it was already happening.

So that said,

-The entirety of movie-viewing audience is made of many groups looking for different things out of the experience but the vast majority of moviegoers are looking for basic entertainment escapism, not something that will challenge or educate intellectually. Entertainment has a lot of different meanings to people but from a sheer business perspective, all that matters is what it does to consumers.

-People, generally, like to be around other people when doing things and sharing enthusiasm. Its like going to a sporting event in person versus watching at home, going to be a bustling bar in person vs. drinking at home, etc. The combination of entertainment + crowds creates an energy that can be replicated at home and is infectious to many people. This is where the word "experience" really matters from the consumer perspective because the experiences of at home vs. theater is so different.

Theaters survived significant disruption to consumer behavior brought by TV cable programming, Blockbuster Video, VHS, HBO, Showtime, DVD, Netflix, a great depression and insane World War etc for the primary reason that most people go watch movies in theaters for a very different reason than why one watches a TV or movie at home. People go to movie theaters for the real-world escapist experience that comes with crowds of people and entertainment subject matter.

-Bottomline profitability matters above all to shareholders and services like Disney plus that have what, 100 million subs? will be plateauing very soon. There are 330 million American citizens and not every one of them will be a Disney+ subscriber. :funny: It does not make an ounce of financial sense to play a possible $1 billion grosser that would bring in $500m+ of incremental revenue to the company onto a streaming service that people are already paying for. The overall profitability of releasing it exclusively in theaters before making rentals available on the streaming down the road is much greater than the other way around.

-It will be very cool to how theaters innovate due to this situation. Theaters did not have to innovate for several decades but now they will to remain competitive. BOGO Candy is not what one would consider innovation, either. :funny:

So while consumer behavior was changing and will continue to change, I don't think people need to be THAT concerned. At the end, I think everything returns to normal pretty quickly, with THE BATMAN possibly being the first true mega blockbuster of the post-Covid era.

People "Netflix & chilling" were not going to theater anyway - they were doing some activity at someones place before hooking up. A more relevant example would be going out "dinner & a movie" - very few of these people are going out to eat and then going back home to pay attention to a movie.The people who normally would have seen a brand new movie in theaters and now will opt to watch at home instead are likely quite small.

Streaming - to me - seems like a much, much bigger threat to cable TV than actual movie theaters.

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Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:15 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
I think a key element is that certain types of films work best as a communal experience. Blockbusters, horror films, 'event films' fall into this category.

You're also right that the lesser marketing campaign in turn produces a lesser brand. Marvel wouldn't be what it is without the all-consuming ad campaigns for major releases from TV spots to posters everywhere to lunchboxes. The film industry is notorious for spending as much or more to make an event film as to market it, but this is also part of the reason why films can gross so much and certain brands and titles become ingrained in the public's mind. Would have Star Wars turned into a global cultural phenomenon across five decades if each film release hadn't been accompanied by months of deafening promotion and media attention?

It's a bit like if songs weren't sent to radio anymore or played in bars. Sure, you may have a lot of streaming numbers on Spotify, but is it really a hit if you can walk around and live life normally and completely avoid it?

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Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:33 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
This is actually a good thing. Lame blockbusters in terms of storytelling or character building will no longer get a free pass just because they look somehow visually appealing which in 2021 is hardly an achievement. If streaming pushes people to be a little more demanding quality wise when it comes to blockbusters, then I think in the long run we will all win.

I think Mulan was a good example. With a traditional release it might have gotten a pass as people would have been impressed with the visuals and the whole theater experience would have enhanced it. With a streaming release people saw it for what it was : crap.


Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:22 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
I agree, but I can’t wait to watch WW84 and will not be here for the negativity. I also think rom coms and other mid Bridget movies should be released in theaters too, I think it’s appalling that these streaming services are all releasing their own movies. That should be to theaters from major studios as well, I really miss the 2000’s when everything was in theaters and thriving, I see no reason why things couldn’t go back to normal. I’m sick of streaming running fucking everything. Warner Bros. Should be ashamed of themselves for releasing their movies to streaming and theaters concurrently


Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:59 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Streaming is all about TV shows especially serialized ones.

I tend to hold streaming only films in lower regard and most of the time based on quality this is correct.

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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Magnus is right again!

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Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:27 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
MadGez wrote:
Streaming is all about TV shows especially serialized ones.

I tend to hold streaming only films in lower regard and most of the time based on quality this is correct.


The quality control does indeed seem to be a lot lower for streaming. Bird Box for example, which was supposed to be a "phenomenon", is a complete joke compared to something like A Quiet Place. Even The Crown is weirdly sterile compared to your typical high end HBO series.

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Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:26 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
The problem for me it that I've seen both of the past 2 "blockbusters" in theater and I was greatly disappointed by both Tenet and WW84. But I've watched other films such as Bloodshot and Extraction at home and really liked them. So as far as fun popcorn movies in the end I don't think it matters a bad movie is a bad movie. I will say one other movie that was pretty good last year was Greenland. I saw this one at home but would really have liked to see it in theaters.


Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:04 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Personally speaking, I've enjoyed films more because I saw them on the big screen for the reasons laid out in the OP. That's independent of genre (The Post, Bridge of Spies, The Phantom Thread or Castaway). Something about the grandeur of the big screen gives a film heft and can make a mediocre movie more enjoyable. A bad movie = bad experience, no matter the format but there's an intangible quality to the movie theater. Can you imagine Endgame, Titanic, Jurassic Park debuting on a streaming platform? I'm glad we were able to close out the core Phase 1-3 of the MCU before the pandemic.

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Sat Jan 23, 2021 8:04 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Did anyone see Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and again on streaming? If so, would you care to share the comparative experience?

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Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:37 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
lilmac wrote:
Did anyone see Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and again on streaming? If so, would you care to share the comparative experience?


Me but I found it bad in theaters right away so it did not lift my experience much without the theaters though as always with DC movies second time a lot of intentions get clearer but they are always executed so badly it ruins the overall movie experience.


Sun Feb 14, 2021 1:22 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
This organization is apparently the equivalent of Comscore (source of most traditional boxoffice numbers).

https://www.darkhorizons.com/a-differen ... oman-1984/

Quote:
Rather than touting their own numbers, which most streamers do, they’ve opted to point people towards a third-party group – The Digital Entertainment Group/Screen Engine/ASI who do weekly VOD rankings.

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Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:02 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
I think coming to America beating not only the new releases this week, but also WW1984 and most likely Snyder Cut and other releases with premium prices on top of the service fees is going make things interesting. It was one thing like when Trolls or Tenet was the only option. But audiences will always pick the cheaper.

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Tue Mar 09, 2021 4:49 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
I'm wondering if Hollywood is making a huge strategic mistake in betting so much on streaming... China and Japan did just fine lately without U.S. blockbusters.
As Hollywood switches more and more from screens to streaming it'll give local productions everywhere much more room to grow and succeed. Viewing habits can change rapidly and Hollywood might just shoot itself in the foot...

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Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:14 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Indeed it's probably just not good for Hollywood movies and studios are acting stupid with if it's not released in States it should not be released anywhere.


Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:34 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
What's ridiculous is that the US only contributes 30-45% for worldwide, globally appealing blockbusters.

They're basically destroying revenue streams of theatrical, TV, home video, rights etc. to go all in on domestic streaming.

Unfortunately, only Disney (puke) has a real chance of making it work and Disney+ is already rapidly expanding across the globe.

The rest are so tied up in other rights deals everywhere that once they finally have a foothold, they'd have burned $ for years sacrificing their slate.

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Tue Mar 23, 2021 10:43 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Warner Bros. Will Nix Same-Day HBO Max Releases in 2022 as Part of New Deal With Regal

https://collider.com/warner-bros-movies ... emas-deal/

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Wed Mar 24, 2021 2:15 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Again why is no one commenting on Disney's actions. When WB took this decision there was a huge backlash and now it looks like they are course correcting and revved with more theaters opening Disney wants to make money with D+


Wed Mar 24, 2021 3:54 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
I'm very happy with D+ but it will never match the theatrical experience, IMO.

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Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:01 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
I saw that Rian Johnson inked a monster deal with Netflix to direct and produce two Knives Out sequels. I’m happy for Rian Johnson but I don’t want this to distract him from an original Star Wars trilogy.

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Thu Apr 01, 2021 1:24 am
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
I watched GvK at home and i stand by this thread. film would have been 100x better in theaters.

thankfully, i just go my first vaccine dose today so i'll be good for summer movie season.

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Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:19 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Magnus I was expecting more from you. Why didn't you watch this in theaters? Was it not released in a nearby theater? I watched this in IMAX and the experience was indeed great.


Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:20 pm
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Post Re: How Much Does Streaming Ruin The Façade of the Blockbust
Not vaccinated yet. Won’t be at full vaccination till mid May. I think Quiet Place 2 will be my first film in theaters.

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MadGez wrote:
Listen to Magnus he knows his shit.
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magnus is my hero
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Magnus is the fucking voice of reason.
That's scary.
bABA wrote:
fuck Magnus
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You're incredibly overrated and and if they made a Pixar film about you it would gross less than The Good Dinosaur.


Thu Apr 01, 2021 10:00 pm
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