Netflix Is Considering Opening Its Theater Chain

• Netflix is considering investing in theaters according to latest reports.
• Netflix recently released its earnings report for Q1 2018, which indicated the streaming company’s revenue increased by over 43%.
• The streaming giant expects to continue this performance in the second quarter of 2018 as well.

Earlier this week, streaming giant Netflix released its earnings reports for Q1 2018 showing off some impressive numbers. The company saw a massive 43% increase in revenue and 7.4 million new subscribers and may very well start its theater chain in the US.

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Even though Netflix CEO Reed Hastings suggested that a price hike in the subscription fees may be around the corner, the amount of original content that has been pouring in will keep subscribers from canceling their subscriptions.

Despite Netflix’s recent success, the company feels that it is not getting the respect it deserves when it comes to films. Netflix wants its movie efforts to be taken more seriously by people. The company went against the Cannes Film Festival recently because of a ban on Netflix films for awards. The ban was placed by the Cannes committee because Netflix did not want to release their movies in the theaters and chose to keep them digital only.

There is more to the story as well according to Decider. The website reported that if a film competes at the Cannes Film Festival, it cannot be screened on Netflix in France for the next three years. Netflix revealed in their shareholder’s letter that they would never allow themselves to do something like that as it would be unfair to their viewers.

Netflix has also been toying with the idea of creating a movie theater chain to help homegrown movies receive more acclaim. The company has explored movie theaters in Los Angeles and New York that could enable the streaming company to screen films and documentaries produced by them. Netflix executives considered acquiring Landmark Theaters in Los Angeles but backed out due to cost considerations. With Netflix already confirming that they are focused on making new original films, being able to view screenings in Netflix-owned theaters could draw the attention of the movie-going crowd.