Quentin Tarantino says that 2019 was the "last year of movies" as streaming took over: "What the f*ck is a movie now?"

Quentin Tarantino is not very happy with the movie industry at the moment. In a recent talk at Sundance Film Festival, the legendary director said that theatrical releases have gotten "drastically worse" since 2019, a year he considers "the last fucking year of movies".

In a conversation with film critic Elvis Mitchell, Tarantino opened up about his views on cinema and streaming today, and why theater might be his new favorite medium.

"That's a big fucking deal pulling [a play] off, and I don't know if I can. So here we go. That's a challenge, a genuine challenge, but making movies? Well, what the fuck is a movie now? What — something that plays in theaters for a token release for four fucking weeks? All right, and by the second week you can watch it on television," he ranted on.

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"I didn't get into all this for diminishing returns. I mean, it was bad enough in '97. It was bad enough in 2019, and that was the last fucking year of movies. That was a shit deal, as far as I was concerned, the fact that it's gotten drastically worse? And that it's just it's a show pony exercise. Now the theatrical release, you know, and then like yeah, in two weeks, you can watch it on this [streaming service] and that one. Okay. Theater? You can't do that. It's the final frontier."

Tarantino's latest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, came out in 2019 (aka "the last fucking year of movies"). His fans have been waiting since then for an update on his last film, since the filmmaker announced his 10th movie will be his last, but he said he is in "no hurry" to do it. Instead, he is writing a play, as theater presents more of a "challenge" for him.

In 2023, Tarantino announced a new project under the provisional title of The Movie Critic, with Brad Pitt rumored to star, but the filmmaker reportedly moved on from the project. There were also rumours of the director helming an R-Rated Star Trek film, but he revealed in 2019 that that's not happening either. Seeing his views on the industry right now, it might be a while until Tarantino returns to the big screen.

For more, check out our guide to upcoming movies, and ranking of the best Tarantino movies.

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.