Netflix to release movies in theatres and at home concurrently, reveals chief content officer Ted Sarandos

This will see Netflix update how audiences consume movies by releasing them on the site for users at home, in conjunction with their theatrical releases - a move which could cause substantial damage to media groups airing the movie in their cinemas.

This news comes after the firm last month announced that it will be entering the movie industry, resurrecting the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon series with a sequel. It also emerged on Tuesday that the TV streaming group has signed a four-year movie deal with comedian Adam Sandler whose films will not "open in theatres" but instead appear immediately on the site.

According to Advanced Television, Sarandos said: “The current distribution model for movies in the US particularly, but also round the world, is pretty antiquated relative to the on-demand generation that we are trying to serve.

"Releasing a movie and then waiting six, eight, ten months before there is any home video exploitation and at least a year before you can get that at home, that’s not the model people choose.

“What we are going to do accelerate the model a little bit by putting our money where our mouth is. The idea of giving the consumer choice is important."

He concluded: “People are choosing Netflix; they don’t want to wait a year, or maybe ten years to get that movie. I want to restore choice and option.”