Ted Sarandos vs. The Velvet Rope: Who Owns Hollywood’s Marquee?

Olivia Bennett, 1/3/2026Explore the shifting landscape of Hollywood as Netflix challenges traditional cinema with strategies like short theatrical runs and creative release models. As subscription fatigue sets in and new platforms emerge, audiences are redefining their viewing habits, reshaping the industry's future.

Netflix, of course, seems perpetually several steps ahead in this chaotic waltz. Known for upending convention (and budgets) with the panache of a red carpet rebel, they’ve recently grown bolder still. This year, the company has pressed industry stalwarts like AMC—an institution that once measured time in the thickness of a velvet rope—to make room for a new theatrical reality. Netflix wants films on streaming after barely a 17-day sojourn in theaters. AMC? They’d prefer a lengthier 45-day engagement, imagining audiences lingering in the glow of chandeliered lobbies a bit longer. The question lurking beneath the squabble: whose vision of moviegoing will define this era?

It’s hardly the first time Netflix has flirted with the silver screen, but something feels different now. Theatrical runs for Netflix originals have, for years, felt like brief, almost ceremonial pit stops—designed more to appease Oscar voters than to thrill ticket buyers. Yet in 2025, something odd happened. Against the prevailing wisdom, Netflix released a sing-along version of “KPop Demon Hunters” to over 1,700 theaters in August, collecting a tidy $19.2 million domestically. Notably, the streaming release had already happened a month earlier. The theater box office may not be what it was in the ‘80s, but those numbers would put a blush on even the most seasoned studio exec.

But the grandest gambit arrived over the New Year’s holiday. The “Stranger Things” finale hit 620 North American cinemas—not with traditional tickets, but through a curious dance of concession vouchers. Ticket stubs? Irrelevant. Popcorn and sodas turned into the currency of the event, and movie theaters found themselves counting not tickets but the rustling of snack bags all the way to the bank. Some reports had theater concession sales climbing north of $25 million, possibly even $30 million, in that fleeting window. Hollywood, it seems, never runs out of inventive ways to keep the party going, even if it has to rewrite the rules.

And now, the plot is thickening: as Netflix eyes the monumental acquisition of Warner Bros. (the house that brought the world Casablanca, Batman, and, depending on one’s taste, a few Batmen who probably should have stayed in the cave), the old guard has little choice but to pay attention. Eighty billion dollars on the table. Promises float in the air—Netflix swears it’ll honor “industry-standard windows,” though exactly how long those windows stay open is as slippery as Oscar night afterparties. Ted Sarandos, never one to mince words, calls extended exclusivity “anti-consumer-friendly.” In plainer English: the studio system’s prim rules are looking even more like a relic from cinema’s golden age.

Meanwhile, the view from the couch shows a different kind of drama. Subscription fatigue—2025’s most persistent headache—has crept into living rooms. Platforms like Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and Disney+ pile up, but some viewers glance at their monthly bills and wonder if the curtain has dropped on affordable streaming. Enter Pluto TV, Paramount’s cheeky answer to those frayed wallets, delivering all the nostalgia and ad breaks a viewer can endure, free of charge. Over 150 live channels, a mountain of classic films—a model straight out of television’s heyday, but cleverly reborn for the digital age.

Viewer reactions run the gamut. Some, eyes wide with retro delight, call Pluto TV “a game-changer,” praising its bounty of box sets (and perhaps remembering the peculiar tang of a Blockbuster carpet). Others, less enchanted, grumble about “nothing but ads and reruns.” Yet the formula—old episodes, vintage flicks, and commercials that wouldn’t look out of place during a “Golden Girls” marathon—seems to work. Maybe the industry needed a little old-fashioned predictability amidst all its reinvention.

Specialty content, too, finds its moment under the spotlight. “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked”—that deliciously dramatic runway aftershow—airs live on MTV but also fans out across services like DirecTV, Fubo, Philo, Paramount+, and Prime Video. What was once niche is now prime streaming property, reminding everyone that, in the right circumstances, even the most glitter-drenched subculture can become a pillar of the streaming mainstream.

There’s plenty of tension in the air as these streaming titans duel for cultural supremacy. Does exclusivity win, or is reach the real status symbol? Studios and chains face the eternal dilemma: preserve the velvet-roped mystique of moviegoing, or simply throw open the digital doors and let the audience wander freely? The answer is hardly settled. If anything, the story only gets more tangled.

Still, beneath the award show antics and corporate drama, one thing stands: audiences are in control now. Whether rewatching “Skins” for the seventh time on Pluto TV, catching a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it event release, or taking in the latest drag queen confession, viewers are quietly—and less quietly—rewriting the industry’s script with every choice. And while it’s tempting, perhaps, to predict the next act in Hollywood’s grand production, the truth is, in this town, the lights never truly dim. The show always finds a way to go on, however unexpected the staging.

Under the neon halo of Hollywood’s past, where movie palaces once beckoned crowds chasing cinematic dreams, the game has undeniably changed. The seven o’clock show still flickers to life, but now, battles for the audience’s attention are staged backstage—inside apps and platforms, not projection booths. The line between event and experience, always a little blurry in this town, is becoming positively kaleidoscopic.Netflix, of course, seems perpetually several steps ahead in this chaotic waltz. Known for upending convention (and budgets) with the panache of a red carpet rebel, they’ve recently grown bolder still. This year, the company has pressed industry stalwarts like AMC—an institution that once measured time in the thickness of a velvet rope—to make room for a new theatrical reality. Netflix wants films on streaming after barely a 17-day sojourn in theaters. AMC? They’d prefer a lengthier 45-day engagement, imagining audiences lingering in the glow of chandeliered lobbies a bit longer. The question lurking beneath the squabble: whose vision of moviegoing will define this era?It’s hardly the first time Netflix has flirted with the silver screen, but something feels different now. Theatrical runs for Netflix originals have, for years, felt like brief, almost ceremonial pit stops—designed more to appease Oscar voters than to thrill ticket buyers. Yet in 2025, something odd happened. Against the prevailing wisdom, Netflix released a sing-along version of “KPop Demon Hunters” to over 1,700 theaters in August, collecting a tidy $19.2 million domestically. Notably, the streaming release had already happened a month earlier. The theater box office may not be what it was in the ‘80s, but those numbers would put a blush on even the most seasoned studio exec.But the grandest gambit arrived over the New Year’s holiday. The “Stranger Things” finale hit 620 North American cinemas—not with traditional tickets, but through a curious dance of concession vouchers. Ticket stubs? Irrelevant. Popcorn and sodas turned into the currency of the event, and movie theaters found themselves counting not tickets but the rustling of snack bags all the way to the bank. Some reports had theater concession sales climbing north of $25 million, possibly even $30 million, in that fleeting window. Hollywood, it seems, never runs out of inventive ways to keep the party going, even if it has to rewrite the rules.And now, the plot is thickening: as Netflix eyes the monumental acquisition of Warner Bros. (the house that brought the world Casablanca, Batman, and, depending on one’s taste, a few Batmen who probably should have stayed in the cave), the old guard has little choice but to pay attention. Eighty billion dollars on the table. Promises float in the air—Netflix swears it’ll honor “industry-standard windows,” though exactly how long those windows stay open is as slippery as Oscar night afterparties. Ted Sarandos, never one to mince words, calls extended exclusivity “anti-consumer-friendly.” In plainer English: the studio system’s prim rules are looking even more like a relic from cinema’s golden age.Meanwhile, the view from the couch shows a different kind of drama. Subscription fatigue—2025’s most persistent headache—has crept into living rooms. Platforms like Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and Disney+ pile up, but some viewers glance at their monthly bills and wonder if the curtain has dropped on affordable streaming. Enter Pluto TV, Paramount’s cheeky answer to those frayed wallets, delivering all the nostalgia and ad breaks a viewer can endure, free of charge. Over 150 live channels, a mountain of classic films—a model straight out of television’s heyday, but cleverly reborn for the digital age.Viewer reactions run the gamut. Some, eyes wide with retro delight, call Pluto TV “a game-changer,” praising its bounty of box sets (and perhaps remembering the peculiar tang of a Blockbuster carpet). Others, less enchanted, grumble about “nothing but ads and reruns.” Yet the formula—old episodes, vintage flicks, and commercials that wouldn’t look out of place during a “Golden Girls” marathon—seems to work. Maybe the industry needed a little old-fashioned predictability amidst all its reinvention.Specialty content, too, finds its moment under the spotlight. “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked”—that deliciously dramatic runway aftershow—airs live on MTV but also fans out across services like DirecTV, Fubo, Philo, Paramount+, and Prime Video. What was once niche is now prime streaming property, reminding everyone that, in the right circumstances, even the most glitter-drenched subculture can become a pillar of the streaming mainstream.There’s plenty of tension in the air as these streaming titans duel for cultural supremacy. Does exclusivity win, or is reach the real status symbol? Studios and chains face the eternal dilemma: preserve the velvet-roped mystique of moviegoing, or simply throw open the digital doors and let the audience wander freely? The answer is hardly settled. If anything, the story only gets more tangled.Still, beneath the award show antics and corporate drama, one thing stands: audiences are in control now. Whether rewatching “Skins” for the seventh time on Pluto TV, catching a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it event release, or taking in the latest drag queen confession, viewers are quietly—and less quietly—rewriting the industry’s script with every choice. And while it’s tempting, perhaps, to predict the next act in Hollywood’s grand production, the truth is, in this town, the lights never truly dim. The show always finds a way to go on, however unexpected the staging.