Ever since 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the conversation revolving around the death of cinema has been at an all-time high. 

The question of what’s been killing cinema has long been debated with no one true answer, as there are multiple culprits ranging from unnecessary sequels to live-action remakes. Still, there is one answer that has slipped past people’s minds: direct-to-streaming releases. 

Direct-to-streaming is the term used to describe when a movie skips a theatrical release and arrives immediately on streaming services like Netflix, the most recent streaming service to be guilty of direct-to-streaming. 

Netflix has hosted an event every year since 2021 called Tudum—named after the Netflix logo’s sound—where the streaming service previews what is coming to Netflix in the future by showcasing new trailers or talking with actors. 

At Tudum 2025, two movies I’ve had my eye on for at least a year were given updates. Those two movies are Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein.” 

Both movies got teasers at the event that revealed they will release on December 12 and November, respectively, but they both won’t receive theatrical releases. 

Johnson’s new film being direct-to-streaming doesn’t surprise me as the previous movie in the franchise, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” was also a direct-to-streaming release. 

However, the original movie in the franchise, titled “Knives Out,” did have a theatrical release. 

Johnson isn’t at fault for this being a direct-to-streaming release, as he previously said in May that he wanted “Wake Up Dead Man” to be in as many theaters as possible, according to an interview he had with Business Insider. 

Looking back on Johnson’s statement of, “We’re going to push for everything we can get in terms of theatrical because I want as many people as possible to see it in that form,” things didn’t age well. 

Del Toro had a similar experience as his last film, “Pinocchio” also was a direct-to-streaming release, and he has expressed his love for film and movie theaters on various occasions. 

These films being direct-to-streaming releases is a problem because Netflix has a small audience compared to theaters. 

That being said, there is a counterargument to be made regarding both “Glass Onion” and “Pinocchio” having limited theatrical releases and how that means they are reaching that larger audience. 

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Looking at “Pinocchio” for example, the film was allowed a limited theatrical release a month before the film’s release date on Netflix. 

That sounds like plenty of time for the movie to reach people outside of streaming, but the key word of “limited” in “limited theatrical release” is being forgotten. 

By limiting the theatrical release, the movie is set back from the start as the theaters the film occurs in are usually in places the common moviegoer can’t reach. 

So yes, it’s good that it’s in a theater, but I can’t afford to fly out to New York City or Los Angeles for the theatrical release. 

With no official word about “Wake Up Dead Man” or “Frankenstein” having theatrical releases, it’s safe to assume they won’t be receiving any this time around. 

Netflix is a giant in the streaming service industry, but two films aren’t going to kill cinema alone.  

Instead, it’s the precedent Netflix is setting of normalizing not having theatrical releases that will continue to kill the industry. 

Netflix’s decision to do no theatrical releases makes sense from a business standpoint as they are competing with all the other streaming services for subscribers and having films exclusive to Netflix helps sway people to subscribe. 

So, if no theatrical release is a problem and Netflix doing direct-to-streaming is a good business move, what’s the solution? 

Thankfully, it’s already happened but only once thanks to the Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow.” 

“Black Widow” originally released in theaters July 9, 2021 and on Disney+ the same day with Premier Access, which costs a bit extra compared to the normal subscription. 

This hybrid release from Disney solved both problems as it allowed the normal theatrical release to occur as well as giving Disney+ an edge in the streaming service competition. 

While this would solve those problems, new ones appear, such as a much lower box office release and some contracts not giving fair compensation as a result, which happened with “Black Widow’s” hybrid release that led to a lawsuit against Disney from Black Widow lead Scarlett Johansson. 

If the hybrid release was altered to be a separate fee specifically to watch a certain movie on the streaming service at the same time as the theatrical release and contracts with those involved with the movie both in the behind-the-scenes and on-screen realms, accounted for this, the hybrid solution would be the best solution going forward. 

This hybrid approach isn’t something that will likely occur again, as no corporation wants to deal with lawsuits, which is something that terrified all the other corporations after the Johansson lawsuit. 

So, unless another solution presents itself, we’re all going to be forced to watch the film industry squabble for decades to come and slowly wither away.