In Netflix‘s pursuit of Warner Bros, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos came to promise that he’d honor a 45-day exclusive window to Premium VOD for the studio’s titles. This was after enormous pressure from the industry and media who scrutinized the executive and the streamer given their history for crunching the window for titles between their theatrical play and ultimate debut on Netflix.
So what now, Netflix, when it comes to theatrical? Is it still in the cards after all of Ted’s talk? The streamer has two big titles on its 2026 slate that make perfect wide theatrical releases, and theaters coast-to-coast would want ’em: David Fincher’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel The Adventures of Cliff Booth, dropping in August, and Greta Gerwig’s Narnia, which is already getting a two-week Imax (limited) release on Thanksgiving, November 26, in 1,000 auditoriums in 90 countries.
At today’s Next on Netflix press event, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria made a distinction: “There is Warner Bros theatrical distribution, and then there’s Netflix, which we’ve been in a different business. I don’t want you to conflate the two. Ted was talking about Warner Bros being in a different business than what Netflix is in.”
Netflix Film Chairman Dan Lin responded after Bajaria, “I would say give us some time.”
“The Warner Bros deal just ended as far as our participations and we had the Academy Awards,” he said. “We are a streaming-first company. The strategy works really well for us. You can see our members watch seven movies a month. You can see through the Warner process, we built a closer relationship with theater owners, we had a lot of discussions — just give us some time.”
The executives are well aware how theatrical has propped the event-izing of Netflix’s TV titles, fueling fandom and community: The Stranger Things series finale in theaters on New Year’s Day did more than $25 million (in concession revenue because the streamer couldn’t charge for tickets); KPop Demon Hunters Singalong at the end of August minted a two-day take of $19M, Netflix’s first No. 1 at the weekend box office; and the placement of Season 2 episodes of One Piece in 200 theaters in U.S. and Japan.
“We’re looking to do special things in theatrical,” said Lin, “but just give us some time.”
When asked by another reporter if Netflix execs are concerned about their competitors who can offer theatrical, Lin answered, “We’re happy with the filmmakers we have now,” giving shout-outs to Clint Bentley, Guillermo del Toro and Fincher.
Overall, he’s not scared: “I think competition is a good thing … I think we’ll be even better because we have that competition, it makes us hungrier, sharper, so we’re not afraid of the competition.”
In regards to whether Netflix’s purchases are slowing down out of festivals, Lin said, “We have a balance of both. We want to build some movies that have prestige, but acquire some as well.”
“We’re actively going to festivals,” said Lin.
Bajaria emphasized at the top of today’s event that the streamer is committing to a content budget this year of $20 billion, which is good for jobs, and good for the film and TV business overall.