The legitimization of Netflix as THE first stop to everything movies has begun, they want you to bypass theaters completely. They want to take away the stigma of VOD (video on demand). They also seem to have the money to spend, spend, spend. As far as I'm concerned what's happening is very exciting because it puts the creative power back into the hands of actual creative people. Netflix is letting creative people be creative, where studios became distinct entities just focused on the bottom line. Netflix is taking Hollywood forward by taking it back into the past, in a sense, a 1970s maverick way of thinking. You should not be concerned about the end of cinema, this is only the beginning.
"Netflix is no stranger to original films these days, but Death Note is one of the first big budget gambles for the company. It won't be the last, though: Netflix has also shelled out $90 million for the Will Smith film Bright, $60 million for Brad Pitt's War Machine and it reportedly spent over $100 million on Martin Scorsese's next movie, The Irishman, starring Robert DeNiro. While it costs a lot more to produce new material, rather than just license existing catalogs, the exclusive content both entices new subscribers and convinces existing members to stay. And of course, it serves as material that Netflix can easily bring into new territories, without worrying about regional licensing rights."
[Engadget]