Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos: ‘We’re Saving Movies’ and Theatrical Experience Is Mostly ‘Outdated’

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos says the traditional theater experience is "outdated" for most and that audiences have made clear that they'd rather watch films at home.

In an interview with Sarandos for the TIME100 Summit last week, TIME editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs listed a series of troubles for Hollywood, including lower box office and a struggling Los Angeles film industry. He added that Netflix was thriving, and pointedly asked the head of the streaming giant, "Have you destroyed Hollywood?"

"We're saving Hollywood," Sarandos retorted, before detailing how he believes Netflix is giving audiences what they want.

"You mentioned the box office being down," Sarandos said. "What does that say? What is a consumer trying to tell us? That they'd like to watch movies at home, thank you."

Ted Sarandos on the 'Outmoded' Theatrical Experience

Sarandos noted that theater owners are fighting for a 45-day window to keep films playing exclusively in theaters before they become available to home audiences for streaming, and added: "That is completely out of step with the consumer experience of just loving a movie."

Jacobs noted that many filmmakers and stars want their films released in theaters, and Sarandos said Netflix sometimes does it for them, and also releases films theatrically to qualify for Oscars. (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requires that films play for at least seven consecutive days in a theater, under specific conditions.)

Sarandos referred to Netflix films released first into theaters as "bespoke releases." The company has released several prestige films theatrically before streaming them in recent years, including awards contenders like Martin Scorsese's The Irishman (2019), David Fincher's Mank (2020), Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog (2021) and Bradley Cooper's Maestro (2023).

"We have these bespoke releases... that we'll try to do. We have to do some qualification for the Oscars, so they have to run for a little bit. It helps with the press cycle a little bit, because the press likes to talk about movies in theaters, too," said Sarandos.

Also Read: Look Up — The Importance of Seeing Movies in Theaters (Commentary)

But he added that every time Netflix works with a filmmaker, "I try to encourage them... to focus on the consumer, focus on the fans. Make a movie that they love and they will reward you."

Sarandos acknowledged that many directors still dream of seeing their work on the big screen — and that he himself is a fan of the theatrical experience.

"We're in a period of transition. Folks grew up thinking, 'I want to make movies on a gigantic screen, and have strangers watch them play in theaters for two months, and people cry, and sold out shows.' It just doesn't happen very much," he said.

Sarandos added that while the idea of seeing movies in theaters is "outdated" or "outmoded" for most, there are some exceptions.

"If you're fortunate enough to live in Manhattan and you can walk to a multiplex and see a movie, that's fantastic," he said. ""Most of the country cannot."

Jacobs asked Sarandos if he was bothered by the idea of the theatrical experience being outdated, given Sarandos' own love of theaters.

"No," Sarandos replied. "It would really bother me if people stopped making great movies. ... If we want people to watch them the way we want them to watch them, versus how they want to watch them, then people won't be able to make movies anymore, because there won't be a business for it."

He also noted that Netflix had saved Manhattan's Paris Theater, near Central Park, when it was "about to become a Walgreens." The company frequently uses the theaters for screenings and events.

"We saved it to save the theater experience," Sarandos said.

You can watch video of the Ted Sarandos interview here, courtesy of TIME:

Main image: Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos at the October 26, 2017 premiere for Netflix's Stranger Things 2 at the Westwood Village Theatre in Los Angeles. Courtesy of Shutterstock.