Yes. They've stated this is their goal multiple times over the last 5 years. The box office money is irrelevant to them and cuts into their (perceived) territory while conditioning people to value theater experiences more than streaming. If you read or followed the negotiation, they've committed to two week theater runs which is laughable. The more likely outcome is what they did to Frankenstein recently: limited release weekends and then straight to streaming.
Sinners not only dominated at the box office it dominated word-of-mouth and social media discourse for months. That runway, including months of hype and buildup, is what made the film's debut on HBO Max so successful. We have a decades worth of clear evidence that throwing shows and films onto Netflix, Prime, etc results in them being quickly consumed and forgotten. Netflix has made a big deal about their new Idris Elba film yet no one is really talking about it, and the "views" numbers they put out aren't accurate. This pales in comparison to a box office number.
Also...promo. There is no real promo for Netflix shyt. The Sinners hype was insane from the weeks of interviews and promos we got before it came out. This is a tried/tested model that has worked for decades. Netflix promo does not work.
THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT.
