The 2025 movies have provided plenty of opportunities for film lovers who enjoy heading out to theaters to do just that, with releases like A Minecraft Movie and Superman inspiring the masses to watch films the old-fashioned way: with a group of total strangers. We all know, however, that another increasingly popular movie-watching method has developed over the last decade-plus, as nearly everyone also watches movies on one of the best streaming services, including the OG with the help of a Netflix subscription. Now, Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has responded to the idea that his service has led to theaters shutting down.
How Did Ted Sarandos Respond When Asked If Netflix Has Saved Or Ruined Hollywood?
While people have complained plenty about price increases across streaming services and things like user interfaces and whatnot, one thing that generally gets high marks across the board is the amount of content (original and licensed) that’s been made available by streaming. In fact, the 2025 Netflix movie and TV schedule has already delivered a number of winners, including this summer’s smash hit, K-Pop Demon Hunters.
It’s no secret, though, that movie theaters have increasingly been abandoned as streaming options have boomed. Netflix’s Ted Sarandos recently appeared on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast, and was directly asked if he thought his service “saved Hollywood or ruined it” and he noted that he believes it’s “saving it,” and added:
If people now would like to stay home and watch movies on Friday nights instead of going to the theater, let’s meet the customer where they are and make great movies for them. When you say ‘save or ruin,’ people very narrowly say my movie theater may have closed down. That wasn’t because of Netflix. It was because behavior changed. We have uncovered and discovered and honed a business model that ensures a long-lasting life for filmmakers and film lovers. That’s great news.
Sarandos also said that some of this idea that Netflix killed Hollywood or movie theaters is simply tied to the fact that people get stuck on “how things used to be,” which we all know is pretty true for mostly every part of life. Thirty years ago we all knew people who refused to listen to music on CD because they didn’t like how “clean” things sounded without the cracks, pops and little skips you’d get with 45s or albums. Which is just like all the people we knew 10 years ago who refused to listen to music on streaming.
I think most of us can see where this idea that Netflix has killed the movie business and theaters along with it could come from. Not only did the service (which started in 1998 as a mail-only DVD rental company) spearhead what is now a full-on streaming war among multiple companies, but many of its original movies are regularly pooped on by critics despite being popular with audiences. On top of that…well, Sarandos did recently say that theatrical film releases are an “outdated concept,” which can certainly make it seem like those in charge at the streamer have been purposely trying to stick it to theater owners.
Sarandos said that he simply comes down on the side of making sure that “movies get made and that movies get watched.” If nothing else, no one can really argue that Netflix hasn’t done just that.
