Netflix not rethinking theatrical releases despite Narnia getting a somewhat normal one

Last week, Netflix announced a miracle comparable to the rise of Aslan himself: Greta Gerwig’s Narnia is actually getting a semi-legitimate theatrical run. It will only screen in IMAX and only for two weeks (starting Thanksgiving Day 2026), but that’s a longer window than any other Netflix release has ever been granted. Progress, right? Oh, sorry, did you get your hopes up about being able to watch future Netflix originals like Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man on the big screen as well? Yeah, that still won’t be happening, especially if you don’t live in an awards market.

There is “no change at all to our theatrical strategy,” Netflix co-CEO told Deadline this week. Because that would just make too much sense! “Our core strategy is to give our members exclusive first round movies on Netflix,” he continued. “The Narnia IMAX release is a release tactic. We routinely release movies and theaters a couple of weeks before to qualify for awards, to meet festival requirements and to prime the publicity pump a bit.” 

“In the case of Narnia, it’s a two-week special event,” he went on. “I think it’s very differentiated from other runs, because I doubt anyone has a screen as big as an IMAX screen at home.” Well… yeah. This writer will go out on a limb and guess that 99% of people don’t have a screen as big as any theater screen—IMAX or not—in their living room. And while we’re on the subject, of course theatrical runs “prime the publicity pump a bit.” People like to see good movies on big screens! It seems like it would be a win/win for all parties involved, but Netflix remains the most bone-headed streamer about the prospect. (Prime Video’s Red One made $186 million internationally over 9 weeks. And that was Red One!) It’s like a masterclass in getting all the facts right, but completely missing the point. 

It seems this really is just a special thing for Gerwig, however, who reportedly had to fight for months just to get those two weeks. “Mostly, I want to say I’m incredibly excited to be working with Greta on this movie,” Sarandos continued. “We’re super excited to get it into production so we can talk about how great this movie is, more so than which screens it’s on. She’s an incredible director, and this is a really exciting project.” It would be even more exciting if it was precedent-setting.