Amazon Prime and Apple TV are easy. Just rent the movie. It’s a few bucks like video rental shops back in the old days. You can also buy, though only Apple really allows downloading of bought content.
Of the top 10 in Apple’s current Top Movies Chart in the TV app, 3 cost $5.99 to rent while the other 7 are $19.99 to rent.
If a family, or even just a couple, was going to go to the movies, buying popcorn and drinks, it’s not cheap. $19.99 is still usually cheaper than going out.
I remember when they started doing this. I think it was a response to theaters being closed during the pandemic, but could be misremembering slightly. Beyond that, I think the general idea was that people have nice big screens and home and don’t feel the need to go to movie theaters anymore, so this gives people an option to see new releases in the comfort of their home. The extra cost is for the early home access.
Just give me a giant catalogue of every show, movie, and album known to man and let me buy or rent a-la-carte for a fair price.
At the moment I’ve dropped all streaming platforms and am back to Apple. If I want to watch something I just buy it and don’t have to worry about subscribing to yet another service.