The rise of streaming releases as opposed to traditional theatrical debuts has been both a boon and a bane for Hollywood. Especially after the pandemic era when theatrical releases shrunk to null and streaming giants capitalized on the entertainment vacuum to form a universe of their own, OTT releases have become a threat to theatrical endurance, leaving the biggest directors lamenting over streaming treatments. While viewers know all about the Narnia controversy that had Greta Gerwig initially bummed, this time it is the AMC CEO giving air to similar grievances. 

Subsequently, AMC’s big cheese was recently founded, frustrating over the shrinking theatrical windows.

According to Deadline, AMC recently published its fourth-quarter numbers, which were nothing less than powerful. But after the report, AMC CEO Adam Aron weighed in on Hollywood’s era of experimentation over a call, citing the shortened window of theatrical releases that have gone down from 74 to 45 and even 30 to 17 for some post-pandemic. “In our view, 17 days or 30 days are too short,” he said, urging studios to extend it since it would be beneficial in monetary terms. 

When asked about his opinion about Netflix’s stance on Greta Gerwig’s Narnia erupted worldwide discussions over the declining scope of epic narratives when offered such a limited streaming window, Aron said he would love to convince them to drive more viewers to the seats. Aron stressed that the most successful films have a chance at the theaters first and the movies that usually perform well in theaters boom the streaming viewership even more. But not all streamers have reckoned the symbiotic relationship, one being Netflix.

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That said, AMC is not giving up on Netflix anyhow.

In the call following AMC’s report about last quarter numbers, Adam Aron highlighted having had impressive meetings with Apple and Amazon MGM, who are embracing theatrical releases day by day. But redirecting the focus onto Netflix, especially after the Narnia row, Aron identified the streaming mogul as one in the camp who is not as enthusiastic about the theatrical highlights. Yet, they “continue to reach out to Netflix,” hoping they succeed in convincing showbiz to remain firm about the 45-day window at least.

Having said that, Aron also highlighted how Narnia is now scheduled to play on AMC IMAX screens with a two-week window, stressing there is a silver lining indeed. “We would love to be able to convince Netflix that embracing theatrical releases is good for them,” Aron said, emphasizing Glass Onion. Although it remains to be seen where the waves take them, AMC is hopeful the theatrical golden era is on the horizon. All studios need to do is take a look.

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