Damsel is a fantasy about Elodie(Millie Bobby Brown) a poor princess who is coerced into an infelicitous marriage. Made in Netflix's typical just-barely-watchable-enough-to-have-on-while-folding-laundry and extremely derivative given not only the almost exact same premised The Princess but the similar Catherine Called Bird and Ready Or Not all released within the last five years. Not to mention the exactly titled and similar(if Western set) Damsel.
Needless to say this movie is not good. And given the relatively substantial budget, one would guess between 50-100 million why has Netflix yet to solidify any note worthy relationship with theatrical distributors. This is not a good movie yet it is clearly attempting to be a major release, a defacto Blockbuster, this underscores Netflix's baffling approach to feature films. Regardless of its quality it would make some, if not quite a bit, of money in box office if given a national release. That would have little to no effect on Netflix's exclusive streaming rights or the number of views it would subsequently get on the platform. By also not releasing it into the open theatrical market its quality is not appropriately put to the test, and in this instance it is extremely poor(weak lead performance by Brown, predictable and unoriginal AI generated script, uneven visual effects). And if it were a straight-up bomb that would still provoke discussion and subsequently drive viewers to watch it on Netflix(if not in the theater). Win-win.
Clearly given how many of these types of movies that have been made recently(Ready Or Not being the superior by a wide margin and being a genuine box office success with a gross return of 1000%) there is a market or the studios perceive there to be a market for them. Why not put that to the test in the open market? Why not take some actual time and effort to make them good? Netflix currently has a limited contract with Landmark Theaters exclusively for showings of awards contenders to meet their minimum requirements for eligibility. There has been much discussion about the uncertain future of movie theaters, one of the clear issues is variety. One of the major reasons Dune: Part Two is a success is because there is simply nothing else to see right now.
All this is to say that the streamers, in particular Netflix, need to begin distributing their films into theaters. Its the best way forward for cinema and the best choice for them economically. This relationship between film and movie theaters is symbiotic. The medium of the TV, the device, is the TV show. The feature film is made for the movie theater.
Damsel currently streaming on Netflix.
Don't See It.
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