That depends on who the "they" is. Movie distribution companies want to maximize the value of their product, and that means marketing and advertising, exclusivi

That depends on who the "they" is. Movie distribution companies want to maximize the value of their product, and that means marketing and advertising, exclusivity periods, product tie-ins and collaborations with different streaming providers. They know that they can get the audience numbers from anywhere, but the question is how much a particular streaming provider will pay over a competitor. So movie distribution companies are certainly engaging in rent-seeking behavior–only you're not the customer. The streaming providers are. (Reasonably good pun though)