Spielberg: HBO Max and other streaming services have lowered the quality of movies

Famous Hollywood director Steven Spielberg recently expressed his concerns about the way streaming services, especially HBO Max, treat filmmakers.

In an interview with The New York Times, Spielberg said that at the height of the pandemic in 2020, the shift from theatrical releases to streaming media releases may have changed the film industry forever.

“While the pandemic has created an opportunity for streaming platforms to drive their subscriptions to record levels, it has also left some of my best filmmaker friends under the bus when their films have been arbitrarily canceled from theatrical releases,” Spielberg said.

“They got paid, and in the case I was discussing, the movie was downgraded to an HBO Max release. And then everything started to change.”

He specifically took aim at Warner Bros. and its HBO Max streaming service, which is debuting all its movies simultaneously in theaters and on streaming during 2021. He lamented that if theaters were to close permanently, then a special experience would be lost.

“I think older audiences will be relieved to not have to step on sticky popcorn anymore,” Spielberg said. “But I really believe that for those same older audiences, the magic of going into a theater and being in a social setting with a bunch of strangers is like a shot in the arm… depending on whether the movie is good enough to get people talking about it once the lights come on.”

Spielberg then pointed out that going to the theater to watch movies is still an option for many people.

“I found out that Elvis broke $100 million domestically, which is really nice. A lot of older people went to see that movie, and that gives me hope that people are starting to go back to theaters as this global pandemic becomes a local pandemic. I think theaters are going to come back. I really do.”

Spielberg's new film "Dream House" will be released in theaters during this year's Thanksgiving holiday.