Theaters Will Thrive Despite Netflix/WB Merger, Says Cameron

Highlights

• Merger Opposition: James Cameron opposes Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. due to concerns for the future of theaters.
• Theatrical Experience: Cameron emphasizes the importance of the theatrical experience in filmmaking.
• Streaming Impact: He believes that streaming should not dominate the film industry at the expense of theaters.
• Upcoming Release: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is set to hit theaters soon, continuing the tradition of theatrical releases.

The war against Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. has found another soldier in James Cameron. People and parties all have different reasons for not wanting this merger, and in Cameron’s case, it’s because of the harm done to movie theaters.

Recently, the Avatar director told Deadline about the open secret that is Netflix “[wanting] to replace theatrical,” even as it gives movies like Frankenstein and Wake Up Dead Man brief runs on the big screen. Given that he’s old school, and because his movies make a lot of money, Cameron admitted to finding “something sacred” about theatrical movies, and doesn’t think streaming should be dominant in the industry.

“You can’t just steamroll theatrical out of existence,” he said, “and I’m going to stay opposed to that. […] If they prevail in this [merger], they’ll become a major player, and we’re down to half the number of majors that existed when I came into the business. This is going to sort itself out, but I’m pretty four-square on the side of let’s keep that theatrical experience alive.”

Netflix has already stated it’ll honor Warner Bros.’ history of putting movies in theaters, with the caveat that theatrical windows may be shorter than the standard 45 days. Cameron knows that modification is likely, but he’ll still do what he can to make people go to movie theaters by…well, doing what James Cameron does. “I primarily make movies for theaters, [but] a good story is a good story. You put it on the smallest screen you want, it’s still a good story. You look at it through a fricking pinhole, it’s still a good story, right?”

To that end, Avatar: Fire and Ash hits theaters on Friday, and like the last two Avatar movies, it’ll likely get a lot of butts in theatrical seats.

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