Steven Spielberg explains why he avoids Netflix films

Steven Spielberg has said he has no plans to make movies for Netflix because he strongly believes films should be seen in cinemas.

Spielberg made the admission while promoting his new film Disclosure Day, where he expressed his preference for traditional movie theatre experience over watching films at home on streaming platforms.

He said cinema is about people coming together in one place to experience the same emotions at the same time.

“It was a communal space, and people were there – unfamiliar with each other – a place where strangers congregate, and in disagreement or agreement. They are in agreement on one thing: they have a response all at the same time to the images that they are getting from the screen.

He added that he would only work with Netflix if his films were intended primarily for home viewing, which he does not want.

“But I’m a movie maker, and I believe in big motion pictures, 70-millimeter theatrical experiences, with great sound, and tremendous bright projection return, and people in a theater, because I think the energy; to sit in a filled-up theater, you feel the energy of strangers.

Spielberg also referenced his earlier films like Jaws, saying audience reactions in theaters were unforgettable during those screenings.

“You laugh harder because you’re encouraged to laugh because everybody is laughing. You scream louder when something scary happens, and the whole theater erupts. I know what it was like to see Jaws and make Jaws and preview Jaws, and when Ben Gardner’s head came out of the hole in the boat, I saw popcorn flying and people screaming".

He said those moments of collective excitement and fear are something streaming cannot replicate.

“That you don’t get sitting at home by yourself. You’ll still scream, but it’s not as much fun if you’re alone or with five other people. So I’m always going to make my movies, first and foremost, for the big venues”.

Despite working with streaming platforms in other roles, Spielberg said his main focus remains theatrical cinema.