Films produced for the cinema are increasingly being shown on streaming services. Will blockbusters soon only be on the Internet? What does this mean for the future of cinema?
by Bettina Peulecke
On Thursday, the government approved additional funding for the financially ailing cinemas. But the corona-related temporary closure of cinemas has accelerated a development that affects the entire film industry: Films produced for the cinema are increasingly being played on streaming services. Will blockbusters soon only be on the Internet? What does this mean for the future of cinema?
The film studio Warner Bros. plans to launch 17 major films simultaneously on streaming services in the coming year. more
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Cinemas will have to take more care of their audiences in the future
Helge Albers, Managing Director of the Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Funding, says: “I believe that in the medium term the cinema industry will have to deal with the question of how far one is out and about in two different rooms.” So far the cinema industry has been saying: “Cinema is always when someone goes to the cinema”. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t watch films differently, says Albers. “There is a difference between the process of watching a film and the process of going to the cinema.”
Cinemas that want to survive in the future will have to care more about their visitors. Good films alone will hardly be enough to lure people out in front of their streaming oven. But cinema is much more than just a good film!
Cinemas enrich our society
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The new film with Helena Zengel and Tom Hanks “Neues aus der Welt” should be released in December. In the US it landed directly in streaming.
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Cinemas have an extraordinary status – as cultural spaces that enrich our society, says Helge Albers and: “They make the films visible, give them a value, also in the eyes of the audience”. According to Albers, the gold standard of an audiovisual product is to be a movie. “That is why it is also important that there are still films that can still be exploited in the cinema.”
The Warner Group has announced that it will show all of its films that should come to the cinema in 2021 simultaneously on the big screen and on the US streaming service HBO max. That won’t happen in this country, Christine Berg thinks about it Main association of film theaters for sure. But she also says that films will not be shown exclusively in the cinema for that long before they are then exploited elsewhere: “The times we had before will no longer exist like this.” That will decrease – and the question is, “How much and where is the pain threshold?” says Berg.
Berg: “Cinema enhances every film”
“The moment the cinemas open again and can be used at full capacity, it is clear to everyone that cinema is the locomotive. Cinema enhances every film. And all stages of evaluation benefit from it. It is not for nothing that they say: That is Big cinema! “, Says Berg.
A mixture of social criticism and compassion makes Alfonso Cuarón’s warm-hearted film “Roma” a declaration of love that is as intelligent as it is moving and tender. more
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And it is not for nothing that streaming services like “Netflix” have brought their own productions to the cinema for a short time – which is mandatory for a film to be considered at the prestigious Academy Awards. This is what happened with the drama “Roma” by the Mexican Alfonso Cuarón, which also received awards. Christine Berg clarifies: “What is happening in America right now happens against the background that the cinemas there are no longer opening at the moment. That is an aggravated situation in America. But still, we as cinema operators are like one here and say: “We don’t allow ourselves to be rolled over that easily!” Said Berg.
Even Helge Albers doesn’t see a horror scenario that is often conjured up: “So it’s not about saying ‘cinema yes or no’, just ‘cinema how?’ The industry has to accept relatively fast and relatively high levels of movement or, best of all, actively pursue it. The question is how do you design such processes? ” That is exactly the million dollar question right now.
Many films will start in 2021: Bond No. 25, a Beatles documentary, romance with Kate Winslet and lots of action, for example in “Matrix 4”. more
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2020 will probably go down in the history of the German film industry as a disaster year. A review. more
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Anyone who wants to get money for their production will have to answer questions about diversity from the Hamburg Film Fund in the future. But there are no mandatory quotas. more
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3 Min
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DJane Anastasia Rose plays music for the net in her garage. The money raised goes to the cinema in Ueckermünde. 3 min
