Reel Changes Coming Soon

By Sean McVeigh

Last Friday, news broke that streaming titan Netflix is working on a deal to acquire at least part of Warner Bros. Discovery, most notably the film studio and HBO. Nothing is finalized, especially since Paramount Skydance, also interested in Warner Bros.’ properties, doesn’t seem willing to go down without a fight. But no matter how the deal ends up shaking out, it’s clear that the movie industry as we know it is on the verge of significant change.

If Netflix comes out on top, the classic big-budget Hollywood movie, released exclusively in theaters, might be heading the way of the dodo. Netflix is, after all, a streaming service. And while its CEO has promised to keep Warner Bros. films in theaters, who knows how long that pledge will hold when the company can simply do what it does best: release movies straight to streaming.

The movie industry has been in a state of decline for years. The Covid years had the most dramatic effect for obvious reasons, but even before and after that, it was clear that fewer and fewer people were motivated to leave their homes for a theater when they could either wait a few months for a movie to hit streaming or choose from hundreds of other options already available at their fingertips from the comfort of their home.

Netflix is already in the moviemaking business, of course. Sometimes they produce some pretty decent films (“Triple Frontier,” “The Irishman,” “Extraction”). Other times, they produce… well, less-decent films (“Hubie Halloween,” “The Kissing Booth,” “Ridiculous 6,” “The Kissing Booth 2,” “Open House,” “The Kissing Booth 3”).

Very few movies will get me off the couch, onto the Belt Parkway, and into a theater. But there are exceptions. Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey,” for example, is one of those movies I have circled on my metaphorical calendar — that seems like something you need to experience on the big screen. Still, most years, there are only one or two films that meet that bar. It feels like sequels and remakes are the most common output from Hollywood today. Are they worth going to a theater for? Certainly not. Are they worth streaming on a quiet Tuesday night? Sure. With streaming, the risk/reward is basically zero.

This is the balancing act the future of movies will have to figure out. And if Netflix ends up steering the ship, I have a feeling I know which way it’ll lean.

When it comes to moviegoing, Rockaway’s situation is a bit unusual. There hasn’t been a movie theater on the peninsula in about 40 years. For a while, the choice was between Kings Plaza and Sheepshead Bay — and it wasn’t much of a choice. The only advantage Kings Plaza had was that you could take the bus. Eventually, we were down to just one option — in another borough and not accessible by public transportation. But let’s put that aside for a moment.

Have you been to the Sheepshead Bay movie theater recently? It’s … well, it’s actually pretty freaking nice! Big comfy leather recliners, wide aisles so you don’t have to stand up when people pass, and — probably a bad sign for the theater industry but a plus for moviegoers — almost no lines. If you’re from anywhere else in the country (or maybe even the city), you might not be blown away, but they have certainly come a long way from the days of bedbugs.

At one point, the Sheepshead Bay theater was all the rage. I remember zigzagging lines literally out the door just to buy tickets, and then five or six concession lines backed up to the ticket takers. The last time I went, there was no ticket line — you buy those on a different “line” now — and only one concession line, which moved quickly. Not great for the theaters, but great for me.

I’ve written before about the price of movie tickets. They are pretty high at the moment. Supply and demand, I guess. But if the quality of the experience keeps improving, maybe those prices become easier to justify. And if they don’t, well … there’s always streaming, I suppose.

Now that I think about it, the state of movie theaters actually isn’t that different from the state of newspapers: Both are disappearing all over the country. For a multitude of reasons that I am very thankful for, Rockaway is not one of those places. This peninsula has three newspapers for you to choose from. (And you clearly have good taste — you’re reading the best of them!)

I think a local movie theater would do great down here. I can picture it now: a fully stocked bar concession stand, new releases on weekends with a great matinée deal, kids’ movies all the time, a couple of nights devoted to the classics, maybe even a space big enough for local civic meetings when the lights are on. The possibilities are endless.

Sure sounds like a blockbuster to me!