It appears as though Netflix is looking to widen its scope of original content beyond TV. Reports suggest the company is looking to create big budget films now as well.
Apparently the popular on-demand entertainment company is thinking about funding a "big" movie that is planned to release in theaters and on Netflix simultaneously.
Head of content at Netflix Ted Sarandos is keen on getting into the film space and has reportedly prepped investors for the move. Over this past weekend, Sarandos said in a speech that the company will attempt to apply the same model to films as it does with its TV programming. He went on to say, "why not premiere movies on Netflix, the same day they're opening in theaters? And not little movies --- there's a lot of ways, and lot of people to do that [already]. Why not big movies? Why not follow the consumers' desire to watch things when they want?"
As for what those movies could be is still unknown, but it sounds as though the projects will cover a wide range of genre and style. In an earnings call Sarandos said investors should "keep [their] mind wide open to what those films would be and what they would look like."
It's not easy to see Netflix going up against Hollywood and being successful at it, but as some have suggested, it carries weight and is likely more of a posturing move on Netflix's part. While smaller films have been released in theaters and online at the same time in the past, big budget films generally follow a strict release window that starts in the theaters and ends on services like Netflix. So this could just be Netflix's way of shaking things up a bit, either way it sounds like we are in for some new original content.