Hollywood – Netflix buys the legendary Egyptian Theater

Netflix on Friday concluded the acquisition of the Egyptian Theater, a legendary cinema located on Hollywood Boulevard, further confirming its rank as a major player in the film industry in the United States.

The Los Angeles cinema was built in 1922 and is proud to have hosted the first ever promotional session in Hollywood (“Robin Hood”, with Douglas Fairbanks in the title role). He had also had the privilege of launching many of the Golden Age movies, such as Chaplin’s “Gold Rush” or “The Ten Commandments.”

Netflix is ​​planning to host the launch of its films and other special events there. The video-on-demand giant, who has not released the amount of the transaction, will manage the establishment in partnership with the American Cinematheque, a non-profit association that bought and then renovated the dilapidated cinema in 1996.

Billions spent

Netflix has spent billions of dollars in recent years to attract the big names in the film industry, winning alongside major traditional Hollywood studios to produce notable films, such as “Roma” or “The Irishman ” Last year, Netflix already bought a historic New York cinema, the Paris Theater, which had closed.

Professionals in the sector see these investments as a showdown engaged by the streaming giant with major cinema brands and traditional studios. It is customary in the United States for a 90-day period between the release of a film in theaters and its release on the internet. But Netflix and other video-on-demand operators are pushing for the lines to move and have started showing their works in a small number of cinemas for shorter durations. The Oscars and other cinematographic prizes indeed require that the films have been screened in cinemas for a certain time in order to be able to compete.

According to the specialist media IndieWire, Netflix has decided not to present its films this year at major festivals like Venice, Toronto or New York (if they can take place despite the pandemic), preferring to unveil them in independent places . The Egyptian Theater could thus be devolved to this role.

((AFP / NXP)

Posted today at 2:14 am-