Why Steven Spielberg is Fighting For The Theatrical Experience

Earlier this week, I talked about what streaming would look like in the next five years. And in that article, I made a grim prediction that the theatrical experience would be solely reserved for huge releases like Marvel movies.

I thought that was scary, and I'm not the only one who has seen this as a possible outcome if we don't start defending smaller movies getting theatrical runs.

But if there’s one person who has the clout to push back against the algorithm-driven pivot to streaming, it’s the man who invented the summer blockbuster.

The Hollywood Reporter detailed that at the recent Los Angeles premiere of Hamnet—the new film from Nomadland director Chloé Zhao—Steven Spielberg took the stage not just as a producer, but as a defender of the theatrical experience for adult dramas. And he didn’t mince words.

Let's dive in.

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"Fighting the Tides"

At a recent premiere at the Academy Museum, Spielberg addressed the crowd and talked about what makes movies like Hamnet matter.

He said, “Directors are always searching for stories to tell, but sometimes the story tells us which director it wants to belong to. Chloé Zhao was the director that Maggie O’Farrell’s book Hamnet found its way to, and there was no other choice that could have possibly been made in the world.”

Then Spielberg pointed to the screen and continued that these are “the kinds of screens that we are fighting the tides to keep filled with not just blockbuster, epic, escapist movie rides, but sensitive and intimate portraits of marriage and family and life-altering epiphanies that spring from heartache and heartbreak, like the film you’re about to see. There needs to be room for films like Chloé’s on screens like these.” Spielberg added, “I am so proud to be one of the producers who got to watch Chloé make this little miracle of a movie.”

Spielberg, who produced the film alongside Sam Mendes and others, knows that a movie like this may never even be made without big names like theirs behind it, pushing studios to pay for art and not just commerce.

It’s a bit of a full-circle moment. The director who ushered in the era of mass-market saturation booking with Jaws is now using his leverage to save the mid-budget, character-driven drama from being relegated to a TV screen.

Why Hamnet Matters

If you haven't been tracking this one, Hamnet is shaping up to be a major awards contender. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel, it stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley and dives into the grief of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes following the death of their 11-year-old son—a tragedy that eventually inspired Hamlet.

It’s exactly the kind of film that twenty years ago would have been a staple of the holiday moviegoing season and the talk of awards releases.

But now all we hear about is the risk and the worry that it won't recoup its costs.

Spielberg’s comments highlight a terrifying reality for us filmmakers: if Steven Spielberg has to fight "tides" to get a Chloé Zhao movie a proper theatrical run, what hope do the rest of us have?

The Takeaway for Filmmakers

It’s easy to be cynical about the state of distribution, but there’s a silver lining here. The industry listens to Spielberg. When he champions the idea that "cinema" encompasses more than just explosions and CGI battles, it moves the needle.

And if/when Hamnet does well, and other movies like this do well, we can stave off the people who want to rip them from theaters.

For indie filmmakers, this is a reminder that the format matters. Writing and directing for the big screen—focusing on visual language, sound design (which Hamnet crushes)—is still a viable, vital art form.

Summing It All Up

Hamnet hits limited theaters on November 27 and goes wide on December 12. If we want "room for films like these," the best thing we can do is actually show up and buy a ticket.

So go do that, I know I will.

Let us know in the comments.