Theatrical films have always had competition on some level. However, it’s never been as crowded as it is now. Not only is there TV, but streaming has made virtually any bit of entertainment available within a few second’s thought. And it’s cheap. For many of us it comes bundled within the streaming services we already have, and the stuff that costs money is still vastly cheaper than the theaters. And, of course, we can’t forget about the quality of work that streaming has brought to the table. Series and films headed to these services are feature quality, making it that much more competitive. And, in all honesty, the stories being told are the kind of stories that used to be told on the big screen before blockbusters took over. These facts haven’t been lost on actor Anthony Mackie.

“To be frank about it, filmmakers don’t work in film anymore,” Anthony Mackie said in an interview with the Daily Beast. “If we look at the movies we grew up loving, that we think are the best movies of all time, those movies won’t be made now by studios; they’ll be made by streaming services. So if your movie isn’t an event—if you’re not in Avengers or Suicide Squad or Star Wars—it’s very hard to get people to go to the movie theater, for many different reasons. Fear factor, cost. I have kids, and for me to take my kids to the movies, it’s $115. So we watch movies at home. As soon as Fortune 500 companies bought all the film studios, the idea of making films was dead. So that being said, the only place you can go and work with the filmmakers you adore is streaming services.”

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Whoa, whoa, watch it there, Martin Scorsese, am I right? In all seriousness, I don’t think he was implying that the movies that made it into theaters aren’t “films.” Instead, I think he’s saying that the kind of movies we grew up on simply don’t end up in theaters anymore. The reality is that if you’re movie is getting a wide release, it had better have wide appeal, otherwise it’s best suited for streaming.

Anthony Mackie continued, “…you can’t go to a studio and say, ‘Give me $20 million, I want to make this small movie,’ because they’re not going to do it. Either you can make a movie for $2 million or for $100 million. It’s the worst business model of all time. There’s definitely a way to make money in movies. But everyone in movies has no idea how to make money [laughs]. It’s crazy.”

Well, I will say, if there is someone who knows how to make money in movies, it’s Jason Blum. That man has made a fortune off of making tons of low-budget films, and it’s resulted in minimal losses for the “flops” and huge profits for the wins. But as far as the mid-budget stuff? Eh, there really isn’t a place for it. Sure, you have your Oscar films and your John Wicks that come in every so often, but all the more standard adult fare? Well, that’s reserved for a different medium now.

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“Great movies are being made,” Anthony Mackie conceded, “they’re just not being made for the theaters, because young people don’t want to sit in a room and chill out. They want to move, and watch it on their cell phones and tablets. They can’t sit still; it’s a different world now. We had time, because we didn’t have cell phones. We could sit in a movie theater and make out with a girl and eat popcorn. But dudes don’t do that anymore. You can do that virtually now; you don’t have to hide in a movie theater. And if you take a girl to a movie theater now, it’s $20 for each ticket, and she’s going to want popcorn and nachos, and then you add two sodas, and you’re out $70 and you haven’t even gotten in the theater yet. We used to go to the dollar show in New Orleans, and you’d get popcorn for $5, soda for $2.50, you’re out-of-pocket $10! So now you can pay $7 [for streaming], or you go on two dates a month, and that’s $150 just to see a movie.”

Makes me happy that I only go to the theaters with my wife, and when we do, we usually don’t get any snacks. I may be slowly killing theater chains, but I’m saving a lot of money in the process, I guess. This gives us a sort of reasoning behind the change in where certain stories are being told, and the reality is we’ll just need to embrace this new future.

What do you think of Anthony Mackie’s comments? Do you agree with him about the future of the film medium? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: The Daily Beast