Beasts Of No Nation, starring Idris Elba, directed by Cary Fukunaga and a hotly tipped contender for next year’s Oscars, has fallen foul of a few of the major Cinemas in the US with news that Netflix is intending to release the movie to its VOD customers on the same day as the cinema release.
A few of the major chains have stated their intention to boycott the film entirely as a result, which of course wouldn’t help any possible Oscar bids. In order for a film to be eligible for an Oscar, it must have a certain amount of time in cinemas uninhibited. As part of the deal that Netflix has signed for the film, it is funding the booking of screens so that the film can still maintain its Oscar bid.
For the cinemas it echoes long standing fears for the future, when the likes of Netflix can buy the rights for a movie, or even produce one themselves and release it straight to the consumer, bypassing them altogether.
Beasts Of No Nation is set to be released at some point this year.
