The debate between theatrical and streaming movies is a rather complex one. It seems that a lot of it comes down to whether or not these huge titles online actually have any impact.

Do they make money for the streamer because they're on there, and would those views translate to ticket sales if these movies were in theaters?

This debate was loosely brought up on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan podcast, where Zack Snyder was the guest.

Jaded? Frances Ha is perfect and easily accessible. Still with us?

Let's dig in.

Zack Snyder on Joe Rogan

While on the Joe Rogan Experience, the conversation ranged all over the place. But of course, Snyder's new Netflix film, Rebel Moon came up, since its sequel is out soon.

Snyder cited some numbers we couldn't verify in the quote, but we think it's fair to assess that he would have feedback from Netflix that we do not have yet.

Snyder talked about how well Barbie did at the box office, but then tried to put a number on how well Rebel Moon did, by equating the two.

He said, “So say right now [Rebel Moon] has almost 90 million views … 90 million starts or 90 million accounts turned it on, give or take. They assume two viewers per screening. So you think if that movie was in the theaters as a distribution model, that’s 160 million people supposedly watching, based on that math.”

Snyder then supposed that of we tak a $10 ticket price, and multiply that by the 160 million people you get a box office of $1.6 billion, which would be more than Barbie.

Now, we think it's important to say the context of this was not tarnishing Babrie at all, but trying to get Rogan to understand the breadth of Netflix's reach.

Snyder supposed, “More people probably saw Rebel Moon than saw Barbie in the theater. That’s how crazy Netflix — that’s the distribution model they set up."

Of course, there are a few flaws in this argument. Netflix has long been criticized for counting a view, or a start, as people who stick with a film for just a few minutes, which is way different than the act of getting in a car and heading out to the theater.

There's also the cultural impact.

Last year, everyone was talking about Barbie, but Rebel Moon didn't enter the cultural lexicon in the same way; it didn't even exist in the way The Snyder Cut did just a few years prior.

Still, he is right; Netflix's reach is global, and the number of people who watch that movie will only grow with time.

However, in terms of profitability, that remains to be seen.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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