Coming next year to Netflix and possibly an Imax theater near you: the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. At. The. Same. Time.
That s right, Netflix is changing the entertainment game again with its deal with The Weinstein Co. (TWC), which will produce the movie. It s the first deal of its kind, and there s more where that came from — the movie is the first of several major films backed by Netflix to be released in this way, Netflix said in a press release.
Los Gatos-based Netflix isn t shy about delivering a wake-up call to Hollywood about what it says movie viewers want, with chief content officer Ted Sarandos telling the New York Times: What I am hoping is that it will be a proof point that the sky doesn t fall. These are two different experiences, like going to a football game and watching a football game on TV.
Still, some theaters are bound to resist showing the Crouching Tiger sequel. Imax CEO Rich Gelfond said his company s exhibitor partners will have a choice about whether to show the movie. We are not going to war over this, Gelfond said, according to Bloomberg. We do not see this as a threat to the windowing model. We are still committed to the system for Hollywood blockbuster films.
Netflix isn t the only one pushing the envelope, whether on the small screen (original series, anyone?) or the silver screen. Variety points out that TWC has a deal with Yahoo in which the movie One Chance is premiering for free today on Yahoo streaming, 10 days before its scheduled release in theaters.
Photo: Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. (Chan Kam Chuen/Sony Pictures)
