Netflix announced on Monday that it will provide wide theatrical distribution for director Greta Gerwig's new film “Narnia”, releasing the film nearly two months before making it available on the streaming platform – in a first for the entertainment giant, writes AFP.
“The World of Narnia: The Sorcerer's Nephew” will be released on February 12, 2027, and will be available for streaming on April 2, according to a statement.
The platform initially intended to release the production in IMAX format – a high-resolution format designed specifically for cinema screening – in November this year, a month before its release on the streaming platform.
Regularly accused of being the “undertaker” of cinemas, the Netflix platform generally avoids massive big-screen releases.
When they agree to release a film in cinemas, they usually do so for a very short period, either to make the film eligible for the Oscars or to carry out a marketing campaign, AFP notes.
For example, Netflix released the animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” in a limited number of theaters last year after it was a resounding success on the platform.
Despite this decision on “Narnia,” “there is no change in our theatrical release strategy,” Netflix assured, following requests for comment from the American publication The New York Times.
However, the streaming service giant has recently shown signs that suggest greater flexibility.
When it tried to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said he was willing to abide by the studio's 45-day theatrical release period before releasing movies on streaming platforms.
In March, after conceding ground to Paramount Studios on its acquisition of Warner Bros, Ted Sarandos met with cinema operators in a meeting that came to nothing but was hailed as “constructive”.
Greta Gerwig, the director of the box-office hit “Barbie,” welcomed the decision to release her new movie in theaters.
“Collaborating with Netflix to bring this film to life has been an incredible experience, and IMAX remains an incredible partner,” the director said in a press release, adding that she “can't wait for audiences to discover the film in theaters.”
Her blockbuster is the first adaptation of the novel “The Magician's Nephew” by Clive Staples Lewis, the British author who wrote “The Chronicles of Narnia”.
Disney has already produced three films based on this universe in the 2000s, but these were adaptations of other books.
