Arts & Humanities

The End of Cinema?

How Streaming Is Transforming the Film Industry — and What Gets Lost When Movies Leave the Theater

A.O. Scott

A.O. Scott is a film critic for The New York Times and the author of "Better Living Through Criticism." He has been writing about film for more than two decades.

March 2, 2026·8 min read

The End of Cinema?

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a transformation that was already underway: the shift from theatrical to streaming distribution. Netflix, Amazon, and Apple are now major film studios. The theatrical window has shrunk. And the experience of watching a film in a darkened room with strangers is becoming rarer. What does this mean for cinema as an art form?

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cinemastreamingfilm industryNetflixculture

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