Credit: Focus FeaturesWith the rise of streaming has come the rise of a potentially problematic industry move: releasing movies to streaming platforms within weeks to a month of their initial theatrical release.
Before streaming, movies would get several months in between a theatrical release and a release to home video formats like VHS, DVD, or Blu-Ray. Now with streaming services providing hundreds of movies to people easily and without the necessity of having to create physical copies, more studios are relying on these online platforms.
Unfortunately, streaming comes with some issues of its own, particularly for writers, directors, and actors, which is one of the major points of contention with the current industry strikes between the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. In a perfectly-timed release, it was recently revealed that Netflix’s most popular show, Squid Game, has provided zero royalties to Hwang Dong-hyuk, who created, wrote, and directed the series. The bottom line is streaming, although popular, isn’t particularly profitable for anyone.
In fact, movies getting a quick streaming turnaround have previously been movies that have underperformed (or straight-up bombed) in theaters, minus movies that were released during the height of the 2020 pandemic. Warner Bros., and specifically their DC films, have done this recently, with the release of Black Adam (2022), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and The Flash (2023) all being released to streaming within just a few months. Black Adam was released within two months, Shazam! within 70 days, and The Flash will be streamed on Max in Fall 2023.
However, another studio has just announced a surprisingly short window for their latest film, as Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City will be available for streaming on July 11, less than one month after its theatrical debut on June 23. The movie was full of A-List stars like Scarlett Johansson, Steve Carell, Maya Hawke, and Tom Hanks, and has overall been praised by audiences. Opening weekend box-office numbers for the movie marked it as Anderson’s best yet, earning $16.7 million globally.
Although Anderson isn’t a stereotypical blockbuster director, especially as Asteroid City goes up against Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Elemental, The Flash, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, he has gained a substantial cult following over the course of his career. As other major movies gear up for release, like Warner Bros.’ Barbie and Universal Pictures’ Oppenheimer, it seems as though the indie filmmaker decided not to got up against more competition.
Reactions to the news of the imminent streaming release have been shocked and disappointed, with many claiming it’s worth a watch in theaters and others saying they’ll be buying it as soon as it’s released. Still others have commented on the concerning trend in the industry as more movies are sent directly to a streaming release and others not getting a proper shot with a theatrical release. As more platforms start to remove streaming content overall, it’s definitely given cause to be concerned about the future of the film industry.
Have you or will you watch Asteroid City? If so, what did you think of it? Share your thoughts in the comments below!