Netflix Adopts a New Strategy for its Next Big Release

Since it began producing films, the place most viewers have needed to go to see Netflix films is, well, Netflix. While some Netflix-produced films have had theatrical releases, they have generally been relatively limited in scale. That’s about to change, however, at least for one film: Greta Gerwig’s take on The Magician’s Nephew, the first in a series of Chronicles of Narnia adaptations the Barbie and Lady Bird director is working on for the company.

Netflix announced that it will have a more traditional theatrical release than anything it has produced before, hitting theaters (including IMAX) on February 12, 2027 and debuting on the streaming service almost two months later. (Specifically, April 2.)

This seems like a huge deal for Netflix, which has been happy to either hold off on theatrical releases for its productions entirely or minimize them. This can be frustrating for cinephiles — I can say from personal experience that Wake Up Dead Man looked great when I saw it on a big screen. And while Gerwig’s previous film was a seismic hit, the Russo Brothers having directed several of the highest-grossing films of all time didn’t result in The Gray Man or The Electric State having wide theatrical releases.

It can also be seen as an indication of something changing in the streaming world. After all, one of last year’s biggest films was F1, which Apple co-produced. It’s also easy to imagine a world in which Project Hail Mary went directly to Prime Video; instead, it’s become one of this year’s highest-grossing films.

In other words, it’s time to return to an adage coined by legendary screenwriter William Goldman about the film industry: “Nobody knows anything.” A few years ago, in the wake of pandemic lockdowns, a streaming-first strategy made sense for a lot of studios. Now, some are realizing that longer theatrical windows are the way to go.

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That said, it’s worth considering another factor in the mix: the massive success of KPop Demon Hunters, which became a huge hit for Netflix when it debuted on the streaming service and wound up taking in over $24 million theatrically — presumably, $24 million than Netflix was expecting when it first made plans to air the film. Given that Netflix has also announced that a sequel is in the works, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether its release strategy looks like that of its predecessor — or if it follows the lead of Gerwig’s Narnia adaptation.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…