Bob Iger Weighs In on the Future of Movie-Going
Do you prefer a cinematic theater experience or streaming at home in your pjs?
While it certainly feels like at-home entertainment is phasing out movie theaters, don’t assume your favorite big screen will disappear altogether. Bob Iger, former CEO and outgoing Disney Chairman has some distinct ideas on the topic.
Photo: Masterclass
In a recent interview with CNBC, Iger states that, in short, he feels people’s desire to be out in the world and have real experiences won’t go away anytime soon.
People like to go out. That’s not going away. They love experiencing things in physical form.”
But what is the market breaking point? What are the driving forces that tip the playing field in either direction?
Cost
The obvious factor. In a time when the price of everything is rising, the inflated cost of a movie theater experience just doesn’t hold the value that it once did. When streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu are offering more bang (and convenience) for your entertainment buck, it’s hard to compare.
You’re getting a lotta quality, a lotta volume for a relatively inexpensive price,” stated Iger.“When you compare that cost of going to a movie with the cost of staying home and watching a subscription service, I think it’s starting to get … a little too … it’s starting to get too high.”
Entertainment Quality
Advancing technology now allows for television and streaming services to produce their own cinematic-quality programing. Iger cited HBO’s “The Sopranos” as one of the earliest examples of this, a show that had all the immersive, over-the-top drama of a well produced movie, but came straight to your late night TV.
A movie in a theater used to offer a larger-than-life experience. Now a large tv with some decent speakers can provide a similar enough experience from a viewer’s home. As the CNBC article states,
The scale of the at-home experience is growing.”
Global Release
The scale of a global release is also a powerful thing. Iger cited the recent ‘Squid Game” and the ‘Mandalorian’ as examples of at-home entertainment that resonated around the world, all at the same time. That’s different than a cinematic experience that is spread through the population over time. At home, the easy accessibility of something new and exciting draws subscribers in right away.
Photo: The Hollywood Reporter
But Bob Iger says that coin flips both ways. That human nature that draws people to a theater for a physical experience also draws them to share that experience with others, even if it is shared over a period of weeks.
The world going out to a movie, experiencing larger-than-life characters on that big screen, with other people,” he said. “I think there’s something very, very powerful about that that probably has an impact, that does have an impact, not probably, on how that resonates.”
Gratification
Simply put: Viewers don’t like to wait to see the story continue.
There’s also something to be said for a series that runs multiple times in a given year over multiple years. The Mandalorian barely existed, at least in the movie storytelling,” Iger said. “That was pretty telling for us. There weren’t many subscribers at the time, and it exploded,” he said.
Image: Disney+
Overview
So when it all boils down to it, what does the Disney CEO responsible for the company’s acquisition of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Fox see as the future for movie-goers? Well he tells CNBC that if he were still in charge, he wouldn’t be walking away from the big screen just yet.
There’s some value to it. Migrating completely away from the big screen experience would not be something I would necessarily advise. But you know, that won’t be my decision,” the outgoing chairman stated, maybe a little cheekily.
Photo Credit: ABCNews.go.com
You can see CNBC’s clip with Bob Iger below.
So what say you, MickeyBlog readers? Does going to the movies still appeal to you? What makes or breaks your decision? Why did viewers blow the premier of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” out of the water but let Spielberg’s new “West Side Story” numbers fall flat?
Source: Marvel Studios
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