Netflix co-CEO thinks Barbie and Oppenheimer would have done just as well on a streamer

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has made a bold if likely controversial statement about two of the biggest movies last year. Barbie and Oppenheimer contributed to a cinematic event the likes of which we've not seen in some time, and they drew in well over $2 billion combined for the box office.

However, Sarandos believes they could have been just as big had they both launched on Netflix. "There's no reason to believe that the movie itself is better in any size of screen for all people," he told The New York Times. "My son's an editor, he watched Lawrence of Arabia on his phone."

A lot of movies that land on Netflix do get a lot of viewers, but the experience of the cinema is something a lot of moviegoers still like to have. Shutting off from the outside world for a couple of hours and properly drinking in a movie is tough to do from your TV, where you have access to other devices.

Still, even if some might not like Sarandos' point, it's hard to argue against streaming becoming the new norm for watching movies. Dwindling box office figures for recent flicks show that a lot of people are willing to wait out the short time until a new movie arrives on a digital platform.