Still in the embryonic stage, the idea of seeing Netflix showing its films on the big screen makes the operators of cinemas react.
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The project is still in the cards but worried: the operators of cinemas asked Netflix on Wednesday to give up the idea of showing its films on the big screen, during exceptional sessions by the end of the year. Asked by AFP, the online video giant refuses to comment on a project that is not finalized.
The group would like to show in a few independent French theaters films it has produced, most of which have already been released on the platform, but also unreleased ones, we learned from an internal source.
Several cinema organizations have already shown their opposition to this idea, including those bringing together independent distributors, who are concerned about the organization of a “Netflix festival”, “a short-term attraction” for spectators which would amount to “a suicide in the medium term” for cinemas.
The National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF) called Netflix “to renounce all responsibility for his project”, which according to her would overshadow other theatrical releases, at a time when cinemas are still struggling to find their audience.
Streaming platforms, Netflix in the lead, are a scarecrow for some of the French cinema operators, who believe that they jeopardize the economic balance of the sector.
A strict media chronology, in the process of being revised after months of discussion with all parties, prevents films from being released on platforms at the same time as their theatrical release – with some exceptions, for example at film festivals.