KATHMANDU: Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos pushed back against criticism of the streaming giant’s impact on the film industry, stating, “We’re saving Hollywood,” during a conversation at the TIME100 Summit in New York on Wednesday.
The event featured a brief but pointed discussion between Sarandos and Time magazine’s editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs. Kicking off with the provocative question “Did you destroy Hollywood?” the talk quickly turned to deeper industry issues including dwindling box office numbers, reduced film output, and the overall contraction of traditional film business models.
“Netflix is a consumer-focused company,” Sarandos said. “We focus on delivering the kind of content you want to watch, in the way you want to watch it.”
Sarandos cited the struggling global box office as evidence of shifting viewer behavior. “What does that tell us? What are consumers trying to say? They want to watch movies at home thank you. Studios and theaters are trying to scold consumers by preserving a 45-day theatrical window, which is entirely disconnected from the actual viewer experience.”
Though Netflix is often viewed as the face of home-streaming, Sarandos clarified that the company hasn’t entirely abandoned theaters. Netflix owns the Bay Theater in Los Angeles and the Paris Theater in New York.
“We didn’t preserve them to save the theater business we preserved them to save the theater experience,” he said.
Select Netflix films are still given limited theatrical releases to qualify for major awards. Films like Glass Onion (2022) and Emilia Perez (2024) were released in theaters ahead of their streaming debuts to meet Oscar eligibility requirements and generate buzz.
“We have these predetermined releases. We need to meet certain criteria for the Oscars,” Sarandos noted. “But I always encourage directors to focus on the audience make films people love, and they will reward you.” Reflecting on the current transformation of filmmaking, Sarandos said the traditional dream of making big-screen epics for months-long theatrical runs is fading.
“People used to grow up thinking they wanted to make movies for the big screen and show them to strangers in packed theaters. That’s an old concept,” he remarked.
When asked whether the idea of creating films for the communal theater experience is outdated, Sarandos replied, “I think for most people, it is not everyone. If you’re lucky enough to live in Manhattan and can walk to a multiplex, that’s fantastic. But most people across the country don’t have that option.”
While Sarandos emphasized his personal love for theaters, he stated that their decline doesn’t worry him. What would concern him, he said, is if filmmakers stopped creating great stories.
He also warned Hollywood not to fall into the trap of assuming audiences still want to view content in traditional ways.
“The industry tends to think the way people should watch movies is how they want to but Hollywood must adapt to how audiences actually want to experience entertainment,” Sarandos argued.
The conversation closed with Jacobs recalling a 2010 comment from former Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who once mocked Netflix’s potential in the entertainment arena.
“It’s a little bit like is the Albanian army going to take over the world?” Bewkes had told The New York Times.
Fifteen years later, the question is no longer whether Netflix can dominate but whether it already has.
