Steven Spielberg might not be dedicating movie-making solely to the streamers, or Netflix, any time soon, sticking to his belief that movies should be seen in packed movie theatres on the big screen, and as a communal activity. The veteran director has long been an advocate for the traditional cinema experience, and has previously expressed concerns over the growing power streaming platforms have over the film industry. His comments come as streaming services continue to seemingly disrupt Hollywood, with more directors and studios balancing the OTTs and traditional theatrical releases.

As streaming continues to reshape movies, Spielberg is refusing to abandon the theatrical experience. 

In an interview with ITV released on June 9, Steven Spielberg dismissed the idea of directing a streaming-exclusive feature film. The Oscar-winning filmmaker made it clear that such a project does not interest him and reaffirmed his preference for theatrical releases. His remarks further demonstrate his long-standing reservations about the streaming-first model. 

“But I’m a movie maker, and I believe in big motion picture, 70-millimeter theatrical experiences,” the veteran filmmaker and Disclosure Day director said, establishing his point of view.  

While Spielberg has dipped his toes into streaming with Masters of the Air and produced Cape Fear for Apple TV+, he drew a line when it comes to his own films. The Oscar-winning director has made it clear that his directorial films will not be released on Netflix. He is a proponent of theatrical releases and the big screen experience. 

“The idea of sending little cassettes, little DVDs, you know, to individuals to watch a movie, if I did that, I would be happy to work for Netflix and make a movie for Netflix,” Spielberg reasoned in the ITV interview, noting that he would never make a Netflix movie unless he were a filmmaker focused on home releases. 

For context, Netflix does not believe in strong, wide theatrical releases. Usually, the streamer gives a handful of its Oscar-contending releases a limited theatrical run. However, it recently made an exception for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia, which will have a 45-day theatrical release. Nevertheless, just weeks after that was announced, Netflix film chief Dan Lin made it clear the company would not work with filmmakers who insist on theatrical releases going forward. 

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While Netflix might discreetly distances itself from theatrical-first filmmakers, Spielberg has scored a major career-victory at the box office. 

Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller Disclosure Day debuted atop the domestic box office with $44 million. It earned approximately $12 million globally on its first day. The film opened to $48.9 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $92.9 million. 

Disclosure Day follows a meteorologist and a cybersecurity expert who team up after discovering evidence that the government is hiding the existence of alien life, becoming entangled in a massive conspiracy that endangers their lives and humanity’s understanding of the cosmos. The sci-Fi thriller stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor and combines mystery, tension, and the wonder of a classic Spielberg film. Seeing how Disclosure Day is building up to become perhaps Spielberg's best box office performance so far only strengthens the filmmaker's notion that certain stories must be watched in theaters and not on streaming services.

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Could Disclosure Day's box office success strengthen Steven Spielberg's case for preserving the theatrical experience in the streaming era? Let us know in the comments.