When you talk to film fans, the biggest benefit seen from the advent and ubiquity of streaming services like Netflix is the fact that films are released in as many homes as possible, allowing for people in small towns and without the funds to go to the theater the chance to see as many films as they can. This has led to an important discussion for filmmakers. Do you opt for the prestige and traditions associated with a theatrical release, or do you go with someone like Netflix and release it in as many homes as possible, right away? According to Joel Edgerton, who wrote, directed, and starred in “Boy Erased,” he feels like maybe his 2018 film suffered because he chose the wrong distribution.
Speaking to IndieWire, the filmmaker discussed his choice to go with Focus Features versus Netflix when deciding how to release his LGBTQ drama from last year. And while he doesn’t second-guess why he chose Focus instead of streaming, Edgerton is concerned that maybe Netflix would have been a better fit for “Boy Erased.”
READ MORE: ‘Boy Erased’: Nicole Kidman & Lucas Hedges Can Only Do So Much [Telluride Review]
“We had a really interesting debate about which way to go,” explained Edgerton. “Focus had this incredible track record with putting out these LGBTQ films like ‘Brokeback’ and ‘Milk,’ so I felt we were in the right hands. We wanted to create a face-to-face scenario where we’d have face time with audiences and have Q&As and generate discussions. To me, it felt like that was the right way to go.”
However, for as much as Focus helped spread the word and generate discussions, the filmmaker worries that maybe “Boy Erased” would have been better suited for a streaming deal, where everyone would have access to the film all across the world.
“The moment you put something on a streaming platform, everybody in every household in all these countries can see it at the exact same time,” the director said. “You don’t get that chatter — and this was sad for me — of, ‘When is this film coming to my country?’ or, ‘I have to drive five hours to see it,’ or, ‘I just can’t afford the time and money.’”
He continued, “I realized, OK, that’s a good enough reason to put a movie as soon as you can on Netflix, especially with ‘Boy Erased.’ The pride that everybody felt with that film about the ability to help start conversations within families, change points of views, make them feel differently in their lives, made me wish we could’ve just dropped it everywhere rather than holding onto it.”
Obviously, there’s no way to go back in time and change the platform for Edgerton to see if Netflix would have been a better fit. However, considering the box office totals for “Boy Erased” come in at just under $12 million worldwide, it’s not as if there was a lot of money in the theatrical release. And if you still haven’t seen the film and want to stream it, “Boy Erased” is currently on the HBO Now app. But not Netflix.