Sean Baker, who won an Oscar for directing Anora, tells filmmakers to “put their foot down” and make theaters stay open for at least 100 days after Netflix bought Warner Bros. Baker, who was the head of the jury at the Red Sea International Film Festival, said that keeping the cinema experience alive is more important than quick streaming releases.
Baker says that shortening windows hurts movies and that filmmakers need to insist on three-month minimum runs to keep their cultural value. He wants to release his next movie in theaters for 100 days, no matter what deals he makes. This is to calm fears that the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger will hurt the industry. This position gets support from the industry as Netflix takes over Warner Bros.’ film, TV, and streaming assets.
Even though Anora won four Oscars and made $57.4 million at the box office on a $6 million budget, Baker stays away from “studio projects worth $150 million.” He says that working with producers like his wife Samantha Quan in a guerrilla-style way helped him succeed, and he wants to do it again. Gen Z audiences were important to Anora, which proved that young people do go to theaters.
