With the leak of the new “Avatar: The Last Airbender” movie on social media, many fans were outraged to learn of Paramount’s initial plan to do an at home release rather than a traditional theatrical release, leading to online discourse over film companies’ preferences for at-home releases. While this debate has been going on for a while now, the new “Avatar: The Last Airbender” film has rekindled the embers of this debate.
Like many, I grew up going to theaters with my friends and family to watch newly released films or a re-showing of an older film. However, with each film company now making its own streaming service or partnering with an existing one, consumers of films are seeing fewer and fewer theatrical releases of upcoming films and a rising number of at-home releases.
This at home release model was very popular during the COVID-19 era, as many of us were stuck at home, and it was the only way for us to watch movies that were coming out during that time. Since then, it seems that film companies have found a way to make more money by doing at home releases, making people subscribe to their streaming services or an already existing one like Netflix or Hulu, for example.
One example of this would be the “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” (2026), which was exclusively streamed on Peacock,
compared to “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (2023), which was streamed both on Peacock and had a theatrical release. Releasing the film both at home and in theaters provided fans with both options.
However, while this provided an easier viewing experience for consumers, it made the original problem even worse. With many folks choosing to stream the films rather than head to a local movie theater to watch them, the revenue loss that theaters were experiencing was growing even bigger. This, paired with the COVID-19 lockdown era, led to many film companies switching to at-home releases.
Money is a big driving force in all of our lives, whether you are an ordinary person or a member of a film production company. One of the main goals of releasing a film, whether that be in theaters or on a streaming service, is to make back the money spent on the film. If the film production companies decide that the best way for them to get back their money is by doing at home releases, fans tend to butt heads with the production companies.
For the consumers of the films, they just want to be able to have the full movie going experience, which, for the most part, involves going to the movie theater and paying the high price of not only the ticket but the food and drinks. While you can have the same experience at home for cheaper and with more comfortable seating, there is something about you and the other people in that theater that experience the same moments of shock and awe that you only get when you are in a movie theater.
For many folks, the movie going experience has a wide range, and there is no right or wrong way to experience a film, regardless of what anyone says. While I wish more film production companies would listen to their consumers and do more theatrical releases of both new and old films, this will always be something that people will debate for years to come. However, I encourage you all to at least have one full movie going experience in a theater before you argue which one is better.
Who knows, maybe in the dimming of the lights with the smell of buttery popcorn filling your noses, you and your friends or family might enjoy losing a few hours of your day to a wonderful movie experience.
