The contrast is striking: while cinemas show a drop in attendance of around 30% compared to 2019, the reference year before Covid-19, two events organized respectively by the platforms Netflix and Amazon are arousing curiosity. public.
From December 7 to 13, the Cinémathèque française, in Paris, and the Lumière Institute, in Lyon (until December 14), are hosting a “retrospective” of nine feature films: six of them are already available on the platform, among which The Power of the Dog, by Jane Campion, Chiaroscuro, by Rebecca Hall, or The Guilty, by Antoine Fuqua. Three others are unpublished and are the subject of previews: God’s hand, by Paolo Sorrentino (broadcast from December 15), Don’t Look Up: Cosmic Denial, by Adam McKay (December 24) and The Lost Daughter by Maggie Gyllenhaal (December 31). Remember that three Netflix films were awarded at the Mostra in 2021: God’s hand (Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize), The Power of the Dog (Silver Lion – Best Director Award for Jane Campion, who also received the Lumière Award 2021), and finally The Lost Daughter (award for best scenario).
Amazon, for its part, has opened an ephemeral screening space in the capital, from December 10 to 12, the “Prime video club” located at 30, place de la Madeleine, with a more eclectic and free program: spectators can book a private room to watch their “Favorite films or series”, or participate in a dubbing experience; they can also discover Spencer, by Pablo Larrain, a biopic on Princess Diana with Kristen Stewart (broadcast January 17, 2022), or even Hotel Transylvania: monster changes, by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska, fourth installment of the saga (January 14, 2022). Unsurprisingly, most reservation slots are “full”.
Devastating strategy
Contrary to the logic of the abundant supply in theaters, the platforms communicate on the exceptional nature of these screenings, as if to arouse desire. These operations provoke the anger of film professionals, while dividing them. The president of the French association of arthouse cinemas (1,200 establishments in total), François Aymé, denounces a devastating strategy for the cinema ecosystem. “Netflix buys big names and very popular actors, like Omar Sy, Dany Boon, Alain Chabat, without bringing out other talents. Netflix is waiting for the fruit to be ripe, for the work to have been done by the entire industry, producers, distributors, operators, with the support of the public authorities ”, he declares to World. And to add: “To say that is not to resist like the Gallic village. Because we are not! France is the European country which has the largest number of cinemas, and which produces the most films. ”
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