\n\tThat miss aside, the domestic box office post-Covid has a good thing going on with the third $8.5B+ year in a row. How long then can the entertainment industry keep theatrical moviegoing alive in the face of the potential gloom and doom from Netflix<\/a>\u2018s anticipated swallow-up of Warner Bros? The pandemic and the 2023 strikes dashed all hopes of box office rebuilding to a $10B-$11B annual business. Give thanks for what we have: the second-best year at the B.O. post Covid after 2023\u2019s record $9B<\/a>. <\/p>\n \n\tSome studio execs, counting the approximate 12-month regulatory period for Netflix to wed Warners, believe that the theatrical business has three years left of great juice before ticket sales head for a downturn \u2014 that is if Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos<\/a> collapses the exclusive theatrical window to 17 days.<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s the worst-case scenario, not a calculated forecast by Ernst & Young.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd true, when it comes to David Ellison<\/a>\u2018s bid for Warner Bros, it ain\u2019t over till it\u2019s over, the Paramount CEO unwilling to go quietly into that night. A Warner Bros combo with the Melrose Ave lot is a whole other set of agita<\/a>. Still, there\u2019s a small sense of ease with Ellison as he\u2019s known to be a champion for theatrical; he\u2019s even made the lofty promise to keep two major studio slates afloat at 30 movies a year.<\/p>\n \n\tThe bigger paranoia for the future of moviegoing lies with a Netflix-Warner Bros dystopian future, particularly since the latter has accepted the former\u2019s bid officially. <\/p>\n \n\tHowever, at this point in time, there\u2019s a mixed bag of theories out there in regards to Netflix\u2019s long-term impact on theatrical. <\/p>\n \n\tYes, yes, Sarandos has been on a press tour of late, exclaiming that he\u2019s pro-theatrical<\/a> (despite whatever he\u2019s said in the past<\/a>), that he\u2019ll respect the terms of Warner Bros\u2019 theatrical commitments for the slate he inherits (figuring it\u2019s from 2027 or 2028 onward). Netflix and Warner Bros, aside from HBO Max, arguably complement each other: Netflix gets access to a global theatrical distribution network that they\u2019ve never had before, a whole other line of cash.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re also fully committed to releasing Warner Bros. films in theaters, with a traditional window, so audiences everywhere can enjoy them on the big screen,\u201d Sarandos has said to the media. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of talk about theatrical distribution, so we want to set the record straight: we are 100% committed to releasing Warner Bros. films in theaters with industry-standard windows. While this hasn\u2019t been part of our business model until now, we are looking forward to bringing this expertise from Warner Bros. to Netflix,\u201d he\u2019s also said.<\/p>\n \n\tFor some of the executive sources, who asked to speak anonymously to us, Netflix\u2019s $83 billion pending purchase of Warner Bros was symbolic in a bad way: A price that high indicates that the streamer is out to decimate the theatrical business. <\/p>\n \n\tWhy spend all that money, Netflix, when you can license content at a fraction of the cost?<\/p>\n \n\tThe belief by cynics is that Netflix wants to be a streaming service. The end. Anyone who is watching a movie in a theater, isn\u2019t at home watching Netflix. How does the streamer even begin to wrap its head around a downstream ancillary model of international TV windows? Will they [gulp] embrace the cottage industry that is PVOD? But that\u2019s so old -ashioned by Los Gatos tech standards. Their desire for a 17-day theatrical window is a farm-to-table model that gets big screen fare on the service ASAP.<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, shorter windows lead to the failure of more movies (particularly original and indie titles), which leads to cinemas closing and rising average ticket prices, which some say are already too high (EntTelligence reports average ticket price was $13.29 for 2025, premium large format ticket was $17.65).<\/p>\n \n\tOther major studio production bosses have a Zen mindset, and it\u2019s that one studio alone can\u2019t unilaterally crush the theatrical window. But isn\u2019t there a drip factor? Aren\u2019t moviegoing patterns already changing post-Covid? The programmatic reason to attend the cinemas has eroded greatly. Exhibit A: All those dark, upscale, sophisticated movies that failed in the fall<\/a>. One of the reasons blamed is that shorter windows post-pandemic have influenced older adult moviegoers to skip cinemas and wait for titles at home.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t(L-R) Netflix-co-CEO Ted Sarandos, WBD Ceo David Zaslav & Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters<\/p>\n \n\tNow, there\u2019s a faction who gives Sarandos the benefit of the doubt, that he\u2019s not completely the grim reaper of theatrical.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-deadline-2019\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.jpg\")
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