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Instant release: It's easier than ever to avoid the movie theater

You might not even have to leave the house to see the next blockbuster movie.

Case in point: Will Smith's next movie is Bright. You know because there's a big ad on that bus you passed.

"When is it coming to theaters" you ask? (Because, um, Will Smith.) It's not. It's on Netflix.

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He's not the first megastar — nor the last — with a movie going straight to streaming. But he might be the one that puts a pin in the notion that a movie doesn't need a big theater to be deemed big.

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Netflix has more and more films in its originals pipeline, with some stars like Brad Pitt attached. They've trawled film festivals to bring even more to the table.

And they are not alone.

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This day has been coming. Several films seem to have been been released to theaters seemingly out of courtesy. That's because the movies were being released via video-on-demand and other services at the same time or a week after major release.

It's enough to make you forget that "straight-to-DVD" was once a pejorative adjective. The next tagline could very well be: "Coming to a phone near you."

For more news, views and reviews, follow @DawnBurkes on Twitter.