It’s no secret that online entertainment as a whole has been thriving for some time now, but the past year has certainly helped strengthen this growth – a primary form of online entertainment for many has now come from gaming as despite changes to regulation and initiative, a growing number gaming and betting sites available not on Gamstop are more accessible than ever as a list available here shows how successful many have become – but the future for online entertainment may take more of a focus on streamed content, as recent announcements could change the movie industry and online entertainment as a whole.
The news came recently as Warner Bros announced that in 2021, all of their major releases including Dune and The Matrix 4 would be released simultaneously in theatres and on the online streaming platform HBO Max – this does have some concerned as a number of directors have already been quite outspoken regarding the change suggesting it takes a lot away from the big screen experience, but Warner Bros haven’t been the only studio to suggest the change. Earlier this year, Disney released both Hamilton and Mulan directly to their streaming platform whilst also announcing that they would have a stronger focus moving forward on Disney+, leading many to believe that similar may be true as Disney aim to release all major releases either directly to the streaming platform or simultaneously to theatre and steaming similar to Warner Bros.
For both, it is a bit of a trial experience, a bigger release from Universal earlier this year with Trolls showed how this approach could make sense but given the state of the ongoing pandemic at the time it’s hard to tell if this was purely a timing effort or a look at the wider picture of cinema as a whole – either way it may be worth the effort. Bigger stars have already stated what a great time they’ve had working with these platforms as big names such as Henry Cavill have propelled shows such as The Witcher forward and have had no shortage of screen time which is what some directors were concerned for.
It isn’t a new idea though – cinemas have been struggling for a long time, whilst ticket prices barely cover the cost of admission and high prices on concessions steer many fans clear, something needed to change in the entertainment industry and this big push for online entertainment may be that change. Successes found in 2021 could lead many of the other big studios to pursue the same course of action, and whilst there is ongoing discussion around whether or not this could be successful one only needs to look at big original release in both TV and Movie to show that it isn’t a question of how successful, but of just what form the success will take. Either way it’s a great change for the consumer, more accessible new releases at a fraction of the cost can only be a good thing, and being able to watch the latest blockbusters sooner will surely be exciting.