Netflix closing the deal to acquire Warner Bros. provoked some strong reactions from the film side of things, including my own. A streaming service that has treated cinemas like competitors swallowing up one of Hollywood’s biggest theatrical distributors felt demoralizing, especially after the stellar year WB had at the box office. Theaters have been dealt blow after blow since the pandemic, and this one seemed like it’d be impossible to come back from.
Netflix doesn’t want us to see it that way. The official deal summary claimed that WB’s film studio wouldn’t be pulling out of the theatrical business, but after years of hearing about how it isn’t their model, that was hard to believe. Since then, co-CEO Ted Sarandos has been doubling down in the press, most recently to NYT:
When this deal closes, we will own a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars of theatrical revenue that we don’t want to put at risk. We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows. I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office.
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? It’s supposed to. Paramount is currently laying siege to Netflix’s deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, and washing away one of the key anxieties about them as suitors would help fend off this challenge. But talk is cheap – if Netflix really wants to convince people they’re on team theatrical, why not actually prove it?
C’mon Netflix, Put Some Movies In Theaters This Year!
From the sound of it, Netflix doesn’t intend on completely overhauling their theatrical vs. streaming strategy. Instead, WB’s studio will operate separately from their own, and while the former will produce films for wide theatrical release, the latter will continue to prioritize debuting on their platform. What exactly will distinguish a “WB project” from a “Netflix project” at the content level is yet to be defined, and the politics of how to negotiate that with filmmakers will surely be messy, which may explain a reluctance to make a show of theatrical faith with their existing 2026 movies.
But Netflix has bent their own rules before, and never has there been such a compelling reason to do so. If Sarandos is serious about this transaction being how his company gets into the theatrical business, why not give exhibitors a taste of what that relationship will be like?
The best part is, they may have been exploring the ideal candidates already. In October, as part of Variety‘s coverage of the improving dialogue between Netflix and AMC Theaters after an extended period at odds, they report that the two were already discussing opportunities to build on their KPop Demon Hunters and Stranger Things finale experiments in 2026. Two films are listed as likely candidates: Greta Gerwig’s Narnia and David Fincher’s Adventures of Cliff Booth.
The former is already part of a high-profile deal to debut on 1000 IMAX screens worldwide over Thanksgiving before reaching Netflix in late December, but Variety noted that it could receive a release outside just those premium screens. The latter, Fincher’s continuation of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood with a script by Tarantino and starring Brad Pitt, isn’t officially scheduled yet, but was reportedly eying Summer 2026. These are both very theatrical properties from proven filmmakers – if they had come to the company post-merger, they would likely have been better suited for the WB pipeline anyway. They make sense for theaters without upsetting the delicate balance already in place.
Another good opportunity? Zach Cregger’s The Flood. The Weapons director was all set to make his new, original sci-fi script with Netflix, until a spat over theatrical distribution reportedly stalled the project back in November. Cregger has a great relationship with Warners now anyway, and without this sale, that’s likely where he would’ve taken this movie next. Why not afford him a full theatrical release ahead of time?
Netflix is not without stronger options here than a Times interview. If they really intend to keep these promises, they may as well act now, and show the industry they’re actually serious.
