Streaming Could Replace Theatrical Releases, Barclays Says

Netflix's ongoing investment in original movies and nontheatrical releases could ultimately reshape the motion picture industry, with global streaming arguably more economically favorable than the theatrical release model, Barclays' Kannan Venkateshwar emailed investors Monday. Simultaneously releasing films theatrically and across other windows could be a means for some companies, like Disney, to drive streaming growth, Barclays said: The market also could split into two types of cinematic releases -- big movies needing to get bigger to justify the cost of theatrical releases, and small movies that go direct to consumers via streaming services. The analyst said the line between movie and TV content is "becoming a lot more fungible," and ultimately, vertically integrated entities like Disney could benefit, though theatrical distributors will face headwinds akin to TV cord cutting.