Will the streaming giants ruin the movie industry? – culture

The studios want to establish their own online services in the fight for the public's attractiveness
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36 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES –
Online video services are causing a stir in the film industry. The streaming giants like Netflix make their own movies, the traditional Hollywood studios want to spread. Nevertheless, connoisseurs of the industry do not want to talk about the disappearance of classic cinema – not yet.

Just booming at the American box office. Thanks to the Avengers superheroes: Infinity War and Pixar's The Incredibles 2, a record $ 3.3 billion was earned in the second quarter of the year, the best hat-trick from April to June of all Times Another picture in Germany: three months of good weather and the World Cup would have waited in the first half theaters, as expected, visitor and sales revenue of about 17% compared to the previous year. previous year The Film Distributors Association (VdF) predicted early July. With hits like "Mamma Mia 2" and "Mission Impossible – Fallout", the wave could turn this summer

Sink predicted for years

But the old question remains. Is not the cinema already dying – under the growing threat of video-on-demand (VoD) services like Netflix or Amazon, the big rivals of the traditional Hollywood film factory? "The disappearance of cinema has been repeatedly predicted for many years," said American film expert Jason Squire, a professor at California's USC School of Cinematic Arts. It was decades ago with the introduction of the video recorder, and then with the boom of the Internet. He sees the offer full of optimism: "Competition creates more content and promotes creativity". However, the streaming revolution is causing a sensation in Hollywood. [1,959,006] In 2017, the US film market recorded the lowest number of ticket sales since 1992. The higher ticket price has dropped by 11.12 billion, the old studio system is under pressure considerable, a wave of merger and acquisition is moving through Hollywood. Telecom giant AT & T recently swallowed the media company Time Warner and therefore the traditional Warner Bros. Studio

Financial Gambling

The 20th Century Fox studio of media mogul Rupert Murdoch is currently part of an auction contest between Mickey Mouse Disney Group and the cable giant Comcast. Film budgets and marketing costs are skyrocketing. Studios like the best franchises.

"Making movies has become a huge financial game," says Jason Squire. American journalist Sharon Waxman, founder of the industry portal "The Wrap", recently spoke about the upcoming end of the major studios. Future "Power Players" are targeted at industry-leading platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Google. Netflix has been cleaning up studio giants like Disney for a long time.

Hollywood Stars Reaches Netflix and Co.

The leader in streaming video with over 125 million users worldwide plans to spend about $ 8 billion this year, and soon produce yourself half of its content. These include series, movies, documentaries and comedy formats. Netflix, famous for its self-produced series such as "House of Cards" or "Stranger Things", is now available in more than 190 countries.

Hollywood stars converge on Netflix & Co. Jennifer Aniston joined Netflix's comedy "First Ladies" in May in the role of a lesbian president of the United States. Will Ferrell writes for the streaming service a Eurovision comedy and should also play the lead role himself. Nicole Kidman wants to develop movies and series for Amazon Studios with her production company Blossom Films. In late 2017, the online giant announced that it was going to launch the story of the saga "The Lord of the Rings" as a television series. The heirs of the author J.R.R. Tolkien accepted the object of prestige.

Hollywood wants to establish its own streaming services

Old Hollywood blows its own streaming services to attack. From 2019, the Disney group wants to offer its own movies exclusively on the Internet for a fee, including productions of the subsidiary Pixar, Marvel successes and adventures "Star Wars". Previous cooperation with Netflix will end. This, in turn, does not help movie owners who strive to bring viewers from living rooms to movie theaters. This could be done with technical stuff, such as virtual reality stations in homes or with special events, such as live broadcasts of sports and music events, says Jason Squire.

The film teacher sees another niche with more and more offers and content. "One of the most interesting areas is online distribution for low budget movies," says the scientist. Just as the authors themselves publish books, newcomers to the cinema could market their works online and cash them online. Despite technical innovations, Netflix seems to rely on a proven marketing strategy: huge billboards on the side of the road.

According to specialists, the company wants to invest millions of dollars in conventional panels. Jason Squire thinks it's a smart plan. "It's a place where important people from the entertainment industry go a long way and make decisions," says the professor. But even more: "It's also great to boast." Netflix wants to give the impression of being at the same level as the studios, Squire says. "I think they're doing it already."