Why Hollywood isn’t - and can’t be - just about blockbusters

For a time, the industry seemed to abandon many of the practices that made midsized films economically viable, like having multiple release windows (theatrical, home video, television) that allowed movies to make money and exist in the public consciousness for a long time.

Streaming’s business prioritizes volume in order to attract subscribers, with each film backed by a short marketing push, if any at all. That makes it difficult for any individual film to have a serious imprint.

“We have completely gotten out of that mindset of how to provide a regular cadence of cost-efficient movies, so that you have that thing that gives legs to everything else,” said indie producer and former Amazon Studios film executive Ted Hope. “And with that, is also the decimation of the things that gave something a kind of evergreen status.”

Some of the most disruptive streaming-era practices are starting to go away. Studios are returning to traditional, albeit shorter, windows. Tech giants Apple and Amazon are both embracing traditional theatrical releases, Bloomberg recently reported.