Leonardo DiCaprio warns cinemas are at risk as streaming takes over

Leonardo DiCaprio is concerned about the impact of streaming on cinema attendance and "real visionaries." Photo / Getty Images

Leonardo DiCaprio is worried people no longer have an “appetite” for cinema.

The 51-year-old actor believes Hollywood is going through a “huge transition” because of the rise in popularity of streaming services and he is concerned about the long-term implications for the theatre-going experience.

He told the Sunday Times Culture magazine: “It’s changing at a lightning speed.

“We’re looking at a huge transition. First, documentaries disappeared from cinemas. Now, dramas only get finite time and people wait to see it on streamers. I don’t know.

“Do people still have the appetite? Or will cinemas become silos – like jazz bars?”

His One Battle After Another director Paul Thomas Anderson agreed: “It’s hand-to-hand combat.”

The Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood actor is worried the rise to drive people away from cinemas and back into their own home will have a negative impact on “real visionaries”.

He said: “I just hope enough people, who are real visionaries, get opportunities to do unique things in the future that are seen in the cinema. But that remains to be seen.”

Thomas Anderson and DiCaprio had come close to working together on 1997’s Boogie Nights but the actor was committed to Titanic, and the 55-year-old film-maker admitted to regular “pangs of jealousy” over the star working with other directors before they teamed up for One Battle After Another.

Paul said: “He has a commitment to not just doing any old movie.”

Asked what he thinks the Oscar-winning actor does differently, he added: “I mean, it’s like explaining to somebody why you’ve fallen in love with them.

“But also, from time to time, I would be hit with a pang of jealousy. I’d think, ‘Quentin [Tarantino] has had his hands on him twice’. But the idea had to come from me, I had to write something.”

DiCaprio enjoyed working with the director, particularly because of his habit of showing his cast footage of what he has shot every day.

The actor said: “It’s not often you get to be part of a process.

“I remember very early on in my career getting VHS tapes in my trailer but, actually, this is something you never get to do.”