{"id":2105769,"date":"2025-10-21T14:07:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T14:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2105769"},"modified":"2025-10-21T14:07:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T14:07:15","slug":"why-movies-still-matter-to-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/why-movies-still-matter-to-netflix\/","title":{"rendered":"Why movies still matter to Netflix"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Small screen giant Netflix has once again turned to the big screen, this time with the release of its latest buzzy film, \u201cFrankenstein.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the film opened last weekend with a limited release in 10 theaters in Los Angeles, New York and a few other cities, and will expand to more sites for a total theatrical run of three weeks. The film stars Oscar Isaac as the titular egomaniacal scientist and Jacob Elordi as the Creature (who, contrary to popular belief, is not named Frankenstein \u2014 you can thank my English major for that tidbit).<\/p>\n

The film is getting some awards attention, particularly for the performance of the prosthetics-and-makeup-laden Elordi, and notched a solid 86% approval rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. As of Sunday afternoon, Del Toro posted that the film had sold out at least 57 screenings<\/a>. \u201cFrankenstein\u201d will debut on the streamer on Nov. 7.<\/p>\n

Del Toro\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein\u201d is just the latest in a long line of adaptations of the classic 1818 novel by Mary Shelley. From the first silent film short in 1910 to Boris Karloff\u2019s famed turn as the monster in 1931 and the Kenneth Branagh-directed movie in 1994 that starred Robert De Niro as the creature (Branagh played Frankenstein and Helena Bonham Carter was Elizabeth Lavenza), the classic horror story has proved ripe for filmmakers\u2019 commentary on humanity, science and nature.<\/p>\n

In fact, \u201cFrankenstein\u201d has been a lifelong passion project for Del Toro, who has made an award-winning career out of analyzing and depicting monsters, from 2006\u2019s \u201cPan\u2019s Labyrinth\u201d to 2017\u2019s \u201cThe Shape of Water.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Netflix, it\u2019s a reminder of why film remains an important, if unlikely, part of the streamer\u2019s strategy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that Netflix has built its reputation \u2014 and its streaming prowess \u2014 on the strength of its series, from \u201cOrange Is the New Black\u201d to \u201cStranger Things\u201d and \u201cBridgerton.\u201d After all, popular episodic shows keep viewers on the platform, rack up hours of engagement and help draw new subscribers to the service.<\/p>\n

The Los Gatos, Calif., company\u2019s embrace of movie theaters may seem surprising given its longstanding testy relationship with movie theater exhibitors and their distribution strategy.<\/p>\n

In fact, Netflix has also long said its main goal is to offer subscribers first-run movies on its platform, directly undermining the traditional 90-day \u201cwindow\u201d between a film\u2019s release in theaters and when it appears in the home.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Netflix Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos poured salt on the wound when he called the theatrical business \u201coutdated,\u201d <\/a>at a time when many chains are struggling to fill seats to pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n

Yet, theaters are still important to Netflix, which releases about 30 films annually in cinemas.<\/p>\n

One reason: the allure of Oscar glory.<\/p>\n

For the last few years, Netflix has submitted dozens of movies for awards-qualifying runs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s typical for those films to be in cinemas for about two to three weeks before showing up on the platform. (Sometimes, those theatrical showings are for marketing purposes, like the recent \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d singalong screenings<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Netflix has won numerous Academy Awards over the years, ranging from animated feature (Del Toro\u2019s \u201cPinocchio\u201d in 2023), supporting actress (Laura Dern for \u201cMarriage Story\u201d in 2020 and Zoe Salda\u00f1a for \u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez\u201d in 2025) and director (Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n in 2019 for \u201cRoma\u201d and Jane Campion in 2022 for \u201cThe Power of the Dog\u201d).<\/p>\n

Best picture, however, has continued to elude the company.<\/p>\n

Theatrical releases also help the streamer to attract filmmakers and build relations with key talent. For instance, Netflix\u2019s upcoming \u201cNarnia\u201d film from Greta Gerwig will get a two-week Imax run next year<\/a>. Netflix previously ran Del Toro\u2019s well-received horror anthology series \u201cCabinet of Curiosities.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while serial narratives may reign supreme, to maintain subscribers, you need other kinds of content to keep it fresh. That\u2019s where movies (and live events<\/a>) come into play.<\/p>\n

As consumers decide which streaming services they can\u2019t live without, a platform that has a little bit of everything has an advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a good mix of movies and serial content is really important,\u201d says Alicia Reese, senior vice president of equity research in media and entertainment at Wedbush Securities. \u201cA lot of people use this as their one and only subscription.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other fronts, is the fight over OpenAI\u2019s new Sora 2 <\/a> dying down? Maybe not, but there are signs of easing tensions.<\/p>\n

On Monday, United Talent Agency, SAG-AFTRA, Creative Artists Agency, Assn. of Talent Agents, actor Bryan Cranston and OpenAI released a joint statement noting that Cranston\u2019s voice and likeness was able to be generated \u201cin some outputs\u201d without consent or compensation when the tool was launched two weeks ago in a limited release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile from the start it was OpenAI\u2019s policy to require opt-in for the use of voice and likeness, OpenAI expressed regret for these unintentional generations,\u201d the statement said. \u201cOpenAI has strengthened guardrails around replication of voice and likeness when individuals do not opt-in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cranston, who brought the issue to SAG-AFTRA\u2019s attention, said he was \u201cgrateful\u201d to OpenAI for improving its policies and \u201chope that they and all of the companies involved in this work, respect our personal and professional right to manage replication of our voice and likeness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stuff We Wrote<\/h2>\n

Film shoots<\/h2>\n
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