Test screenings are an integral part of the Hollywood industry and allow studios and/or directors to refine their films before releasing them in cinemas. Netflix has been using the same strategy since 2021 and according to The Wall Street Journal, many more users may enjoy it in the future.
The Netflix Preview Club is a program of 2,000 hand-picked American subscribers. The latter see the new films well in advance and give feedback to the platform. Netflix is reportedly planning to expand this program in 2023. This time, it would be 10,000 subscribers who would be chosen from around the world.
Netflix wants its films to appeal to as many people as possible
The idea would remain the same. The elected will have to watch films and judge them. We are not talking here about an exclusivity of a few weeks, but of several months. This would allow, if necessary, to modify certain sequences to improve the final product.
The Wall Street Journal states that the Preview Club has already shown its usefulness on the film Don’t Look Up, released at the end of 2021. After the first screenings, many viewers found his tone far too serious. Adam McKay, the director, therefore worked to include more “funny” moments. He took it well, since Don’t Look Up was one of the biggest successes of the platform, both critically and publicly.
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At this time, Netflix has not commented on this Wall Street Journal claim. However, expanding its test audience could only be beneficial for the platform. Although it has regained subscribers in recent months (223 million subscribers), it experienced a loss for the first time in 2022. Making films that appeal to the greatest number of people could be the key to trying to stay at the top .
Note that Netflix is not the only platform to benefit from such a program, since Disney and Amazon also preview some of its content in advance to improve it.
Source: Wall Street Journal