Bela Bajaria, the CCO of Netflix, talks with Matt Belloni of Puck in this extensive and, to be honest, really difficult conversation. Belloni is particularly harsh with Bajaria.
The Netflix CCO tries to defend the streamer’s refusal to release their titles theatrically, even going so far as to say that Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” would have had an equally significant cultural impact if it had been a Netflix original. This debate between theatrical and streaming is at the heart of the Bajaria/Belloni controversy.
We would have had a fantastic qualifying campaign. It seems evident that a large number of individuals would have viewed it. The film was fantastic. It would have had that, in my opinion.
Bajaria is prepared to die on this hill, as is her boss Ted Sarandos. Yes, millions of people watch a Netflix “hit” film, but the cultural influence has never really taken off. Almost no one discusses their “hit” films.
If anything, Netflix’s shows have had a greater cultural influence. Works such as “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “Stranger Things,” and “Bridgerton” demonstrate that the streamer is more akin to a television network.
Bajaria continues by disputing the notion that “everything theatrical is bigger and lasting” and asserting that Netflix is the best option for filmmakers who wish to produce a picture that “you want a lot of people to watch.” David Fincher has been a strong supporter of Netflix’s motto, even saying that the streaming service represented “the future of cinema.”
Let’s take a brief break and jump right to the Netflix rankings. “Red Notice,” which stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, is the most watched movie in Netflix history. Given its popularity (230 million views), you would think it would have become a cultural icon, but it hasn’t; instead, it has been consigned to obscurity and hardly discussed.
Recently, Quentin Tarantino expressed his thoughts on the subject. He criticized Netflix for producing pricey blockbusters that, after being abruptly launched, had no lasting cultural influence:
I don’t mean to be critical, but it seems like Ryan Reynolds has earned $50 million for Netflix from this film, $50 million from that one, and another $50 million from the upcoming film […]. None of those films are familiar to me.
I haven’t seen these before. Have you? “Well, it cost $50 million,” said Ryan Reynolds’ agent, who I have never spoken to. That he’s earning so much money is fantastic for him. However, the zeitgeist does not contain those films. They nearly seem to be nonexistent.
You may refute Tarantino’s assertion that, in the modern era, relatively few films—whether they are viewed in theaters or streamed online—have an impact on society. However, has Netflix ever created films with cultural significance like “Barbie”? “Oppenheimer”? “Wicked”? “Maverick: Top Gun”? There aren’t any Netflix shows that have the same impact as these.
Big names like Quentin Tarantino and Bela Bajaria are joining in on the ongoing heated argument between streaming services and theaters. Do you want to learn more about the most recent media trends and delve further into this discussion? For more perceptive analysis and conversations, visit our website right now!
