Christopher Nolan Warns Against ‘Danger’ Of Streaming-Only Releases

Published: November 22, 2023

Christopher Nolan Warns Against ‘Danger’ Of Streaming-Only Releases

By Movieguide® Contributor

Director Christopher Nolan is warning people about the perils of streaming-only releases.

“There is a danger these days that if things only exist in the streaming version, they do get taken down,” he explained. “They come and go — as do broadcast versions of films, so my films will play on HBO or whatever, they’ll come and go. But the home video version is the thing that can always be there, so people can always access it. And since the 1980s, as filmmakers, we’ve taken that for granted, and now we have to make sure that there’s a way that that can continue to happen, if not the physical media.”

Nolan previously joked to an audience seeing his latest movie, OPPENHEIMER, that it was important to physically own the movie so “no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.”

While he did clarify that it was a joke, the director made it clear that he does see issues surrounding the prevalence of streaming-only releases.

“The danger I’m talking about with a filmmaker’s film just sort of disappearing from streaming one day and then maybe not coming back or not coming back for a long period of time, that’s not an intentional conspiracy,” Nolan said. “That’s just a way that with the particular licensing agreements, the way things are evolving. So it’s something worth pointing out because it will need to be fixed, but I’m very confident that it will be.”

Fellow filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro agreed with Nolan’s statements, tweeting, “Physical media is almost a Fahrenheit 451 (where people memorized entire books and thus became the book they loved) level of responsibility. If you own a great 4K HD, Blu-ray, DVD etc etc of a film or films you love…you are the custodian of those films for generations to come.”

Movieguide® previously reported on the studios that are pivoting to streaming:

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish recently shared his outlook on the increased focus on streaming.

Bakish oversees Paramount+ and Pluto TV, which he hope will eventually compete with the industry’s top streaming platforms like Netflix.

Bakish said that the company will not focus on streaming to the detriment of its blockbuster movies. The most recent example being the historic box office performance of Tom Cruise’s TOP GUN: MAVERICK, which did not appear on Paramount+ until a long theatrical stint.

As for profit, Bakish said that he hopes the company’s “multifaceted product” model for streaming content—which includes streaming platforms Paramount+ and Showtime, as well as Paramount Pictures, CBS, and ad-supported platform Pluto TV—will begin to turn a profit.