NATO Chief Rips Netflix, iPic Deal to Screen and Stream Movies Simultaneously

John Fithian warns that distribution plan would significantly reduce revenue

MASCOTS netflix christopher guest
Courtesy of TIFF

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is expressing skepticism over a recent deal between Netflix and iPic.

The deal allows luxury theater chain iPic to screen 10 movies simultaneously with their release on Netflix’s streaming service.

“We all should tread lightly,” warned NATO president and CEO John Fithian in a statement on Wednesday. He argued that such a release plan reduces revenues on both the theatrical and home entertainment sides of film distribution.

Netflix’s slate — including the upcoming Christopher Guest mockumentary “Mascots” (pictured) — would be affected by the deal, which represents 15 U.S. theaters for iPic and would be useful in helping Netflix movies gain awards-season eligibility.

The war thriller “The Siege of Jadotville,” with Jamie Dornan (“Fifty Shades of Grey”), will also open under the Netflix-iPic deal on October 7.

Here is Fithian’s full statement:

“As always, individual companies make their own decisions about the appropriate release window for movies. The theatrical window is a longstanding industry practice that has benefited studios, theaters and moviegoers. We all should tread lightly and be mindful that over the years, the film industry’s success is a direct result of a highly successful collaboration between film makers, distributors and exhibitors.

“Simultaneous release, in practice, has reduced both theatrical and home revenues when it has been tried.

“Veteran theatrical distributors, like Roadside Attractions’ Howard Cohen — which released ‘Arbitrage’ and ‘Margin Call’ — have moved away from simultaneous release, in part because ‘”The theatrical model continues to have a lot of value, especially because it means something to viewers when films play in theaters.” In his view, releasing films simultaneously in theaters and on video-on-demand platforms, streaming or otherwise, leaves consumers with a bad impression. “It has somehow become a signal that the movie isn’t any good.”‘ (NY Times, Jan. 25, 2016: “So Far, Amazon and Netflix Are Sundance’s Top Buyers”)

“Just as Netflix and its customers put a value on exclusivity, theater owners and their customers do too.”

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