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When Netflix was founded in August of 1997, few foresaw the massive impact it would have on the film industry and how we consume movies. When it started, Netflix was a movie rental service with a twist. Instead of going to a store to rent movies, Netflix would send DVDs to your mailbox. Netflix began streaming movies in 2007 and, by May of 2020, more than 62% of Americans were subscribed to a streaming service. 

In the more than twenty years since its founding, Netflix has transformed into the world's largest subscription streaming service. From fan favorites like Molly's Game that tell the story of "poker princess" Molly Bloom, to international hits like Roma, Netflix has successfully transformed how we consume movies. In this article, we take a look at how the streaming powerhouse has changed the movie industry. 

Watching International Movies and TV Series

Before Netflix expanded its services worldwide in 2016, almost all of the biggest movies and TV shows were filmed in Hollywood and exported to the rest of the world. However, Netflix has upended the status quo and, today, we might watch a movie filmed in India one day and binge a series filmed in Korea the next. 

Netflix has invested in the global movie, TV and film industries, producing programming in Spain, Brazil, France, Italy, and more. With 167 million customers globally, it didn't take Netflix long to understand the importance of producing original programming in international markets. This year, Netflix has released 159 original movies and TV shows, and won ten Golden Globes and seven Oscars. Many other streaming services are following the Netflix model, but none have done it as successfully. 

Watch When You Want

While going to the movies and buying a soda and a bag of popcorn is still a special treat, Netflix has transformed how the average person consumes films and TV shows. You no longer have to check movie showtimes and coordinate with friends to see a movie. All you have to do is show up in your living room and connect to Netflix. 

You don't even have to be at home to watch movies because you can stream Netflix content on your cell phone, tablet, computer, gaming console, and other devices. You can take Netflix with you on a plane, train, or bus. There's even an option to download content so you can view it when you don't have access to the internet. 

Save Money

The average price of a movie ticket in the US is a little more than $9. For that price, you can subscribe to Netflix's basic plan and watch all the movies, documentaries, and TV shows in the streaming service's catalog. If you're on a tight budget, Netlfix is the obvious choice. You won't get to see the latest movies when they're released, but Netflix has a large enough catalog that most people can find a film they want to watch, whether a Netflix original or one the service has bought the rights to. 

Netflix's dominance hasn't gone unnoticed, and Hollywood films studios have been forced to take action. In the past couple of years, film studios have rushed to establish their own streaming services, including Disney+ and Warner Brothers via HBO Max. Film studios offer subscribers special perks like being able to stream movies the same day they're released in theaters. 

Binge Watching

Who hasn't spent endless hours in front of a screen binging Netflix content? Before Netflix, we had to wait a week to watch our favorite TV shows or catch reruns later in the season if we missed an episode because of TV's once-a-week episode model. Netflix changed all of that when it began uploading entire seasons of shows all at once. There's no more waiting weeks to learn what happened at the end of our favorite show. Today, it's only a question of hours. Hollywood has been forced to adopt the Netflix model by uploading entire seasons of shows to their streaming catalogs. Although some have resisted and released episodes of highly anticipated series like The Mandalorian weekly on their platforms.