Steven Spielberg has had a pretty tumultuous relationship with streaming platforms. Having been a constant voice in support of theatrical exhibition, the legendary director has come to have a personal contradiction with his opinions on streaming exclusives and box office hits. In a new interview with the New York Times, Spielberg took a shot at the handling of movies during the Covid pandemic by one studio in particular.
Steven Spielberg caused a little tension in the movie world back in 2019 by suggesting that movies released in cinemas and on streaming platforms simultaneously should not be considered for Academy Awards. Saying that those kinds of movies fell into a “TV movie” category, the director has changed his stance in the last few years, brokering a huge deal with Netflix, and even suggesting that one of his own movies should have maybe been a streaming release. However, he still steadfastly believes in the need for theatrical releases, and blasted Warner Bros. and HBO Max in particular for their handling of movie releases during the first part of the Covid pandemic. He said:
“The pandemic created an opportunity for streaming platforms to raise their subscriptions to record-breaking levels and also throw some of my best filmmaker friends under the bus as their movies were unceremoniously not given theatrical releases. They were paid-off and the films were suddenly relegated to, in this case, HBO Max. The case I’m talking about. And then everything started to change. I found it encouraging that ‘Elvis’ broke $100 million at the domestic box office. A lot of older people went to see that film, and that gave me hope that people were starting to come back to the movies as the pandemic becomes an endemic. I think movies are going to come back. I really do.”
Is Steven Spielberg Still Against Streaming Releases?
Despite his evident love of big theatrical releases, the rise of streaming since the pandemic seems to have caused a lot of contradiction in Spielberg’s thoughts on the subject. Last year he said of movies made for streaming release:
However, in his recent interview, Spielberg did admit that he would consider putting out The Post as a streaming movie to get its political message out to millions who may not have been interested in seeing it in a theatrical setting. Considering the film received multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, it is an interesting insight into Spielberg’s shifting opinions about streaming movies and their place in Hollywood.
“Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie. You certainly, if it’s a good show, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar. I don’t believe films that are just given token qualifications in a couple of theaters for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination.”
Spielberg’s new semi-biographical drama The Fabelmans goes on limited release this week, before going on general release in a couple of weeks.
