Max Borg
Shortly after I pitched this piece at the end of November, it was announced that Netflix had officially won the bidding war to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets, a process that will take at least 12-18 months to complete (with Paramount still trying to prevail by all means necessary). Most reactions to the news focused on one question in particular: what will happen to Warner’s theatrical slate?
It’ s a legitimate query, given Netflix’s generally cavalier attitude vis-à-vis the theatrical marketplace. The streamer famously tends to shun wide releases (2022’s Glass Onion barely qualified with 698 theaters, which is still way lower than what most big studio films get), and has been unable to submit its titles for the main competition in Cannes since 2018, as the festival’s rules require that all Palme d’Or hopefuls have regular theatrical distribution in France (or be open to it in case they haven’t been acquired at the time of selection). Abiding by such a rule would prevent Netflix Originals from being locally available on the streaming service for at least a year and a half, which is not something the higher ups at the Los Gatos-based company are interested in.
Their response to the widespread concern was a statement clarifying they intend to honor the theatrical tradition of the studio they’re in the process of buying, with additional comments positing that their anti-cinemas stance had been blown out of proportion, given they released 30 films in theaters in 2025 alone. This despite Ted Sarandos being quoted on the record as saying, earlier this year, that the cinema business model was “outdated”, particularly when it comes to the notion of windows of exclusivity (the current bare minimum among the major studios is 45 days; Netflix limits it to 14).
The claim about the 30 theatrically released movies also requires a few significant footnotes: for one thing, they were all limited releases in some way; for another, the figure mentioned by Netflix applies to the U.S. market only. The international rollout was often more limited, and frustratingly so. To give a personal example, I live in Switzerland, and the only reason I was able to see Wake Up Dead Man on the big screen is because I’m close enough to the border with Italy that I could make it to one of seven theaters in the whole country where the film was playing.
Prior to the pandemic, the main argument in favor of major filmmakers working with Netflix was that they were allowed to make movies the studios flat out refused to fund (Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, David Fincher’s Mank), and with a semi-decent theatrical rollout to boot (The Irishman stayed in cinemas after it had already made its streaming debut, at the discretion of individual exhibitors). Then, in 2021, they bought the rights to two Knives Out sequels, even though Rian Johnson would have had no trouble getting them made elsewhere, considering Lionsgate – the distributor of the original – had already greenlit the second film a year prior.
Johnson and franchise star Daniel Craig have both been vocally displeased with how Netflix handled the theatrical end of the deal, suggesting any future Knives Out movies will be made with a new distribution partner, and they’re not the only ones. Fresh off the success of Weapons, Zach Cregger butted heads with the streamer over the release strategy for his future project The Flood, resulting in the film being stalled indefinitely. The Duffer brothers, Netflix’s golden geese thanks to Stranger Things, similarly cited the wish for a proper theatrical rollout as the main reason for jumping ship to Paramount for their feature film endeavors.
And the worst part of the whole situation, regardless of the recent Warner Bros. developments, is that Sarandos and his team are well aware of how viable the theatrical marketplace still is: in August, after it had become their most streamed movie of all time, they released KPop Demon Hunters in cinemas, in a sing-along version. Playing in 1,700 theaters over a two-day period, it opened at the top of the box office and grossed an estimated 19 million dollars (true to form, Netflix didn’t report any numbers).
So, while they may be promising the status quo will remain unchanged if the acquisition goes through, one can’t help but be skeptical at this stage. Then again, there is a glimmer of hope in that the Directors Guild of America announced proper conversations will take place with the streamer concerning the Warner Bros. deal. And since the current DGA president is none other than Christopher Nolan, arguably the greatest living advocate for theatrical exhibition in Hollywood, it’s reasonable to assume that, to paraphrase The Dark Knight, he will not let Netflix watch the film world burn.
