Netflix boss Ted Sarandos clarifies ‘outdated' comment on theatrical films, Saif Ali Khan calls streaming ‘liberating'

The Hindu

03-05-2025

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos on Saturday (May 3) softened the blow of his recent statement dismissing theatrical movies as an 'outdated concept'.
Sarandos was in conversation with Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan on the third day of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in BKC, Mumbai.
Sarandos, at an earlier summit in New York, had stated: 'Folks grew up thinking, 'I want to make movies on a gigantic screen and have strangers watch them (and to have them) play in the theatre for two months and people cry and sold-out shows … It's an outdated concept.'
Speaking to Saif, Sarandos clarified his stance on the coexistence of streaming and traditional theatres.
'I do think they can co-exist,' the Netflix boss said. 'I was asked recently in New York if I thought cinemas were outdated, and I said of course not me for sure. I was being interviewed in Manhattan where there is a movie theatre on every corner. I grew up in a small town — Phoenix, Arizona — and at the time you had to drive out for 45 minutes to go see a foreign-language movie or a documentary. And now, because of streaming, we can deliver movies that are very obscure. It isn't one all type of big movie for the world. You can pick what kind of movies you like. That's the opportunity.'
Sarandos added he 'hopes cinemas continue to exist,' asserting that he 'loves going to the movies'.
Since 2018's Sacred Games, their breakout Hindi Original series starring Saif and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Netflix has tightened its focus on the Indian market exponentially.
According to Sarandos, between 2021-2024, Netflix generated an economic impact of 2 billion dollars through its investments in Indian storytelling, creating '20,000 cast and crew jobs' from its local productions. Netflix has a catalogue of 150 original films and series filmed in 90 cities across India so far.
'Last year, around 3 billion hours of Indian content was seen on Netflix around the world. That's 60 million hours a week. Every week of last year there was a title from India in the Global Top 10,' Sarandos said.
Sarandos encouraged Indian filmmakers to create local and original stories instead of attempting to 'reverse engineer' a global breakout. 'A film that is not loved in India will not be loved in the world,' he said.
He also hyped up their upcoming Hindi series offerings The Royals and TheBad***s of Bollywood. The latter marks the directorial debut of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aaryan Khan. 'I am four episodes into Bads of Bollywood and it is so much fun. It's a blast!' Sarandos teased.
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Saif said the advent of streaming has liberated actors and storytellers.
'Earlier we had fit into specific boxes and there was a formula, a look, a style. Today, thanks to streaming, you can explore characters in much more depth. There is an intimacy to the platform and there is a great amount of detail you can go into,' observed Saif, who stars his Netflix's recent heist film Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins.