"Bird Box" on Netflix is bringing on the hype. Netflix is vaguely touting astronomical numbers of people who have watched Sandra Bullock in the film. The problem is - Netflix is not divulging exactly how they came up with their statistics. Other streaming businesses are not happy with Netflix's assumed success. Ryan McCormick of Goldman McCormick is confused himself. "They don't say if it's one person watching --- or 5 people watching it at one time. They don't say if it's 100 people playing it non-stop and claiming all those as multiple views. There's just no way to know how many are really watching it."
But why is streaming in general growing by leaps and bounds? Movie expert and reviewer Julie Fisk says one reason is that it's almost effortless entertainment for the viewer. "Quantity over quality. If the movie looks OK and it has someone in it that the viewer recognizes, and they don't have to put on pants, then YES - they will probably stay home to watch it." And why not --- star power is there. "Many major stars like Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts and Emma Stone are all branching into streaming. The quality isn't as good as you find in theaters, but the money could be really good."
McCormick says there's a "dark side" to getting our entertainment from streaming. "The more we spend indoors - especially alone - the more we lose out humanity." So let’s all put on some pants, and some shoes and take in a movie once in a while!