October 29, 2025, 7:30 am | Read time: 4 minutes
One of the major selling points for a streaming subscription is the many exclusive titles that each platform typically offers. However, when it comes to Paramount+ and movies, the executives want to take a slightly different approach. For our TECHBOOK editor, Woon-Mo Sung, this is good news. Here, he explains why.
The video streaming market is fiercely competitive, with providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ all having to fend off new competitors. One of them, Paramount+, has been around for several years, and in theory, the platform of this traditional studio should stand out with a particularly extensive offering of exclusive titles. But not only does it seem to have no problem licensing its own catalog so far, it actually plans not to produce its own films for the streaming service. This is a reason for me to rejoice.
Paramount+ to Forego Original Films
First of all, it should be noted that films produced by Paramount will indeed continue to appear on the associated streaming service. The studio holds the rights to several massive franchises, such as “Mission: Impossible,” “Star Trek,” and “Transformers.”
However, these films always premiere in theaters before making the leap to digital. A film produced exclusively for Paramount+? There hasn’t been one yet—and there won’t be for the foreseeable future. According to a report by the U.S. industry magazine “Variety,” several executives at Paramount, including the new CEO, David Ellison, and Ciny Holland, head of streaming at Paramount, have emphasized this. For Holland, “streaming films are not a priority,” and for Ellison, there is “no discussion” about whether an original film would have as much impact and value as a theatrical release.
A Risky Game
At Paramount, they likely still hope for strong box office results from future blockbusters. Nevertheless, the strategy is not without risk. Netflix has long been producing its own films, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers, such as the current pop culture phenomenon “KPop Demon Hunters,” which also makes the subscription more attractive. Occasionally, the competitor also releases films in theaters to qualify for the Oscars, but the identity is clearly streaming. Not to mention the series.
Disney and Prime Video have also produced films exclusively for streaming in the past. Paramount+ might therefore lack a much-needed unique selling point, especially since it doesn’t even show its own portfolio exclusively. Currently, films like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” are not available to stream there.
However, something seems to be happening in terms of exclusivity. Paramount has recently made some high-profile acquisitions, including the rights to “South Park” and the services of the “Stranger Things” creators.
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I Can Easily Do Without Paramount+ Films
As a streaming customer, the lack of original Paramount+ films seems wrong. The service offers me less than others. But I don’t care.
Because more than that, I am a big movie fan in general. And where do you still enjoy them best? Exactly—in the theater. That such a large company, even after its billion-dollar acquisition, so clearly commits to theaters is a beacon for me in a stormy sea of algorithms and artworks that are degraded to mere “content.” And Tom Cruise, fearlessly riding a motorcycle off a cliff, is simply most intense when the entire audience collectively holds its breath.
In the Best Moments, Theaters Remain Unbeatable
As a passionate moviegoer, I face a new existential crisis every time the demise of the big screen is announced again. Sure, streaming offers many advantages, is convenient, and cost-effective. The industry is struggling, and some cinemas have already capitulated.
But in its best moments, no streaming service can match the theater. I don’t just mean the big, authoritative screen where the picture can unfold its full splendor and magic. But above all, the togetherness. Only here in the theater does a film become an event when everyone laughs together or screams in fright at the same time. Then I suddenly have hundreds of new friends in spirit.
And if only one major studio sees it similarly (and of course continues to have commercial advantages from it), then I don’t necessarily need Paramount+ for movies. “South Park” is still a must.