Netflix Has Been Vilified By Hollywood For A While, But There Are Signs That's Changing

For years, Netflix has played the villain in the streaming v. movie theater argument. It’s easy to understand why. Netflix hasn’t exactly gone out of its way to play ball with theaters when it comes to releasing its movies widely to cinemas, or giving its movies a long theatrical window, as other streamers and studios have. In the wake of the fight over Warner Bros. between the streaming giant and Paramount, it seems at least some are softening towards Netflix, and it is actually looking more like a hero now.

Netflix Lost Out On Warner Bros.

The entertainment industry has been in upheaval over the past couple of years, in large part due to Skydance Paramount CEO David Ellison’s buying spree. I’m not going to get into all the details here, but the tl;dr is basically that Ellison, who is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, first found tremendous success in Hollywood with is production company Skydance. In 2025, Skydance bought Paramount Pictures, and last month, after a prolonged shareholder battle, the newly named Skydance Paramount won the bid, over Netflix, to buy Warner Bros.

For many reasons, this fight over the future of Warner Bros. was seen by some as a fight over the future of Hollywood. A combined Paramount/Warner will have a huge chunk of the entertainment (and news) market, and that could mean scary things for the industry. I’m not picking a side in this, and I’ll leave the politics out of it, but what I have noticed is that there might be a backlash to the deal within Hollywood, and it’s making Netflix look good in the eyes of some industry insiders.

SAG President Sean Astin Gave A Shoutout To Netflix's CEO

This was highlighted to me last weekend as I watched the Actor Awards (formerly the SAG Awards), with my Netflix subscription. Sean Astin, star of the Lord of the Rings movies and son of the legendary Patty Duke (and stepson to John Astin), gave a shoutout to Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s CEO. In his speech during the awards ceremony, Astin said:

Sure, this thank you was in large part because the show was live-streamed on Netflix, but what struck me was the direct shout-out to Sarandos, not just “Netflix.” I may be reading too much into it, but SAG-AFTRA is the largest union in Hollywood, and it has been at the center of some serious labor battles in recent years with companies like Netflix and CEOs like Sarandos. Giving a clear thanks to the man himself makes me think that, behind the scenes, many in Hollywood were quietly rooting for Netflix to win the financial battle over Warner Bros.

Officially, SAG-AFTRA stayed neutral in the proxy fight, but many actors (and others in Hollywood) did express concern over Paramount’s newfound power within the industry, and this seems like a subtle acknowledgement of those concerns. Again, maybe I’m reading too much into this, but it does seem like Netflix, and its movie-loving CEO, aren’t quite the villains they once seemed to be.