Aspiring actors dream of being on the big screen, just like their favorite movie stars. Or do they? More major actors are creating and starring in exclusive projects for various streaming services. So what is going on? Today, we explore five different reasons why big name actors are flocking towards streaming services for new movies:
Reaching a wider audience.
There are people who go to midnight premiers of movies. Others wait until the movie is on their favorite streaming service. Some people do both. Having movies appear exclusively in theaters and exclusively on streaming sites means more people who are likely to see a movie starring a major name.
Streaming is not going away anytime soon.
Mainstream television viewing and movie theater attendance have been declining. Meanwhile, streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu are growing in popularity. Why?
For one thing, consumers are finding that it’s simpler and more cost-efficient to pay a set price each month for unlimited streaming than it is to physically go to the movies. Netflix alone added over a million new subscribers in 2016, and it has been projected that over half of the American population will have more than one streaming service by 2018.
Add to that, the personalized control of streaming services allows media lovers to choose their content, and their timing in watching it. Want to binge-watch an entire series? Go ahead. More in an action-movie mood? Got that too. Streaming allows everyone to tailor their media consumption to their own tastes and timeline.
The money’s streaming in…
Netflix makes $504 million per month off of regular subscribers. That means they have plenty of income to pay actors. For his role on “House of Cards,” Kevin Spacey makes $500,000 for every episode, just $25,000 less than Mark Harmon makes for his role on NCIS. And that’s just for their popular television series. “War Machine” starring Brad Pitt had a $60 million budget, and while no one has disclosed Pitt’s salary for his role, we are certain he was well compensated.
Film success on streaming services are not strictly determined by views.
Traditionally, a movie’s success depended on the amount of people who came to see it opening weekend. With a streaming service, a film’s reputation depends on both viewership and user-assigned ratings. This means that original films released on streaming services have two different chances to impress, and feedback can be generated even faster with the option to instantly review a film at the conclusion.
There are more opportunities to grow creatively.
When major studios decide not fund new and daring ideas for movies, streaming services may take more of a risk. For example, former NYFA Guest Speaker Kevin James starred in Netflix’s “True Memoirs of an International Assassin,” an action-packed comedy with a very different tone than his sitcoms “King of Queens” and “Kevin Can Wait.” Thanks to the creative freedom allowed by streaming services, the actor was able to demonstrate a wider range of acting skills that never would have been seen otherwise.
What are your favorite original films and series on streaming platforms? Let us know in the comments below! And learn to make your own original content at New York Film Academy.